La Quinta, California: Of course, I ordered Ina Garten's memoir Be Ready When the Luck Happens, but before I started reading, learned The Contessa herownself had narrated the audio version. I just love love love it when the author reads their own audio book. Usually I listen to audio books while stitching because I can't read while needlepointing and I can't needlepoint while reading. Killing two birds with one stone? The book will be donated to our town library - I bet there is a long waiting list for The Barefoot Contessa.
Kitchen Machines
There was a significant development in our my kitchen recently. The 10+ year old bread machine died. It was making a terrible whirring sound that could be heard throughout the entire house. Though the motor was still performing, I Googled around, took the thing apart, oiled it, and... well... it didn't help at all.
Thing is... I have never ever baked in this machine. I have only used it for mixing, kneading, and proofing. So I started using the Kitchenaid stand mixer with the dough hook attachment to make bread dough. This was fine for a few weeks, even though the dang thing is so heavy I can hardly lift it. (This will be installed when/if the kitchen remodel ever happens.) More searching found a machine that mixes and kneads dough, then proofs the dough only. You can set the amount of time for each event. The Bear Electric Dough Maker is made in China (so was my fancy bread machine), but does the job and is very light weight. It's kinda purple though and does make a little whirring sound. I've used it to mix a few loaves:
The 4L's gave me a tortilla press for my birthday. I was surprised to learn how easy this project was... and how satisfying it is to peel a perfectly round tortilla from the press. I used the purple machine to process the tortilla dough.
I've now made two types of bread, and both corn and flour tortillas in the little machine, and am satisfied the little purple machine will work for my needs. The stand mixer can be used if I want to bake a loaf of larger/heavier bread.
Chicken au Poivre
A while ago, New York Times Cooking featured a Kay Chun recipe for Chicken au Poivre (gift link), which I suppose is the poultry version of steak poivre? It did sound like a good idea, but could not imagine making Steak au Poivre (it just means steak with pepper) without cognac... so I did use cognac to finish the sauce and used tarragon instead of thyme. (I do use thyme when making this dish with beef.)
I follow Jacques Pepin (now in his 90s!) on Instagram. He posts often, usually standing in front of the cooktop in his very crowded Connecticut kitchen. This old cook has learned many new tricks from Mr. Pepin. He surprises me often - like when he opens a can of cream of mushroom soup to add to a recipe. What? A French chef? On Tuesdays, he preps a "budget friendly" meal. He taught me to cook bone-in/skin-on chicken thighs by placing the thighs upside down in a cold non-stick skillet, turn on the heat, and to not touch the thighs for 20 minutes. No oil is added to the pan, but the fat is rendered from the skin, developing a lovely glaze.
This is exactly how I started my version of Chicken au Poivre, but I cooked the thighs uncovered. When the chicken was crispy crunchy, it was removed to a plate and covered while the shallots were sauteed and the sauce was finished. Then the chicken was added back to the sauce (skin side up!) to finish cooking for a few minutes. So easy. So pretty. Instead of noodles, I served the chicken on the sauce alone, with a few chunks of that pretty sourdough baguette.
No Din Tai Fung
Since we don't have a Din Tai Fung in this town, I recreated several of our Taiwanese favorites for dinner one night and we ate on the mahjong/tea table in our kitchenette. (I had this table copied from the ones in the the tea house in the Grand Hotel in Taipei... ahem... 38 years ago.) I make these foods quite often, but tonight styled them as they are presented at Din Tai Fung. Well, except for the potstickers... they just kinda were plopped on a plate:
Taiwan Pickle is just Persian cucumbers in rice vinegar, maybe a little sesame oil, salt, chili flakes or a bit of oil from a jar of chile crisp. At Din Tai Fung, the cukes are very artfully stacked.
It is not uncommon in Taiwan to add raw egg to leftover cold rice before frying for a fried rice dish. I really like this little trick. This dish is usually started by scrambling an egg or two, then removing it from the wok. Then the eggy rice is fried with whatever else is on the menu and the scrambled egg is added back to the potion just before serving. Din Tai Fung molds their fried rice in a bowl and turns it out onto a plate to serve. Very pretty. This was my favorite lunch at the Taipei American Club, where they also had diced carrots in the mixture.
Notice anything missing? Nope. There is nothing missing. Soy sauce does not belong in fried rice. Ever.
My Sad Tale
Since we would be on a cruise over Thanksgiving and not sure of the quality of the meal (for 3-4000 people) on the ship, I went ahead a pre-prepped the ingredients so we could have a homemade Thanksgiving. Dave's boyhood friend/teammate and his wife were returning to the desert for the winter, so this meal would be the perfect opportunity to get together again.
I really like the gravy and dressing from Williams-Sonoma, so had that on hand. Trader Joe had cranberry sauce in a jar, and brined turkey breasts. All I needed were green beans for a simple Thanksgiving re-creation. Sadly, Thursday morning I woke with a terrible sore throat and a low fever. Dang, I just knew I had caught COVID on that damn boat. The tests were negative. So odd. I was basically the only person on the entire ship wearing a mask and I was sick? Not fair! This is the first time I have had a "cold" since prior to the pandemic. (I've also had a flu shot and about 300 COVID vaccines/boosters.) We had to cancel dinner with our friends, but had to cook the turkey breast as I had thawed the bird.
I can't tell you how awful the turkey smelled while in the oven. You know that wonderful turkey smell on Thanksgiving Day? Nope, not here. This thing smelled of an awful herb combination. No problem, I knew the dressing and gravy would be good and even I can't mess up green beans. When the turkey was finished cooking, we let it rest for 20 minutes, but the moment DT went in to carve, we knew we were going to McDonald's for dinner. (Just kidding.) The herb combination used to brine the bird was so salty. I mean we puckered. DT took one bite, cringed, and he really never notices if something needs/does not need salt. The smell was bad enough, but the overpowering sodium punch made the turkey inedible. The turkey was not spoiled, just over-seasoned by 10x. Plus, it was ugly.
The meal on the cruise ship was 100 times better than the Trader Joe bird!
So, we had delicious dressing, creamy savory gravy, lovely green beans and a dab of cranberry sauce for dinner. I snapped photos of the tags on the bird packaging and will be requesting a refund from my favorite trader. And... I've never been so happy to be ill. What if our friends had been here to witness/smell this disaster! We would have all had to go to McDonalds!
Until my next update, I remain, your "felling better today" correspondent.
Ugh, a cold–so glad to read you are feeling better! I had one of those amazing mixer lift gadgets in the kitchen of the house we just sold south of Tucson–it was awesome! I am almost finished with Ina Garten’s book–have loved it! You always inspire me to try new recipes–makes my husband groan (he likes the same things, over and over)–but occasionally he likes something new I prepare.
I had the same experience with the Trader Joe’s breast 2 years ago. Our daughter was giving birth over Thanksgiving so I planned a nice, home cooked Thanksgiving meal for Saturday. The breast was terrible! You have to go some for the hospital turkey dinner to beat the home cooked one.