Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/449780
ByAnnM.Evansand Georgeanne Brennan SpecialtoTheDemocrat Bitter is an underappre- ciated yet important part of the flavor spectrum — and the topic of a new book. We love the taste of bitter — from horseradish to win- ter greens such as radic- chio and escarole to cof- fee and IPA beer. Bitters, high proof alcohol infused with botanicals and other aromatic ingredients, have been around for centuries, and are now being hand- crafted by the new wave of mixologists across the country. Bitter is an acquired taste, one that Europeans and the Japanese have his- torically enjoyed, yet little attention is given to bitter foods in North America. We Americans tend to like salty and sweet. Our culture has synonyms for bitter that connote bad. We work to the bitter end. Bad news is bitter news. Winter cold is bitter. Bittersweet, however, is making engendering some positive connotations in the lexicon with percent- ages of cacao in chocolate and varietals of honey such as chestnut. Author Jennifer McL- agan takes us into the world of bitter in her new book, "Bitter — A Taste of the World's Most Danger- ous Flavor, with Recipes" (2014, Ten Speed Press.) Bit- ter is one of several cook- books by McLagan, a chef and writer, which focus on a single topic and provide the depth of information about food one longs for. These books include chap- ters that range from bot- any to history to interna- tional culture and recipes. McLagan is also a good storyteller as evidenced in her other books — "Bones" (2005), "Fat" (2008), and "Odd Bits" (2011). Food without bitter- ness, she says, lacks depth and complexity. It's the last taste we humans develop a liking for — Naomi Duguid, Canadian food writer and photographer, has called bitter the "gatekeeper of adult taste." Understanding the role of bitter in a balanc- ing a recipe, a plate of food, or an entire meal is an es- sential skill for a cook or a mixologist. Although in earlier days, the bitter taste served as a warning that a food might be poisonous, bitter can also be healthful. Bitters have their origins in im- proving health, as well as digestion. Bitter alcohols, called Bitters, include such drinks as Fernet-Branca and Campari. They are def- initely an adult taste, one that is increasing in popu- larity in the United States with mixologists concoct- ing their own recipes as part of the farm to drink movement. McLagan covers the span of bitter foods from savory to sweet. Of chocolate, an- other bitter food, McLagan writes, "too often we think of chocolate only as a des- sert, but it is excellent in sa- vory dishes, adding richness and bitterness. Her lamb with Dark Chocolate Pep- per Sauce is delicious and there are numerous recipes for savory chocolate dishes in the book's last chapter, "Dark, Forbidden and Very Bitter" in which she covers toast, bitter melon, fenu- greek and caramel as well as chocolate. Ann served McLagan's recipe for Caramelized Or- anges, included here, to rave reviews. The cara- mel sauce mixes with the oranges to create a bitter- sweet taste McLagan says, "The French aren't afraid of darkly caramelizing baked goods (look at the edges of fruit tarts and the under- neath of palmiers and crois- sants); they know that car- amelizing, even burning a little, adds taste." We both have Navel orange trees with bumper crops, and grapefruit trees as well — so we're looking forward to trying her recipe for Grape- fruit Curd. Ever wonder why fatback goes with collard greens? "Fat will take the edge off a bitter ingredient, making it taste less bitter," McLagan says, which is why a pair- ing of bitter greens such as collards goes so well with fatback from pork belly — something we both love to make given our southern roots. "I prefer to begin a meal with something slightly bit- ter to stimulate the appe- tite," McLagan writes. "You can also do this by enjoying a bitter aperitif before din- ner." The mixologists have it right — bringing the under- appreciated bitterness into drinks before dinner — as the Europeans have done for centuries. McLagan's book may well herald a new chapter in American cuisine — ap- preciating bitter. Rony'sBrussels Sprouts and Chickpeas Rony,afriendofMcLagan, says there are two keys to this recipe — cook your own chickpeas, and use a very hot pan to cook the Brussels sprouts. They should dance in the pan. Ann did both when she tried the recipe — it works. She served it for dinner as a side dish with pork chops, along with Caramelized Oranges for dessert. 1cup dried chickpeas, soaked overnight in water to cover Sea salt and fresh ground black pepper 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 1shallot, finely chopped 3/4 cup chicken stock, pref- erably homemade 171/2 ounces Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved 2tablespoons dry sherry Drain the chickpeas and place in a saucepan. Cover them with cold water by 2 inches and bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover, and simmer until cooked. This can take from 30minutes to over an hour depending on the age of the peas, so you need to keep an eye on them. Check them at 30minutes. When they are cooked, remove from the heat, uncover, stir in 1 teaspoon salt, and leave to cool for 30minutes. Drain the cooked peas and spread them out on a baking sheet lined with a towel to dry. Pour 2tablespoons of the olive oil into a large heave frying pan with a lid, and place over medium heat. When hot, add the shallot and cook until so . Add the chickpeas, season with salt and pepper, and sauté until lightly browned. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken stock and bring to a boil, stirring to de- glaze the pan by scraping up any browned bits from the bottom. Tip the contents of the pan into a bowl. Wipe out the pan and then add the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. Place over high heat, and when hot add the Brussels sprouts. Try and get as many of the sprouts cut side down as you can; this will depend on the size of your pan. Cook the sprouts until dark brown on one side, then add the remaining chicken stock, season with salt and pep- per, lower the heat, cover, and cook until the Brussels sprouts are tender but still crisp. Add the chickpeas, shallots, and any liquid and cook until warmed through. Check the seasoning and pour in the sherry. Serve hot or at room temperature. Serves 4to 6. Caramelized Oranges The author notes that this is a very good recipe to try if you are scared of burning the caramel, as it is much more interesting when the caramel has a bitter edge. 6oranges or tangerines 1cup sugar 1/2 cup warm water Cut a slice off the top and bottom of each orange to reveal the flesh. Stand the fruit upright on a cutting board and, cutting from the top down to the bottom, remove the peel and pitch. Set the peel of 1orange aside. Cut each orange into 5slices and place them in a bowl. If using tangerines, peel and cut in half. Fill a large bowl with cold water and ice, and set aside. In a heavy-bottomed sauce- pan, add the sugar, then shake the pan so that the sugar forms an even layer. Place over medium heat and cook, shaking the pan from time to time, until the sugar melts. As the sugar melts, gently swirl the pan to mix the sugar granules with the liquid sugar; you can give the mixture a stir to blend in any uncooked sugar. Once all the sugar has turned into liquid caramel, continue to cook until it is a rich, dark caramel color. You will smell the caramel and see it smoking quite a bit. Remove the pan from the heat and dip the base of the pan into the bowl of cold water to stop the caramel from cooking further. Carefully add the warm water to the cara- mel, which will spit and splutter. Return the pan to low heat and cook, stirring, to dissolve the caramel in the water; this can take up to 10minutes. When it is dissolved, pour it into a jug and leave to cool. Meanwhile, cut the peel you set aside into roughly equal rectangles. Remove some of the white pitch but not all then cut the peel into thin matchsticks. Put some water into the pan you used to cook the caramel and bring to a boil over medium heat. This will help remove any traces of caramel in the pan. When boiling, drop in the orange matchsticks, cook for 1minute, and then drain. Pour the sauce over the orange slices in the bowl, sprinkle with the orange peel, and chill for several hours before serving. As the oranges sit, their juice mixes into the caramel sauce, turn- ing it into caramel syrup. Serves 6. FROM THE GROUND UP Bitter is a very acquired taste for foodies COURTESY Brussels sprouts are one of many bitter foods to be an acquired taste. By Annie Culp My New Year's resolution was to eat a little better by cutting back on sugar. So of course, when my dear friend called and asked if I would please make two desserts for a dessert auc- tion, I jumped at the chance just so I'd have an excuse to break my resolution. I went for the most deca- dent, chocolatey desserts I could think of: a rich cream pie, and super moist cup- cakes. After all, if you're go- ing to break a resolution, it had better be worth it. Sour Cream Chocolate Cupcakes This recipe is from the book, "The Cakemix Doctor" by Anne Byrn. I use this cookbook o en; the recipes are easy, convenient, and absolutely delicious. Ingredients: 1package plain devil's food cake mix 2Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder 1cup sour cream 1/2 cup vegetable oil 1/2 cup water 3large eggs 1teaspoon vanilla extract Directions: 1. Place a rack in the cen- ter of the oven and preheat the oven to 350degrees. Line cupcake pans with 18to 20paper liners. Set aside. 2. Place the cake mix, cocoa powder, sour cream, oil, water, eggs, and va- nilla in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed for 1 minute. Stop the machine and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Increase the speed to medium and beat 2min- utes more, scraping sides down again if needed. Pour the batter into the lined cupcake pans, filling each cupcake liners three-quar- ters full. Place the pans in the oven. 3. Bake the cupcakes until they spring back when light- ly pressed with your finger and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 28to 30minutes. Remove the pans from the oven and place them on wire racks to cool for 5minutes. Remove cupcakes carefully from pans and cool completely, 15minutes. 4. Meanwhile, prepare frost- ing. Once cakes are cool, frost with the frosting of your choice. BUTTERCREAM FROSTING: This is also from The Cake- mix Doctor by Anne Byrn Ingredients: 8Tablespoons butter, room temperature (do not sub- stitute magargine for the butter) 33/4 cups confectioners' sugar, si ed 3to 4Tablespoons milk 2teaspoons vanilla extract Directions: Place butter in a large mixing bowl. Blend with an electric mixer on low speed until fluffy, 30seconds. Stop the machine and add the confectioners' sugar, 3tablespoons milk, and vanilla. Blend with the mixer on low speed until the sugar is incorporated, 1minute. Increase the speed to me- dium and beat until light and fluffy, 1minute more. Blend in up to 1tablespoon milk if the frosting seems too stiff. Chocolate Cream Pie Recipe courtesy Gourmet Magazine, February 2004 Ingredients for crust: 11/3 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (from about 26 cookies such as Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers) 5tablespoons unsalted but- ter, melted 1/4 cup sugar Ingredients for filling: 2/3 cup sugar 1/4 cup cornstarch 1/2 teaspoon salt 4large egg yolks 3cups whole milk 5oz. fine-quality bit- tersweet chocolate (not unsweetened), melted 2oz. unsweetened choco- late, melted 2Tablespoons unsalted but- ter, so ened 1teaspoon vanilla Ingredients for topping 3/4 cup chilled heavy cream 1Tablespoon sugar Directions: Make crust: 1. Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 350°F. 2. Stir together crumbs, butter, and sugar and press on bottom and up side of a 9-inch pie plate (1-quart capacity). 3. Bake until crisp, about 15 minutes, and cool on a rack. Make filling: 1. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt, and yolks in a 3-quart heavy saucepan until combined well, then add milk in a stream, whisking. Bring to a boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer, whisk- ing, 1 minute (filling will be thick). 2. Force filling through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl, then whisk in chocolates, butter, and vanilla. Cover surface of filling with a buttered round of wax paper and cool completely, about 2hours. 3. Spoon filling into crust and chill pie, loosely cov- ered, at least 6hours. Make topping: Just before serving, beat cream with sugar in a bowl using an electric mixer until it just holds stiff peaks, then spoon on top of pie. Note: Pie (without topping) can be chilled up to 1day. FLAVORS Breaking a resolution in a big way with chocolate PHOTO BY ANNIE CULP If you're going to break a New Year's resolution, you may as well break it into little tiny pieces with this Chocolate Cream Pie. SATURDAY, JANUARY 31 ST DoorsOpen@4PM·MainCard@7PM·Mustbe21toAttend No Host Bar · Drink Specials Complimentary Nacho Bar during Main Card GAMING•DINING•LODGING GOLF•EVENTCENTER•EQUESTRIAN Take15%offyourmeal with this ad dineinonly 723 Main St. 527.5470 www. palominoroom .com PrimeRibonFridaysnights Open Tues-Sat FOOD » redbluffdailynews.com Wednesday, January 21, 2015 » MORE AT FACEBOOK.COM/RBDAILYNEWS AND TWITTER.COM/REDBLUFFNEWS B4