My Blog

I alluded to it in my last post – this so called buddy baking project.  HOW EXCITING! Charity, as you’ll soon meet, is my new blogging buddy, and together we’re going to work our way through Sherry Yards “Secrets of Baking“. This is a *fantastic* baking book with loads of useful instruction.  The best part is the way that its organized.  Its unlike any other baking book that I’ve ever seen.  Instead of having a cookie chapter, a cake chapter, etc, it divides desserts into their parent category, like ganache, vanilla sauce, brioche, etc, and then breaks these down into sub categories; and all this shows how these recipes are related.  Its a really fresh approach to the different categories of baking, and with her book, even the  most complex stuff seems boiled down into its most basic components.  I’m looking forward to tackling it – just in time for the holidays!

We both thought the idea of a mini interview would be fun so that’s what you’ll see here.  Charity’s answers are listed below, and my answers are at her blog, Sweet Charity Pie, so feel free to check them out!

And without further ado, here’s Charity!

1)Why do you want to undertake this project?
I want to do this for a number of reasons: First, I want to become a little more well-rounded in the professional kitchen. I know the savory side of things from stocks and sauces to butchery, and can improvise with ingredients. I would like to me more familiar with pastry/baking and have the same ease in the bake shop as in the rest of the kitchen. Second, I sometimes need a little motivation when doing things, so having a buddy project will keep me baking… kinda like how I have an easier time going to the gym when I have someone to go with. Third, I thought it would be nice to be involved in a small group, where I can actually do some of the picking.

2) What is your first memorable baking/cooking experience?
I remember making pies with my mom and dad when I was like 3 or 4. I didn’t want to use a pie plate for my mini pies, and insisted on making little rectangular strudel-type pies… hmmm, I wonder if the hot apple pies from McDonald’s had anything to do with that one. I think I just liked the idea of being able to pick up the pie to eat it, because for as long as I can remember, I’ve found those pies to be absolutely disgusting.

3) Best thing you’ve ever made:
The best thing may have been the wild mushrooms in phyllo deal I made for an appetizer & pairing competition in January, 2004. The judges like it enough to give me first place, which meant a free trip to San Francisco and Mendocino. Sweet!
Personally, I am always really happy when I make something like a whole roasted chicken or apple pie. I have extremely high expectations when it comes to “comfort foods” so when these things turn out for me, I feel like it’s a huge success. And I was really proud of the olive-oil poached rach of lamb I did a while back.

4) Worst thing I’ve ever made:
It’s a toss-up between the Saskatoon Berry Barbeque sauce used at River Cafe and a lime-coconut pie I attempted a couple years ago. The barbeque sauce was just intensely messy and purple, and somehow I became covered from head to toe, in addition to covering my entire work space… seriously, any recipe that requires scrubbing the walls as part of clean-up is evil. The lime coconut pie is the only thing I ever remember making where I took one bite and threw the whole thing out. It was awful.

5) If you had unlimited funds and were to take a trip, where would you go?
I like to take vacations to places where I can try new foods. I would love to travel around Asia, eating as many noodles as possible.
I would also love to travel around the Mediterranean- this would be a 21-country tour including Spain, France, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Lebanon, Israel, Egypt, and Morocco. It would be neat to discover similarities in cuisine from country to country.
If I could only pick one city to go to, I would choose either Paris, New York, or Hong Kong.

6) If you had to choose your last meal, what would it be?
I might choose fish tacos, or cassoulet… flip a coin, both would be good.

7) What are 10 ingredients you can’t live without?
In no particular order: 1. Kosher salt or sea salt- the iodized stuff creeps me out and tastes weird; 2. Freshly ground black pepper; 3. Vanilla- either the pure extract or the beans… if I’m making something sweet, you can bet it’s going in whether the recipe calls for it or not, and if I’m making something savory, well chances are there’s a little in there too; 4. Cinnamon- it’s part of my secret ingredient duo, along with vanilla; 5. Garlic, shallots and ginger, aka, the holy trinity. I know technically this is three things, but I use them together as the base for so many things; 6. Good quality cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil, preferably of the fruity variety- *sigh* good olive oil is so hard to find; 7. Good quality butter (sweet butter is my favorite); 8. Bacon/speck because it’s so versitile; 9. Dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 80% or greater- I like it slightly bitter; 10. White truffle oil- I’m addicted. I put it in everything I can, sprinkle it on popcorn even. The smell of it is intoxicating, and actually just thinking of it now makes me salivate a little…

8)Favorite kitchen gadget?
Definitely my microplane rasp.

9) Favorite band/album of all time?
This seems to change a lot for me. Currently I am fully stuck on The Slackers: Close My Eyes. It hasn’t been out of the rotation in at least 6 months. I also really love Jeff Buckley’s Grace, Radiohead’s In Rainbows, and Dap Dippin’ With Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings.

10) Favorite guilty pleasure movie or TV show?
I really am diggin’ Secret Diary of a Call Girl, and have also managed to get into Heroes and Battlestar Galactica, both of which being shows I never thought I’d like.

11) Favorite book(s)/authors?
Current favorite book is The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. Authors I love include Clive Barker, Neil Gaiman, Orson Scott Card, Philippa Gregory, and Russel Banks.

12) What super-power would you most like to have?
I would love to have the ability to teleport- would make it so much easier to get around…

13) What are your hobbies outside of the kitchen?
Aside from baking and cooking, I like doing lots of physical activity- biking, hiking, yoga, dancing. I also do a lot of reading (fiction and non-fiction), and generally have 2 or 3 book on the go at the same time. I love going to see live music, and checking out local art exhibits. I love to travel whenever my budget can allow it.

14) Who from the past would you like to meet?
I think I would like to meet my grandmothers as young women.

15) Favorite quote?
“Cook with love”. I’m not sure who to attribute this to, because it’s been said to me since I started cooking, and I’ve read it in countless places, most recently in the introduction for SOB.

16) As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? is that what you do now?
When I was a child I wanted to be a teacher or a ballerina- I actually have a picture I drew in kindergarden illustrating this dream. Now, technically, I’m neither, but in a way I’m sorta both. With my job as a cook, I do get to teach people things, and you always hear about cooks having to “dance”…

17) Favorite restaurant and entree there?
One of my favorite restaurants is a place I used to work called River Cafe- some favorite entrees which have been on the menu in the past include a mirin and soy marinated seared sablefish (black cod), served with oyster mushrooms, bok choy and soba noodles. I also really loved the pan seared Manitoba pickeral, though I have no idea what it came with. On the cheaper side of things, my favorite restaurant would have to be this little Vietnamese place called Co-Do. I usually get #11A, medium, with extra vegetables. It’s medium rare beef pho. Sometimes I switch it up and go for a lemongrass chicken curry on vermicelli instead.

18) Favorite dessert?
I live for apple pie, and I’ll take it any way. Hot, cold, a la mode, in galette form, with cheese, whatever.

19) What are your vices, if any?
I love a good glass of medium bodied red wine at the end of a long night… or a rum and coke, dependng on my mood. I have a thing for expensive shoes, and often go into boutique shops to salivate. I like watching sappy romantic shows (in secret, shhhh! nobody is supposed to know!). Once in a while (a very long while, mind you) I get the urge to smoke clove cigarettes- this is strange as I’ve never been a smoker, and the urge usually passes after  less than half a smoke.

20) One thing you would change about yourself if you could.
I’m pretty satisfied with myself- don’t think I would just magically change one thing… there’s a few things I’m working on, but I think the actual work is very valuable in and of itself.

Stay tuned to see what we whip up!