wit wisdom and food

celebrating shared meals

5 tips for tackling a challenging recipe

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A few weekends ago (I am so slow at posting these days) I made Coq Au Vin Julia Child style. Coq Au Vin is a dish that sounds complicated and over the years many versions have emerged. For the added challenge I decided to make Julia’s version over say Martha’s. Though if I were to hazard a guess Martha’s is probably more complicated and more challenging. I also decided to tackle my first dessert out of the Miette Cookbook, Old fashioned cupcakes. The thing both these recipes have in common is their fear factor. These recipes have so many steps I was scared to start.

I have been baking and cooking for a couple decades now. Wow that sentence will make a girl feel old. In those decades I have learned a few things that have helped me conquer the most daunting recipes.

1. Read the recipe from beginning to end
If you do nothing else start by sitting down and reading the entire recipe from start to finish so you know what all the ingredients are, if there are things that need extra to cool or marinate, and if you have all the equipment. Nothing will ruin a recipe faster than not having what you need.

I don’t pay heed to this enough. I do it more on recipes that I think will be easy and about 20 minutes in realize I need something I don’t have and have to improvise which doesn’t always work out.

2. Give yourself enough time
If you have never made a recipe before and you really want it to come out right allot enough time to get it done. If you have a recipe that you think will take an hour give yourself an extra 30 minutes to prep and get organized before you start.

I have found that the recipes that state how long it should take to make leave me rushing to get it done or dinner is late to the table. Turns out I am slower in the kitchen and I enjoy the prep so I give myself time to relax and enjoy the project.

3. Prepare all your ingredients in advance
Mise en place is extremely important to professional and home chefs. Mise en place is a a french cooking term that means to put in place. It means to get everything ready and in its spot before you start cooking. If you take the time to measure out everything in advance before you start mixing you will be assured your food isn’t burning while you chop that last ingredient or your whipped egg whites aren’t falling as you sift the flour.

When I first started watching Martha Stewart I was fascinated with all her little bowl she used when cooking. I thought that was just because she was demonstrating on tv and that was probably part of it, but my prep bowls are one of my favorite kitchen items because it keeps everything in its place and ready to use. It makes the recipes seem less daunting when I get started. I kick myself every time I don’t follow this tip.

4. Go slow and be thorough
Most recipes are going to take that time they are going to take. You can’t speed up browning or baking or any other process of cooking. So make it deliberate and go slow. The more attention you pay to the details the better your recipe will come out. It will also help with ways to change the recipe for next time.

5. Go easy on yourself
Most likely you are not a professional chef so cut yourself some slack. If your recipe comes out tasting good but not as pretty it was a success. You can fine tune your skills and work up to pretty. Don’t beat yourself up so much that you don’t want to try again. Like any skill you have to practice.

My cupcakes didn’t all turn out pretty. I didn’t pay enough attention when I put the hot sugar mixture into the kitchen aid for my boiled icing and it splattered all over the sides of the bowl making very pretty rock candy. Some of these pieces got into my piping bag and made it extremely tough to get the icing onto the cupcakes. About half turned out looking close to the bakeries. I celebrated those 12 cupcakes like I had conquered the world. I was waving my hands in the air like a boxer that just won a 12 round bout.

There should probably be a sixth tip and that is have fun. Just enjoy the time in the kitchen and the results, whatever they are, will make any tough recipe possible.

What recipe have you been too afraid to try? Do you have big plans for a new Thanksgiving dish?

Be sure to come back tomorrow for the third issue of whet your whistle wednesday.

my little corner

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When I started this blog I just wanted a place to write about food. I was as usually a few steps behind the times. I hadn’t heard of Julie & Julia. I hadn’t read the book. I had no ideas of finding fame or making a living writing the blog. It was just a place to be a hobby and help keep me inspired to try new foods, restaurants and recipes. Then I read the book and more importantly I saw the movie. It is my inspiration movie. When I get in a lull and can’t get my motivation going I pop it in and watch it. Every time it is like I have never seen it before.

I think that most bloggers at this point have a fantasy of making a living and getting a call to have a book deal. It is like young boys playing baseball and believing they can be in the World Series some day. Maybe it was gymnastics for you and you fantasized that you could go to the Olympics. Most bloggers might not admit to this but we have all had the “what if it happened to me” moment. The fantasy keeps me going. I would have to do a lot of things differently to make that a reality and it would probably have to start with having advertising. Maybe some day but for now I will just dream.
My old roomie that just got married this past weekend, Corrine, knew my love for the movie and as luck would have it she worked at a movie theater. When the poster became available she brought it home. It isn’t just any poster it is the one that goes in the light box. So if I had a really great set up I could illuminate it from the back and it would glow just like the posters outside the movie theater. I love this poster. It will always be prominent in my office or kitchen. One of the best things about the poster is it makes me think of Corrine and Joe every time I look at it. Especially tonight since I was just at their wedding and I can smell Joe’s favorite meatloaf cooking in the background. More on that later this week.
Since the picture is up how about a little story about some of the other things in my kitchen office. My three flame colored LeCreuset are proudly displayed. Two of the pieces are hand-me-downs from my grandmother. The other I bought last year. My dream is to have a variety of pieces in a range of colors. On the next shelf down are two original glasses from 1977 released by Burger King/Coca-Cola. My brother and I found them at a vintage toy store in Cincinnati. He has Lando and I have R2-D2/C-3PO and Luke Skywalker. My brother and I love Star Wars so it was a fun find. Next shelf is packed with some of my favorite cookbooks. Some old some new. The right side of the shelf has the books I got from my grandmother’s kitchen. The best are the early editions of Mastering the Art of French Cooking, James Beard’s American Cookery and the Gourmet cookbook Vol. 1. On the new side I love A new Turn in the South by Hugh Acheson. To the right of the computer you can see the tiny head of my Rory McIlroy bobblehead that we got at a Giants game for Irish heritage night during this years US Open week.
My little corner in the kitchen has been a great resource. I have everything I need in the kitchen at my disposal. Tom calls it my haven and I don’t think there could be a better word to describe it. Do you have a haven? What do you love most about it?