Gingerbread and Cream

It is simple. Light. But a delicious dessert.
Homemade ginger cake.
And unsweetened cream.
Tastes great. And makes you feel good when you eat it.
Who doesn't love ginge?

Barbeque Artisian Pizza

I am continuing with my quest of artisian pizzas. I have a pizza stone that is now a permanant resident in my oven. And it whispers each week from the closed door, telling me, "Come on. You know you want pizza."

I decided my ultimate quest would be to go to the fridge, and with only the ingredients I had in the fridge, make an "artisian pizza."

I decided to make a Kansas City Artisian Pizza.

Here are the ingredients I started with:

The core of the dish were braised Memphis style pork ribs that I had smoked. Those ribs by themselves are so amazing. And after spending time carmelizing them in the oven once again, I had to admit, questioning, "Why not eat these alone? Do they deserve a pizza?"

I had a handful of small pearl onions. I boiled them, and one by one, popped out the flesh. I added them to butter in a pan, and created delicious carmelized pearl onions.

For the sauce, I started with a homemade tomatoe pizza sauce I created several weeks ago. I added spicey barbeque sauce. But of course, for pizza sauce - it needed sugar and a hint of tartness. I turned to the secret ingredient used, but not oft talked about by chefs. Ketchup! I blended those three ingredients, and it created a smokey, sweet and spicy tomato sauce for my base.

I am a sucker for some sort of cheese on my pizza. I opted for crumbled blue cheese.

And I had to give it a hint of green - just to be able to say I had my vegetables for the day. I used some whole fresh spinach in spirals on the pizza.

After re-roasting the ribs, creating a carmelized effect from the fatty delicious pork, I pulled them from the bones and chopped the pork.

The pork and all included ingredients went onto the whole wheat pizza crust, and looked like this as it went into the oven:

The oven was fired up to 500 degrees. And the hot temperature did its magic.

The final product was great. The sweet yet savory sauce complimented the chunks of nearly crispy pork ribs. The blue cheese added a salty and tangy dimension. The carmelized onions were terrific, albeit time consuming to make.

It was another great pizza that made it worth it to sacrafice the natural eating of the barbeque ribs.

Räkost is just a great food word

One of my absolute favorite foods while traveling in Sweden was räkost.

I first saw it one morning, at breakfast, while staying with a family in Sweden. It sat right next to the bowl of pickeled herring and cheese, and long with a stack of Wasa sesame  knäckebröd.

I sat looking at the collection of interesting items being served to me for breakfast. As a kid that only knew fried fish sticks as the only way to eat fish, the idea of the picked herring wasn't going to happen. I asked my host family what they recommended. The told me to squeeze the tube onto the cracker, and try it out.

Really?

But it was the beginning of a passion that I continue to this day. It was cheesey. A little salty. But wow. There was something addictive to it! (To see how my taste buds responded - take a look at this video:  http://youtu.be/xbdWoBydhSU

Räkost is a word that basically combines the words of shrimp and cheese. Blend that together, and you get a savory akin to cheese whiz. Spread that on a cracker - and I think you have heaven.

That became my breakfast staple in while traveling in Sweden. Often, families would ask us, "What do you like for breakast." While my roommates hinted at items like pancakes (what? For breakast? Not in Sweden), or musli, I always shyly smiled, and asked, "Do you by chance have any Rack-Ost?" And sure enough - if not that morning, then the next morning, I would get my tube of shrimp cheese. And whenever possible, my favorite version of Wasa - the crisp sesame version, made it the perfect match.

In my recent excursion to the grocery department of IKEA, I was excited to see a version of räkost. While not from shrimp, crab was certainly close enough. Over the last nights, I have been adding it to both crisp bread as well as to some really delicious cardamom crisps that give a slightly sweet, yet savory crunch to the appetizer.

And each time I take a bite, I whisper the word "räkost" - just because it sounds fun to say.

The taste of Sweden I didn't like.

Thirty years ago, I tasted Sweden. And I didn’t like it.
It was a day off in Jonkoping. And instead of eating ham sandwiches as part of the group meal, we had a day with our host families. My host family decided they would make us a traditional Swedish meal. It would include a whole roasted salmon. And potatoes as the side dish.

Growing up in Kansas – fish was much less common than steak. if you ordered a fish – it was either as fish sticks. Or perhaps, in the fancy restaurant, you might get a trout. But the head was removed. The bones were removed. The skin was removed. And it certainly didn’t taste fishy.

My Jonkoping host family presented the whole salmon. Head. Skin. And decorated with dill. I took a little. But there were potatoes. And so I knew I would be ok. We had lots of potatoes in Kansas.

I took a bit of the salmon. It wasn’t bad. I dug my fork into the potatoes, and took a big bite. My mouth froze. My face froze.

I went from a subtle taste of fish to a bomb blast.

I had been served a big helping of something my host family called “Jansson’s Temptation.” This was a gratin or a scalloped potato dish. But the key “umami” ingredient was either anchovies or herring.

My mouth didn’t like it. But if this was one of the most famous dishes of Sweden, I was bound and determined to like it.

Fast forward thirty years, and it is a dish that I year for. I yearn for many things I would not have put my tongue to thirty years ago. But now, I love oysters and fish roe and whole anchovies on my Caesar salad.

Tonight – I celebrate that memory with an IKEA version of that dish. It tasted a salty and strong as I remembered it. But this time, much more delicious!

Day 12: The Best Fried Chicken In Five Years!

On Thursday evening, after a success day of work, I owed myself a treat. I was in Saratoga Springs, and was determined to treat myself to a fancy meal. Or at least a passionate meal.

After spending time on Yelp and Urban Spoon - I decided it was an easy choice. Since 1938, a restaurant in Saratoga Springs has been serving southern fried chicken.

Really? In upstate New York.

Hattie's has been serving southern cooking in Saratoga Springs since 1938. Hattie herself has passed away, but a chef couple has taken over, and have earned the reputation as the best southern cooking on the East coast - as well as an aware from Food and Wine as the best fried chicken in America.

Really? In New York?

Hattie Gray was raised in Saint Francisville, Louisiana, near Baton Rouge somewhere around 1900.
Her life started as a caretaker for a wealthy family that would travel back and forth from Miami to Saratoga Springs. Hattie worked for them for many years before eventually settling on her own in Saratoga Springs to open up Hattie's Chicken shack in 1938.

In describing Saratoga in the late 30's and 40's, Hattie said "Saratoga was fast, man; it was real fast. It was up all night long." Hattie's was open 24 hours a day in those days of gambling, speakeasies, and smoky jazz clubs.

The restaurant serves each night from 5pm until 9pm. I arrived at 8:30 - and within minutes, had the entire restaurant to myself. It seems that "chicken eating people" are not late night owl people - at least on Thursday night.

I ordered the famous fried chicken plate. But first, I ordered a plate of fried okra.

My grandmother was a chicken farm. It was a tradition on Sunday's to always have fried chicken. Over the years, I have tried a lot of fried chicken. And in fact, a recipe of my own fried chicken, using the secret ingredient of cinnamon, has appeared in a newspaper.

And so, I had high expectations.

But I can tell you. This was the best fried chicken I have tasted in at least 5 years.

Hattie's fried chicken, with hand smashed potatoes and collard greens, spiked with maple syrup.

The manager of the restaurant told me the chicken is fried very simply. No buttermilk. Just a light breading, but "par-fried." The chicken is fried partially, and then left to sit for awhile before the second frying.

If you are ever in upstate New York - you have to try Hattie's and their wonderful chicken and food!

Fried Okra with a basil garlic aoli.

The okra was so prefectly cooked - with such a thin, yet crispy dusting of flour coating.

Wonderful.

Day 11: New York Pub Food

I pulled into Saratoga Springs, NY after two plane rides and a car rental. By the time I arrived to the front desk of my hotel, it was about 10:20 pm. I asked this rather large Hilton hotel desk clerk what my best food options were.

She looked at her watch and said, "Whoa. Room service stopped at 10:00 pm. I am not sure what to tell you..."

I looked at her flabbergasted. I should have heeded my own advice, and stopped on the car ride from the airport to the hotel.

"Surely there is a place in town still serving food?"

She shook her head. But out of the corner behind me, the bellman - or night clerk - or perhaps even the night manager piped up. "Send him to Dango's."

I looked at him suspiciously. "They are still serving food until they close."

"And what time is that?" I asked him.

"Until 4:00 am. It is where everyone goes at the end of the night."

The front desk clerk looked down, careful not to make eye contact. Should I be worried, or simply assume she was not really a person who went out to pubs late at night.

The male bellman-clerk-manager person told me it was "right food."

I was hungry. And what the heck, I was ready for a small adventure for the night.

I headed out the hotel, and walked five blocks in the below freezingnight. I walked along a street called Caroline - and was surprised at the number of pubs that were indeed still open. But it looked to be mostly pizza. At the end of the block, I found a place called Dango Fitzgerald's. It claimed to be an Italian New York Restaurant

The restaurants claim to fame were the large flat screen TV's - both at bar area, but also in every booth. I was able to tune in and watch the last moments as KU annihilated Texas Tech.

It was definately a local bar. Within 2 minutes, a chap came out of the kitchen - walked by my booth - and then turned around and sat down. "Are you playing poker on your computer," he asked? I had opened up my laptop to do a bit of work as I worked on beer and food. I sort of shook my head.

"I am so damn pissed that they shut down online poker. They took $700 of mine. But you are cool. I a not drinking. I don't drink."

And then he staggered away. He might not be drinking - but they had something magical in that kitchen.

And so, in choosing what I was ordering for the night, I took into account my angry gambler non-drinking, but heavily influenced cook.

My waiter said they were famous for their "twenty-five cent" items. On Tuesday - it was the wings. "Too bad for you" she said. It was Thursday. But she told me, "It is steamer night." And so - I ended up with a plate of New England clam steamers (a dozen at only 25 cents each) plus a half dozen of Buffalo wings - and a pastrami sandwich.

If you are in upsate New York - you have to try the Buffalo wings, right? I ordered the extra spicy BBQ wings. It is what the waitress recommended. They were good - but who am I to know what New Yorker's think are great chicken wings. I am pretty sure these were not the best. But they offered a nice tang to my lips!

The steamers were good - and fresh. Definately the best of the night - especially since the entire dozen only cost me $4.

It was a nice slice of local life and an interesting night.

Day 10: Cornflakes on my sushi?

I am confused. Ok - so I get the idea that sushi rolls - all a riff on California Sushi rolls can be either a good respite for new sushi eater - or sushi eater that want to mix it up a little.

But at what point does it stop being sushi - an really become a fusion concoction that you wonder if you should be eating it.

I wanted to have sushi tonight. But I didn't have the time to go to a few favorite take away places for sushi. Instead, I opted for the local super market - who has obviously hired a person to come in an make sushi each day - in hopes to lure end of day shoppers to pick up a pack or two of sushi to go.

Fair enough. It was my choice.

But in the sushi shelf, there was a dish called the "chef's special." What the heck? Is that sushi with corn flakes on it? I always live to my mantra of "Try everything once." I had to purchase one - and taste it - to see what in the heck was going on. Was this like a box of cornflakes that the supermarket wanted to get rid of? And they said, "here sushi guy - let's see what you could make with this?"

 

 Cornflakes and tuna sushi roll?

It turns out that the flakes were not corn flakes - but onion flakes. Perhaps a little like a sushi chef who crumbles up "funyons" and puts them on sushi. 

But this makes me suspicious What is under those onion flakes? Fish you didn't want us to see? Something that needed to be covered up in taste?

I think we are going just a little too far in our pursuit to make sushi rolls that the "local joe" will like.

Having said that.... I did buy it. And it didn't taste awful.

Tomorrow, at the local supermarket, some local wanna be sushi maker, who happened to land a job at this supermarket, will come in to work, discover his "onion flake sushi" had been purchase, and think he had just made a great dish. I suspect there will be more of these rolls before I see salmon roll ikura.