Issue 8- September 2009
I have decided to jump in and start twittering! Recently someone actually stole my twitter identity and stirred up quite a ruckus. It was a bit of an eye opener and fascinating to see how many of you are in the twitterverse. I’m having fun with the whole thing and can be followed at @chefMICHAELsmth. Stay tuned I’m also in the process of launching my own Facebook page. Not bad for a guy who lives in rural Prince Edward Island. Were all so connected now…
There are still tomatoes in the garden and the water is still warm but you know summer is officially over when you start thinking about your holiday turkeys. After a summer free-ranging locally mine are now resting comfortably in the freezer. One is 29 pounds and will adorn the Thanksgiving table. The other is a light-weight – 27 pounds – and at Christmas will be part of an entire meal from our hearth and wood burning oven. As the star of the show the turkey will get the royal treatment, it’s breasts will be honey-brined and smoked, one leg will be turned into sausage and stuffed into the other and the carcass will become sauce – not gravy. We have lots to celebrate this year!
On top of the list is a brand new cookbook, The Best of Chef at Home. I’m thrilled, proud and humbled to share it with you. It’s a gorgeous book, packed with real recipes and great photos. I’m still in the ‘pinch me, I’m dreaming’ stage and cant believe it’s mine. It’s just starting to show up on bookstore shelves across Canada, in fact the official national launch is this week on Prince Edward Island as part of our annual Fall Flavours harvest festival.
This is my fourth book and the second devoted to our series Chef at Home. The last book was written after just one season of the show, this one draws from all six. Think “Essential Recipes for Today’s Kitchen.” It’s full of the genuinely useful stuff that we all need in a cookbook: pancakes, beef stew, chicken noodle soup, lasagna, salad dressings, vegetable ideas, after school snacks, apple pie and of course chocolate chip cookies. No foie gras. No fluff. Nothing but today’s flavours.
As a chef I have an interesting relationship with cookbooks, I write them but I don’t rely on them. I see them as more a reference resource than a guidebook. I may find ideas in them but unless I’m baking I rarely follow the recipes exactly as written. Over the years this has resulted in some spectacular successes and some dismal failures, lets just say no-one will ever forget the Roast Thai Curry Turkey. That’s why this book is designed to be a launching point for your own freestyling kitchen adventures. Each recipe covers the basics you need but they also include lots of insight and freestyle suggestions so you can impress yourself in your own kitchen!
click here to purchase my new cookbook from Amazon.caHere are two of my favourites recipes from the book. The first is my gold-standard bread recipe, the second a party favourite that is the only recipe to appear in all four of my books!
From The Best of Chef at Home © Michael Smith, Whitecap 2009
This is the tastiest bread I have ever made. It’s also the easiest because the secret ingredient in all true bread is time. The key to an addictive loaf of rich, hearty goodness is non-laborious kneading; it’s an overnight rest for the living dough. With time, water and flour naturally form an elastic dough that rises with just a small amount of yeast. Here’s how to make your own Country Bread, full of rustic whole grain goodness, or a loaf of refined white City Bread.
Makes 1 loaf
For a loaf of Country Bread:
3 cups (750 mL) of all-purpose flour or bread flour
1 cup (250 mL) of whole wheat flour
1/2 cup (125 mL) of any multi-grain mix (see Variations below)
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) of active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) of salt
2 1/4 cups (560 mL) of warm water
For a loaf of City Bread:
4 cups (1 L) of all-purpose or bread flour
1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) of active dry yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons (7.5 mL) of salt
2 1/4 cups (560 mL) of warm water
In a large bowl whisk the dry ingredients together, evenly distributing the salt and yeast throughout the flour. Pour in the warm water and stir with the handle of a wooden spoon until a moist dough forms. Continue stirring until the dough incorporates all the loose flour in the bowl, 1 or 2 minutes in total.
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for 18 hours. The dough will double in size and bubble, and long elastic gluten strands will form without laborious kneading.
Knock the dough down and toss it with a splash of vegetable oil, evenly coating the dough ball.
Form it into a 9- x 5-inch (2 L) loaf pan and, without covering, rest it a second time. In 2 to 3 hours it will double in size once more.
Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425°F (220°C). When the dough is ready, bake for 45 minutes.
Freestyle VariationsBread dough has a higher concentration of gluten in it so it will produce the strongest loaf with the most rise. All-purpose flour has less gluten but will still produce a beautiful loaf of bread. In either case the dough is strong enough to hold lots of multi-grain bits so, in the Country Bread, for a multi-grain mix, you may use a blend such as Red River cereal or a 12-grain cereal breakfast blend. You may also use plain oatmeal, cornmeal or even potato flakes.
I’ve been making this dish for a long time. It’s a bit involved but it remains one of the most impressive potato dishes I know. This special occasion treat features the classic trio of potatoes, bacon and cheddar. It will take you a while to make, but the results are more than worth it. It’s the sort of thing that looks complicated until you try it and quickly realize how simple it is to master.
Serves 8
2 lb (1 kg) of room-temperature bacon
lots of freshly ground pepper
4 cups (1 L) of shredded aged cheddar
5 or 6 large baking potatoes (unpeeled)
a sprinkle or two of sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 onion, minced
4 cloves of garlic, minced
Preheat your oven to 350°F (180°C).
Carefully arrange the bacon in a radial pattern from the centre of the bottom of a 10- or 12-inch (25 or 30 cm) round non-stick baking pan to the lower edge of the rim and continuing up and over the sides of it. Let the ends hang over. The slices should overlap slightly around the sides of the pan. To reduce the thickness of the bacon in the centre, stagger every other piece, starting it 2 inches (5 cm) from the centre and extending it further than the adjacent slices.
With the palm of your hand, flatten the centre area, leaving no gaps in the bacon. Season the bacon with lots of pepper and then sprinkle on several spoonfuls of the shredded cheddar.
Slice the potatoes as thinly and uniformly as you can, about 1/4 inch (6 mm) thick.
Kitchen specialty stores carry a French slicing tool known as a mandolin. It’s a fancy chef tool but easily slices the potatoes into even rounds. It’s not absolutely necessary though—a sharp knife works well too!
Arrange a circular pattern of overlapping slices around the inside bottom edge of the pan. Continue arranging overlapping layers of the potatoes until the bottom is evenly covered. Season the potatoes with salt and pepper.
Mix together the onion and garlic and sprinkle some of the mixture onto the potatoes. Continue with a layer of the shredded cheese. Cover with another layer of the potato, pressing it down firmly before continuing with alternate layers of the potatoes, onion mixture and cheese, insetting each a bit from the edge of the pan until the top is an inch (2.5 cm) or so higher than the pan’s rim. Fold the overhanging bacon neatly up and over the top of the potatoes.
Trim a small piece of parchment paper and place it in between an ovenproof lid and the bacon. This will prevent the bacons ends from pulling back and shrinking during cooking.
Place the pan on a baking sheet and bake for at least 2 1/2 to 3 hours. You’ll know it’s done when a small, thin bladed knife inserts easily.
Pour off as much of the fat around the edges as possible. Let the tart stand for 15 minutes and then invert it onto a cutting surface. Slice into wedges and serve immediately.
You may refrigerate any leftovers and reheat them later it in a microwave.
Freestyle VariationsTry mixing a few spoonfuls of your favourite fresh herb into the onion mixture. Thyme, rosemary and tarragon all work well.
Fall is shaping up to be a very busy season for me. I’m back and forth across Canada several times showing off the new cookbook, cooking at a few charity events and even giving a few speeches. I would love to meet you at any of these events if I pass through your town!
September 25 through October 4> Fall Flavours Harvest Festival, Prince Edward Island> fallflavours.ca
September 28th> UNB Fredericton Campus Visit
September 29th> St. FX Campus Visit, Antigonish, Nova Scotia
October 7th> Canon’s Other Side of the Lens Launch> Veritas, Toronto
October 10th> Cookbook Signing> Grand Manan> New Brunswick
October 19th> EcoCare Conference> London, Ontario
October 20th> The Cookbook Store at George Brown Chefs School> cook-book.com> Toronto
October 21st> First Canada Place> Toronto> On stage interview
October 21st> Eaton Center Chapters Cookbook Signing> Toronto
October 26th> Queens University> Campus Visit> Kingston, Ontario
November 2nd> Vancouver> Barbara-Jo’s Books For Cooks> Signing Event
November 4th> The Cookbook Company> Calgary> Signing event
November 5th> Rouge Restaurant> Calgary> Chef’s Dinner
November 6th through 15th> Jasper Park Lodge Christmas in November
November 23rd> Bloorview Kids Rehab Calendar Launch Gala Dinner> Nota Bene> Toronto
November 25th> Superstore PC Childrens Charity Cooking Classes> Halifax, NS
November 26th> Superstore PC Childrens Charity Cooking Classes> Moncton, NB & Summerside, PEI
to subscribe to upcoming issues of my newsletter click hereHappy Flavouring!
Cheers,
Chef Michael Smith