Today a piece I wrote on pickled ginger ran in the Register Guard - you can read it here.
Which has me thinking about what else people want to learn how to make, and what I should be sending out in terms of pitches. If only I had like, Grace Helbig-level followers. I could post on Tumblr hey, what do you want to read about? And people would answer.
Maybe I should just email Grace Helbig. Now there’s an idea.
Some say it ain’t easy being green. I say it ain’t always easy being a freelance food writer. Case in point - articles like the one posted on First We Feast: 20 things everything thinks about the food world (but nobody will say). Followed by a post on the same website that deals with 20 most annoying things servers do.
It became painfully clear that the person putting together the server article had never set foot in the back of the house.
But, this is food writing. Where have all the Ruth Reichls gone.
Yeah, yeah I know Chanukah is over - but I don’t care. It is downright freezing for an Oregon winter and I’m craving holiday doughnuts dusted in cinnamon, sugar and cardamom.
So I’m sharing this very special recipe with you - courtesy of Tobi Sovak, baker extraordinaire. Eat responsibly.
Tobi Sovak’s Jelly Filled Doughnuts for Chanukah, aka Sufganiyot
2 (1/4 ounce) envelopes dry yeast
2 cups cups lukewarm milk
¾ cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
8 tablespoons (4 ounces) butter, room temp.
5 cups flour
1 – 2 quarts oil, for deep frying
1 jar strawberry or raspberry jam
1/4 cup sugar, 2 tablespoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground cardamom, mixed together in a bowl and set aside
In the bowl of a standing mixer, sprinkle yeast over warm milk and let stand five minutes or until foamy.
Add the sugar, salt, eggs, butter and two cups flour. Mix for a few minutes at low speed.
Beat in remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough no longer sticks to the bowl. Knead for about five minutes or until smooth and elastic.
Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover. Let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about an hour or a bit longer.
Turn the dough onto a floured surface and gently roll out to 1/2-inch thickness. Cut into circles. Let rise again until doubled in bulk.
Heat four cups of oil in a deep fryer or large pot to 350. Carefully slide doughnuts into hot oil using a wide spatula. Turn the doughnuts over as they rise to the surface. Doughnuts are ready when both sides are golden brown. Remove from oil and blot on paper towels. Quickly toss into the spiced sugar mixture.
Fill each doughnut with one teaspoon jelly using a pastry bag and a small pastry tip, or by cutting a small slit in the side of the doughnut and inserting the jelly with a baby spoon.
Serve immediately.
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Amen. And we found the source, she said this during the ribbon-cutting of the new American Wing at the Metropolitan Museum in 2009.
Wonderful words on the importance of the arts from the First Lady :)
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Miss getting this in my mailbox. Time to renew my subscription
(Source: bernardin, via hellogiggles)
#CALLSFROMOBAMA
Hey y’all! I made souffle! Read about it here in my latest Poor Taste column.
In other news, Cirque du Soleil’s “Quidam” was in the big Euge. I went opening night and was completely entertained. If the show is coming to your city and you’re on the fence in regards to tickets, read my review for Ticket Files here.
Have a great Monday!
I live in Oregon - the only state in the Union that votes by mail. There is no polling station to go to, no “I voted” sticker to proudly wear this November. This is new for me - I’ve always excitedly marched to the polls.
I got my mail-in ballot last week, and talked to some friends about it. One said he doesn’t vote because “votes in Oregon don’t count. The president is already announced before Oregon ballots are finished being counted.”
Talk about malarkey. First of all, that’s not true. Second of all, call me naive but I’m of the “every vote counts” camp. I can’t wait to mail in my ballot, vote again for my president. It doesn’t matter if you live in Oregon or Oklahoma - get your vote on.