Saturday, April 22, 2006

It's a bird, it's a plane...

No, it's SUPER WHISK!

I will readily admit that I love my whisk and deem it a superhero of the kitchen. There is nothing that makes an amateur chef feel more classically trained than the sound of steel wires beating against a chilled metal bowl in an effort to make homemade whipped cream.

My whisk, probably made by OXO, sits quietly in my ceramic tool vase on the edge of my stove. Like Clark Kent, no one really notices the wisk until it is ready for action. Or, when it is put to work whipping up eggs for a fluffy omelette, whisking eggs and sugar together for a "Super" confection, or preparing egg whites for use in a souffle.

Alas, every superhero is subject to a form of Kryptonite! Oxidation is the enemy of the whisk. Whether it comes from being put back in its storage container before it is really dry, or from hanging out in a drawer with unsavory wet tools, rust is hard to avoid. A trip through the dishwasher is not always the best cure. When it happens to my whisk, I gently wipe it down with a wet scouring pad and rinse with hot water to return it to its original stainless steel gleam.

At the risk of sounding like a sexual cliche, bigger is better with whisks. I'm not sure why mini-whisks were developed. Other than looking really cute, they are hard to hold and make it difficult to make anything really fluffy.

If you don't already own one, I urge you to buy a big whisk and fight the forces of evil by tackling a recipe for chocolate souffle.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Monday, April 10, 2006

Panko, thank you.



I don't know why, but to me, "panko" sounds like someone having a hard time saying, "thank you". Or, maybe it sounds like a sneeze? Perhaps the correct response to the word should just be, "bless you".

Regardless, panko is Japanese bread crumbs. Available at most Asian markets, it is basically coarse white bread crumbs that are much lighter than traditional European or American bread crumbs.

Tonight, the Glass City Gourmet attempts to use Spiced Panko Bread Crumbs on salmon filets for a quick and tasty dinner.

The recipe for Spiced Panko Bread Crumbs comes from "Simply Ming" by Ming Tsai and Arthur Boehm. A list of ingredients follows:

4 cups panko

2 tbs. dried thyme

2 tbs. dried basil

1 tbs. powdered ginger

1 tbs. coarsely gound black pepper

1 tablespoon ancho chile powder or regular chile powder.

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Use or store.

I cut the recipe in half and stored the left over mix in an airtight plastic container. Hopefully, I'll come up with more and more uses. Tonight, I dredged salmon fillets through flour, dipped them in a beaten egg, and then coated them in the Spiced Panko. I placed them on a greased baking sheet and baked for 10 minutes at 325F. This left me with medium rare salmon fillets (my personal preference) and a lightly browned panko crust.

While the fillets were cooking, I dropped a half dozen frozen gyoza into my bamboo steamer and let the steam do the work. Then, I tossed a small salad of mixed greens and broccoli coleslaw with a soy ginger vinaigrette dressing (Ok, I cheated and used Newman's Own here). The Glass City Gourmet is not above buying prepared ingredients from time to time.

Arrigato. This meal looked great on the plate and tasted terrific. Total prep time: 20 minutes from start to finish. My very hungry husband got a little upset when I decided to photograph his plate for my blog. "Listen, Martha Stewart. A man's gotta eat!" Perhaps I'm taking this blogging too seriously. . .

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Sunday Salad

7:30pm. My husband and I are snuggling on the couch watching 60 Minutes and he whispers in my ear, "whasfordinner?".

"I don't know. Let me go downstairs and whip something together."

I amble down to our kitchen and open the fridge. A week's worth of leftovers and new groceries from today stare back at me. Without hesitation, I decide to make "Sunday Salad". This is a dish that takes the best leftovers from the week and fresh mixed greens and veggies to make a hearty meal.

This batch of Sunday salad includes:

Mixed greens
grilled fennel (leftover from Wednesday night)
red skin potato salad (leftover from Tuesday night/burger night)
broccoli coleslaw mix (fresh from grocery shopping today)
haricot verts (from the freezer/quickly defrosted in a bowl of cool water)
chopped red onion
chopped red bell pepper
fresh snipped parsley leaves

The red skin potato salad defines the dish. Small chunks of potatoes with their skins, chopped egg, chopped celery and white onion, parsley, dijon mustard and a small amount of sour cream. Tossing the salad with a little bit of homemade honey dijon dressing makes this a real treat. There is nothing that makes a salad hearty quite like chunks of potatoes and hard boiled eggs.

I pair this with fresh grilled shrimp and a side of reheated brown basmati rice and we have a meal, here.

20 minutes prep time...and just enough time to clean the dishes before watching the Soprano's.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Thursday, April 06, 2006

You say, "Tuna" and I say "Tonno"...

Another day, another item on the "New Calcium Diet" that I can't find at my local grocery store. To honor some outdated health trend, the Cincinnati based mega-grocery chain only stocks tuna packed in water. For the "jump start" to this diet, otherwise known as three days of protein and calcium loading, I have to suffer through cans of tuna packed in water as my protein hearty lunch. In all honesty, it was the first time I'd ever eaten tuna straight out of the can. Dr. Klauer offers helpful tips along the way. I followed her advise to grind whole peppercorns over the tuna and squeeze lemon wedges on top of it and found that this killed the strong odor coming out of the can.

Fortunately, there is an Italian wholesale distributer with a small retail market in Toledo called "Sofo's". There I found a few lovely cans of "Tonno" packed in olive oil. This made the lunches bearable. More taste and a firm texture.

The tonno is ready and available for my tavolo.

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Fage 0% Yogurt


My husband is dieting again and in defiance of his latest fad diet I bought myself what I percieve to be a more sensible diet book. I am not really in need of weight loss. I oscillate 5-7 pounds up or down every year. No one knows the difference except me. The size 8 pants get loose, the size 8 pants get snug in the waist.

He's following "Body for Life", a book lined with 2" x 2" photos of regular people who moved from soft and average to six pack abs and thin. This is not a diet for the Glass City Gourmet to follow. While he's eating six meals a day, including powdered shakes and protein bars, I rebel. If this house must be on a diet, I will pick a diet with meals I can tolerate. Myoplex shakes and Myoplex bars are not real food. Sorry, "Body for Life". This stuff is disgusting.

I complimented my loving mate on his drive to reshape his body, and bought a copy of "How the Rich Get Thin: Park Avenue's Top Diet Doctor Reveals the Secrets to Losing Weight and Feeling Great" by Jana Klauer, M.D. Like the Scarsdale diet and the Beverly Hills diet before it, this promises to be something that the Glass City Gourmet can take on as a culinary challenge and enjoy.

Day 1. I can't find Fage Yogurt in the Glass City. I substitute plain Stoneyfield Organic yogurt, which has a faint yellow color. In spite of the code date, it tastes sour and it seems very runny to me. I sneak a few extra calories and improve the 1 cup snack with a drop of vanilla and a few toasted, slivered almonds.

Week 2: Fortunately, Trader Joe's is in nearby Ann Arbor. Trader Joe's is a haven, or perhaps a heaven, for the Glass City gourmet. Oh, no. This is my first entry and I'm already sourcing in Ann Arbor? I must find Fage in Toledo or sacrifice my purpose...In the meantime, I left a message with the only Greek citizen I know to find out how to pronounce Fage properly.

However you say it, Fage Yogurt is museum white, mild flavored, and the consistency of sour cream. WOW!!! Long live the "New Calcium Diet" and Fage Yogurt. No need to add anything to this lovely treat.

PS 4/7/06: Sweet Success...Fage yogurt available in 7oz containers at the locally owned Italian market!

“Glass City Gourmet” is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to cook, eat, diet and entertain with both flair and whimsy while based in Toledo, Ohio. I encourage you to read on as the "Glass City Gourmet" attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the official "Glass City Gourmet".

Glass City Gourmet


April 2006
Toledo, OH

Toledo is more than the Mud Hens, Tony Packo's, and the birthplace of Gloria Steinem. A city of approximately 304,000, Toledo is small enough for me to bump into someone I know every time I leave the house but large enough to have one of everything (Ex., A single skyscraper in our downtown view, one Vietnamese restaurant, one world class museum, etc.). Maybe this is an exaggeration, in some cases we have two or even a few, but it is a point I frequently make to natives who have never lived anywhere else and are apt to complain.

Urban legend states that Toledo has more chain restaurants per capita than any other comparably sized town in the United States. Toledo is also alleged to be a "testing ground" for new menu items for national chain restaurants. I have no proof to substantiate either of these claims. But ask anyone from Toledo who remembers "McRibs" or recalls seeing more than 31 flavors at the Baskin-Robbins and they will share similar stories.

This is a chronicle of one woman's attempt to eat, cook, diet and entertain with flair and whimsy in a place that offers many challenges. I encourage you to read on, as the Glass City Gourmet attempts grand recipes, samples locally owned restaurants, visits indigenous markets and humbly pursues her quest to be formally recognized as the "Glass City Gourmet".