An Ode to Toast

The other day I was driving home with one of the high school girls from my mentoring group and somehow we started talking about food. Imagine that! We got on this thing about toast and it keeps coming back to me. Toast is one of those quintessentially simple, yet amazingly good, foods that can so quickly be screwed up by lack of attention. Maybe it's that we recall the smell of toast from our childhood but there is something comforting about a really nice, hot from the toaster, just toasty enough but not too browned, piece of bread. It helps if the bread you started with was a nice crusty loaf and not just Wonder bread but even that can make your morning in the right circumstances. Toast with melty butter or toast with jam, toast with vegemite, or toast with cinnamon-sugar: all great representations of the form. But toast can go wrong and so often does. It's fragile and the shelf life is very short. Good, hot crispy toast is a thing of beauty. Cool, limp, wimpy toast is like eating a dishcloth. Chef-made toast, or what sometimes is referred to as cinders can be enough to make you want to cry. The smell of toast can make your day while the smell of burnt toast burns your eyes and just seems sad. That's the thing about toast: it can go from awesome to inedible faster than just about anything you'll eat. Grabbed from the toaster without the distraction of other tasks at the peak of its toastiness and it is worth fighting over. Left to dispair on a plate getting cold and soggy and it's a shameful thing. I think I'll drink a toast to toast tonight and maybe make myself a stack in the morning.

Spanish Ribs

I've had a little experiment going with ribs lately - pork spare ribs to be exact. It started with a paella dinner for friends in which one is not much of a meat eater so while I normally might put ribs in the paella, I made the ribs on the side. I've since made them again and people really like this dish and it is super simple to pull off, and works great in advance. Just buy a couple pounds of some decent looking pork spare ribs and split them if they are in a rack. Mix the following together and then toss the ribs with the mixture:

2 TBSP smoked paprika (not hot)
1 TBSP finely minced or crushed garlic
1/2 TBSP dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 tsp. ground fresh pepper
1-1/2 tsp sea salt
2-3 TBSP olive oil

You can leave out the oil but it helps make a nice paste. If the paste is too thick, add a little water. Make sure the ribs get evenly coated with the paste. Place the ribs in two layers of foil, shiny side on the inside and seal it up by crimping the open sides. Place on a baking tray and bake at 300 degrees for about 90 minutes. Check them for tenderness. If they are not super tender, put them back in the oven for about 30 more minutes or so. You can eat them right away, or cool them and refrigerate. Reheat in the oven at about 350 for 15-20 minutes. These are so good, that you won't need a sauce or anything with them!

Happy Australia Day

A few weeks back we hosted an Australia Day party! For those who don't know, Oz Day is like our 4th of July: it's their Independence Day. January is summer in Australia, so the typical celebration consists of a barbecue and lots of beer. We managed to get the beer part right but the weather here in PDX was not quite made for bbq'ing given that it snowed a little that day. We were delighted that some of the Aussies show up in their formal wear: shorts and slip-flops! One even came with a "zinc'd" nose which was good fun.

In the true Oz tradition, I decided to try making a beloved Australian dessert, pavlova, yet couldn't confine myself to keeping it totally traditional. For those who don't know what a pavlova is, it's a meringue shell baked until quite crisp on the outside then topped with whipped cream and fresh fruit. You cut it and serve it like a cake. My rendition includes all the traditional ingredients plus some mascarpone, vanilla, and lemon zest folded into the cream. It's quite easy to make so check it out.

Kim's Pavlova
(Serves 6-8)

For meringue shell:
6 large egg whites
1 1/2 cups superfine granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup boiling water

For topping:
3/4 cup heavy cream, very cold
1/2 cup superfine granulated sugar
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese, softened
1 teaspoon lemon zest, finely grated
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups assorted seasonal fruit such as raspberries, sliced strawberries and kiwifruit (the kiwi is a must for Aussies!)

Preheat oven to 350° F. and line a large baking sheet with foil.

In a large bowl with an electric mixer beat together whites, sugar, cornstarch, vinegar, and vanilla on low speed until just combined. Beat until mixture becomes foamy. Add boiling water a little at a time while you continue to beat on high speed 3 to 5 minutes, or until mixture forms stiff, glossy peaks.

Spoon meringue mixture onto baking sheet and spread into a 9- to 10-inch circle or make a rectangle if you prefer. Bake in middle of oven 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 200° F. and bake Pavlova 40 minutes more. Turn off oven and let Pavlova stand in oven 2 hours. Transfer Pavlova to a rack and cool completely (it will be hard on outer surface and soft inside.) All this can be done the day before.

At least 1-3 hours before serving, make the topping.
In a small bowl, combine the mascarpone, lemon zest, and vanilla until smooth and creamy. In a chilled bowl with clean beaters beat cream until foamy and then add the sugar a little at a time. Continue beating until it holds soft peaks. Gently fold a small amount of the whipped cream into the mascarpone mixture. Then, fold the mascarpone-cream mixture into the the rest of the whipped cream until fairly evenly mixed. Spread the mixture over the Pavlova and place the sliced fruit on top.

Hold the pavlova in the refrigerator until close to serving time. Cut into slices and enjoy.