133. Falafel Pitas (with Chopped Vegetable Salad) (p. 182)

I'm not sure what happened, but this recipe* was a failure. You can't really tell from the picture, but this dish didn't turn out at all like it was supposed to.

First, I ground some chickpeas in the food processor. The Book calls for dried chickpeas soaked for 24 hours. I used canned instead. This might have been a big mistake, but I don't see how this substitution could have caused the disaster that resulted in the end. Next, I blended in some scallions, parsley, garlic, salt, baking powder, cumin, coriander and cayenne. I let this mixture stand, covered with plastic wrap, for about a half hour. Then I formed the mixture into eighteen patties. The mixture seemed to have a good texture, and the patties held together just fine. I set the patties on a baking sheet lined with wax paper.

Next, I clipped my brand-new candy/deep frying thermometer to the side of a large saucepan, filled it with canola oil, and watched nervously as the mercury climbed toward 375 degrees. It took a while for the oil to heat up, and it made some strange clicking and hissing noises as it heated. I have to admit, this is only the second time that I've ever deep fried anything, and I was a little spooked by the ominous warning about grease fires on the Crisco oil label. I was almost sure that the oil was going to spontaneously ignite.

Well, it didn't spontaneously ignite, but it didn't do what it was supposed to, either. Once the thermometer registered 375, I put the first three falafels in the oil. It bubbled furiously, and after a minute, I put my slotted spoon in the oil to flip the falafels. The problem is, I couldn't find them. Instead of crisping up, the falafels had dissolved to nearly nothing in the hot oil. Totally disheartened, I made the snap decision to pull the plug on the deep frying and switch to pan frying. This wasn't much of an improvement. I was able to get some crispiness on the outside, but the patties just wouldn't cook through, and way I ended up with was what can only be described as crispy hummus. The flavor was fine (especially when drizzled with the tahini sauce that I'll write about in my next post), but the texture was very strange. I could only eat a couple of them. My wife (what a trooper!) even had leftovers for dinner the next night.

Like I said at the beginning of the post, I'm not sure what went wrong here. Maybe it was the canned chickpeas. But I think it is more likely that it was the oil not being hot enough. I plunged the first batch of falafels into the oil the second it reached the 375 degree mark. Maybe if I had let it get a little bit hotter, it would have crisped up the outside on contact, and then slowly cooked the patties through. I think, however, the next time I want a falfel (which isn't very often, since my food of choice at Middle-Eastern restaurants is baked kibbeh) I'll go to the take-out place down the street.

This recipe wasn't a total failure, though. The falafels are served with at Chopped Vegetable Salad, which is a sub-recipe to the main falafel recipe. It's finely chopped seeded tomatoes, green bell peppers, cucumbers, scallions and radishes in a light, lemony viniagrette. The salad was really good, and I just might make it on its own this summer for a cookout, or to go with some grilled meat for an easy dinner.

Date Cooked: April 4, 2009
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: D (falafel) B+ (chopped salad)

*This recipe isn't on epicurious.com

117. Tarragon-Shallot Egg Salad Sandwiches (p. 185)

I had a bunch of fresh tarragon leftover from the Asparagus with Tarragon Sherry Vinaigrette that I made a little while back. It's become my mission to waste as little food as possible these days (times are tough, and anyway, wasting food is so ... well, wasteful). So I looked through The Book to find other dishes that used tarragon, and I came across this recipe for egg salad sandwiches.

I've always loved egg salad. I know a lot of people get turned off by the smell of hard-boiled eggs or the texture of egg salad. But for me, I really like it's rich creaminess. This recipe takes the run-of-the-mill chopped-eggs-and-mayo salad to the next level with the addition of some finely chopped shallot and tarragon and a shot of red wine vinegar. The Book says to add the tarragon "to taste." Well, I love tarragon, so I used a liberal handful of the stuff. The flavor was great. The shallots gave the salad a little bit of texture and just the right amount of mellow "oniony-ness." The vinegar lightenend it up and gave it a little bit of a zip that mayo alone can't provide. The Book calls for topping the sandwich off with fresh tender pea shoots, but seriously, folks, where am I going to get fresh pea shoots in February? Thankfully, The Book says that shredded lettuce is an acceptable alternative.

I'm really glad that I made this recipe since it's been so long since I've had an egg salad sandwich that I'd forgotten how much I like them. I don't know if I'd make this exact recipe again (I don't know if it's worth shelling out four bucks to buy a bundle of fresh tarragon just to make a sandwich for a weekday lunch) but I'll certainly make something similar again soon.

Date Cooked: February 22, 2009
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: B+

114. Chicken Club Sandwiches (p. 188)

Our friends, Travis and Jodi, came over for lunch one Saturday a few weeks ago to visit our new son, Jack. Here's a picture of them with the little guy. Check out the cool hat that Jodi knit (knitted?) for Jack!

I decided to make this recipe* for a nice, light lunch. Because it came from The Book, I knew it would be good, but I still had some reservations. The club sandwich is a ubiquitous presence on just about every restaurant lunch menu. I've had a lot of really bad ones over the years, and so I wondered how The Book was going to improve upon it. Well, for starters, as The Book's notes point out, most of the club sandwiches you've eaten are slapped together with elements (toast, turkey, bacon) that were prepared hours in advance. Here, everything is made fresh, and then there's the "Gourmet touch" that elevates this pedestrian sandwich to something just a little bit special.

The first thing that I did was to poach the chicken breasts. This is an excellent, easy preparation for poached chicken breasts that isn't just limited to this sandwich. I'll use this method whenever I want some cold cooked chicken for salads, sandwiches, or anything else that I would have bought ShortCuts for in the past. (Fresh, homemade food: 1. Processed food: 0.) I put the chicken breasts in a skillet and just covered them with water. I brought the water to a simmer and simmered it for a few minutes, turning the chicken over once. Then, I took it off the heat, covered it and let it stand in the hot water for a little while longer. The result? Tender, moist and fully-cooked(!) chicken.

While the chicken was doing its thing, I cooked some bacon until it was nice and crispy. Then I made the spread, which is what really makes this sandwich sing. It's pretty simple: just regular mayonnaise whisked together with some sour cream, parsley, lemon juice and zest, and some salt and pepper. The lemon juice and sour cream jump start the mayonnaise and give it a real zing.

Finally, I was ready to assemble the sandwiches. I started by spreading the mayo on slices of toasted white sandwich bread. Then I layered on some Boston lettuce, tomato slices, bacon, and avacado slices. Another slice of toast and some more mayo and some of the poached chicken (which I had sliced diagonally). I topped the whole thing of with a final slice of toast spread with a bit more mayo.

I sliced the sandwiches in half diagonally. If I had been smart enough to remember to buy some of those fancy frilly toothpicks, I could have cut the sandwiches into the traditional quarters. But, this is one big sandwich, and without the picks, there was no way quarters would have stayed together.

This was a delicious sandwich. The avacado and the great mayo spread really made all the difference. It wasn't hard to do, but it was more work than you'd want to go through for a quick lunch. But if you're looking for somthing more than "just a sandwich," give this a try.

Date Cooked: February 21, 2009
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: A-

*This recipe is not on epicurious.com.

72. Turkey Wraps with Chipotle Mayonnaise (p. 189)

This is the last of my Thanksgiving-related posts before we return to our regularly-scheduled programming.

The Book doesn't have a whole lot of recipies that are suitable for leftover turkey. This recipe* seemed quick and easy, so I decided to give it a try on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I think this is the first sandwich that I've made from The Book. Not a bad introduction.

This recipe is a twist on the traditional turkey and mayonnaise sandwich. First, the bread is replaced by a wrap. The Book suggests whole wheat wraps, but I had some flour tortillas on hand, so that's what I used. Next, the mayonnaise is spiked with a few teaspoons of chopped chipotle peppers and adobo sauce. The mayonnaise was good. It was creamy and had a nice, smoky flavor. The spiciness was a little overwhelming for this sandwich, and it kind of took over. If I were to make this mayonnaise again, I might just use the adobo sauce and leave out the chipotles.

The real revelation of this recipe is the pickled red onions. Take a red onion and slice it thinly. Blanch it in boiling water for a minute. Then boil it for another minute or so in some more water, cider vinegar and a little salt. Let it cool and put it in the refrigerator for about two hours. The result are slightly sweet, slightly sour pickled onions that add a nice crunch and beautiful rosy color to the sandwich. This was a super-easy addition that I'll definetly re-purpose for other uses (I think that they'd be great on burgers).

I finished the wraps off with some shredded green-leaf lettuce. The Book calls for pea shoots, but says that lettuce is an acceptable alternative. I don't know where I'd find pea shoots in the spring time, never mind in November. I'm sure that pea shoots would have added another something special to the sandwich, but the lettuce was a nice contrast to the strong flavors of the mayonnaise and the pickled onions.

Date Cooked: November 29, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Easy
Rating: B+

* This recipe isn't on epicurious.com.

44. Grilled Pizza Margherita (p. 195)

I wanted to be sure to make this recipe before grilling season came to an end. So, a couple of Sundays ago, I woke up early to make my own pizza dough, stashed it away in the fridge, and then headed out with my wife for a nice day of lazing around by my in-laws' pool.

We got back home a little later than I expected, and we were hungry. But that was OK, because I had it in my mind that this was going to be quick and easy. And it is, but just not as quick and easy as I thought it was. You see, when I picked this recipe, I didn't actually read it. In the past, when I've had Pizza Margherita in restaurants, it usually involves a thin pizza crust topped with thinly sliced fresh tomatoes and fresh buffalo mozzeralla topped with basil and olive oil.

I didn't realize that The Book wanted me to peel the tomatoes and simmer them for 10 to 15 minutes. With a hungry, pregnant wife breathing down my neck, and a new episode of Mad Men about to start, every minute counts. I made the executive decision to skip the step of skinning the tomatoes. Foodie purists may sneer at such unabashed corner-cutting, but I don't think that the finished product was harmed by the presence of tomato peels in the sauce.




After I made the sauce, I was ready to get to pizza-making business. I stretched my two balls of pizza dough into approximately 9-inch rounds, brushed them lightly with oil and laid them on my preheated grill (which had also been oiled). After a few minutes, I flipped the dough and added the sauce and cheese.





About the cheese ... for some strange reason, The Book calls for tossing the grated mozzerella with a tablespoon of oil. I can't imagine what purpose this serves (Teena didn't know either). The result was that the topping was very oily. The next time I make this pizza, I'll skip this step.





Overall, I was less than impressed with my first attempt at grilled pizza. But I think that it has everything to do with my grill and nothing to do with The Book's recipe (oily cheese notwithstanding). The Book says to grill the pizzas for three to five minutes "until undersides are golden brown and cheese is melted." Well after about 10 minutes, the cheese finally melted, but the undersides never browned. I guess my gas grill just doesn't get hot enough. (It takes forever to cook chicken, too.)

I'll make this pizza again someday ... in the oven, with my pizza stone ... and next time I will peel the tomatoes (are you happy now?). Pizza Margherita is a great example of just how good simple food can be. The sauce, which is nothing more than ripe tomatoes and a little salt and oil, is absolutely delicious.

Date Cooked: August 17, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: B-

9. Eggplant Pizza (p. 197)

When I think of eggplant pizza, I think of little islands of deep-fried eggplant floating on a marinara sauce sea with frothy waves of melted cheese. This recipe has changed my thinking.

The Book says to save this pizza for the grown-ups, presumably because kids will balk at the absence of sauce, and the abundance of garlic. Well, the rugrats can keep their Chuck E. Cheese, this pizza's all mine.

The recipe starts with broiling eggplant slices (lightly brushed with olive oil) until they're tender and golden. The eggplant slices are then layered on the Basic Pizza Dough and topped with mozzarella and parmigiano-reggiano. Finally, garlic and red pepper flakes are quickly cooked in oil and spooned over the top. This last step gave me a little bit of trouble because The Book says to cook the garlic and red pepper "until just fragrant, 30 to 40 seconds." Well, wouldn't you know it, in just a matter of a couple of seconds, the garlic went from "fragrant" to "burnt." I know, I know, we've been through this before with the Pita Toasts, but if I learn anything through this project, I hope that it's a better sense of cooking times.

With the pizza assembled, then came the moment of truth: getting the pizza from the peel onto the blazing hot pizza stone without spilling it onto the oven floor. Kind of like that old tablecloth trick, the idea is to jerk the peel out from under the pizza without jerking the pizza along with it. (I took this "before" picture so that I'd still have something to show in case of disaster.) The Book helpfully instructs dusting the peel with cornmeal (to act like little edible ball bearings), and to do a few test jerks before assembling the pizza, just to make sure that the dough won't stick to the peel. Even after all of these precautions, I still held my breath as I gave the peel the fateful jerk. It worked!

This pizza couldn't have tasted better. The eggplant was tender and flavorful (even though the garlic was overcooked, it still had a nice garlicy taste, but not too much). The cheese was bubbly and nicely browned. The crust was crispy and chewy in all the right places.

Even microwaved for lunch the next day, this was still great. I'm looking forward to try the other pizza recipes in The Book.

Date Cooked: June 22, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: A

8. Basic Pizza Dough (p. 199)

The Book says that pizza dough should not just a vehicle for cheese, but rather, it should be really, really good bread. And making this dough by hand reminded me of that fact.

I've always been fascinated by yeast. I love the way it smells. I love that it's alive. I love the anticipation of waiting to see if the dough will rise or not. Harold McGee says that the active-dry yeast in those cute little packages is a fungus(!) known as Saccharomyces cerevisiae or "brewer's sugar fungus." Yum!

I haven't cooked a home-made pizza in a long, long time, so I appreciated The Book's instructions for shaping the dough. Forget about spinning. Instead, you hold the dough ball by one end and you turn it gently, like a steering wheel, as its own weight stretches it out.

The Book says that the dough can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a day or frozen for a month. You just need to bring the dough back to room temperature before you shape it. I made the dough on Sunday morning and used it that night. I think that the dough was still a little too cool when I shaped it, because it was a little hard to work with. Next time, I'll give it more time to get back to room temperature.

And how did it taste? It was great! Chewy with a nice flavor. The Book describes it as very airy with a blistered crust. It wasn't as airy as I was expecting it, but I'll be making this recipe again (I've got five more pizza recipes to make), so I'll see if more or less kneading or rising time makes a difference.

Date Cooked: June 22, 2008
Degree of Difficulty: Medium
Rating: B+ (Maybe it'll be better next time)