Culinary Agoge

Spaghetti with Homemade Marinara Sauce

One of the great things about building confidence with cooking is experimentation. Knowing that there isn’t a “right” answer, but many that are subjectively better than others is a great relief. Tonight I was looking for something simple to make for dinner. Spaghetti was among a few choices at the top of the list, but I did not have a sauce. Not wanting to make another white sauce, I figured I could try my hand at a simple red sauce. Over the weekend, I watched an episode of the Barefoot Contessa where she made a simple marinara sauce. It seemed like an easy task and I was inspired to experiment. On my way home, I stopped at the grocery store and picked up a big 28 ounce can of the crushed tomatoes and followed her recipe for marina sauce.

I didn’t have any parsley, so I opted for basil instead; I have some growing in my window sill. Additionally I added more pepper for a spicier result. For a fraction of the cost, I was able to make a sauce equal to or slightly better than other store bought varieties. I have had better, but this one wasn’t bad. The sauce was a bit acidic, probably because of the recipe calls canned tomatoes over fresh which I have found to be much sweeter. I’ll have to try those next time for further experimentation.

Truth be told, cooking shows make everything look so easy. That’s what they are supposed to do. People don’t like complicated. This recipe was no exception and lived up to the simplicity promised saved for one exception. When done, pouring the contents from pan to storage container can be a bit tricky and messy. Also, the sauce tends to create a mess on the stove as it cooks, as tiny drops bubble over onto the stove surface. TV doesn’t like messy and these parts are nicely edited out.

The satisfaction of making a sauce and knowing you can play with the ingredients to suit your tastes has no comparison. The minor inconveniences are far outweighed by the end results. Now I have good sauce in the fridge and freezer which can be easily heated up and enjoyed later as part of another meal.

Peach Golden Cake

All indicators today pointed a quiet Thursday night at home, but I wasn’t in the mood to be idle. Pâte à choux is next in my Cooking Through Ratio series, although the thought of making puff pastry with some sort of filling did not seem appealing to me.  After a long day, even the most inspired cook can dread the kitchen at times.

Today was the last day of my sister Ashley’s internship at the company where I work. I wanted to make something simple and yet nice for the occasion. My parents would be arriving to pick her up while also dropping off a new clothes dresser. The pressure was on.

We drove back to my apartment and as we walked up the stairs I had yet to come up with an idea. I checked the mail and to my surprise the first issue of my Gourmet Magazine subscription had arrived. Ashley and I climbed the stairs to my apartment while I eagerly unwrapped the magazine from its plastic cover. As I thumbed the pages, I came across a recipe for Nectarine Golden Cake. It called my name. This is what I would make…well sort of.

The recipe was simple and straightforward and thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.  One thing that I did note was that having the preparation time and elapsed time as part of the recipe made planning and execution easier, defining a key variable. I was less stressed knowing approximately how much time I had.

One of the things I enjoy about cooking and my new found confidence coupled with my increasing knowledge is improvisation. I now view recipes as guides instead of absolutes. To be clear I am referring to ingredients and not the ratio between them. For instance, the recipe calls for nectarines. I have peaches. It also calls for almond extract. Don’t have that. It calls for grated nutmeg. Mine is store bought powder.  You get the idea. The essence of this cake was still there and the result was delicious, pulled out of the oven just in time as my parents arrived.

Confidence and creativity in cooking and life breed success. A year ago my cake could have been store bought. Now with a quick read of a recipe I’m able to make modifications to suit my needs. Creating recipes, now that’s where I want to be.

Carrot Soup

I had the day off from work today and decided to take care of two nagging things on my to-do list. I started off with getting my car muffler and exhaust pipe repaired and then made a trip to Trader Joe’s for groceries. I even managed to fit in a gym workout to burn off some of the excess calories from last night’s food orgy.

Fixing my car set the tone for the rest of the day. With the repairs setting me back over $700, my desires for food purchases were tempered and I was forced to be more cost conscious. I wanted to step out of my comfort zone and work on something new having been inspired by the Taste of Cambridge food festival I had just attended. I am currently reading The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen by Jacques Pépin, who’s cooking is deeply rooted in frugality and simplicity having grown up in war torn France during the second World War and have enjoyed his descriptions of simple classical French cuisine that he prepared as he learned how to cook. While thinking about what to get I also thought about Thomas Keller’s view on food as described in The Soul of a Chef: The Journey Toward Perfection by Michael Ruhlman and his view of food and simplicity, taking one ingredient and making it the very best it can be. Using simplicity as my inspiration and cost as my guide for food purchases I settled on an something I rarely eat let alone cook with. I chose a carrot as a foundation for my dinner and decided to make a simple soup out of it. 89 cents for a one pound bag of organic carrots was a deal I could not pass up.

The process for making the soup was was really easy and the result was absolutely amazing. The salt and pepper added to the intense and fresh flavor of the carrots. I felt like I could relate to and understand both Pépin and Keller making a simple dish that wasn’t muddled with too many ingredients and flavors, producing out of this world results with plenty left over to be enjoyed in the future alone as a stand alone meal or as a component of another. The steps I took for making the soup are outlined below. Enjoy!

Carrot Soup Recipe:

Ingredients:
2 lbs. of carrots
2 cups water
Kosher Salt
Black Pepper

Hardware:
Soup Pot
Immersion Blender or Food Processor

Directions:
Wash and peel the carrots and cut them into small 1/4 inch pieces. Put them into a pot. Add 2 cups of water or more if necessary so that the carrots are covered. Bring the pot to a simmer. When the carrots are tender, puree them with an immersion blender or in a food processor until they reach the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper to taste ensuring that it is well mixed. Serve in a cup or bowl and enjoy hot.

Carrot Soup: Ready for Serving

Cassie's Peach Cobbler

As I have mentioned before, and as it has been noted by many others, food is a great way to pass down family history and convey a story. Last weekend, Cassie shared her mother’s recipe for peach cobbler with me so that I could make it at home. The recipe itself is simple, and yet what it evokes is complex and emotional. She shared memories of making it with her mom and the smells that would fill the kitchen as it baked, bringing me into her world and her family history, and now I have another recipe that I can incorporate into my own history and pass down.
One of the hardest things for me to deal with as I improve my culinary skills is inexactness. The hundreds of pages that I have read from various texts along with the countless hours of Food Network, Travel Channel and public television shows on food, as well as my basics class have already trained me to think in exact measurements and about cooking food as a science. The scientific approach to food is at odds with the pleasure of passing down simple recipes founded on intuition.
Cassie’s Peach Cobbler
Ingredients:

6 Peaches
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Hardware:
9×9 baking dish

Cassie's Peach Cobbler: Ingredients

Directions:
Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees (F). Slice the peaches into wedges and place them into a buttered or non-stick baking dish. In a bowl, mix the flour, sugar and milk together until well mixed. Pour the contents of the bowl over the peaches so that they are well coated.

Cassie's Peach Cobbler: Prepared

Put the peaches into the pre-heated oven for 1 hour or until golden brown.

Cassie's Peach Cobbler: Baked