Reputation Makers

[Peter the eater]

The responses here are inspiring, and the question has been in my head all day.

When I was a kid, I went through a phase of being keenly interested in my friend's mom Anna. She did everything different from regular moms -- her reputation was based on never over-cooking anything. The roast was pink, veggies were crisp, and the fish never flaked apart easily.

[Fat Guy]

The Kitchen-Scale Manifesto topic just reminded me of one additional reputation maker. It's the only thing I ever bake. I'm lucky to be married to a good baker, and the division of kitchen labor is typically that I cook and she bakes. But one day I got stuck making cornbread because I had no support team during dinner prep. I grabbed the CIA Pro-Chef cookbook, now several editions out of print, and didn't see a cornbread recipe as such but found a corn muffin recipe with a note that the batter can be used for cornbread: "VARIATION Cornbread: Prepare batter as directed above, and scale into small loaf pans (for individual loaves) or small cast iron skillets or pans."

Even that seemed too ambitious for me so I used two standard American 9"x13"x2" baking pans. In my cabinet I had some superior-quality cornmeal, given to us as a gift by a friend in North Carolina, from the Old Mill of Guilford. (In fancy restaurants in New York these days, Anson Mills corn products have become trendy, but I think the Old Mill of Guilford makes an even better product that's cheaper to boot.) I also ignored -- because I was in a rush not because I don't believe the theory -- the various labor-intensive instructions like "cream together the sugar, shortening and salt" and "sift together the flour and the baking powder (two times)." I simply put a bowl on my kitchen scale and added the ingredients in the order listed, then mixed with a wooden spoon until I had batter. I had no idea what kind of shortening was called for (the recipe just says "Shortening") so I used corn oil because, well, it seemed appropriate to use corn oil for cornbread. The recipe called for pastry flour but I used all-purpose.

This cornbread came out so well, I got more requests for the recipe than for any other item I've baked. I believe 100% of the people we served it to asked for the recipe either on the spot or in follow-up email. But the recipe isn't the important part. It's the quality of the cornmeal that makes the biggest difference. Try this with off-the-shelf supermarket cornmeal and you'll get an ordinary cornbread. Make it with the good stuff and it's exceptional.

Every attempt I've made to improve on that first attempt -- adding cheese or whole corn kernels, reducing the amount of sugar -- has backfired. It's one of those recipes that, for me, works well this way and no other.

Sugar 450 grams (1 pound)

Corn oil 225 grams (8 ounces)

Salt 15 grams (1/2 ounce)

Eggs 225 grams (8 ounces)

Milk 680 grams (1.5 pounds) (whole, skim and in-between work fine)

Cornmeal 450 grams (1 pound)

Flour 680 grams (1.5 pounds)

Baking powder 40 grams (1.5 ounces)

Add ingredients in that order, mix with a spoon, divide between two 9"x13"x2" baking pans, bake at 425 F for approximately 20 minutes (until light brown on top).

[melonpan]

Now I see that the recipe is all over the internet, spread by a couple of bloggers -- Baking Beast and Taste Goblet (who at least did credit eGullet.org, if not me), so I guess it's not "mine" anymore. Oh well.

Browned Butter Crisps

...

i have made these! SO GOOD! wish that you were attributed directly. at least i can thank you here for coming up with the recipe!

[Lilija]

I've been thinking long and hard about this. I couldn't think of anything, initially. I have a few great desserts, but nothing really showstopping or in a heavy rotation. Then I remembered the Chicken and Dumplings.

First, it's entirely mine. I learned chicken soup at my Polish grandmother's side, and have made it my own. The broth includes a whole chicken, a mess of chicken feet, extra wings, carrots, onions, celery, turnips and parsnips, all simmered till it falls apart, strained and the chicken picked over. The dumplings are a long-tweaked egg noodle recipe enriched with extra egg and butter, cut painstakingly into a thousand tiny pillows. They're dusted with a lot of extra flour, and they go into the pot with all that extra flour clinging to them, along with the best bits of the chicken, more carrots and celery, some fresh parsley, dill and a load of black pepper. It takes forever to cook. When I make it, I set aside an entire day. This goes without saying, but it also makes enough to feed a small third-world country.

The results are a huge bowl of extremely rich, glossy, deep gold, heavy broth, that is so loaded with collagen it makes your lips stick together. The broth just fills in the space around chicken, toothsome yet light dumplings, and veggies. Not exactly soup. It's my gift to sick friends. This won't just make you feel better, it'll bring you back from the dead. It's textbook comfort food, presented at my personal best.

It's a reputation maker. It once brought a friend of mine to tears. It's requested heavily by friends and family as soon as the weather gets cold. In fact, I think I know what I'm doing this Saturday. My best friend has been pestering me to make this since June.

(I just wish someone would make it for ME when I'm sick!)

Edited September 23, 2009 by Lilija (log)

[Aloha Steve]

As to the Linzer Torte squares- they were the happy result of too much to do in too little time. Made a Linzer Torte essentially into bar cookies. I vary the jams I use as well, always including either red currant or tarting it up with lemon juice and rind. The ratio of jam to dough is high so they get really chewy and apparently addictive.

heidih, Linzer Torte 'cookies' are my wife's and my current favorite. Would kindly share your recipe ?

[Special K]

. . . Then I remembered the Chicken and Dumplings.

Oh, man, that sounds GOOD!

[maggiethecat]

The dish that I've made that is often mentioned by friends is a gin and tonic jelly with a mint leaf suspended in it, served in a martini glass topped with lemon sorbet. It's kind of dated and unoriginal but people love it.

Matt -- doesn't sound dated and unoriginal to me! I've never heard of it, and I'm intrigued. Could you share the recipe?

[fooey]

I agree with poster who said that our reputation is often made by dishes we don't particularly love or want to make.

For me, it's gumbo. When people learn I'm Acadian, a request for gumbo (or jambalaya) isn't far behind. I think the reason I keep my heritage to myself is to avoid having to make gumbo for yet another person or group.

It's not that I don't love gumbo. I do; but, I've spent a lifetime learning to make so much else.

I could make gumbo in my sleep.

Edited September 23, 2009 by fooey (log)

[fooey]

A cookbook that might meet the Reputation Maker bar is Caren McSherry's More than Salt and Pepper.

Caesar salad? I go to this book. Hummus? This book. Margarita? This book.

[Dammit, now I want a margarita!]

Edited September 23, 2009 by fooey (log)

[onrushpam]

Do you have a recipe for the dinner rolls handy? I have tried a few different basic roll recipes and have never been happy with my results...

This is it, exactly as my sister gave it to me. Yes, it uses Crisco. I've been meaning to try it using butter, but haven't had time to do it when I could afford failure. It took me a few tries with this recipe to figure out the dough needs to be quite wet. You should add only enough flour to be able to handle it. It will still be a little sticky. I use bread flour, though AP works, too.

Watson Bread

2 cups warm water

½ c. sugar

Mix these together. (I use my big mixer.) Sprinkle 1 pkg. yeast over water and let stand. (I usually use 3 tsp. from a jar of Rapid Rise, which is a little more than a package.)

Let stand until foamy.

Add 2 C. flour and 1 t. salt, and 12 Tbs. Shortening (Don’s mom used lard, I use Crisco, melted and cooled a little.) Mix the salt into the flour before adding to the yeast mixture.

Add flour 1 Cup at a time until dough can be kneaded. It usually takes 4-5 cups total. It seems to depend on the weather and the brand of flour.

Let rise until double in a greased bowl (about 2 hrs.) Make into rolls and put in pans to rise again (about 1 hr.). I put a little melted Crisco in the pan and rub the top of the rols in it before placing in the pan.

Bake at 350° for about 30 minutes. Turn rolls out onto a towel. They will sweat and get soggy on the bottom if you don’t. You can also make this into loaves. Time to bake will depend on the size, but generally a little longer than the rolls.

[fooey]

It's the only thing I ever bake.

This cornbread came out so well, I got more requests for the recipe than for any other item I've baked.

Sugar 450 grams (1 pound)

Corn oil 225 grams (8 ounces)

Salt 15 grams (1/2 ounce)

Eggs 225 grams (8 ounces)

Milk 680 grams (1.5 pounds) (whole, skim and in-between work fine)

Cornmeal 450 grams (1 pound)

Flour 680 grams (1.5 pounds)

Baking powder 40 grams (1.5 ounces)

Add ingredients in that order, mix with a spoon, divide between two 9"x13"x2" baking pans, bake at 425 F for approximately 20 minutes (until light brown on top).

This cornbread is awesome. You should bake more often.

The amount of sugar gave me pause: I spooned sugar into the mixing bowl; not enough said the scale; added more sugar; still not enough; checked the recipe to make sure I hadn't gone insane; no, not insane; more sugar!; rechecked recipe again to make sure I didn't forget to .5 the sugar (I halved the recipe); nope, math is right; done. And you know what: it's the perfect amount, not too much, not too little.

I didn't have corn oil, so I used melted, unsalted butter instead.

I also didn't have 9" x 13" pans, so I used two bread pans (8 1/2" x 4 1/2"), buttered to prevent sticking, so butter in and butter around the bread.

[Note: we need to start a thread on standardizing cookware sizes too. Try to figure out what the dimension are on pans with slanted sides! Do I measure the top? Do I measure the bottom?]

For cornmeal, I used Organic Medium Grind Cornmeal from Bob's Red Mill. Very tasty, but not cheap.

Has Bob's Redmill increased a lot in price recently, or am I misremembering?

I'll have some with red beans and andouille tonight and for breakfast with milk tomorrow.

Grandma made a hearty breakfast of cornbread and milk. It's unusual, but yum: warm some cornbread, microwave will do, break pieces into a bowl, pour cold milk over it, eat. There's a French name for it that sounds like "koooos koooos", but I don't know the actual word. It has an interesting "hot, cold, sweet, savory all-at-the-same-time" aspect to it that's rather neat.

Thanks, it's a keeper.

Edited September 24, 2009 by fooey (log)

[Tri2Cook]

Grandma made a hearty breakfast of cornbread and milk. It's unusual, but yum: warm some cornbread, microwave will do, break pieces into a bowl, pour cold milk over it, eat.

That was popular where I lived when I was younger too... but with buttermilk.

[Fat Guy]

The amount of sugar gave me pause

It's crazy, right? Equal parts sugar and cornmeal. But it doesn't make for an overly sweet product. Indeed, if you cut down the amount of sugar, it goes from being brilliant cornbread to being pedestrian cornbread. And I say that as someone with very much not a sweet tooth.

[Tri2Cook]

I have to admit that the amount of sugar did more than give me pause, I'm used to cornbread with little to no sugar involved. My first thought was "that's going to be a cake". But I have learned that it's rarely smart to doubt eGulleters without trying what they suggest first... especially if it's straight from the eGullet Grand Poobah. So I'm definitely going to give it a try.

[mattsea]

The dish that I've made that is often mentioned by friends is a gin and tonic jelly with a mint leaf suspended in it, served in a martini glass topped with lemon sorbet. It's kind of dated and unoriginal but people love it.

Matt -- doesn't sound dated and unoriginal to me! I've never heard of it, and I'm intrigued. Could you share the recipe?

Hi Maggie,

It's very basic, but here it is. Apologies for using millilitres rather than American measurements. The jelly recipe is adapted from Nigella Lawson:

Ingredients

Gin and Tonic Jelly

150ml water plus 50ml separately

150g caster sugar

250ml-300ml tonic water

125ml gin

4 sheets leaf gelatine

4 nice looking mint leaves

Method

1) Pour the sugar and 150ml water into a saucepan and bring to the boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Take off the heat and allow to cool. Pour the syrup into a 1L jug.

2) Add the gin to the syrup, then add the tonic water. You want the total volume to be 600ml, so top it up with tonic water or gin to taste.

3) Soak the gelatine leaves in a shallow dish of water for 5 minutes until soft.

4) Bring 50ml water to the boil (I boil half a cup or so and then pour the boiling water into a measuring cup). Squeeze out your gelatine sheets then whisk them into the boiling water.

5) Pour the gelatine and boiling water mix into your main jug with the gin and tonic and sugar syrup.

6) Pour about 120-150ml (whatever looks right) into a martini glass. Carefully place a mint leaf in each glass (I like to place them off to the side slightly, so you leave yourself room for a spoonful of sorbet). Place in the fridge to set. This will take anywhere from 4 to 8 hours.

Lemon Sherbet

Ingredients

200ml sugar

200ml water

100-150ml lemon juice

Two tablespoons cream or mascarpone

Method

1) Place a bowl in the freezer.

2)Bring the sugar and water to a boil, stirring until the sugar is dissolved. Remove from the heat and allow to cool.

3) Stir in the lemon juice, but do it a bit at a time and taste the results. I like it with a nice sour lemony kick, but you might like it a bit sweeter.

4) Stir in your cream or mascarpone.

5) Pour your mix into the pre-frozen bowl in your freezer and stir well.

6) Stir every 45 or 60 minutes for the next 4 hours or so.

Serve the jelly topped with a small spoonful of sherbet.

[JanMcBaker]

My 'reputation maker' seems to be my chocolate chip cookies. I say 'my' but it's actually the Toll House cookie recipe, directly from that yellow chocolate chip bag. I do hate to sound like I'm not tooting my own horn here, oddly enough, but I just follow the recipe, except for adjusting the baking times as needed for each time I make them. I don't know how often I've had people rave about them, asking "What do you do?", and "Mine never come out like this!"

[clareskitchen]

I am always playing with different ingredients, recipes, food traditions. But one central force in my kitchen universe that always sings is the seemingly humble roast chicken (or chook as we call it colloquially). So,

Reputation maker no.1 - roast free-range (and preferably also organic) chicken, which I cook with umpteen variations on it's baste and stuffing depending on my mood, herbs in the garden, spices in the cupboard and produce in the fridge. I'll post one variation here, a very simple one.

Reputation maker no.2 - pasta alla vongole which I make with fettuccine and pippis I've gathered that day from the beach. I've recently blogged on that recipe on my blog so I'll cut and paste that now into this post, then come back and post the roast chicken.

Yesterday The Plumber and I went to one of the local coarse sand beaches to gather pippis to make fettuccine alla vongole. This particular beach has an abundant population of pippis. We started scanning the tide line on the lookout for their little air bubbles in the sand or to see them tumbling in the wash of the tide, and found a patch almost immediately.

I’ve found the best way to work is in a team, with one person standing just below the high wash mark and shuffling into the sand with their hands or feet, and the other person standing below them. This way, the top person can grab any that are dredged out of the sand beneath their feet / hands, and the second person can grab those that get tumbled into the water by the wash.

So, within half an hour we had a good haul of pippis to take home.

The next phase is cleansing them of sand so you don’t end up with a crunchy meal. Do this by putting them into a bucket of fresh water as soon as they’ve been gathered, and fill another bucket with sea water to take home. Leave them in the fresh water for an hour or two, then drain it off and leave them dry for an hour in a cool place covered by a damp towel. Then place them back into sea water, and they will then open up and suck lots of sea water in and out and so cleanse themselves. Finally, place them into the fridge in their sea water until you are ready to cook.

Pippis are mostly used for bait here in Australia and some people can’t be bothered with them because of their small amount of meat. I love their sweet sea flavour and they make the most divine pasta sauce, which tastes all the better for having gathered them yourself on a blue sky day from the local beach.

Fettuccine alla vongole (pasta with pippis)

Fettuccine alla vongole

(equipment: need one pasta pot, one deep sided frypan or wide saucepan, and three bowls for sorting cooked pippis)

for two generous serves

enough uncooked good quality pasta for two people (I prefer fettuccine)

about 2 kg (7 – 8 cups) fresh pippis in their shells

1 cm slice butter (about 50g / 1/4 cup)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 heaped tbsp fresh thyme

2 tbsp finely chopped Italian parsley

2 tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon

2 finely sliced cloves garlic

1 tsp salt for cooking pasta

1 cup dry white wine

3/4 to 1 cup sour cream

Melt butter and add olive oil, then add garlic and thyme, cook briefly until garlic softens but before it goes golden or brown, then immediately add a batch of pippis and half a cup of dry white wine, turn heat to high, put on lid and hold down to increase heat and steaming. (Meanwhile, put a pot of water on to boil for the pasta.) Steam pippis for 1 – 3 minutes in small batches, just until all pippis are open, then remove each batch from pan with a skimmer into a bowl and place the next batch in the pan.

Put pasta into boiling water with 1 tsp salt. Keep an eye on pasta while completing the next step of removing meat from pippis. Remove pasta from heat and strain when al dente, reserving some liquid (in case it is needed at the end to thin the pippi sauce).

Remove all flesh from the pippi shells and reserve flesh into a bowl. Strain cooking juice through muslin in a sieve to catch any remaining grit. Pour strained pippi juices into frypan and bring to a rolling boil, add remaining wine and reduce to about 1 cup liquid. Reduce heat to medium and add half of fresh parsley and tarragon then 3/4 cup sour cream and mix until incorporated.

Add pippi meat and heat for another minute or so until pippis are warmed. Taste for salt and season if needed (shouldn’t need to due to sea water in the pippis). If the sauce is too thick add a little bit more white wine or some cooking water from the pasta. Then add fettuccine to pan and mix through until well coated with sauce.

Remove from heat, serve into two bowls, garnish with remaining parsley and tarragon and serve. Can add some finely grated parmesan, or a little bit of finely sliced fresh chilli, but I generally find the flavours of this dish are perfect without adding anything further.

[clareskitchen]

As per previous post, here's the Reputation maker no. 1 - roast chook. This is one of those dishes I 'just do' so it's been a bit of a challenge to quantify it! The end result is a balance of the bright lemon oil flavours of the rind with the sweet succulence of the chook, the earthy satisfaction of the sea salt and roasted garlic flavours and the green resinous flavours of the parsley:

Roast chook with potato, parsley and lemon stuffing

1 free-range chicken about 1.5kg

large bunch of italian parsley from my garden

2 - 4 lemons (preferably fresh from tree or at least organic and non-waxed)

1 large - 2 medium potatoes

flaky salt (I use Murray River salt, a beautiful light flavoursome salt from ancient seabeds in Victoria, Australia)

freshly ground black pepper (I use fresh local stuff, Aussie Pepper, from growers just south of Cairns)

full fat sour cream (probably about 150g worth or 1/2 to 2/3 cup)

butter (about 1/3 cup)

2 heads of garlic

dried Greek oregano on the branches

quality medium bodied olive oil

some pumpkin for roasting (enough for 4 people)

green veggies (I usually use silverbood or broccoli) for 4 people

Steam peeled potato, then mash with butter, sour cream, about a teaspoon of flaky salt and about a dozen grinds of pepper. Mash until smooth and creamy, then add 1 cup of rougly chopped Italian parsley and the grated rind of 1 -2 lemons (probably about 2 tbsp's ?). Taste for flavour balance, add more salt if needed. Leave to cool.

Heat oven to 175-180oC fan forced.

To prepare garlic, cut the tips (easiest with fine scissors or a pointy serrated knife) of each clove off, leaving the whole head of garlic intact. Check for soft collapsed spots as these could be mouldy spots - if so split skin of that clove to check and remove if needed. Cup garlic heads in foil and dress with flaky salt, few grinds of black pepper, some olive oil, and a good squeeze of lemon juice. Cut pumpkin into slices or medium chunks.

Use paper towels to pat off any juices from the skin and interior of the chook, then squeeze some lemon juice into cavity and wipe that out too. Drip a bit of olive oil into cavity and rub in, grind some pepper into the cavity, then take a good thumb-and-three-fingers pinch of flaky salt, toss into cavity and massage in to interior flesh. Fill cavity with cooled potato mixture until almost bursting, then secure opening with a small skewer. Truss wings and legs so they are secured against chook.

Gloss skin of chook with some olive oil then grind over pepper, then pat on flaky salt (another good pinch or two) and shake over a generous amount of dried greek oregano.

Thread chook onto rotisserie stick for your oven if you have one, otherwise set on an upright chicken roasting support, or on a raised rack in a baking dish.

Set chook into the oven's rotisserie and place a baking dish below with two heads of garlic, each cupped loosely in foil (leave some opening at the top for random juices to drip in) and some sliced pumpkin. Drizzle with a small amount of olive oil and a squeeze of lemon juice.

Cook for between 50 minutes and 1 hour 10 minutes depending on your oven. Check at about the 40 minute mark if on rotisserie, and 30 minutes if in a dish (and baste with juices at the same time). With the rotisserie I find it is generally ready in 55 - 60 minutes. Spear base of thigh to check juices - they might be slightly pink due to blood in the meat of that section, but if they are red, keep cooking and check in 10 another minutes.

Steam broccoli for a few minutes in a steamer until cooked but still with a little firmness, or saute roughly chopped silverrbeet in a pan with a lid on high heat with a little flaky salt and lemon juice for 1 - 2 minutes.

Drain the chicken juices out of roasting pan that haven't been absorbed by the pumpkin. Break the garlic heads in half, place in a bowl and pour chicken juices over. Serve everyone at the table, with some stuffing, chicken, pumpkin, greens, garlic and juices spooned over the top. Encourage guests to squeeze the roasted garlic out of it's shell and smear onto greens, stuffing or chicken as a thick 'sauce'.

A generous meal for 4 people.

[vice]

It's a hard question for me to answer, unlike my wife who has a repertoire of off-the-charts awesome baked goods that are famous in our circles and fought over at pot lucks. I see cooking as a creative opportunity to try new ingredients and techniques -- I don't think I've ever made exactly the same thing twice. My reputation, I think, is that I'll try anything, with enthusiasm, and with a little research.

But that's not what you asked. I think the cookbook of reputation making ideas could exist, more easily for the farinaceous world of baking than for savory cooking.

I'd say seafood is my strongest suit, but I will submit my duck liver pâté for consideration. You don't need cognac but you do need uberfresh organic duck livers. Saute minced shallots and garlic in 1:1 butter:duck fat until soft, remove, add cleaned and chopped liver and saute until the pink is almost gone, place in processor. Add just-cracked black pepper, coarse salt and the 10% cream as the processor is running. Cool in a jar, seal with unsalted butter.

Peter, how much cream do you add for a given quantity of duck liver?

[phatj]

Just stumbled across this thread while searching for "tikka masala".

 

I submit one of the few recipes that I really consider my own, original creation, and without a doubt the most delicious thing I have ever made. The recipe was originally written for chicken but it's truly transcendent with duck. 

 

Roasted Apple & Garlic Bisque with Duck

 

• 4 tart apples, such as Granny Smith
• 4 whole heads garlic
• 3 T melted duck fat
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1 c sherry
• 1 c reduced duck stock
• 2 c heavy cream
• 1 T melted duck fat
• 1 c cooked duck pieces (preferably dark meat, ideally confited leg meat)
• salt & freshly ground black pepper
• 1 T minced fresh thyme leaves
• duck skin cracklings

 

Preheat oven to 350F. Cut apples into wedges and cut stem end off of garlic heads. Toss apples and garlic with fat and sprinkle with salt & pepper.

Spread apple wedges, peel side down, on a baking sheet. Wrap garlic heads in a foil packet. Put apples and garlic into oven and bake until apples are browned, 45-60 minutes. The garlic can be removed after 45 minutes and left to cool.

While apples and garlic are roasting, in a large saucepan, bring sherry, stock and onions to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until alcohol smell abates, about 10 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.

Also while roasting apple & garlic, heat a small skillet over high heat for a few minutes until very hot. Add fat, then duck pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over. Remove from heat and set aside.

Scrape apples and any accumulated juices into a blender. Squeeze in cloves from garlic heads, and pour in sherry, stock and onions. Blend until smooth, pour back into saucepan, and stir in thyme.

Over medium-high heat, bring mixture to a boil. Stir in cream and bring back to a boil.

Pour bisque through a strainer into a serving bowl. Rock strainer around to let liquid pass, but do not press solids through. Ladle soup into individual bowls, add a few pieces of duck and a sprinkling of cracklings to each.