I swore that if I failed to post at least one recipe for ramps this season, then I would deport myself to the nearest city with a Chinatown (because a Filipino needs a local source for patis – see blog name). Ramps are the stinky wild leeks after which Chicago was named after all.
The local [...]
Do you notice how these pane francese photos seem to be taken at a peculiar angle? How they show most of the loaf surface area but not quite the entire picture? There’s a reason for that. The hidden cropped areas is where the bread exploded like bats out of a cave.
The original recipe specifically advises [...]
This month’s Bread Baking Day brings us starch-on-starch action by way of potatoes on pizza. If you cook Italian food every once in a while, you probably already have potatoes, rosemary, onions, and extra virgin olive oil ready to go.
There’s just one caveat — you’ll need an active liquid wild yeast starter for the biga [...]
This five-grain walnut bread marks a year of bread baking with others equally passionate about the craft. Who knew that people actually took time to master a recipe, take photos, and share knowledge with like-minded folks? I’m now convinced that you can find anything on the interwebs.
What started off as an occasional substitution for rice [...]
Marcella Hazan reassures in her trademark impassioned tone, “Only an active campaign of sabotage could ruin it,” as if to say, “You can’t possibly screw this up, you donkey.” With that in mind, I’ve never had as much confidence in trying out a new recipe.
She insists on using Bosc or Anjou pears and singles out [...]
Not getting enough butternut in your risotto? Has this ever happened to you? (Warning: video contains choice words from British chef)
This basic butternut squash risotto recipe comes from a less disgruntled (gruntled?) British chef whose cooking style I really admire. The dish may be simple, but the garnish makes it a bit more interesting.
In addition [...]
This is, without a doubt, the best recipe for pizza dough I’ve ever tried. Chilled flour, ice-cold water, salt, and a small amount of yeast are mixed together and immediately refrigerated in this unique method that draws out the complex flavors locked inside the flour. This delayed fermentation process is arguably the most important, and [...]
View Pizza Napoletana Margherita - Neapolitan-Style Pizza Recipe »
Pane Francese is the bastard lovechild of the baguette and the ciabatta, melding the best qualities of each iconic bread into rustic loaves. Shaped into long sticks like its French archetype, the crust-to-crumb ratio is maximized, making it a great accompaniment to rich soups and stews. The high hydration characteristic of the ciabatta, at 76% [...]
View Pane Francese Recipe - The Italian take on French Bread »
No, I didn’t confuse my (non-existent) French and Italian. This formula for Italian ciabatta uses French terminology because it’s from Eric Kayser, well-renowned in Paris for his breads and pastries. In a city saturated with driven artisans dedicated to their craft, Maison Kayser still manages to consistently rank high among the best Parisian bakeries.
Even more [...]
I grinned like an idiot as I lifted the dark brown loaves from the charred baking stone with bare hands. The soft crust smiled back with its wide open slashes, a sight that every bread maker hopes for upon opening the oven door. It didn’t matter that my calloused fingertips started to burn or that [...]
View Pane al Cioccolato - Italian Chocolate Bread recipe »
Famous for dishes that highlight quinto quatro, the “fifth quarter” or oft-ignored parts of an animal, Rome sounds like my kind of town. Alla vaccinara is old Roman for “butcher’s style” and no other cut could be more appropriate for such a designation than oxtail. Unappealing to most, a butcher would know that when properly [...]
View Coda alla Vaccinara recipe »
At the risk of getting called a donkey, this Italian antipasto recipe from Gordon Ramsay is hereby dubbed rolls of zucchini instead of courgettes. Slivered almonds are folded into a creamy mixture of ricotta cheese, basil, and lemon juice to create the filling. Nestled in paper-thin strips of zucchini and drizzled with olive oil and [...]
View Ricotta-Stuffed Zucchini Rolls - Gordon Ramsay Recipe »
This is the 100% whole grain version of Italian panmarino, or rosemary potato loaf, my favorite bread for dipping in olive oil. Both formulas are adapted from Peter Reinhart, the person responsible for tearing this Asian away from his daily rice-and-noodles-as-staple habit. In my kitchen, one can find flour-crusted bannetons, linen couches, and enough flour [...]
View Whole Grain Rosemary Potato Bread recipe »
Having good bread and olive oil is always a comforting way to start a meal. This Italian loaf baked with rosemary and mashed potatoes is my idea of the perfect dipping bread. Each of the three elements, the bread itself, the rosemary, and the potatoes, have a natural affinity with olive oil. Combining everything in [...]
View Rosemary Potato Bread recipe »
This sweet red wine granita is quite possibly the sneakiest way to incapacitate boring (or bored) guests. Do your visitors think they’re too sophisticated to get plastered? Call it a “Citrus-Infused Frozen Sangria Sorbet” and they’ll be downing Jager Bombs in no time. Having meatheads over to watch a UFC pay-per-view? Claim that your antioxidant-rich [...]
View Red Wine Granita recipe »
