Jim Britt's life revolves around food, chef-prepared or from his own kitchen. Beyond the blog, Jim is a partner a gBritt PR in Portland, which specializes in lifestyle public relations.
December 2007
December 31, 2007
Time for Good Food
New Year's Eve, time for some good food. Tonight's meal is straight out of Gourmet, literally -- or it was until Gillian had to change a few things. Gillian and I decided to stay home for a New Year's Eve meal to remember. We're reproducing Gourmet Magazine's February 2007 Valentine's meal -- the app and main course -- for two. (Our ingredients are from Smaha's, Browne Trading, and Hannaford)
Tonight's Menu:
1) Gillian's Potato Crisps topped with sour cream and flying fish roe
1A) Pop-up app -- leftover spicy artichoke dip served with blanched snap peas (View image)
2) Fennel and crab meat salad (Gourmet)
3) Filets mignons (Gourmet) -- plus broccoli rabe
4) Belgian chocolates
Tonight, more than anything else, we are celebrating 2007, our thirteenth year of marriage and our fifth year as business partners at gBritt PR. We're toasting to success, health and happiness in 2008 -- our own, our extended family and friends and yours. Gillian is treating the "one she loves to the silkiness of filets mignons enhanced with alluringly spiced butter," according to the Gourmet cover shot.
Tonight we're also toasting the memory of a dear family friend who passed away this morning. Dr. Bertram Katz played an important role in Gillian's life. He will live on through wonderful memories.
Gillian's Potato Crisps (View image + View image)
Use a mandolin to slice potato very thin. On our small Zyliss mandolin, which we bought at LeRoux, we used setting #1
Lay them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and brush each side with EVOO mixed with a little salt and pepper and bake at 400 until crisp, check frequently.
Crisps are cooled and finished with a dollop of sour cream spread and topped with a TBS of flying fish roe.
Baking potato sliced thin on a mandolin
EVOO and salt and very light pepperSour cream mixture: dash of salt, beet horseradish, fresh dill - stirred together and given about an hour to absorb flavor
Remove rounds from oven and cool for a minute or so -- wait until cool so sour cream doesn't run
(Please note, Gillian says these would be out of this world if topped with plain creme fraiche and American spoonbill caviar)
Crab and Fennel Salad (View image)
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons mild extra-virgin olive oil
1 small fennel bulb (sometimes labeled "anise"; 6 to 8 oz), stalks cut off and discarded
1/4 lb jumbo lump crabmeat (about 1/2 cup), picked over
2 teaspoons chopped fresh chives (Gillian replaced this with dill)
1 cup baby lettuces (We replaces this with organic mixed baby greens)
here's a link to the preparation instructions: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/237183
We enjoyed our Maine crab meat appetizer with a bottle of Heidsieck Blue Top Champagne. (View image). A superb NV -- and as we discovered, a Wine Spectator top 100 of 2007.
Filets Mignons with Spiced Butter
Spiced Butter (View image)
1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon caraway seeds
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon finely grated fresh lemon zest
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Here's a link to the prep: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/237185
Filets Mignons
2 (1 1/2- to 2-inch-thick) center-cut filets mignons (beef tenderloin steaks; 6 to 7 oz each)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup veal demi-glace
Gillian didn't buy the demi-glace and substituted Francis Coppola Cabernet for the white wine and used a bit extra to make the sauce.
Here's a link to the steak prep:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/237184
Our chocolates were Duc d'O Belgian - purchased at Home Goods. So far, our favorite is the Mocha Praline Truffle. Second fav... marzipan with a dark chocolate coating. Gillian's still trying to decide what she thought of the dark chocalte covered Milk Chocolate Cream and Pistachio truffle. (View image)
And viola, there it is, one of the best meals of 2007. In the nick of time.
I am so looking forward to blogging ahead in 2007. The year holds many great things -- client events, Share Our Strength parties, and the first ever "Harvest on the Harbor." Much more on all of this in the blogs ahead.
Wishing you a phenomenal 2008 -- Cheers!
Portland Pie's New Home
Blog Title: Portland Pie's New Home
Written on: Saturday, December 22, 2007
While listening to: Christmas Remixed, Holiday Classics Regrooved
Nobody does pizza like Portland Pie. And now, nobody has a place as comfortable as Portland Pie to enjoy your pizza. I was invited there last week for the first time before the John Mellencamp Concert. That's a whole other story -- it was an amazing concert, I can't believe I am saying this, but he rocked. Just look at the man --
Ok, back to Portland Pie -- the place is warm and inviting. Kind of like Gritty's, with its wood and brick, but much cozier. A big fireplace at one end of the room, plenty of seating, spacious bars, TVs for the sportsfan, a great view out of the big windows, and more staff than nearly any other restaurant in town. And the staff, at least on the night of the concert, and each of my two return visits, was attentive and really friendly.
Another highlight of Portland Pie's new digs (and the Westbrook location, by the way) is how welcoming they are to families. I counted twelve kids in the dining room on my first visit. If you're like me, you're always on the lookout for a great place to dine with the kids.
The only gripe I have about Portland Pie and just about every other pizza place that serves slices, is the inconsistency of slice size. On Wednesday night this week some friends and I stopped in for slices and pints. I ordered first, at the bar. My slice looked small. I wanted to ask for a larger slice but thought that was, well, a cheesy thing to do. I kept quiet. Back at the table two others ordered slices. They were given slices that I swear were twice the size of mine. There's got to be a better way to make sure the slices are the same right? Maybe it's just part of the magic of Portland Pie.
Needless to say, if you have not yet been to their new Portland location, I encourage you to make a mental note and pop in sometime soon for a slice of pie and a Shipyard. Or, if you're so inclined, go right now -- here's a map to get you there with ease 51 York St.
Cheers
Sucker for a Good Cinnamon Roll
Blog Title: Sucker for a Good Cinnamon Roll
Written on: Friday, 14, 2007
While listening to: LCD Sound System: LCD Sound System
I am a sucker for a lot of things. Really good cinnamon rolls are somewhere near the top of my list. I love baking my own, I've developed a nice recipe. They're pretty darn good, but not as good as some bakeries. This is how it should be, of course. Bakers are trained pros, right. I am an amateur. Trouble is, I can't find any good cinnamon rolls in our area. I've found some good "sticky buns" at Standard Baking, but that's about it. Where are they? Are they up in the mid coast or Northern Maine, where so much delicious stuff is hiding. I need you to tell me.
I'd also like all of you amateur bakers, who enjoy baking cinnamon rolls at home like me, to share your recipes. Mine is below. A while back I espoused a love of fresh pizza dough and how I'd found the best doughs at Portland Pie. I received quite a few pizza dough recipes and I have to tell you, I tested them and they were delicious. So, I have high hopes for some yummy cinnamon roll recipes. Send when ready!
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Dough:
1/4 C Warm Water
2 T Active Dry Yeast
3/4 C Warm Milk
2 Eggs
4 C Unbleached Flour
3 T Sugar
5 T Warm Butter
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Vanilla
Proof yeast in warm water. Combine eggs, water/yeast, milk, sugar, vanilla, salt and butter in mixer. Slowly begin adding flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until dough pulls away from the sides of the mixer. Continue mixing until dough has a satiny feel. Pull dough out of mixer and lay on floured counter. Knead by hand for another minute or so. Let dough rest while you create the filling.
Filling
1/2 C Sugar
4 T Melted Butter
2 T Ground Cinnamon
1 T Ground Nutmeg
Combine ingredients.
Preparing Rolls
Roll dough to about 1/4 inch thickness. Try and roll a large rectangle. Spread filling over the dough, covering completely. Lift and fold an edge of the dough. Repeat this step a few more times, and then you will be able to roll the dough into a log. Use a sharp knife to cut the log into about one inch think pieces. Lay these pieces flat and on their sides, side by side, in a glass baking dish (sprayed with pan release). And yes, it's ok for the sides of the rolls to touch.
Baking
Bake at 400 degrees for thirty minutes or so, or until rolls are golden brown. Allow then to cool, but enjoy while they're still warm.
Cheers, Jim
Christmas Cookies and Other Treats
Blog Title: Holiday Treats
Written on: Sunday, December 9, 2007
While listening to: Arcade Fire: Neon Bible
It’s just past the middle of Hanukah and getting closer to Christmas. We celebrate both in our house, and while the desserts for Hanukah are mainly jelly donuts and Hanukah geld (chocolate coins) the desserts I’m beginning to anticipate for Christmas come from a much larger list. The list is compiled from an incredible array of cookies that my mother-in-law is known for (in fact, my wife has often remarked that somebody in the family needs to create a Christmas Cookie Book so that they can keep track of them all – hmm, perhaps a project for her, since she’s the only one to bring it up….). Of course, my mother made lots of Christmas cookies too, so now the list of cookies made in our house has grown to include the favorites of both households.
At the beginning of this week the kids had a snow day and my wife and kids made the first batch of Christmas cookies (which we’ve nearly finished eating). I’ve included the recipe below, the Aunt Fanny’s Cookies. I’m not too sure who Aunt Fanny was, I think my mother-in-law’s Aunt. And the cookies themselves were apparently unpopular within the family when she was a child but have since become a household staple. These are made at Christmas, Valentine’s Day and whenever a bunch of yummy, pretty cookies are needed.
This morning we have already chopped 4 cups of pecans for a different cookie – mocha pecan balls – and gone through the recipes looking for the peppermint brownies we make every year.
I noticed that the Portland Press Herald is collecting candy recipes from folks for a holiday story (Send in your family's favorites with your phone number to Staff Writer Meredith Goad at: mgoad@pressherald.com).
I’d love to hear about some of your holiday favorite cookies. That first bite into a cookie that I had as a child at Christmas always brings back lots of memories. The great thing about traditional foods like this is that we can share them with friends, our kids – and create new cookie memories.
Because the holidays made me think of dessert treats from my childhood, I want to share a couple simple recipes with you. I also want to share one that’s a little more complex, but is as easy as, well, cake.
"Aunt Fanny’s Cookies"
1C Butter (room temp = soft)
1 ½ C Sugar
2 Eggs
2 ½ - 3 ½ T Sour Cream
1 ½ tsp Vanilla
2 Tsp Baking Powder, sifted with 3 C Flour
(Approx 4 cups flour total)
Cream butter and sugar in mixer, add eggs, sour cream and vanilla. Mix to a smooth consistency. Gradually mix in three cups of flour. Add as much flour as needed to make dough manageable. Roll dough on floured surface to ¼ inch thickness and cut shapes with cookie cutters. Lay cookies on cookie sheets lined with parchment (or spray with pan release). Bake for approx 12 minutes – or until cookies are lightly browned at350 degrees.
Ice cooled cookies with a mixture of butter, powder sugar and milk. (1/2 C butter, 2 Cups powdered sugar, and enough milk to make it smooth, which will be just a table spoon, or so.) Separate icing into smaller blows and add coloring. Ice cookies and add decorate with sprinkles.
"Mom’s Molasses Cookies"
¾ C Shortening (Mom always uses Crisco)
1 C Sugar
¼ C Molasses
1 Egg
2 tsp Baking soda
2 C Sifted all purpose flour
½ tsp Ground cloves
½ tsp Ground ginger
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
½ tsp Salt
Melt shortening in a 3-4 qt. saucepan over low heat. Remove from heat, let cool. Add sugar, molasses, and egg. Beat well. Sift together flour, baking soda, cloves, ginger, cinnamon and salt. Add to first mixture. Mix well; chill. Roll into one inch balls, roll in granulated sugar and place on greased baking sheets 2 inches apart. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes.
Jim’s Warm Chocolate Cake
(6 servings)
1 C Unsalted butter
8 Oz Bittersweet chocolate
4 Eggs
4 Egg yolks
½ Cup sugar
4 T Flour
Melt chocolate and butter using a double boiler. Allow melted butter and chocolate to cool. Blend eggs and egg yolks with sugar, whip until fluffy. Whip in cooled chocolate mixture. Add flour. Bake in tall ramekins. To prevent sticking, butter sides and bottom of ramekins and dust with cocoa powder. Pour in batter, filling to about 1/3 to 1/2. Bake at 450 for about eight minutes -- cakes will of course be soft in the center. Unmold directly from the oven to serving plates. (Unmold by holding ramekin bottoms with pot holders and flipping to the plate, allowing ramekin contact with the plate to release cakes.) Dust cakes with a little confectioners’ sugar or cocoa powder and serve.
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