Restaurant Widow

More FoodSaver Freezer Tips

I haven't done any freezer/FoodSaver tips in awhile, so I thought it was high time.  First of all, if you've been buying those expensive pre-made brand name bags, you might be interested in trying out some of these bags I found online - just call me your guinea pig.  I bought these bags from an online store called The Sweet Attack - they did not pay me or give me any free product to pimp them - yet, haha - , I just thought I'd pass the tip along), and the shipping was very fast.  The savings are about 15 - 17 cents per bag, which really adds up when you're buying them by the 50s or 100s.  Just thought I'd give them a shout out, since I really love using the pint bags, and the cost for those especially can add up.  The bags work just as well as the brand names; they do feel a little softer after boiling than the brand names, but they are still safe for boiling.  I haven't tried to reuse any of them, because that just isn't how I roll.  Maybe someone else has and they'll be able to offer some advice.

Okay, so first of all, here's a few tips for saving stock; I had been freezing the stock in blocks, and then removing the blocks and putting them in bags.  This worked fine, but if you don't want to spring for the silicone baking pans I used (they are multi purpose, so if you're doing a lot of baking, it really isn't that big of an investment) or you just want to skip a step, here's what I did when freezing my turkey stock.

1. As always - write on the bag with a Sharpie first: the date, the item, and sometimes I'll also write the amount.  For instance, I froze 10 kilos of chocolate buttons earlier this year, so I measured them into 12 ounce portions so that when I went to use them, I wouldn't have to re-measure.  This time, I used a measuring cup to portion out the stock into 1 cup, 2 cup, and 4 cup measurements.  Now I can grab a 4 cup for risotto-making, 1 cup for soup just for me, etc.
2. Roll down the top of the bag (this will keep the top of the bag dry, ensuring a better seal).
3. Using a 1 cup measuring cup, pour desired amount of stock (or other liquid) into the bag.  Roll the top up.
4. Carefully place bag upright in a loaf pan or another narrow, high-sided pan or pot.  If the container is too big for the bag to stand upright, place a canned good next to the bag as a prop until you have enough bags in the container to hold each other up:
5. Place the container of bags into the freezer and freeze for a few hours, or until they are frozen.
6. Vacuum seal each bag of frozen stock and store in freezer for up to 6 months!

See that?  Easy as pie!  Or stock, or whatever.  Now, how about making some stock?

Of related interest on Restaurant Widow:
In which I purchase the FoodSaver & giant freezer.
In which we freeze veggies.
In which we make & freeze veggie stocks.

Things to Do in Columbus::November 27th Edition

Updated Friday morning, last event.  The events are back!  Yay!  Thanks for being so understanding last week.  Thanksgiving went off without a hitch.  I hope your holiday went just as well.  As always, if you have anything to add, please leave it in the comments or send me an email and I will add it to the list.

• First up this weekend, you can spend your entire day Saturday in the Short North; stop by the North Market in the morning for the Holiday Open House & Craft Extravaganza.  There will be samples from lots of vendors, book signings by Robin Davis, Opera Columbus will perform, and there will lots of crafty sorts there selling their wares.  And there are some super cool indy crafters going to be there, so don't think everything's going to be cutesy.  You can even buy your Christmas tree.
• You can spend your afternoon and evening at the Holiday Hop, the most well-attended Gallery Hop of the year.  From Goodale to 5th Ave, galleries, shops and restaurants will be open and full of shopping and holiday cheer.  The streets will be full of cold rain, according to the forecast, but that's neither here nor there.  There will be sleigh rides, lots of lights, and I'm sure some chestnuts roasting on an open fire somewhere.  And, for those of you driving in from the 'burbs who don't spend a lot of time trying to negotiate Short North parking, here's a handy guide to driving & parking.
• Moving backwards, Friday night is the Kringle Mingle at Sugar Bar.  Show up with your Santa hat and a new, unwrapped toy (or $10 donation), which will benefit Big Brothers & Sisters of Central Ohio.  Attendees of the party will receive a button which entitles them to special discounts at the Holiday Hop. 
• This weekend is the International Children's Film Festival at the Wexner Center.  Get the kids some culture and have fun while you're at it.  The Wex is hosting lots of family-friend events this month.  To read about all of their events, click over to their website. 
• It's that time of year again - time to rekindle your hostile feelings of holiday bitterness with CATCO's presentation of David Sedaris' Santaland Diaries.  Jonathon Putnam will once again don his green felts to play Crumpet, an elf in Macy's Santaland.  Tickets for the performance which take place at the Riffe Center, are $35, and performances take place Thursdays - Sundays (with a matinee!).  Go.  It's funny.
• If you need a little cheer, join the Columbus Symphony Orchestra for this year's Holiday Pops.  Performances take place at the Ohio Theater all weekend long, with two shows each on Saturday & Sunday.
• Through March, children and adults alike can be charmed by the Enchanted Express at Franklin Park Conservatory.
• This week in food & cooking news: Williams-Sonoma continues holding their free culinary demonstrations throughout the month of December.  This week, at 11am and 3pm at the Easton Town Center store, drop in for the following demonstrations: Saturday, Dec 1 - creating car cakes; Sunday, Dec 2 - Holiday Baking; Wednesday, Dec 5 - Peppermint Fudge Brownies; Thursday, Dec 6th - Creative Coffee Drinks; and Friday, Dec 7th - Best Cup of Cocoa.
• This Week at Sur la Table: Thurday, November 30th - Holiday Tamales with Michael McCauley; Saturday, Dec 1st: Adult Gifts from the Kitchen (10:30am) and Kids' Gifts from the Kitchen (2pm/$45); Monday, Dec 3rd - Prime Rib Dinner with Michael McCauley; Tuesday, Dec 4th - Elegant Holiday Cooking.  Unless otherwise stated, classes are $65 and take place at 6:30pm.  Click to their calender for more information.
• And, at Whole Foods, learn how to make Gluten Free & Dairy free recipes for the holidays next Thursday, Dec 6th at 6:30pm (more info).
• There will be a holiday Market at the usual location of the Clintonville Farmer's Market (just south of N. Broadway on High) which will feature growers and crafts, and there will even by live caroling!  (thanks for the tip, Mike, this totally flew under my radar).

Turkey Stock::the Ruhlman Method

Mmmmmeat jello.  Mmmmmmm.

So.  Regular readers are aware that I have recently read and reviewed Michale Ruhlman's new book, the Elements of Cooking.  In the first chapter, the subject of stock is dealt with.  Having worked in restaurants where we cooked veal stock seemingly nonstop, I was pretty familiar with the basic principles; I've made my fair share of stock over the years, but it had never occurred to me to cook the stock in the oven, until I read Elements.  But it did make sense - the heat would be even and the stock would never boil, first of all.  When we were getting ready to put our Thanksgiving turkey in the pot for stock-making, I said to Husband that I felt I had a moral obligation to my readers to test the Ruhlman method, and cook the stock in the oven.  He looked skeptical, but acquiesced.

And so, into a 16 quart stock pot went the carcass (with only the leftover aromatics which had been stuffed in its cavity for roasting) and enough water to cover, and into a 180 degree oven went the stock pot.  For 10 hours.  After which time I chopped up some leftover celery, a big onion, and a head of garlic and threw those into the pot (we were out of carrots).  I added a few peppercorns and the stock continued for another hour and a half (the Ruhlman method only adds aromatics for the last hour of cooking).  I then strained the stock (the hardest part of the process) into a smaller stock pot (it made about 8-10 quarts).  Now it was my turn to be skeptical.  The stock looked pale, and the turkey carcass looked fresh - usually the stock and aromatics look as though they have been depleted, but these ingredients looked as though they could take another turn with a fresh batch of water.  But I had to go to work, so I put the strained stock in the fridge and left. 

When I got home, I was planning to strain the stock through a paper filter, when I found quite a surprise.  As I carefully took the stock from the fridge (I had a nightmare where I spilled it everywhere), I noticed the stock was jiggling.  This is stock.  Good stock jiggles.  See the surface, with reflection:

So, why does good poultry stock jiggle?  because you have extracted lots of collagen and goodness from the bones; this provides unparalleled richness and mouth feel.  Yum.  The only drawback was I had to warm the stock to ungelatinize it before I could strain it again.

We turned the first quart of stock into a really, really amazing soup (yes, I'll give you the recipe this week) and the rest of it is going into the freezer where it will certainly find its way into risotto over the next few weeks.

So, here is my advice to you: make some stock.  Husband and I are fond of tossing all of our chicken carcasses into the freezer, and then when we have 5 or so accumulated, we turn them into stock.  All future birds will definitely be stockified using this method.  (here's another little tip - we like to add at least one carcass from a Weiland's smoked chicken, it just adds that certain something).

Did you try Ruhlman's method - or any other - for your turkey stock this year?  How were your experiences?

Gluten Free Lemon Tart

Dear Trader Joe's:

I know how you are fond of introducing and then discontinuing really great products (puff pastry wrapped brie with no fruit, nuts or other nonsense, curry in phyllo are just 2 which come to mind), but I am warning you: if you discontinue the gluten-free gingersnaps, I'm going to start carrying out some of those threats I've mentioned when you constantly run out of my favorite product, which alas, has to go unmentioned because it is already popular enough. 

Cheers!

I've mentioned before that my father has Celiac (double click for more info) disease, which is an intolerance to wheat gluten.  A lot of people have scoffed at this notion - especially restaurant workers who have to deal with guests who can't have gluten - but it is actually a serious condition, mainly because it inhibits one's ability to absorb vitamins and minerals.  At any rate, whenever I have my parents over for dinner, I try to think up new things to make for dad, especially for dessert.  Now, I make a pretty mean flourless chocolate cake, but when I spied the gluten-free gingersnaps at Trader Joe's last week, I had a stroke of brilliance.

Once upon a time, I was a baker at a (then) Top 10 restaurant in Columbus.  I have made this lemon gingersnap tart more times than I can begin to count.  I made so many of these tarts that I actually kind of started to hate them a little bit.  But our guests loved them, so I had to keep making them.  Fortunately, years have passed, and I can face them again.  This tart is so incredibly easy that I always feel a little guilty about accepting complements on it.  But not too guilty.  You don't have to use gluten free gingersnaps, of course, but for anyone who can't have gluten, this tart tastes just as tasty as its wheaty counterpart, so it will make them very happy (it made Dad very happy, and so did the leftover gingersnaps).

Gluten Free Lemon Gingersnap Tart - serves 8
recipe adapted from David Tetzloff

For the Crust
1 8 ounce package Trader Joe's gluten free gingersnaps
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
1/3 - 1/2 cup melted butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Combine the sugar, salt and gingersnaps in the bowl of a food processor and blitz to crumbs.  Pour the crumbs into a bowl and gradually add the butter until you have the consistency of wet sand.  Lightly spray a 9 inch tart pan  (with removable bottom) with cooking spray, place the pan on a half sheet pan and press the crumb mixture into the pan.  I like to use a wide, flat glass to ensure even crumb distribution.  Place the sheet tray in the oven and bake for 15 minutes, rotating after 10 minutes.  Cook until the crust looks dry and has a smooth surface.  Allow to cool, place it in a fridge if you're in a hurry.

For the Tart Filling
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk (fat free even works)
3/4 cup lemon juice, or to taste
zest and juice of one lemon, in addition (optional)
7 large egg yolks

Combine the lemon juices and zest in a blender and blend to combine, then strain through a fine mesh strainer.  This step is optional, but I think it helps boost the tartness.  Combine the sweetened condensed milk with the lemon juice, tasting to be sure its tart enough, adding a little more lemon juice if necessary.  Add the egg yolks and whisk to combine thoroughly.  The consistency should be a little bit jiggle like pudding.  Pour the filling into the cooled shell and bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating after 10.  The tart will be set but still a little jiggly - it should jiggle as one versus having just a jiggly center.  Cool to room temperature and then place in fridge for at least 4 hours before serving.  I like to serve it with a little whipped cream to balance the lemony tartness.

Don't Forget the Winter Market!

Don't forget today (oops - tomorrow - Sunday - thanks Matt!) is the first Worthington Winter Market - there will be meats, cheeses, baked goods and preserves, as well as winter veggies.  Although the rest of the winter markets will take place from 10am - 2pm, today's market is from 1pm - 5pm, so there's plenty of time to get out there.  The winter market is located at the Griswold Senior Center, 777 High st (that's Worthington High street, not in the Short North), at the NW corner of 161 & High.

What are Your Service Pet Peeves?

Okay, so recently I've been reading some restaurant critics - I don't do this too often, because in truth, the restaurant scene in Columbus isn't competitive enough to have the sorts of critics one sees in New York or San Francisco, but recently, a (server) friend of mine asked if I had read Frank Bruni's article about restaurant server speak.

(Go ahead, read it.  The story, the blog post with comments.)

I thought the article was a little entertaining, but I couldn't see the point of it.  Who cares if I say "Pardon my reach" when a simple "excuse me" will do?  I do say that, by the way, all the time.  Sometimes I'll mix it up and say "pardon my elbow in your face."  The reason I say that is because sometimes I'm waiting on a table where I have no choice but to reach all the way across the table; just because someone's starring guidelines says clear from the right doesn't mean restaurant designers always decide to situate the tables in a such a way that this can be accomplished.)  I say the same things all day, every day, and I do agree that I hate the kind of rote nonsense lots of corporate restaurants make their server say "Hi, I'm Lisa and I'll be your server today.  Have you ever eaten at Splendidos before?  No?  Well then let me take a minute to explain the menu." (I actually worked in a restaurant once where we were supposed to say that sort of thing, but I never did, because I'm a rebel like that.  And then, I worked in a restaurant where we were never supposed to say that.)  I've read guest comments where they hate it when the server announces their name (I never do), and I've had guests who whine that I haven't told them my name.  None of this changes the fact that I have to say "excuse me," or "pardon my reach," or whatever 700 times a day.  Who cares if I say it in a way you find odd. 

I also make the same jokes all the time.  At the previous restaurant where I worked, we always had a ton of specials.  Five times a year, we changed our menu and for that week, we wouldn't have specials.  Every time a guest asked "any specials?"  I'd say "we just changed our menu, so everything's special."  And then we'd all have a good little laugh.  Now I work in a restaurant where we never have specials, and sometimes, especially when I'm opening a bottle of wine, my table will look at me expectantly, and I say something like "normally this is the time when I'd be telling you about specials, but we don't have any specials, so now all I can do is babble about how I have nothing to say.  How's that Havens syrah?"  Ever time I pour a particularly heady beer for a guest and they're waiting for their beer with baited breath, I sing "Anticipation."  Any time a table asks me to take their picture, I make a big show of how I'm going to count to 3, and then I take the picture on 2, and everyone is surprised and laughs, and their eyes are open.  It's a hoot.  Wow.  I am such a dork.

I also completely overuse the word "enjoy," another pet peeve touched on in the article.  Practically every time I drop something off at a table, I say "enjoy."  So what?  It's a nice word, and it shows that I care.  It's also a command, and a hint - if I say enjoy it and you don't, then you know I will take it back and get you something else should you find yourself unable to follow my instructions.  I didn't cook it, and it's no skin off my back.

The funny thing is, guests always say the same things, too.  I couldn't even count the number of times I have laughed when a guest, surrendering their licked-clean plate says "oh, it was terrible."  I actually do laugh when the guest says it in such a way that I take them seriously.  And then we all have a laugh. 

After I thought I had finished writing this, I read an even more ridiculous article on the "Napkin of Shame."  In which the author (again, Bruni) describes his horror at having a napkin placed upon the tablecloth in front of him when he dribbles food on it.  Fine, the next time you accidentally slop butter sauce on the tablecloth, I'll just leave it there so you can continuously rake your cuff through it.  Ditto the chocolate sauce at dessert - maybe you can lick it off in the cab ride home, for a little snack.  Equally strange are the comments he receives; some people defend the servers, but others go on to talk about how they hate it when the server crumbs the table, "especially when they offer bread service."  Again, it's not to shame the diner, it's to get the crumbs off the table.  Sometimes, a diner will scoop all of their crumbs up into a little pile - should I just leave them there?  He's already done half of the work! 

My favorite comment came from "Adam:" "I received the napkin of shame at a lunch with law firm colleagues at Jean-Georges. It was humiliating, especially when they made fun."  Who is this horrid man who can't take a little ribbing from his colleagues?  I'm scared of this person.  Anyone who feels so humiliated by this situation (especially the sort of person who has reached a point in their life where one is able to have lunch with law firm colleagues at Jean-Georges) clearly has some sort of creepy personality disorder.  Many commenters lament the wine dribbled on the table by their server, so I'll just admit it: I'm a wine dribbler.  Usually only the first glass from squarer-shouldered bottles (think of a cabernet bottle, vs. the sloping pinot noir bottle); they drip, and I'm not long-armed enough to always do the napkin in one hand, bottle in the other trick.  I've probably opened 10,000 bottles of wine in my life, and I still drip at least one drop from every other bottle.  It's something I'll work on, as long as you don't whine when I perform table maintenance.  If you do, I'll just leave all the crumbs/drips/globs of pork fat/what-have-you and you can drag your hands and elbows through it all you want; it's not my dry-cleaning bill.

I suppose the point here is that, with how frequently diners complain about lazy, indifferent or rude service, it seems petty to start to whine about servers being over-attentive.  All diners are different, and servers work very hard to please everyone - I guess this just supports that old adage - you can't please all the people all they time.  But, we'll still try.

So, what are your service pet peeves?  Go ahead, I'm not afraid.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Part 2, Post Feast

You know what the best part about having your mom over for Thanksgiving?  She helps with does the dishes.  (just kidding, Mom - the best part of having you over is seeing your beautiful face and spending time with you.  Dishes are completely secondary)  Seriously, we have eaten and the kitchen looks more or less how it did when we started.  We have the stock going in the oven (I told Husband we had to use Ruhlman's method since I just reviewed Elements of Cooking) "the oven?" said Husband, "erm, okay."  So, by tomorrow sometime we'll see how it turned out.  This was our best food year for cooking ever, I think.  Husband made his best stuffing yet, and the turkey was hands down the most delicious turkey I have ever had in my life.  It's so funny, with heirloom birds, they just look different.  First of all, they have normal proportions - nice big fat legs and wings, not just a peeked, overgrown breast which keeps the thing from walking upright - and the meat is all pretty dark before cooking.

My dad has Celiac, so I put my gluten-free cooking skills to the test with good results, I think - largely thanks to Trader Joe's.  We had some Robert Sinskey rose of pinot noir and some nice 1997 Bonneau Cuvée Marie Beurrir Chateauneuf (thanks VS!).  And, of course, Thanksgiving wouldn't be complete without a nap with a cat:

Our table (notice how the bowl of mashed potatoes is bigger than everything else - I do love me some carbs, complete with a block of cream cheese, a stick of butter, and loads of salt and freshly cracked black pepper - it's only once a year):

Stuffing:

Really bad picture of turkey - I promise it tasted way better than the focus on my camera:

And what did you have?  Any fun Thanksgiving memories to share?  Did you smoke a turkey like my friend and turkey delivery driver Sam?  Deep Fry?  Turducken?  Tofurkey?  Salmon?  Waffle House?  Liquid dinner?  What are you thankful for?  I have to say, I'm very thankful I no longer work in retail, especially while listening to radio interviews with Target workers today while cooking.  I'm thankful for all of you, my dear readers, who encourage me just by reading.  I'm also thankful for my nice yellow house and my kitchen and my dishwasher.  For my friends, family and for Husband, for all of my cats.  For ice cream and pajamas and gravy. 

Happy Thanksgiving!  Have fun shopping tomorrow - I'll think of you when I'm sleeping in and eating leftover lemon tart for breakfast...

Happy Thanksgiving! (Pre Feast)

I'll just sit here and wait for the turkey, mmkay?  Thanks.

Our turkey, post-brine (salt, cider, stock, water, various aromatics, ginger, Appalachian allspice, cinnamon, etc), ready for the oven.  Although I had originally ordered a turkey from Weiland's, a chef friend came through with this JB King Farms turkey (thanks MB & SE!)!  Look how handsome he is!  I'll be in turkey leg heaven in about 4 hours!!

Gluten Free Sweet Potato Casserole, ready for the oven*.

Gluten Free Lemon Tart with Gingersnap Crust!*

Here's the menu:

JB King Family Farm Turkey
Mashed Kennebeck Potatoes from Elizabeth Telling Farms
Gluten Free Elizabeth Telling Farms Sweet Potato and Wayward Seed Farms Marina di Chioggia Squash Casserole
Sauteed Brussels Sprouts with bacon and Wayward Seed Broccoli Rabe
Brown & serve roles (can't help it, I just love them)
Husband's yummy Stuffing (out of the bird, of course) with dried fruits and whatnot
Wayward Seed Chinese radishes
Gluten Free Lemon Gingersnap Tart
Pinochle/Nap/Football Watching/Dishwashing

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!

*recipe to follow

Cranberry Quince Preserve

Where can I buy those cute jars?

Okay, I realize probably all of you are either finished cooking for Thanksgiving or close, but I think this recipe would also go well with other Holiday meals - I think it would go really well with pork, as well as turkey, cheese, and cured meats - and it's been awhile since I've shared a recipe, and it's super easy, although time-consuming (mostly unattended).

So, this past week I had dinner at Alana's, and she gave me some housemade quince preserve for dessert, and was also nice enough to give me four quince(s?) of my own for experimentation.  Until that moment, I wasn't really aware that quince grew all over Ohio, or that it was so amazingly fragrant.  It had never really occurred to me to try to find or cook them, knowing that they required a long cooking time to become something even remotely edible.

Quinces are hard fruits which look like a cross between an apple and a pear.  They are yellow and rock hard (don't wait for them to soften; I don't think it will ever happen); they have very high levels of natural pectin, making them the perfect choice for preserve-making.  They are also nearly inedible raw - they are extremely astringent.

So, I was planning to simply cook the quince down for a preserve, and I was also making my cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving, when I had a stroke of genius.  I think it should be obvious where this is going by now.  Because you are working with natural pectin here, you don't have to worry about sugar levels being equal to your fruit (typically in preserve making, you would match your sugar to your fruit, by weight).  Because I like my preserves to be far less sweet than everyone else seems to, I always use half the sugar called for, throwing caution to the wind.  Of course, you can adjust the sweetness as your heart desires.

For the Cranberries

1 12 ounce bag fresh cranberries
1 12 ounce bottle ginger ale, preferably something with a little kick to it, such as Blenheim or Stewart's, or at least Vernor's - NOT diet!
1/2 cup sugar
Juice of 2 large oranges

Place the ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan and bring to a simmer.  Simmer for about half an hour to 45 minutes, mashing the cranberries with a potato masher as they begin to soften - they will start to make little popping sounds as they heat up; it's pretty cool.   When all of the cranberries are totally soft and mashed, remove from the heat.  Allow to cool slightly and then pour through a fine mesh strainer.  Press lightly to remove as much juice as possible and set aside.

For the Quince

4 fresh quinces, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/2" pieces
3/4 cup sugar
1 12 ounce bottle ginger ale, see above
2 tbsp lemon juice

Place these ingredients in a medium-sized saucepan (I used the cranberry one without washing it and it was fine) and bring to a simmer.  Reduce the heat and cook over low to medium-low heat forever, or about 2 - 3 hours, or until the quince pieces are soft to falling apart and have taken on a perky blush color.  Puree the mixture with a stick blender.  I did separate some of the quince out in a jar so I could have a plain, tart quince preserve (about 3 ounces or so), and mixed the rest of it as described below.

Combine the two mixtures, mixing them with the stick blender to ensure complete incorporation.  Cool to room temperature and then place in a jar.  This will last about 3 weeks in the fridge.  The mixture is thickly spreadable but can also be sliced and placed atop cheese or sandwiches, served along with the turkey, smeared on toast, etc.  Enjoy!

Makes about 2 cups.

No Events!

Dear Readers,

You know I love you, right?  Will you please forgive me if I take the week off from posting events?  I am in the throes of cooking & cleaning in preparation for Thanksgiving. 

Thanks for being so understanding.  You rock.

If you are looking for something to do, you might want to check out the Columbus Underground Event page or Experience Columbus.

Cheers and Happy Thanksgiving!

Lisa the Waitress