"Kitchen Window" news and stories

This week, NPR's Kitchen Window series gives us some insight into the simple, wholesome recipes of the Shaker culture, in which food is carefully used and never wasted. They grew and prepared their own food, which was nutritious and well-rounded, and sat down to meals with often 300 at a table, everyone sharing in the bounty.

Here we get a few recipes adapted from "The Best of Shaker Cooking," including Peas and Potatoes in New Cream, Cream of Asparagus soup, and the 5-ingredient Shaker Lemon Pie. One Shaker chef explains the pie like this: "You've got to watch it, take care of it, pamper it...you can taste the difference."

I once whined to my mother (aka: Knower of All Things Culinary, and Go-To Person for All of Life's Quanadries) that I couldn't make a decent crepe without a crepe pan, and she waved my complaint away with her hand, insisting that while a crepe pan is nice, it's definitely not necessary.

On NPR's Kitchen Window series, we're reminded of this glorious food. Really, how can one simple butter-flour-milk mixture hold so much potential? NPR provided two simple recipes - one for a sweet crepe, and one for savory. I decided to tackle the savory one, substituting Morningstar faux chicken strips for real chicken. (The greenish blob on the top is 365 Brand Pesto - I really have to work on presentation).

As I attempted the little devils, I came to some important conclusions:
1). Let the butter soften before mixing it in the food processor. Otherwise, you will wind up with weird lumps in your batter.
2). Make sure your pan is really, really hot and really, really well-oiled.
3). If you do not like gummy, rubbery crepes, add ONLY 1/4 cup of batter and cook until the thing is lightly dotted with brown spots.
4.) If at first you don't succeed...

As you can see by the myriad conclusions, it took one or two tries before I figured it out. Granted, they aren't as good at the ones at Philly's Beau Monde, but I was pretty darn proud of myself. But if anyone has any tips for next time (I still have some batter left), please - I'm all ears!

(Oh - and mom was totally right about the pan thing).

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Yesterday in our Thanksgving extravaganza, we offered options on Thanksgiving themed cocktails, drinks that could pass as dessert and a flavored vodka that probably wasn't such a good idea. However, you may still be looking for some things to serve with your turkey dinner. In my family, we tend to go for an assortment of sparkling apple ciders, supplemented by any wine that a guest might bring with them.

For those of you out there with slightly more elevated palates who are looking for some beverage recommendations that are more sophisticated that Martinelli's, here are some spots to check out. Over on NPR's Kitchen Window, Cyrus Musiker writes about a Thanksgiving trial run that he and his wife did a few weeks back. He focuses on American wines and comes up with a substantial lists of wines that work with a turkey dinner with all the trimmings.

I mentioned this on Wednesday in my New York Times Dining and Wine round up, but Eric Asimov did a fun article this week about a tasting he did with some of the NYT food folks. They also embrace the idea that since it is an American holiday the wines should be domestic and they come up with some delicious-sounding selections. If you are planning to eat out on Thanksgiving and would like to order a bottle to go with your meal, but feel intimated by wine service, then over at KQED's blog Bay Area Bites where Michael Procopio posted an article about behave during the wine service dance.

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