A cook looks back and looks forward
It’s the eve of a new year and time to take stock.
A year ago, I resolved to build my personal cookbook collection, starting with “How to Cook Everything” by Mark Bittman. Done. I also added “The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook” by Deb Perelman, “My Paris Kitchen” by David Lebovitz, and a half-dozen others, which I am still poring over.
I made dandelion fritters with Serena Thompson in her Green Bluff kitchen. Actually, she made them and I photographed them, but we both ate them. Her recipe ran in June. My editor counts it as fulfilling my “cook with flowers” resolution, so I will, too.
Squash blossom and lilac ice cream recipes also appeared in the pages of the Food section this year. But the red rose candy didn’t. My taste testers complained it tasted like their grandmother’s lotion.
I attended, but technically didn’t take, a cooking class at Inland Northwest Culinary Academy After Dark at Spokane Community College during the summer. The story ran Oct. 1.
I promised to make something – anything – from one of Julia Child’s cookbooks, and in November, I tried her famous recipe for boeuf bourguignon from “Mastering the Art of French Cooking.” Despite a few rookie mistakes, it turned out beautifully. I’m looking forward to making it again. “Here’s the boeuf” ran Nov. 12.
Also in November, I hauled out Grandma’s antique, hand-cranked meat grinder to make pierogi just like she used to do. Well, maybe not exactly like she used to. My method includes inviting a bunch of people over for a pierogi-making party (read: sweatshop). Beer and bourbon were involved. So was boiling up a few big batches, then frying the pierogi in browned butter and bread crumbs to reward my “workers.” The story ran Nov. 30.
Throughout the year, I restocked the bar, tried to shop locally and seasonally – particularly at the Thursday Market in the South Perry district – and roasted a duck.
I didn’t make caramels. But I did make English toffee for the monthly “In the Kitchen with …” feature, which launched last January. That was another goal: to cook with and learn from readers who want to share their favorite tried-and-true recipes. I’m planning to keep that project going.
I’m having fun, learning a lot and putting on a few pounds. Maybe more salads should be a goal? Here are resolutions for the coming year:
• Make macarons. These sweet, French, meringue-based sandwich cookies are America’s new cupcakes. They’re beautiful, dainty and delicate – but maybe also a little high-maintenance. I can’t wait to attempt them. In pistachio, rose, almond, vanilla, lavender, hazelnut, chocolate, lemon, salted caramel …
• Grow my own. Even if it’s only more herbs, I’m going to grow something besides basil on the back deck.
• Roll my own. Sushi, that is.
• Fit for a king. A regal crown roast makes a stunning centerpiece. Majestic and elegant, this holiday main is a sight to behold – and I can’t wait to make it.
• Duck, duck, goose. This year, I roasted my first duck using a 1938 Dorothy Dean recipe. In 2015, I’m going for a goose. I might even use another vintage recipe from The Spokesman-Review’s former home economics department, discontinued more than 30 years ago.
• Revisit Julia. First, boeuf bourguignon. Now, coq au vin. I plan to pay homage to Julia Child again this year by preparing her rooster with red wine recipe.
• Make Babcia’s chrusty. Pronounced HRROOSS-tee, these deep-fried Polish cookies, cut and folded in the shape of angel wings and dusted with powdered sugar, were a favorite treat when I was a girl. I always thought they looked like bows, the kind you would find topping presents. Also called chrusciki (pronounced hrrooss-CHEE-kee), Grandma’s cookies truly were little gifts.
As for those salads, well, maybe in 2016.