06.22.09
Posted in The Story, My Cookbook at 6:16 pm by Chef Matt
It’s funny how every day I think about what it is I’m going to work on for my cookbook. Do I make up a new recipe and give it a shot? Do I try a new revision of a previous recipe that dawned on me when I gave it it’s first test run? Or do I just screw it all and eat out instead? (Anything but Italian…)
Mmmm… starch. |
And of course I have to choose between working on antipasto dishes versus pasta dishes versus polenta and so forth. I have to keep all the chapters afloat like an expert plate-spinner if only so I don’t get too tired of one type of Italian food. (No matter what I choose though, my starch intake remains firmly through the roof…)
There is the other decision that has to be made whenever I try a new recipe. Does this recipe have potential, and thus just needs a tweaking or slight revision, or is it so far off the mark that is has to be scrapped? As luck would have it, I’ve only had one recipe so far that I felt needed to be thrown out completely. It involved sugar snap peas, bacon, mint and balsamic vinegar. And we’ll never speak of it again.
But the best part so far is the recipes that are so good, that are hitting on all cylinders, that people are already asking me for copies of the recipes so they can make these dishes themselves. I guess the question is - do I share the recipe with them, or tell them to wait for my cookbook to come out?…
To help illustrate this dilemma in my head that I find myself faced with, I will re-use a previous photo I made for this blog:
Of course I never choose the “Dickhead” route in this situation…
But tonight is time to re-work the cauliflower pasta recipe. I’m gonna give it a shot as a risotto instead. We’ll see where that takes us, and who knows? If it works for me, maybe I’ll finally share it here with y’all!
Chef Matt
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06.10.09
Posted in The Story, My Cookbook at 7:40 pm by Chef Matt
A lot of the recipes I have for this cookbook are ones that I have made over the years, and I’m practically using the cookbook as an excuse to write them down for the first time. However, there are others that actually seem to come to me from the ether. Recipes that just appear in my head for one reason or another which need to be worked on and tested, because I think that they may actually show promise.
One such recipe came to me while I was taking a brief nap one afternoon. I was lying on the couch, and suddenly the flavors of olives and hot peppers on spaghetti started to come to me, and so I awoke with a recipe idea that I needed to write down right away. I actually ran it by some friends of mine as well, asking for some input as to what the “green” element of the pasta should be. I’m playing with the name “Pasta alla Swan” for this recipe as it develops right now, since that’s the nickname of my friend who came up with the winning idea.
Who am I to question where inspiration comes from?… |
A different recipe came to me when I saw a beautiful head of cauliflower at the farmer’s market the other day. Sure, it was obviously out of season, but hey, inspiration happens where it happens. I wanted to make a dish that used brown butter and cauliflower on a pasta dish. I started working with other flavors that go great with cauliflower. Flavors like hot pepper, garlic, Parmesan, almonds, walnuts, parsley and scallions were all tested in my trial runs for the dish. The result was a sauce where blanched cauliflower was browned in butter with almonds, then garlic, a little bit of red cherry peppers and scallions were added and heated through. When the pasta was cooked, it was coated with a tablespoon of butter and some breadcrumbs. Then the cauliflower mixture was stirred in, and the plates were topped with Parmesan and parsley.
The result was good…but not great. The real problem is that the flavor was one that slowly built in complexity and depth as you ate the dish, which is true of so many dishes that feature cauliflower. Everyone who has tried this recipe so far was uninterested at first, but by the end was begging for seconds. I need a better way to make the dish really jump out at people and have more kick from the start. If only there was some way to push that desire for more with every bite people take – not just the last few.
If you’re doing cauliflower, it better have garlic. But that’s just me… |
After kicking a few other flavor ideas around in my head, I decided to turn the whole problem on its head. Instead of a pasta, why not make it a risotto instead? A rich, creamy, garlicky risotto into which I stir the brown butter, cauliflower and peppers at the end, and then top it with scallion greens, Parmesan and parsley. The flavor profile would be very similar, but maybe with this more strongly flavored base, I could perhaps have a recipe that was top-notch from the first bite to the last.
But as it stands, I have no idea. That is the next test I have to try. It’s a rough business making a cookbook from scratch - especially with no publisher helping me to foot the bills at this point. But all the same, it’s not so bad eating the test results as I go!
Now I just need to go out and buy another head of cauliflower…
Chef Matt
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06.05.09
Posted in Other Fun, My Cookbook at 3:32 pm by Chef Matt
Those of you who have been following the story, know that when I was in culinary school, I had to take classes in pastry arts and desserts and so forth. It was fun, but it was hardly my specialty.
My carrot cake from culinary school. It tasted OK, but hardly one that should be sold professionally. |
I tried my best, and the food tasted OK, but I would never think of my making of cookies and cakes as being something I was particularly talented at - nor would it be something I would take up as my full-time profession.
It’s not that I think I’m hopeless. With practice, I can work a pastry bag with enough quality, and I know how to apply a crumb coat. I just think it’s that I know the life of a pastry chef is not for me, so I’m not going down that route myself. Getting up at 3 AM (or earlier!) and baking like crazy all day. It’s rough.
And worst of all, in a baking recipe, you can make a little mistake at step 2 in a 12 step process, and not know about it until the end. And there is nothing you can do about it. When I mess up, I just reduce some wine and stock, brown some shallots and cover that mess up! Easy as can be!
No, my friends who are great bakers and dessert makers have always impressed me and while I don’t want to live the life they lead, I still have nothing but the highest respect for all of them.
As far as I’m concerned though, I think I’m gonna keep ordering cookies and cakes from the professionals. Maybe a “Dessert of the Month” subscription would be a better idea - if only to make people think I’m coming up with new ideas… 
Ooh! I get to use this photo again! Don’t they look awesome?!? |
But even still, I’m going to need to come up with some dessert recipes for my cookbook. I have about three done so far. I’m just going to have to learn how to make cannolis. Simple as that…
Chef Matt
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