Monthly Archives: September 2011

Snickerdoodle Fix

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: September 29, 2011

Snickerdoodles/photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman

It turns the stomach, the kind of email Marlene sent me over the weekend. Marlene who runs the cooking site CooksKorner said that one of Ruhlman's Twenty recipe testers, Matthew Kayahara, had done a 4x recipe of the cookies in the book (page 161), the basic cinnamon-sugar cookie, and it was badly out of whack. Indeed, when Marlene checked what was in the book, she found that the published recipe contained three times the amount of granulated sugar it should have. It's a book writer's nightmare. It also reminds me what a great thing an ebook is or an app that updates on your device automatically. But there is some small recourse. I can announce the error here and publish a correction. Here it is, the tested and true snickerdoodle recipe, based ...

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Posted in baking, Books, Desserts, Ratios, Recipes | Tagged cookies, snickerdoodles, twenty | Comments closed

The Lessons of Pork Belly

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: September 27, 2011

Crispy Pork Belly with Caramel-Miso Glaze/photos by Donna Turner Ruhlman

These are some of the pix we didn't use in the new book, Ruhlman's Twenty, and I wanted to share them because they make me hungry for pork belly. But when I sat down simply to mention this dish, Crispy Pork Belly with Miso-Caramel Glaze, it surprised me with all the lessons it has wrapped up in it. First of all, it's a delicious dish (I was delighted that Rob Misfud, in his review of the book in Toronto's Globe and Mail, tried it and loved it—while it's not difficult, it's more involved than most of the other recipes in the book). But go below the deliciousness and you will see it's a lesson in braising, in understanding the nature of pork skin, of the power ...

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Posted in Appetizers, Books, Butchery, Charcuterie, Pork!, Recipes | Tagged caramel butter sauce, caramel miso glaze, pork belly, recipe, twenty | Comments closed

Pasta Formulas

By emilia | Published: September 26, 2011

Take a mathematical look at the shapes of pasta, elaborating the shape into formulas and computer images, via Wall Street Journal.

Posted in Article, Food Photography, food science, Pasta | Tagged mathematics, pasta, shape, wall street journal | Comments closed

Autumn Radishes

By emilia | Published: September 26, 2011

Its not just in the UK where radishes are gaining in popularity, but here in the US too; especially the autumn ones, via The Telegraph.

Posted in Article, Vegetables | Tagged autumn, heirloom, radishes, Vegetables | Comments closed

5-Second Rule

By emilia | Published: September 26, 2011

Here are some interesting food myths debunked or verified, such as the truth behind the 5 second rule, via The Daily Meal.

Posted in Article, Food Culture, food science | Tagged Food Myths, The daily Meal | Comments closed

Late Summer Succotash (with Soybeans)

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: September 22, 2011

Last Saturday at our farmer's market at Shaker Square in Cleveland, one of the farmers was selling fresh soy beans still on the stalk (above, photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman). It's a great way to sell them. I don't mind doing the picking of my own beans (he charged $3.50 for what amounted to a pound of soybeans). "They'd be a lot more expensive if I had to pick them," he told me. These beans, often sold cooked as edamame (their Japanese name), are so good when you cook them yourself, a delicious nourishing snack or a great ingredient. To prepare the soy beans, simply boil them in their pods until they're tender, then chill them in ice water or in plenty of continuously running cold water. They pop right out of the pod. You can simply sprinkle a bowl of ...

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Posted in Recipes, Vegetables | Tagged corn, Soybeans, succotash, summer vegetables | Comments closed

Homemade Potato Chips

By Michael Ruhlman | Published: September 19, 2011

Homemade Potato Chips/photo by Donna Turner Ruhlman

What are the most special things we can cook? I contend the most special preparations are not those that are most difficult, time-consuming, or use the most expensive ingredients, but rather the ones that result in food we can't buy. I can make bread, and it's really good, and fun to bake and fills the house with a great aroma. But it's not going to be as good as the baguettes I can buy at On the Rise bakery. A preparation such as mayonnaise, however, that's different. You can't buy mayonnaise that's as good as mayonnaise you make. It doesn't exist. Potato chips are another such food. I like Lays potato chips just as I like Helmann's mayonnaise, and on a Saturday afternoon, if I want a quick sandwich and chips, ...

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