145. Garam Masala (p. 932)

I made this recipe as a component of the Indian Baked Rice that I'll write about next.

Garam masala is a traditional Indian spice mixture that has many variations. The Book's version combines cardamom, cinnamon, cumin seeds, whole cloves, peppercorns and nutmeg.

Normally, I wouldn't go to the trouble of grinding my own spices, mostly because of the hassle. But after I smelled and tasted the results, I can certainly appreciate the difference between freshly ground spices, and a pre-ground spice mix that's been sitting in your cupboard for who knows how long and languishing on a supermarket shelf for who knows how much longer.

The preparation is pretty easy, just put all of the ingredients into a coffee/spice grinder (I had forgotten that I have one of these. Nice!) and whiz it until finely ground. The first ingredient is the cardamom. I'm sure that I've had foods that contain cardamom, but this was my first experience with the whole seeds and the pods that the seeds are packaged in. The first obstacle in dealing with cardamom is the price ... $16 for a jar of seed pods. I'm going to have to find some other cardamom recipes to make good use of leftovers. The next obstacle is getting the seeds out of the pods. Most of the pods were pretty papery and I could just peel them. Others were tougher and I needed to crush them with the side of a chef's knife to get the seeds out. But once that part was done, it was smooth sailing. Next I broke up a cinnamon stick, and added in the cumin seeds, whole cloves, peppercorns and nutmeg, and whizzed it all up.

The garam masala smells sweet, fruity with citrus and cedar notes. You can sense the individual scents of the cinnamon and cloves in waves, but no one single spice dominates. The smell is really out of this world. I was thinking that it would make a great scented candle. Are you listening, Yankee Candle Company?

Like I said, I made this garam masala for the Indian Baked Rice, but I also took The Book's advice to rub some of the leftover spice mix onto some boneless, skinless chicken breasts and threw them on the grill. They were great! A quick and delicious dinner.

Date Cooked: April 26, 2009
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: B+

65. Chicken Stock (p. 928)

When I made Risotto with Porcini a few weeks back, I used the last of my frozen home-made chicken stock. So, it was time to replenish the supply, and I went straight to the Basics chapter of The Book.

This recipe* starts with a whole, three-pound chicken cut into eight pieces. The chicken and the neck and giblets (except the liver ... it can make the stock bitter) go into your biggest pot with a whole lot of water. Bring it to a boil. The Book, oh-so-politely, says to skim off the "froth." But let's call the gross, foamy, bubbling mass of chicken fat what it really is: scum. Anyway, once that little bit of unpleasantness is behind you, it's smooth sailing from there. Add the remaining ingredients: two onions (peels on ... who knew?), garlic, carrots, celery, fresh parsley and spices. Simmer for three hours, occasionally skimming any additional froth.

Once it's done, strain it through a sieve, discard all of the chicken and vegetables, and cool the stock completely at room temperature. The Book says to chill the stock in the refrigerator and then to "scrape the congealed fat from chilled stock." This instruction conjures up an image of a hard film of fat over the top of the stock. I have to admit, I was a little disappointed when, after chilling overnight, there were just a few blobs of fat floating on the surface. These were easily spooned off, no "scraping" necessary.

The finished stock was delicious. Intensely flavored with a beautiful golden color. And while it cooked mostly unattended during a Saturday filled with household chores, it filled the house with a nice comforting aroma.

This was a good recipe, but I felt a little wasteful throwing away the chicken pieces after the stock was done. The stock recipe that I usually make comes from Jamie Oliver's The Naked Chef, and it uses chicken carcasses, so you get to use the chicken meat for other purposes. I could tell the difference in the flavor, though. The Gourmet stock was more flavorful than Jamie's.

When all was said and done, I put ten one-cup portions of stock in the freezer. And, do you know what? It's almost gone already, after I made the Kale and White Bean Soup (check back soon), and after my wife made a delicious pumpkin soup from Cooking Light.
Date Cooked: October 18, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: A-

*This recipe from epicurious is similar to the one in The Book.