Karen Solomon

How to Make Strawberry Soda Video – One more CHOW Tip

karen — Wed, 09 May 2012 22:43:23 +0000

Hidey ho! May is National Strawberry Month (really? do they need a whole month?) so you and i are celebrating soda-style…dig it…

DIY Chocolate Demo at Maker Faire 2012

karen — Tue, 08 May 2012 17:57:47 +0000

Hello my delicious Food Eaters…I will be doing a cooking demonstration at one of my favorite venues of the year, the Maker Faire, on Saturday, May 19th, 11am, at my regular venue – the Maker Square Stage (near the Steam Punk’s Sno-Cone machine, natch).

This year: DIY Chocolate! Not silken bars, but chocolate in its more natural state from roasted cacao and sugar. Here are more details about the presentation and about the awesomeness that is the Maker Faire itself.

This is my fourth year here, and I love this entire day. If you’re into robots, electronics, things that are on fire (or can be very easily), cool crafts, mutant vehicles, and the collision of hipster and family, this is the event for you!

See you there!

How to Make Frozen Margarita Pops Video – Another CHOW Tip

karen — Fri, 04 May 2012 19:14:42 +0000

Salted margarita cream pops have a lot going for them.
They’re tangy, they’re creamy, and like all the best things in life they have tequila!

Frozen Margarita Pops
In a large measuring cup mix together

1/2 cup of key lime juice
2 teaspoons of minced key lime zest
3/4 cup of water
7 ounces sweetened condensed milk.
1 1/2 tablespoons of tequila.

Whisk together until completely combined.

Put a pinch of kosher salt into the bottom of each frozen pop mold and pour the liquid over the salt.

Cap with a stick and put it in the freezer for six hours or until they’re completely frozen.

This is the perfect frozen cocktail on a stick.
Why should kids have all the fun?

Pickled Onion Flowers

karen — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 20:13:37 +0000

Aren’t these lovely? Found them at the Mission Community Market from Little City Gardens. All of the action is in the flower buds. Plucked, pickled or not, they’re a stunner in a salad. I didn’t think the flowers needed much, so I just did 50/50 water and distilled white vinegar, plus a little kosher salt. And thank you, Weck Jars, for having the physical graces that I do not.

How to Make Your Own Butter – Chow Tips

karen — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:59:50 +0000

In this video, I show you how easy it is to make your own butter!

StoryCorps with June Taylor!

karen — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 21:43:59 +0000

I had the unparalleled pleasure of sitting in a very small room with the legendary June Taylor (of the totally famous June Taylor Jams) and interviewing her as part of the 18 Reasons project of food stories with StoryCorps. I wish that I’d showered more recently. That interview booth is really small.

I’ve done loads of interviews in the past, but like radio, everything we’d chatted about was very much on the record and being recorded for posterity – it’s always a tricky thing for me to be entirely polite for 40 full minutes in a row. But, you know, as our talk was going to live on in the Library of Congress, I wanted to make it good.

She is a dear (and so insanely fashionable!) and I felt I could have talked to her for 40 hours. I love and deeply admire her work. Her jam tastes like the best fresh fruit ever, better suited for a spoon than a slice of toast. And her creative combinations (Summer Sweet Peach and Greek Bay Leaf; Fig, Port, and Lemon Thyme) are enviable. Additionally, she was jam before jam was cool – pure OG, as she’s been doing fruit for 23 years. But what I really dig about her is her academic geeking out on jam-making – the history, the lore, her background growing currants and vegetables with her father in a garden north of London. That velvety, Queenly accent doesn’t hurt, either.

Here are some new things I learned from June (who, shy gal, does not even have a bio on her own website. Nor was she even aware of this until I pointed this out to her): She formerly worked with Jeremiah Towers and at Olivetto. She had originally thought she was going to be a baker, but her early farmers market forays left her lugging home hot cross buns after noticing that her marmalade was flying off the table. She sells very well in Japan. She does not speak Japanese. She has a son, Kyle, in his twenties. Her mini empire is very much a family business, with her husband and son handling the website, business deals, etc. She’ll buy 600 pounds of a single fruit that catches her fancy based on a single taste – despite having 1200 pounds of other fruit to process. She loves and welcomes the new blood in the DIY artisan food movement. She briefly worked in fashion.

When I have it, I will post the interview here.

How to Make Your Own Popsicles – Chow Tip

karen — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 18:36:46 +0000

Orange Yogurt Dressing Recipe

karen — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 13:03:54 +0000

Slightly fruitier and lighter in calories than a traditional vinaigrette, this creamy dressing offers a nice tang and is especially great with peppery greens like arugula. The beauty of this and other creamy dressings is that they stay fresh longer and may be used throughout the week. This dressing tastes particularly good when made with homemade orange marmalade, but of course a store-bought version will suffice.

Prep Ahead

You’ll need a small clean bottle to store the dressing. Make sure it is free of rust and odors and the lid seals tightly. Prepare a label that lists the contents and date prepared.

1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 cup plain yogurt
4 1/2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or
white wine vinegar
3 tablespoons Orange Marmalade (page 92)
Freshly ground black pepper

Instructions

In the bottom of a large salad bowl or mortar, mash the garlic into the 1 teaspoon of salt until it forms a paste. Add the olive oil, and stir thoroughly until it emulsifies. Add the yogurt, lemon juice, and marmalade, and stir thoroughly to combine. Season with pepper, taste, and adjust as needed.

How to Store It

Refrigerate, covered, up to 5 days.

Soft Pretzels Recipe

karen — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 06:00:55 +0000

While I love a crunchy rod or stick as much as the next gal, soft pretzels are the go-to carb-and-salt snack to make at home—because few things on this earth taste this good. And while they are at their best fresh, they are still delightful the next day—just rub them with a bit of water and re-bake for a few minutes. The most difficult part of this recipe will be waiting to devour them until they are really and truly cool; the flavor and crust just don’t develop
until they have rested for a full 30 minutes. Eat without mustard at your own risk. Oh, and feel free to track down fancy pretzel salt if you wish. Straight-up kosher salt works fine for me.

6 cups (1 pound, 13 ounces) all-purpose flour, plus more
as needed
1 packet (21/2 teaspoons) active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more for sprinkling
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
8 cups water
1/2 cup baking soda
1 egg

Instructions In a food processor fitted with the dough blade (or a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook), whirl together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. With the motor running (at low speed for a stand mixer), drizzle in the oil, then 2 cups of the water. The dough will come together and grab onto the dough hook.

Dust a countertop with flour and knead the dough, pushing it in from the sides and then over from the bottom, for 7 to 10 minutes. It will become less sticky, more cohesive, and slightly shiny, and it will have the texture of an earlobe to the touch. (If it doesn’t, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time.)

Lightly oil a large bowl and dampen a clean kitchen towel. Heat a cup of water in the microwave and remove it. Roll the dough into a ball, transfer to the oiled bowl, and cover the bowl with the moist towel. Move the bowl into the microwave and let it sit for 1 hour. Transfer the dough to a countertop lightly dusted with more flour. Stick your finger directly into the center to make a small hole. Use your fingers to widen the hole and work the dough, hand over hand as if you’re pulling on a rope, into a large O-shape about 2 inches thick.

Cut the dough into a long rope and then into 12 equal pieces. Working with 1 dough piece at a time, roll into a 22-inch-long rope and fold into a pretzel shape: first, make a tall, skinny U shape, then cross the ends down and across each other to the opposite sides of the U. Pinch the pretzel to hold its shape. Form the other pretzels and let them rest for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.

Bring the remaining 6 cups of water and the baking soda to a rapid boil in a wide-mouthed Dutch oven or other large pot.

Boil the pretzels, one at a time, for 30 seconds each. Don’t skip this step: it’s what sets a pretzel apart from a doughy roll. Remove the pretzels from the water with a slotted spoon and hold them over the pot to drain well, then place them on the lined baking sheets. Beat the egg with 1 teaspoon of water. Brush the pretzels with this egg wash and sprinkle with salt to taste.

Bake both sheets of pretzels for 15 to 18 minutes, rotating the baking sheets and swapping their places in the oven halfway through. When they’re done, the pretzels will be golden brown. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow them to cool for a full 30 minutes—really: this sets their texture.

How to Make Cheese Crisps Video from Chow.com

karen — Sat, 24 Mar 2012 06:34:52 +0000