The Novice Baker

Friday, November 28, 2008

Recently a dear friend, who is not a baker attempted to bake on of the pies in my cookbook, Little Black Book of Pies. Again, I would like to emphasize she is not a seasoned baker or cook; but what many might call a true novice in the kitchen. She read the recipe and wanted to make the buttermilk coconut pie on page 77. We discussed and reviewed the recipe and I attempted to walk her through the process step-by-step, preparing this most delicious pie. During this process I discovered that novice bakers know far less that I anticipated.

My dear friend did not know there are measuring cups for both solid and liquid ingredients. Why? Because when using a glass cup, the edges have a tendency to curve and allow you to pour more solid ingredient than you may need. It is far easier to measure solid ingredients with a metal or plastic measuring cup. Will this effect the taste of the products? Yes, if you are not measuring accurately and you pour in more sugar, for example than needed the baked good may taste too sweet. Remember, baking is a science and although you can get away with a lot, it is often not as forgiving as cooking.

My friend also did not know that when melting butter in the microwave you need to place it in a container at least twice the size of the product you’re melting, since butter like milk and other ingredients are likely to bubble and spill over the sides.

After the pie was finished I received a call from this new budding baker and she described the pie as “tasty” but a bit too sweet. Why? Well after participating in a “BSI” (bake scene investigation) I discovered that she measured both dry and liquid ingredients in a glass measuring cup.

In my new cookbook, Little Black Book for the Novice Cook, I discuss the difficulty of baking and how the whole process can be most stressful. The pie was also baked in two “deep dish” pie shells; even though the recipe called for two “regular pie shells”; A standard pie pan is 9 inches in diameter and 1-1/4 inches deep while a 9 inch deep dish pie shell is 1-1/2 to 2 inches deep; another issue involve this new baker not thinking the eggs she purchased looked “large”enough so she used six large eggs instead of the five large eggs called for in the recipe.

I point this out because just changing one or two items in a recipe can alter the texture, flavor and final product. Have you ever changed a recipe and made the product “better” or “worse” for doing it? I once decided to use margarine instead of butter in a cream sauce for a baked fish dish and it was absolutely terrible, greasy and completely uneatable. Are there times when we should just leave well enough alone and stop tinkering with a recipe? What are your thoughts?

How much are you willing to pay?

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Well, it is official, we are in a recession. Oh no, don’t call me a pessimist, I heard it on CNN. No really...you know everything you hear on CNN is try? :-) Well, let's just say I'm a realist and have lived long enough to know that if you do not take responsibility for your actions, you are doomed to pay a costly price. Lesson learned…all good things come to an end. Now with that said let me Blog on.

Cooks and bakers, this is where the rubber meets the road and for many of us we are being forced to answer the question how much are we willing to pay? As I stroll down the grocery store isles and look at the price of food creeping higher and higher I have to wonder how much folks are willing to pay for the convenience of fast food; you know the stuff we make, quick, fast and in a hurry. You know those foods in the refrigerator and freezer section of the grocery that can be popped in the microwave to provide instant gratification.

I have been telling the students in my cooking and baking classes for years that they must learn to cook and bake, well; instant food is expensive and a dinosaur that will one day become extinct. Why you ask? Because it addresses the needs of millions, who have no time, no time, no time? In fact, for the first time in the lifetime of many Americans “time” will no longer be an issue, money will. The painful, honest truth is that when you cannot afford to buy convenience you buy the basics; rice that must be cooked, beans that must be cooked, meat that must be cooked and vegetables that must be steamed.

For those who are married to convenience foods, what would it take for you to begin to look at preparing food the good old fashioned way? Before I go on I should probably ask for your definition of convenience food. Some folks will say its fast food (restaurants only); others will say it is anything that makes life easy, like canned biscuits, frozen breakfasts boxes in the freezer selections and cold cuts. The dilemma is this, it takes a lot more effort and money to make thousands of frozen breakfast boxes than for you to scramble an egg, fry a couple slices of bacon and toast a slice of bread. Okay, I hear ya! It all takes too much time, but think about it this way, you probably won’t have a job in the next six to eight months so why not learn to eat real food? No, seriously, on the real, this whole economic disaster is going to cause millions of people to reexamine how they live, what they eat, where they work and what their future will look like.

It’s not all about “you”, it about how we all fit into the world and learn to survive with what the world has to offer. Now, with that said…how much are you willing to pay? Still not willing to give up those microwave sausages?

Liquid Food

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

All of my life I have known about the wonders of liquid food. It is cheap, relatively easy to prepare, filling and almost always taste better the next day. Most folks will tell you that liquid food is alright, but just does not satisfy that urge to chew; I beg to differ however. Oh yeah, what is liquid food, you know, yeah you do…soup!

I can remember my mother making homemade soup as a child and it was always absolutely delicious. I like to think I make the best split pea soup on the planet and the best gumbo in the universe, but you’ll have to ask superman when he comes next year (2009) to save the world.

Have you every just wanted something to eat but just couldn’t put your finger on what you really wanted? I do it more often than not now that I am a baby boomer. I don’t like the taste of restaurant food, too salty; and I don’t care for the heaviness of Chinese, Indian or Italian. There are times when I just want something savory and smooth. Soup almost always satisfies my taste buds. My favorites are Buttermilk Bay Clam Chowder, Thick and Hearty Fish Soup, Silky Cream of Corn Soup, and Mama’s Smoked Turkey Split Pea with Diced Carrots. I have about 10 others that I won’t bore you with, but I can say, when times are tough and money is short, knowing how to pull together delicious savory soups is truly worth its weight in gold.

Do you have a favorite soup from you childhood?

I know the most inexpensive soup my mom ever prepared was split pea and my grandmother made a heavenly navy bean soup that was great with a side salad and hearty whole wheat loaf. Look this is the kind of food that feeds the body and soul and will last all day. In lean times, liquid food can and will see you and your family through the day, particularly if it’s hearty. Remember any soup can be enhanced with vegetables and bits of meat. For example if you don’t want to use ham in your split pea, purchase inexpensive packages of smoked turkey wings or legs. Remove the skin, cut off as much meat as possible and boil until tender. This liquid makes a wonderful stock and the meat will satisfy those carnivores who must at least see something that once lived in their soup!

All recipes are not the same

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Recently, I started organizing my cookbooks and setting them up like a library. I love cookbooks and I, like many foodies and cooking fanatics can read them like a novel. I had a little time on my hands before Thanksgiving this year and decided to look at the cookbooks I have from a number of different countries. I won’t go through all of them but I share some info about three. There is a Japanese cookbook( my ex purchased for me while we were living in Japan), an Ethiopian Cookbook(I purchased from the Blue Nile Restaurant in Ferndale, Michigan) and a Jamaican cookbook given to me by my niece.

There’s one thing that I noticed each of these cookbooks have in common. Each cookbook assumes that the cook has a rather intense background in cooking; speaking specifically to the seasoned cook. None of these books are for a novice. These are not your ordinary Betty Crocker Cookbooks and you must already know who to braise, chop fine and handle Scotch Bonnet peppers.

I think the lack of experience in the kitchen is one reason why people do not cook more creatively and stick to making the same foods day after day. I am forcing myself to use my creative juices these days because I find myself becoming bored with food. I never thought I would say that and I’m sure no one reading this Blog shares my view? Right?

What can be done to keep food from becoming a bore? Should we turn to a new cultural experience? Should we put some pep in our step and add curry and hot sweet paprika? I’d like to know what folks are doing to spice up their culinary love life.