Revisiting my youth – from cane to cookie…

Several years ago, I started thinking about a cookie my Grandma made when I was a child – a moist chewy molasses cookie… soft, dark golden brown and covered with the slightest dusting of flour (which I never fully understood until I made them for the first time myself). This thought of those molasses cookies was so strong, in fact, that I searched the 'Net – surely someone would have a recipe for such a fond memory from my youth? After nigh a week of searching in vain only to find recipes for gingerbread cookies or molasses and oatmeal cookies, I resorted to the obvious – call my then 90 year old Grandma and ask her for the recipe!


Needless to say she was thrilled that I'd even remembered, much less thought so fondly of them that I would consider making them myself! Lesson learned in all this? Get those recipes from your older cherished loved ones. …especially those that aren't written down! Write them down and pass them on to those in your life that you hold dear – you'll never know the fond memories the simplest of recipes may have in a loved one's life 30 or 40 or 50 years from now…


The preparation of these delectable morsels, while simple in terms of the ingredients, can put even the most seasoned kitchen cook through their paces. The results, when properly done, are reminiscent of a simpler time – years gone by for this author. The dough for these cookies is very sticky and can be a bit difficult to manage. Resist the urge to overwork the dough as doing so will toughen the cookie to the point that you'll have to call the neighborhood dogs in for afternoon tea!


To prepare, combine the following ingredients in a large mixing bowl:

3/4 C Sugar

1 C Molasses

1 C Boiling Water

2 t baking soda

1 C all purpose flour

Stir with a wooden smooth until just mixed through, cover with plastic wrap and let stand on the counter overnight.


The next morning, to this room temperature mixture, incorporate

2 Eggs

A pinch of salt

Enough all purpose flour to make the dough manageable.

The dough will be rather sticky and can test your patience at this point. My Grandma would, at this point, roll the dough out on a well floured surface using a floured rolling pin until she had a sheet a healthy 1/8" in thickness (1/4" is too thick – 1/8" isn't thick enough). If you've worked the dough minimally and used adequate flour while rolling the dough out, you'll have an abundance of flour, much as if you'd prepared biscuits from scratch. Using a coffee mug or 3 1/2" round cutter, cut your cookies out of the sheeted dough, pat or brush off excess flour and place on a Silpat® or parchment paper lined cookie sheet. Bake in preheated 350° F oven for 10 minutes. (NOTE: A thicker cookie will require additional baking time – 11-13 minutes and perhaps as much as 15 minutes.) Remove from oven and let rest at least 2-3 minutes on cookie sheet before removing from Silpat® or parchment paper. Allow to cool completely on wire rack before storing in a tightly covered container.


<Subliminal suggestion>
Make an ice cream sandwich by cradling a scoop or two of your favorite ice cream between two molasses cookies
</Subliminal suggestion>


As a child, part of the mystique of these cookies was the light coating of flour that adhered to them throughout the baking process and later as they were stored. Little did I know, at the time, that flour "was a tell" to Grandma – she knew if I'd been in the Molasses cookies! Lucky for me, they were made with love – she hardly cared…

Eat your veggies -- Oven roasting makes 'em great!

As the Father of two small children, I often found it difficult to entice them to eat their vegetables during those early childhood years.  Even as adults, each of us have our likes and dislikes when it comes to vegetables.

Oven roasting vegetables at moderately high heat caramelizes the sugars which naturally occur in vegetables and increases their appeal and palatability to the sweet tooth we all have.  Not all vegetables are good candidates for oven roasting however.  Below I've outlined the basic preparation method and provided my personal recommendations on good oven roasting veggies as those which are ill suited for oven roasting.

Basic preparation method:

• Cut vegetables in large bite sized pieces
• Place all vegetables in large bowl
• Add 2-3 T with olive oil and toss to coat
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• Place vegetables in a single layer on a cookie sheet.  Do not crowd vegetables -- it's better to use two cookie sheets if necessary.  We're roasting them so ample room is important to your success.
• Place in 375° F oven and roast for 45-60 minutes until golden brown and tender stirring and redistributing every 20 minutes.
• Enjoy hot or at room temperature

Good candidate Veggies:

• Carrots -- by far the best as they have a high sugar content.  When cutting, make carrot sticks to increase surface area
• Onions -- another high sugar content vegetable.  Cutting these into wedges or thick rings works best
• Cauliflower -- one of my favorite veggies to add.  Size is important here -- too big and they won't cook through; too small and they'll scorch.
• Fresh green beans --  resist the likelihood of scorching these... toss in oil to coat lightly and add half way through the cook time
• Turnips --  unique to say the least...  Not everyone enjoys turnip be it the standard purple top white or the yellow rutabaga but these have a high sugar content which contribute greatly the resulting mix
• Beets -- roasted peeled beets are classic!  To make serving easier, peel raw beets before adding to the mix
• Whole garlic cloves -- chop very coarsely, perhaps in half, toss in olive oil and add half way through cook time
• Fresh asparagus -- when in season, these add a welcome and diverse change to the mix.  Toss in olive oil and add half way through the cook time to avoid burning.
• Fresh mushrooms -- although they have a high moisture content, can be good but must be coarsely chopped.  Do not toss these in olive oil prior to cooking as they act like a sponge!  Add these half way through the cook time.

Vegetables to avoid:

• Summer squash -- high moisture content results in stewed vegetables and not roasted ones
• Zucchini squash -- again, high moisture content will lead to less than ideal results
• Eggplant -- tends to get soft and mushy when roasted.  Save these for baba ganoush
• Green / red / yellow bell peppers -- again these have a high moisture content and should be avoided

A few changes to the basic preparation outlined above can further enhance your results and prevent your family from getting burned out on the same old vegetable side dish: 

• The addition of fresh chopped herbs such as thyme, rosemary, basil and oregano upon pulling your roasted vegetables from the oven perks up the flavor.  Toss the fresh chopped herbs and let the heat of the roasted vegetables release those "essential oils"
• Consider the addition of your favorite vinaigrette -- again right after removing from the oven.  The retained heat in the roasted vegetables will result in the quick absorption of the vinaigrette and impart flavor through the mix.

And finally, the rule to live by...  DO NOT CROWD your vegetables!  The intent here is to roast and not to simmer or steam them.  Crowding will produce an inferior result.

Let me know if your family acquires an appreciation for vegetables that have been, to date, off limits or "out of consideration".

Every kitchen should have one... Does yours?

It's not a good chef's knife although those are important too.  It's not a rolling pin, salad spinner, pasta maker, non-stick sauté pan, Dutch oven, enabled cookware or mushroom brush.  It's not the 8-burner gourmet range, warming drawer or double convection oven (none of which this author would be without).

What is the most important kitchen utensil that well over half of you don't have?  Of those that do, most don't know how to calibrate it and how vital it can be to you, your friends' and family's health.

The MOST important kitchen utensil one should have ready in their arsenal of culinary drawer-bound noise making contraptions -- a good, well calibrated instant read thermometer!

For as little as $7 (US $ that is), one stands at the ready at the local Wal-mart, Target or upscale supermarket waiting to contribute to you and your loved one's health and well being.

In a forthcoming post, I'll detail the do's and don'ts about food borne bacteria -- the things to know about internal temperatures and kitchen-based "germ warfare" and effective mitigation of harmful bacteria with this most under rated, underutilized and underappreciated of kitchen gadgets.

For now is the time to detail what makes a good one, how to treat it, use it and calibrate it for optimal performance and a long life of service.

• Feature /  Function
• Accuracy - What good is an instant read thermometer that doesn't provide an accurate measurement?  Your thermometer should provide accurate measurements between 32° and 212° F.  Many lower end digital thermometers lack any means of recalibrating.  If they lose accuracy, you'll have no choice but to replace it.
• Response Time - The faster your thermometer provides an accurate reading the better.  A good instant read thermometer should provide an accurate reading in 10-20 seconds -- a satisfactory instant read thermometer will provide an accurate reading in 20-30 seconds.  Any response time exceeding 30 seconds is poor; don't waste your money.
• Readability - Digital thermometers are much easier to read than Non-Digital / Dial thermometers. 
• Verifying Accuracy
• Ice bath method (typically viewed as more accurate):
• Fill a tall drinking glass with crushed or chipped ice
• Slowly add cold tap water
• Again add additional crushed or chipped ice 
• Insert instant read thermometer into ice/water slurry at least up to the dimple on the stem of the thermometer.
• When the needle / digital display stops moving, verify temperature.  Any reading other than 32° F warrants a recalibration
• Boiling water method (viewed as less accurate due to differences in boiling point at altitude):
• Bring a sauce pan filled with at least 2" of water to a rolling boil
• Insert instant read thermometer into boiling water at least up to the dimple on the stem of the thermometer being very careful not to burn yourself
• When the needle / digital display stops moving, verify temperature. Any reading other than 212° F warrants a recalibration
• Recalibration (Non-digital type only)
• Using a small wrench (often included with the thermometer) or pliers, loosen the nut directly behind the dial.

• Return the probe to ice bath / boiling water per earlier instructions.  Rotate dial face until the proper temperature is registered beneath the needle.
• Remove thermometer from ice bath / boiling water and tighten nut.
• Return the probe to the ice bath / boiling water per earlier instructions to verify accuracy.
• Use Tips
• Insert probe into thickest part of food item.  Take reading when needle / digital LED stops moving.
• If possible, insert probe into item up to the dimple in the stem for most accurate reading
• When checking internal temperature of bone-in meat products, avoid inserting the probe to the point where it touches the bone.  Doing so will result in an inaccurate reading.
• When checking internal temperatures of poultry, one should take reading on dark meat portions (thighs or legs) vs. white meat portions.  Dark meat typically cooks slower.
• Avoid cross contamination!  Always sanitize probe after taking a reading of any item.  This can be easily done with sanitizing wipes.

Mushroom Confit with Fresh Herbs

My daughter Allison has acquired her Father's attraction to savory little tidbits that wake up the palate and quench one's need for a snack while, at the same time, requiring minimal effort to prepare and consume. 

These mushrooms, simmered in a liberal amount of good olive oil are subtly flavored with fresh garlic, herbs and sherry but also pack a bit of piquancy from the red pepper flakes and cracked black pepper.  Not only are these a great noshing item but they can be used in a "tapas" situation with a nice dry port / sherry, a welcome addition to a salad course or antipasto or a flavor element on top of a pasta course.  The residual olive oil base from this preparation matches well as the oil component in a vinaigrette or in the preparation of garlic bread.

To prepare, you'll need the following ingredients:

• 1 lb quartered button and/or baby bella mushrooms
• 8-10 cloves of fresh garlic, coursely chopped
• 1 tsp course or kosher salt or, to taste
• 1/2 tsp cracked black pepper or, to taste
• 1/4 tsp dried red pepper flakes or, to taste
• 1/4 c good sherry or dry port wine
• generous pinch of fresh thyme
• generous pinch of fresh tarragon
• generous pinch of fresh rosemary
• generous / liberal amount of high quality olive oil

Heat a 3 qt sauce pan over high heat until very hot.  Add 1-2 tbsp of olive oil followed immediately by the quartered mushrooms.  Resist the urge to stir here as the mushrooms will lose their moisture and begin to stew in their own liquid instead of browning.  Toss the mushrooms briefly after approximately 1 minute allowing additional browning / caramelization to occur.  After a 2nd minute of browning, reduce heat to medium and add garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes and stir frequently for an additional minute to prevent the garlic from burning.  Temporarily remove from heat to add sherry / dry port wine and return to heat stirring occasionally to largely reduce liquid -- approximately 1 minute.  Finally, add fresh herbs and cover generously with a good quality olive oil.  Reduce heat to simmer and lightly simmer for 30 minutes until mushrooms are well cooked and garlic is softened.

Enjoy at room temperature.  These should be consumed within 48 hrs of preparation.