A Little Bit of Heaven

I have been wanting some good, very French, very Parisian brioche for months!  Months!   Around Christmas, one of my favorite food bloggers, A Hunger Artist, said he had just made brioche on his Facebook page.  I requested, graciously enough it seems, for the recipe and he obliged me.  Last week I made this unbelievably delicious brioche loaf and have been eating it every day for breakfast. It has been my "little bit of heaven" for a week, but, alas, that week is over.

The crab apple jelly that I spread on the brioche was made by me last fall.  I cannot even believe that I've had a beautiful, bountiful crab apple tree for about fifteen years and never thought to make crab apple jelly....  What was I thinking???  I guess it's because by that time of the year, I have so much harvesting, so many canned good to put up, and so little time on my hands (I teach), that my mind couldn't handle one more chore.  How sad!  Because this is one of the best jellies I have ever tasted!  Right up there with this is chokecherry jelly.  Wow!

So I started off the year with a lovely taste in my mouth and now I have two more taste/cooking goals to keep me busy: Charcutepalooza and Michael Ruhlman's Bread Baking Month.  I had been wanting to do a year with both of these favorite foods and now I have my inspiration. I'm a bit behind on the bread baking, and I may not do every loaf because that is a lot of bread for just two people, so to begin I will try either the Classic Rye Bread with Caraway Seeds or the Ciabatta.

I missed the first Charcuterie challenge, duck prosciutto, but my husband made the same recipe last year so we may or may not try that challenge this year.  We started "curing" our Pancetta before Christmas, and just brought it in the other day.  It looks superb and tastes so much better than anything we ever bought in the stores.  I'll try to post how we are now using the pancetta and what we did with the other half of the pork belly. 

Since dinner utilized some of the pancetta and I am completely satiated, I'll wait until another day to describe that fulfilling dinner.

Pancetta

Need I say more? Of course, that's a lot of pancetta but I'll use it. In the meantime, much of it is frozen in convenient packages.

This was really the brainchild of my husband. He wanted to make pancetta. Since I'm the chef in the family, I had to rain on his parade. I think he deserved that for so often hogging my book, Charcuterie, by Ruhlman and Polcyn.

We followed the recipe in the book exactly. I worried about the humidity, so I quickly ordered a hygrometer and calibrator online. We have a building outside that houses a pool table and some exercise equipment so we decided to use that as our place to hang the pancetta. We set the heat at 55F, and made sure the hygrometer measured around 60% humidity. It hung for two weeks and this is the result.

It's delicious! Luckily we rolled and tied it very tightly so mold did not become a problem. I never knew pancetta could taste even better than what the Italian deli in Spokane has. This is the way to go.

I Love Nepitella!

I love nepitella! Also known as Lesser Calamint, or, in Latin as calamintha nepeta, this herb grows wild in Italy, especially in Tuscany and Umbria, as well as in other parts of Europe and North Africa. It tastes like a cross between mint and oregano. Although the mint is the primary flavor it gains a warmth and fullness from the oregano flavor, thus it not only brightens a dish but adds richness as well. It is a beautiful albeit petite plant, growing about twelve to eighteen inches in height and only about twelve inches in width. Small, lavender/pink flowers appear before it goes to seed. Watch Fabio Trabocchi's video to what it looks like and how to use it.

It is traditionally matched with mushrooms as well as artichokes but I use it with so many different ingredients; indeed, wherever I could use mint and/or oregano, I usually opt for the nepitella. I found a website that reports that in Italy a sprig of nepitella is often packaged with mushrooms. Although this website is Henry's Farm, I could only find the information about nepitella through a google search. I've often used this and other mints in a tea for an upset stomach, but I guess not everyone should feel free to use nepitella this way, because, as Rosalind Creasy reports in her book, The Edible Herb Garden, "...evidence indicates that nepitella should be avoided by [a] pregnant woman."

It's supposed to withstand cold to almost zero degrees, but it has survived my north Idaho wintry days of at lest ten degrees below freezing. It doesn't seed itself like it does in Italy, and I'm not sure why. However, it does seem happy to be growing in my sandy, glacial silt soil. And, whether rainy or dry, it seems to thrive year in and year out.

I used my nepitella yesterday in a white bean salad that I brought to my friends' annual July 4th celebration on the Moyie River. Strangely for north Idaho, it was cold and rainy, so instead of cold greens, I wanted to bring something a bit hardier, but still a salad. So I decided to make an Italian style white bean salad. I had some canned white beans so I could be somewhat lazy and use them to make one of my favorite dishes.

I sauteed some onion in olive oil with some salt, then added garlic and cut up cherry tomatoes. After the tomatoes just began to break, I added the beans, stirred well, and removed from the heat. Then I added my favorite herb, nepitella. Finally, after the beans came to room temperature, I added freshly squeezed lemon juice and some chiffonaded spinach from my garden. It was so yummy! And the ingredient that really made it special was the nepitella.

Grilled Venison

Ah, heading into summer with some grilled venison, marinated in red wine, a bit of Dijon mustard, salt and pepper, and some drops of already reduced balsamic vinegar. I threw it on the barbecue, one minute each side, and it was oh, so good! Red inside and dark brown outside. Mmmm.... However, it did have a problem: I so wanted steaks that I left them whole instead of making kabobs. Yeah, I should have cut it up because it was cut so oddly that it really was meant to be three individual pieces instead of one with silver skin separating the pieces. Ugh! Nothing chewier than silver skin. My bad! or lazy as the case may be. But everything else was perfect.



I ended up being so busy in my garden (a rainforest of weeds), and, I didn't know that my boys had eaten most of the potatoes while I was away, so instead of finishing the potatoes on the barbecue I made mashed potatoes and carrots with a bit of onion. They were delicious, especially with the reduced meat marinade, finished with some butter, flowing from the meat onto the potatoes. Finally, I topped the whole thing with mushrooms that had been reduced with white wine, a few droplets of the reduced balsamic vinegar and finished with butter. It was a feast! And a great way to say goodbye to spring and welcome the endless sun of summer. Yeah, even in north Idaho.

Is Bonners Ferry Not In North Idaho???

Wow, my husband and I spent the day in Coeur d'Alene because we had errands to do, not the least of which was returning books to the NIC library. Since our arrival coincided with lunch, we decided to try out a new, for us, restaurant, the Bonsai Bistro. It was pretty good, and the $9.95 lunch special certainly filled up this hungry gal with wholesome, varied, and delicious Asian cuisine.

Up the block from the Bonsai Bistro I briefly ran into the Coeur d'Alene Visitor's Center in order to pick up the latest dining guide for not just Coeur d'Alene but all of north Idaho. I found a publication that I have enjoyed in the past, but this time I was struck by the fact that nothing, NOTHING was mentioned about Bonners Ferry, Idaho. To say the least, I was appalled.

Bonners Ferry, ID is the internatonal gateway into Canada, including destinations like the east Kootenays, the Canadian Rockies, and the International Selkirk Loop. Approximately 30 miles north of Sandpoint, ID, just north of Bonners Ferry one can travel east towards Montana and Glacier National Park, northeast towards the Canadian Rockies and directly north through the Kootenai Valley to the Kootenay Rockies (the different spellings are a Canadian/U.S. difference). Boundary County is a region of immense beauty, including the Kootenai River, the Moyie River, the Kootenai Valley, alpine lakes, waterfalls, hiking trails, and vast areas of state and federal forest land. Our recently re-vitalized downtown has tourists and locals alike visiting in droves with write-ups on many local tourist sites, e.g., tripadvisor.com.

And thus, to my complaint: Idaho Cuisine, in its 10th Anniversary Issue, has no mention whatsoever of any Bonners Ferry restaurant, including one of its newest, Papa Byrd's Bistro. As an Idaho blogger, and, in full discretion the pastry chef at Papa Byrd's Bistro, I cannot believe that Idaho Cuisine does not include Bonners Ferry in their magazine.

I love my position at Papa Byrd's but I have not been remiss in dishing out compliments to other restaurants and tourist attractions in Boundary County. The first summer of our new International Visitor's Center opening, I volunteered one day each week into welcoming tourists from around the world to our beautiful county. I also blogged about some of our local food oriented attractions. I believe in supporting local businesses and eat at all the restaurants, shop locally as much as possible, and support the reasoning that any good business is good for all businesses. The next summer I began work at Papa Byrd's, which shares a parking lot with the Visitor's Center, and became the souschef (Mark is the head chef) cum tourist advisor for out-0f-towners. We have had numerous compliments on both our savory cuisine and our desserts. Other local restaurants have also had much support locally and internationally including "Under the Sun" cafe and shopping; "Jill's Cafe"; "The Creamery"; the "Panhandle Cafe"; "Bonners Books"; "Boardwalk Boutique"; "Mountain Mike's Nutrition and Gourmet Food"; "Paradise Valley Bed and Breakfast"; the "Log Inn"; the "Northside School Bed and Breakfast"; and numerous other businesses.

Thus, for all these reasons, I am appalled that a magazine representing north Idaho, somehow forgot the crown jewel of Idaho, Boundary County. I invite all journalists from Idaho and eastern Washington to visit a county that, although seemingly hidden, remains the crown of the gem state. We're not just the friendliest, we have incredible scenery, lovely accommodations, diverse shopping, and over-the-top cuisine.

And All Is Well In Linda's Kitchen

Ahh, as always, life has moved on. No more friends in the kitchen (lying, cheating, stealing will do a person in), another busy tourist season, and successes learned, have turned my restaurant employment into, once again, a job worth my while.

But with the extra days off (we have another cook), the appointment of pastry chef, and my own garden, my own kitchen has been a pleasure in recent months.

I had the worst oven anyone could own, and when two burner's finally bit the dust, I just told my husband that's it. New stove. A trip to Fred's Appliances in Coeur d'Alene. And lo and behold, it turned out that in two weeks after that trip, Fred's was having their giant parking lot sale in Spokane. Well, even if it meant rising at 4am, I wanted a decent stove and so off we journeyed. I didn't get my ding and dent, but I did buy, at a very reasonable price, a GE duel range, 30" stand alone (which is huge for my kitchen) and I am so happy! I'm still getting used to the very accurate oven, working with high-powered gas burners, compared to 18 yrs of electric burners, and just the overall workings of this baking/convection two-oven marvel. Indeed, I'm just now figuring out the bread temperatures, an important point to know since I bake all our own bread.

I also have my garden to contend with these days. The cutworms have been deadly to my black Tuscan kale and Swiss Chard so it's now warfare. Thankfully, Garden's Alive provides me with a pretty much organic defense, but all the rain has made this an ongoing war.... It's extra work, but I mean to prevail.

So, with my own garden produce coming on strong, I have been making endless creations with spinach, lettuce, fresh herbs, baby turnips, beets, and carrots, some peppers, summer squash, and even some early, renegade potatoes. It's all so delicious! From the first chives in spring, well into October (and even later with global warming) my garden just keeps on giving....

I did make myself, way back in April, the most marvelous birthday cake ever. After buying myself Sherry Yard's Desserts By the Yard, I made the chocolate twelve layer Dobos torte that she had once made for an Academy Awards dinner. Oh! Wow! Oh! That was incredible! One of my best birthday cakes. But that is what I do every year for my birthday - I challenge myself to make a dessert in which I do not fully understand the process but, of course, by the end, I'm "in the know." It's so gratifying, especially when it turns out so perfectly.

Ah, it's so good to be writing about food again. I can't wait to upload some photos to support more of my incredible experiences with food.

Moving Into Fall At Papa Byrd's

School has begun, the tourist season is about over, but the great food at Papa Byrd's just gets better. Business has certainly slowed and our tanking economy hasn't helped much, but innovative Tracy has us serving half portions again during the day, and college has taken away many of our employees, so we continue on.

We slid gracefully into Fall with a lovely, artistic belly-dancing performance by Tracy's friend, Erika. Having only seen belly-dancers who danced for the tips lavished upon them, Erika's presentation was a pleasant departure into something that emphasized grace, artistry, balance, and form. The customers were very pleased and even the employees had to stop their work and become absorbed into the show. At the end, Erika did a beautiful dance while skillfully balancing a series of candles on a tray on her head. Beautiful!

Several weeks ago Josh's dad, Terry Sherven, played guitar and sang at the restaurant, along with local musicians Gary Lawrence (bass and singing) and Wayne Rau on mandolin. The customers really enjoyed the music. I had to agree with many of them that it sounded like Willie Nelson was in the restaurant. Great night!

We've had several perfect restaurant weekends because Josh and Tracy have been serving and the evening's flow has been everything a restaurant could wish for. We have an excellent core group of people that just cannot be beat. That's our dynamic duo: Tracy and Josh!

And our customers seems to be happy. We've had people from Seattle to Tasmania to Coeur d'Alene rave about the food. We even had a customer write about us at TripAdvisor.

Besides our regular menu which includes Mark's signature lasagna, Mark also creates the most delicious specials from Vodka Sauce on Papparadelle with Freshly Grated Parmesan to a Wild Mushroom Duxelles Sauce on Mushroom Ravioli topped off with a Balsamic Reduction to Orange-glazed Game Hens served with Wild and Brown Rice with Middle Eastern Herbs and Roasted, Locally Grown Apples and the list goes on.

I've created some new desserts, a favorite being my version of the Velouté au Citron (Lemon Velvet Cake), in which I use two biscuit layers in the center and two almond meringue layers for the top and bottom, thus creating a multi-layered cake. Last weekend I created a cake I called "Evita" because it had flavors reminding me of Argentina: chocolate genoise layers made with
Dagoba Xocolatl Hot Chocolate Mix, three layers of mocha buttercream, topped with a chocolate ganache, and then I trimmed the sides to show off the layers. Yummy! And last night I made a Caramel-Pecan Chocolate Ganache Tart. After "quality control," the kitchen came to a standstill.


Arriving home after work, I found the movie "Chocolat" just beginning on TV and was compelled to watch the entire movie for yet another time. It just captures me and dessert-making....

Well, off to work....