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Letter to the editor

Going for broke in 'Baking Boot Camp'

By ELLEN FOLKMAN
Published May 9, 2007

ADVERTISEMENT The Ultimate Cook Book, by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough. Let's Cook Japanese Food! by Amy Kaneko. Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at the Culinary Institute of America.

TITLE: Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at the Culinary Institute of America (John Wiley & Sons, $29.95; 277 pages).

GENERALLY SPEAKING: Baking Boot Camp is a glimpse into life at the Culinary Institute of America. The book follows the five-day crash baking course at the prestigious school.

SAMPLE RECIPES: Caramel Chocolate Mousse Cake, Buttercream Tort, Mudslide Cookies and Chipotle Skillet Cornbread.

FOR: Die-hard bakers who want to improve their skills. Includes making croissants or puff pastry from scratch.

SKILL LEVEL: Intermediate to advanced.

SIT A SPELL: There is a lot of reading here, but it is interesting if baking is your thing. Author Darra Goldstein chronicles her experience alongside recipes. If you've ever dreamed about attending the culinary institute, this will give you a good idea of what to expect.

TITLE: Let's Cook Japanese Food! by Amy Kaneko (Chronicle Books, $22.95; 168 pages).

GENERALLY SPEAKING: Directions for authentic Japanese family cooking. No teppanyaki table needed. Some recipes reference others elsewhere in the book. It's important to read through each recipe before beginning.

SAMPLE RECIPES: Sweet Simmered Beef and Onions Over Rice, Spinach in Sesame Dressing and Broiled Salmon With Mayonnaise.

FOR: Adventurous home chefs. There are a few special techniques, but the most challenging part of this cookbook is that you'll need to make sauces from other recipes in the book. Some specialty items are needed, including sake, mirin and miso.

TITLE: The Ultimate Cook Book by Bruce Weinstein and Mark Scarbrough (William Morrow, $34.95; 692 pages).

GENERALLY SPEAKING: This is great for a new bride or beginning cook. The authors pride themselves on including 900 new recipes plus thousands of ideas. Most every recipe has a variation, making the possibilities endless.

FOR: Most home cooks will enjoy the variety of recipes. You will find the usual, like popovers, coconut cream pie, fruit cobblers and more, as well as the unusual: Halibut Burgers and Fruit Stuffed Goose.

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT: There are specialty ingredients scattered throughout the book, such as tomatillos, mirin, dark Belgian beer or superfine sugar.

Entree:

Sweet Simmered Beef Over Rice

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/2 large yellow onion, thinly sliced

1 tablespoon sake

1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons white wine

1 1/4 cups water

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon ginger juice

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon very finely minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 pound beef rib eye, very thinly sliced (almost shaved; for ease, freeze for 1 hour before slicing)

2 cups hot cooked rice

2 large eggs, optional

- In a medium saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. When the butter is foaming, add the onion and cook, stirring often, until translucent, 4 to 5 minutes. Add the sake and wine and cook for about 2 minutes to cook off most of the alcohol. Add the water, soy sauce, ginger juice, sugar, garlic and salt and mix well. Finally, add the beef and cook, stirring constantly to prevent the pieces from sticking together, until it is just cooked through. The beef should cook very quickly, no more than 2 to 3 minutes.

- Divide the rice between 2 bowls and spoon the beef and onion mixture over the top, also dividing evenly. Serve at once. If you like, provide each diner with an egg to mix into the hot beef and rice.

Note: To extract ginger juice, grate unpeeled ginger and squeeze the pulp in your hand to release the juice.

Serves 2.

Source: Let's Cook Japanese Food!

Quick breads:

Chipotle Skillet Cornbread

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup corn kernels

1 cup milk

1 egg

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons chipotle peppers in adobo sacue

1/4 cup diced red pepper

1/3 cup diced green pepper

- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 9-inch cast iron skillet with the butter and place the skillet in the oven to preheat.

-In a large mixing bowl, place the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder and salt and stir until all the ingredients are thoroughly mixed. In a separate bowl, combine the corn kernels, milk, egg, oil and peppers. Stir with a fork until well blended. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in the corn mixture and mix until evenly moistened; the batter will be lumpy, but all the ingredients should be thoroughly incorporated.

- Pour the batter into the heated skillet and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the cornbread comes out clean. Allow the cornbread to cool for 10 to 15 minutes before cutting it into 8 wedges.

Source: Baking Boot Camp: Five Days of Basic Training at the Culinary Institute of America

Side dish:

Wild Rice Croquettes

1 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup wild rice

2 tablespoons walnut oil

8 scallions, very thinly sliced

10 ounces white button or cremini mushrooms, cleaned and thinly sliced

1/4 cup dried cranberries, chopped

1 tablespoon packed minced sage leaves

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

2 large eggs, at room temperature

1/3 cup panko bread crumbs

2 tablespoons canola oil, plus more as necessary

- Stir the water and wild rice in a medium saucepan, then bring to a boil over medium high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low and simmer until the rice is tender, 40 to 50 minutes. Drain any remaining water from the pan and set aside. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl in the walnut oil, then add the scallions. Cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute.

- Add the mushrooms and cook, stirring often, until they have given off their liquid and it has all evaporated, about 6 minutes.

- Stir in the cranberries, sage, salt and pepper. Cook for 20 seconds, then transfer to the bowl of a food processor fitted with the chopping blade. Process until finely chopped. Transfer to a large bowl and stir in the wild rice. Cool for 15 minutes.

- Lightly beat the eggs in a small bowl, then stir them and the bread crumbs into the wild rice mixture.

-Make 6 patties out of the mixture. Your hands will get a little messy; the patties must be compacted to adhere. Moistening your hands helps.

Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Swirl in the canola oil, then slip in as many patties as will easily fit. Fry for 3 minutes, then use two metal spatulas to turn them over; slip one under the patty and use the other to hold the patty in place as it is being flipped. Fry until lightly browned, about 3 minutes more. If you need to make a second batch, add up to 2 tablespoons more oil to the pan before adding the additional patties.

Yield: 6 croquettes.

Source: The Ultimate Cook Book

[Last modified May 8, 2007, 19:54:48]