[Cooking with Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food by Nik Sharma]

This month, I've been cooking from Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food by Nik Sharma and decided to start this thread to share and hopefully hear from others using the book.   Sharma is the author of the blog A Brown Table (link to recipe index here) and a recipe column, A Brown Kitchen, in the SF Chronicle, whose paywall thwarts my attempts to link to a listing of his recipes on their site.   The book features the specific, moody style of photographs that Nik uses on his blog.  His photography for the book earned him a James Beard  nomination, though he did not win the award.

The blog recipes are representative of the style of recipes in the book - most are recipes for dishes that are familiar to North American cooks but with seasonings or ingredients more frequently used in cuisines from other parts of the world, most often reflecting Sharma's years growing up in Bombay with a Hindu father from Utter Pradesh in the north and a Catholic mother from Goa in the south.  Some of the book recipes are similar to recipes on the blog but there are few, if any, exact duplicates.  For example, the recipe for Apple Masala Chai Cake in the book has been significantly streamlined from the one that appeared on the blog several years ago.  The Chronicle column has a recipe for Spiced Kefir Fried Chicken that shares similarities with, but is also different from, the Curry Leaf Popcorn Chicken in the book. 

Cooking from the book has the advantage of utilizing items from the "Staples" chapter:  condiments, sauces, pickles, spice blends, etc. that can be made once and used in multiple recipes.  The blog is very heavy on dessert recipes while the book is more balanced across the various recipe types.

 

I've cooked a number recipes and will will offer my bottom line here: I had concerns that the use of unusual ingredients was a conceit to make dishes seem different or novel but cooking through a number of recipes has given me an appreciation for Nik's style.  With almost every recipe, after making and tasting the dishes per the recipes in the book I've come away with ideas to play around with the ingredients or recipe in different ways.  With some books, reading the recipes alone provides that sort of inspiration.  With this book, it took some actual cooking to get there but doing so has earned Season a place on my shelf. 

 

I'll start off with such an example with the Apple Masala Chai Cake p 207 that I mentioned above.   It uses the Chai Masala spice blend p 264 that's also used to make the book's version of Masala Chai p 264.  Once the spice mix is prepared, it's quick and easy to add the masala component   to the cake recipe and the chai component comes from black tea leaves ground and mixed with the flour.   The blog version incorporates the flavors in a more convoluted way by making a tea concentrate but then needing to squeeze the moisture from the grated apples to compensate.  The recipe makes a 9" round cake.  I made a half-recipe in a 6-inch springform pan and use a mix of apple and pear.

It's a quick, easy cake.  Moist, but not heavy, with interesting flavors.  

Excellent with a mug of the masala chai from the book, which I've been drinking daily. 

 

 

[Ramp Oil - Helping a friend]

3 hours ago, TicTac said:

A friend of mine has access to a very large patch of Ramps in their forest and is considering making some Ramp Oil (using only sustainable harvesting techniques - aka leaving the roots in ground) for sale.

 

What would you folks pay for a 500ml jar of hand ground ramp oil (using good quality EVOO)?

 

I was thinking in the $20-30 range (for context, a small handful of ramps sell for $5 at markets here and a jar would take at least 3-4 times that much) but wanted to get feedback from others.

 

This stuff is gold, I have jars still in my freezer and it goes on almost everything!

 

My 2 cents:

If it's really great stuff, your friend might consider packaging it in smaller bottles: 100 ml - like artisanal balsamic - 125 ml or 250 ml 

I would be reluctant to pay $20 or $30 for something I've never tried but might go for a smaller bottle. 

Both of those first 2 comments are moot in my case because I'd never purchase infused oils prepared in a home kitchen because of botulism concerns. 

[The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)]

32 minutes ago, Okanagancook said:

Wow, what a pastry case!!  They must be busy.

Lunch looks delicious...not too much on the plate for once.

 

Yes, the place was started a few years ago by 2 brothers from Italy, Damiano and Massimiliano Carrara.  They have been quite successful with 2 locations and a lot of catering work.

 

[The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)]

Lunch @ Carrara Pastries with my cousin.

I had a Tri Tip Panino with coleslaw 

 

She had a Caprese Panino with truffle fries

 

They make their own gelato, which is excellent, but we were too full to have any today. We did take time to admire the pastries and cakes. 

 

Next time may be just dessert!

[Trader Joe's Products (2017–)]

57 minutes ago, MelissaH said:

Is that mango sauce the same amba that's used on sabich sandwiches? If it is, the frozen eggplant cutlets would make prep a snap.

 

Yes I believe it is supposed to be very close to that.  Eggplant is an excellent idea.  I thought it was very good on falafel.  I used homemade falafel and pita (from Shaya) I had stashed in the freezer but TJ's sells frozen falafel that would probably be good, too. 

Ottolenghi has a recipe for a yogurt/amba sauce that's about 50:50 if I remember correctly. I tried that with the TJ's mango sauce and it kind of got lost I needed to add some of the TJ's Yuzu kosho sauce to perk it up!

  

[The Ladies Who Lunch (Part 3)]

That's my kind of meal - lots of little tastes to enjoy!

Edited to add that I just looked at the menu and don't know how you managed to narrow it down - so many interesting choices!

[Grocery Shopping]

3 hours ago, gulfporter said:

We "commute" between our Mexico and Florida homes every few months, but only stay a week or so at the FL house so I don't do a lot of grocery shopping.  We keep butter in the freezer and it lasts us a long time.  But we ran out so I bought some this morning at Publix.  When the heck did Land O Lakes butter go to $5.50 a pound (even the store brand was just under 5 bucks)?  My best guess is the last time I bought butter was last Thanksgiving (or maybe earlier than that).  

 

Granted Publix is not a discount store but it is where I normally shop and my recollection is that the last time I bought butter it was in the 3 dollar a pound range.  

 

Food52 published this "best butter for baking" piece last month using prices from the NYC area. They're showing Land O' Lakes @ $4.89/lb, Whole Foods store brand @ $3.49 and Trader Joe's @ $2.99. 

I buy Kerrygold for the table and it's higher, $2.85/8 oz.  I haven't scoped out local prices for the others.

[Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 5)]

3 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

On the subject, can anyone tell me how to organize Kindle cookbooks (or any books, though it happens all but two or three of mine are cookbooks) on the iPad app by category?  In other words is there a way to make subfolders of books on the Kindle app?

 

 

I made a bookmark called Kindle and I apply it to all my Kindle books when I enter them.  If you've got a huge collection and need to go back and mark them, it's a bit of a bother but once it's done, it's handy.  You can pull up the whole list of Kindle books or use it in the search criteria for a book or recipe.

[Cookbooks – How Many Do You Own? (Part 5)]

When EYB came along, I was at a point where it was hard to justify purchasing any more cookbooks because it was easier to look up recipes on the internet, though the results were often of lesser quality than what was in my cookbook collection. 

My membership was the key to making good use of my books and generating quality search results from the blogs, magazines, newspaper columns, etc. that I follow. 

The current annual membership of $30/year is around the cost of one newly published cookbook.  Certainly more pricy than what I paid for a lifetime membership but it's a trade-off I'd make in a minute.  

@TdeV, it sounds like you would be happier investing that $30/year in lots of used cookbooks.  I can see that side of it but I'm happier making good use of the collection I own and adding to it judiciously.   It's all good!

[Missing: Celery leaves, parsley sold with roots, broccoli stalks]

Here's a photo I posted back in March with the sort of celery I generally find at my local farmers market.  I suspect that one is about 2 feet long so there are plenty of leaves!

Neither the parsley nor cilantro/coriander are sold with roots by most vendors.  There are a couple of vendors specializing in Asian vegetables who sell coriander roots but I have never seen parsley roots offered.

All the market vendors sell broccoli with the stems and usually plenty of leaves, too.  Grocery stores usually offer a choice of crowns-only or whole stalks. 

 

[Trader Joe's Products (2017–)]

These Banana Date Nut Crisps are nice:

I had them with some of the Silver Goat chèvre.  Nice for a snack with a cup of coffee...or glass of wine. 

My only complaint is that quite a few of them were broken.  Not an issue for me but annoying if you were planning to arrange them on a cheese platter for guests.

[New Anova Pro]

1 hour ago, cdh said:

 

Isn't Anova a lab equipment maker too?  I thought I remembered hearing that when they introduced their first models way back when.

 

You are correct.

Culinary Market Proves a Wise Choice for Lab Equipment Manufacturers

 

[What are these bright white spots on my chocolate?]

Now I need to go get one of the Bread & Chocolate bars from Theo.  They use butter but it's still a great combination and I'd love to try an olive oil version.

[Sharp countertop steam oven]

Last year, Jaden from Steamy Kitchen wrote up a review of this Sharp steam oven, including comparisons to the CSO with which she is familiar.   The Sharp has no steam-only setting and while the headspace is limited it appears to take up more counter space than then CSO.

 

1 hour ago, Anna N said:

I looked at the video for the Sharp and it tends to give you the impression that you can cook a chicken in there

 

1 hour ago, ElsieD said:

It seems the head space is rather small - only 4".  You cannot bake bread in it. 

 

Jaden agrees:

Quote

A drawback of the oven is height. There’s only 4″ of height available for your food. So back to my early convo about baking bread using steam….I could make dinner rolls, but wouldn’t be able to bake a loaf of bread in the oven. That also means a whole chicken would need to be spatchcocked or cut into pieces.

 

[fresh strawberries and salt]

On 4/28/2019 at 11:09 AM, highchef said:

Thinking to ramp it up, I consulted the Flavor Bible. No surprises with flavor combinations but a new category labeled "Avoid" with a single element...salt. 

Why?

Back to the strawberries, my first thought was that they're not one of the fruits that come first to my mind for inclusion in savory dishes, as compared with other fruits like citrus, stone fruits, other berries like blueberries, blackberries, etc. or even jams so I though there might be something to that.

On the other hand, one of my favorite salads is a spinach salad with fresh strawberries and feta (among other things) and if feta's not salt, I don't know what is so there are certainly exceptions to every rule!

[Breakfast 2019]

I saw @Anna N's plate of scrambled eggs and toast and decided it would be good start to the day:

Toast was rubbed with garlic and topped with some TJ's marinated antipasto vegetables

[New house, new kitchen]

12 minutes ago, kayb said:

The stove (and fridge) are Samsung. Got to give these folks credit; when they redid the kitchen, they did NICE appliances.

 

Will the appliances convey with the house?  Here, except for built-ins, they generally do not, unless it's specifically written into the contract.  Particularly true for fridges.

[Camping, Princess Style]

So, what did you think of the kid?  A dining companion ordered a roast shoulder of kid at a restaurant in Barcelona and that's the only time I tried it.  I was somewhat taken aback at the small size of the bones but I always want to try things and it was very good!,

[Popsicles]

First popsicles of the season.  Back to basics with straight up strawberry and strawberries and cream:

[Starting a high profile new restaurant (after closing another)]

What gorgeous photos - they did a beautiful job capturing the various textures and especially the glow of the natural woods.  I liked the linked photos to their party that shows people enjoying the space, the food, drinks and each other. 

I really need that coffee table ....and someone to come in and present me with an after dinner experience on the regular 🙃

 

When you have a moment,  a couple of questions based on previous discussions here.  First, what did you decide to do about music?  From listening to some of Dave Arnold's rants on Cooking Issues, it seems like such a difficult thing to manage both control and rights. 

Second, you mentioned the potential use of Alice Ballard's meditation bowls.  I'd love to see how you will use them.  After you mentioned her, I purchased a few of them myself and love their shapes, textures and colors.

 

[New house, new kitchen]

Beautiful!  Looks like a bright and beautiful space to cook in. 

[Crazy Good e-Book Bargains]

15 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I clicked on the Phillips book.  Though I have never had Dim Sum.  The one time when my family and I went for Dim Sum we all ordered other stuff.

 

 

I was lucky enough to have received my dim sum training from Chinese friends.  I remember an occasion back in the very early '80s probably, when LA's Chinatown still had more dim sum places than the San Gabriel Valley and the bill was still figured by counting up the plates. A Caucasian couple was seated within earshot and were clearly unfamiliar with the offerings so they asked the server what they were.  She lifted the lid from the first stack of steamers on her cart and tilted one so they could see the contents and shouted, "MEAT INSIDE!"  She did the same with her next stack, a completely different item, and again loudly intoned, "MEAT INSIDE!"  and yes, she said the same thing a third time for her last offering.   I can't remember what the items were but I think one was shrimp, one pork and maybe something with chicken.   Those diners could certainly have used that field guide! 

[Trader Joe's Products (2017–)]

I used some of the semi-dried cherry tomatoes in a quick pasta with broccoli and hot Italian sausage

Flavor-wise, they're similar to sun-dried tomatoes packed in olive oil.   You can probably tell from the photo that they retain more moisture than regular sun-dried so their texture is less dry and more tender.   

And since they're little cherry tomatoes, there's no need to chop them up, a nice convenience for me at the moment. 

I need to make some bruschetta with them next.  

[Kitchen gadgets for those with injuries & disabilities]

Resurrecting an old thread to add this comment about something that's not exactly a gadget but may be helpful to those dealing with hand, wrist or arm bandages that prevent wearing gloves.

I've found that Glad Press 'N Seal wrap can be used to make a water-resistant covering to keep bandages clean and dry during various kitchen activities.  It adheres nicely to itself and to the skin.  Multiple, narrow strips can be used to wrap around fingers, etc. Just make sure to press on the edges to seal them.  It's relatively easy to remove and replace if it gets dirty.   Also easy to wrap around the end of a bag and seals it nicely to your skin if you need to cover your whole hand.  

I don't think I'd fully immerse my hand in water but it's let me use that hand to hold a dish while I scrub it with my other hand and everything stayed dry and tidy. 

Like any sort of plastic covering, you wouldn't want to leave it on long term as it would get sort of steamy but it's very handy in the short term.  

[Crazy Good e-Book Bargains]

The other day, I picked up the Kindle version of The Dim Sum Field Guide: A Taxonomy of Dumplings, Buns, Meats, Sweets, and Other Specialties of the Chinese Teahouse by @Carolyn Phillips for $1.99 US, sadly not similarly reduced on Amazon.ca

I'd been intrigued by this since it came out as it sounded terribly cute but I didn't want to spend $15 dollars on it.  I knew the book contained the author's own drawings of the various sorts of dim sum and was worried that it might be awkwardly laid out in the Kindle version. The "Look Inside" feature didn't display any of the actual listings but I figured it was worth a try for $1.99 and was pleased to find that it actually works quite well with a hyperlinked table of contents, index and handy links to related items within the text.  There's a nice intro to dim sum up front, which you can see via "Look Inside," followed by individual listings for  a pretty wide assortment of dim sum items.  It's a charming little book.   

 

Here's one of the listings, captured from my phone so you can see that it is indeed a field guide and not a cook book as some negative Amazon reviews apparently thought.  The inclusion of a section on "Nesting Habits" cracks me up!