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Apple Cider Doughnuts

December 29, 2009 by Charles 7 Comments

In economics, the term “economies of scale” drives both efficiency and production. The term – or theory as it may be – dictates that as the number of goods produced increases, so does the efficiency of producing those goods. The reasoning behind the theory is simple: as a company produces a greater number of goods, it is able to divide its fixed costs (salaries, rent, etc.) among that greater number of goods, lowering the average cost per unit.

Economies of scale need not be limited to the boardroom. Its principles are equally applicable to the kitchen.

To make sufganiyot, I needed to …

Maple-Roasted Winter Squash

December 24, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

Cooking offers the chance to learn something new.

Sometimes, it’s a new cooking style – broiling or deep frying, perhaps. Other times, cooking offers the opportunity to try a new spice or a new vegetable. When I learned the difference between sweet potatoes and yams, I went out and bought two different types of yams.

Not surprisingly, when I learned the difference between the different types of winter squash, I went out and bought three different types of squash. Among them were two varieties I had never tried: acorn and ambercup.

Roasting different varieties together has its advantages. It offers the chance …

Blue Cheese Souffle

November 9, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

No one would ever accuse blue cheese of being timid.

With its blue veins and pungent smell, blue cheese is not hiding from anyone. And yet, for centuries, it was. That is, blue cheese developed when farmers left the cheese in damp and cold caves, letting the bluish-green mold create the distinctive flavor we now know.

This soufflé was not intuitive. When I first unwrapped the Roquefort, half of me wanted to return the cheese to that far-off cave. But somehow,…

Falafel Sandwich

September 29, 2009 by Charles 3 Comments

Every dish has two stories behind it. The first story describes the origin of a dish, and sets out the historical underpinnings behind a recipe. The second story centers around the making of a dish, and notes the step-by-step details of assembling the meal. In several cases, my posts have focused on the former story. But in this case, Caitlin assured me that the second story of falafel was far more interesting than its first.

The Sunday before Labor Day, Caitlin suggested we make falafel. Together. We printed off a recipe, and went to the store to collect the ingredients. Since we were making it later that night, we bought canned garbanzo beans, though we also went ahead and purchased the dried version as well. We followed the recipe, but with little success. Upon hitting the oil, our chickpea mixture slowly disintegrated. We added a little flour, but that did not help. Our joint effort at falafel was a disaster.

The next day, I tried shaping a few more falafel balls, hoping the lengthy period of refrigeration might have shored up the chickpea mixture. Again, no luck. The canned garbanzo beans were apparently not going to cut it. I remained undeterred.

Later that night, unbeknown to Caitlin, …

Classic Hamburgers

July 8, 2009 by Charles 2 Comments

Jeffrey Tennyson, an artist and satirist, once remarked that the real American icon is not apple pie, but the hamburger. And Tennyson would know; he spent a good part of his life writing about the hamburger and collecting hamburger memorabilia. When it opened in 1993, Tennyson’s memorabilia formed the core collection of the now-defunct Hamburger Hall of Fame, in Seymour, Wisconsin.

Seymour, Wisconsin, according to some, is the birthplace of the hamburger. In 1885, Charles Nagreen stuck a meatball between two slices of bread, and served the sandwich at the Seymour fair, giving rise to what would later become the modern burger.

Meanwhile, in New Haven Connecticut, Louis Lassen was busy grilling the leftover trimmings …