Great Starters

How to Make the Best Baguettes in the World (or at least in D.C.)

John — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:30:36 +0000

His ultra-wonky effort may lack the populist, mix-it-and-forget-it appeal of no-knead bread, but you have to hand it to home baker Samuel Fromartz: his self-titled method for crafting a traditional baguette won in a blind taste-test overseen by the Washington CityPaper. His competitors? Just about every bakery in D.C.

As Samuel says, “the recipe may be intimidating,” and it is: he’s been baking for a decade, and if you’re not ready to measure yeast to the nearest gram and get your oven to exactly 470F, this recipe may not be the one for you. Even so, his poetic reflections on the method behind the madness (“the soft, slightly sweet crumb, the uneven and slightly chewy and bubbly interior, the crisp crust, delicately toasted in sections”) make for inspirational reading, whatever your own comfort with wrangling dough may be. Happy baking.

Keep Those Chocolate Recipes Coming…

John — Tue, 12 May 2009 23:00:15 +0000

Not sure if it’s because of Mother’s Day, or because it’s just about time for summer picnics, or for some other reason entirely, but the food blogs all seem to be buzzing with recipes and ideas for chocolate desserts. We do hope that whatever’s been bringing all these recipes to the surface doesn’t stop anytime soon. Here are a few of our favorites:

Zoe Bakes gets ready for a birthday with a reliable Devil’s Food that has the genius addition of malted milk powder in its buttercream frosting.
Mint Swirl Brownies seem like a force to be reckoned with: they combine a cream cheese filling with melted mint-flavored chocolate.
The Kitchen Sink Recipes tackles pecan-topped Texas Sheet Cake and falls for its “simple, homey” charms.
Baking and Books’ Traveler’s Chocolate Muffins combine a powerful hit of cocoa with chopped walnuts and brown sugar: they’ll definitely beat whatever pastry you could round up at an airport or chain restaurant off the highway.
Bread and Jam’s prints her mother’s Chocolate Cake, one that has the always-killer addition of sour cream to keep things tender.
What about you? Have you had chocolate on the brain more than usual recently?

Only a Little Assembly Required: Elderflower Syrup

John — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:45:39 +0000

Blackberries are just starting to come into season on the west coast — a time that happily coincides with lots of opportunities for outdoor get-togethers. We liked the Kitchn’s recipe for a nonalcoholic blackberry spritzer, which also calls for a more exotic ingredient (at least to non-Europeans): elderflower syrup. Although it’s available in specialty food shops, it can also be found in a less likely place: Ikea. The furnishing store’s Swedish Food Market always makes a good reward after dealing with all the crowds in the main section; you might as well also pick up a jar of lingonberry jam while you’re there.

By the way, elderflower syrup also makes a simple, light cocktail: to a glass of sparkling wine such as prosecco, add about an ounce of syrup.

The Freshest Apples Might Be Just Around the Corner

John — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:15:53 +0000

Just about everyone’s concerned about buying local, reducing waste, and saving money these days: here’s an idea whose time has definitely come. Neighborhood Fruit aims to match up people who have too much fruit on their backyard trees with those who’d like to get their hands on it. It also allows users to make a note of where they’re found fruit-bearing trees and bushes on public land—plants whose bounty usually ends up just feeding the birds (and the occasional squirrel). As you’d expect for a fledgling site, only a few trees are registered, and they’re all on the west coast. Here’s hoping that the fruit exchange concept takes off once more things start ripening. [via Serious Eats]

Being Frugal But Not Anti-Social

John — Tue, 12 May 2009 22:00:34 +0000

The aptly named Stonesoup has some sensible tips for entertaining on a budget. We have to admit that number 9 (“Make dessert a star”) makes a lot of sense–after all, dessert is what everyone remembers, even when memories of ramp quiches and the like have faded. And because no one’s feeling much richer on the other side of the Atlantic either, the Guardian has begun a week-long series of recipes by British cooks and chefs: their task is to think about how to make delicious meals that will feed two people for less than £5 (about $7.60). Delia Smith and Jamie Oliver are first up–can’t wait to give Delia’s potato, onion, and cheese souffle a try.