Marcella Cooking Stuff • September 20th - September 27th
September 20th - September 23rd
Fall is here and it's time to get spicy! In the colder months, when the produce is less exciting, I lean into my spice cabinet to keep things interesting. This week I cleaned out my spices, ordered a ton of new spices, and thought it was perfect to do a little deep dive.
I go through my spice cabinet twice a year, spring and fall, and you should too. Why? Because spices expire! One more time for the people in the back, all dry spices (and herbs) expire!! In an unopened jar, they can last a little while but once that jar is opened and they are exposed to oxygen, moisture, and heat they start losing flavor faster than you'd expect. My general rule is one year from when they were first opened. I don't always stick to that rule but I try to. There is nothing wrong with using ancient spices from the back of your pantry but I can guarantee they will be lacking flavor.
Are your spices above your stove or next to your oven? The heat from your appliances can shorten their shelf life. The same goes for spices sitting on your counter in direct sunlight. Find a home for your spices that is cool, dark, and make sure their lids are closed to keep them airtight.
The biggest flaw with my kitchen is our awkward skinny pantry. It's 13 inches wide and 22 inched deep...not functional in the slightest. If I tossed all my spices on a shelf the reality would be that I could only see a few spices in front and I would neglect everything shoved in the back. Many profanities would be yelled every time I would blindly shove my hand back there hoping to grab what I needed too. I found two solutions for this problem, the spice drawer, and the spice bin.
I converted a large drawer into my easily accessible go-to spice area. It is lined with an acrylic tired organizer, found here. Everything stays in place, I can see what I have, and I can grab what I need quickly. Oh, and it is right next to my prep area! Unless you have tons of pantry space or a shallow cabinet with easy access and visibility for your spices, everyone needs a spice drawer. It is a great solution for small apartment kitchens too.
All the spices that didn't fit in the drawer had to go in the awkward pantry. My solution for the pantry are clear bins, found here. I have one for my overflow spices and a second one for all my salts and peppers. When I need something, I can easily grab the handle and pull the whole bin out. Take something out, put something in, easy peasy, and organized.
So twice a year I open my spice drawer and pull out my spice bin to take an inventory of what I have. I check for three things: what is the expiration date, what is almost empty, and what have I barely touched?
Older spices that should be used soon and spices I have barely touched get bumped front and center of the spice drawer. My goal is then to incorporate those spices into my cooking to use them up and prevent wasting them. Spices that I use often and are almost empty get refilled. I just placed two spice orders from Burlap & Barrel and The Spice House. Those are my go-to places for all spices. I ordered some of the essentials below (with some variation) and two new spices I'm trying: Wild Ramps and Urfa Chili.
Here are the essential spices that everyone should have:
Black peppercorns
Cardamom
Cayenne
Chili flakes
Cinnamon
Coriander
Cumin
Fennel
Garlic
Oregano
Smoked paprika
Tumeric
Here are some tips I've learned about spices:
Ground or Whole?
Go with whole and buy a coffee grinder. Here's why: whole spices last longer. The second a spice is ground it starts to lose flavor. Just like black pepper, freshly cracked spices will have the most flavor.
You can smash them up in a mortar and pestle or grab a coffee grinder and give them a little blitz. This is the grinder I have that is designated for spices.
In between spices grind a piece of bread. The leftover spice residue will stick to the bread and you can wipe the inside with a dry paper towel.
Toast them
This extra step takes less than 2 minutes and will amp up their flavor significantly. Before grinding, add your whole spices to a dry pan and heat over the stove just until they are fragrant. This works with ground spices too. It only takes ground spices 30 seconds and you have to be extra careful they don't burn.
This also works when baking with tea. Like in my Earl Grey Madeleine recipe.
Bloom them
Blooming, similar to toasting, is when you cook spices in oil to bring out their flavor. If you were making chili, instead of adding ancho chili powder, smoked paprika, and cumin to the mix after the stew is created, sauteeing them for 30 seconds with the onions and oil will bloom the spices getting more flavor out of them.
Make your own blends
BBQ, pumpkin pie, cajun, chai, etc. are all just a combination of spices sold in a jar. Try making your own blends at home. They will be fresher and you can adjust them to your liking.
Be mindful of "chili powder." This is actually a blend of spices. In dessert recipes that call for chili, like my Mexican Hot Chocolate Cookies, you want to use a dried chili in powder form. Some examples are ancho chili, New Mexican red chili, chipotle chili, habanero chili...
Invest and try something new
Nothing brings me more joy than discovering a new ingredient to cook with. The better the ingredients, the better the food tastes. It's convenient to grab the first spices you at the grocery store but investing in small-batch spice with a short supply chain will bring the flavor like you have never seen before.
Burlap and Barrel's Royal Cinnamon is the best cinnamon I have ever worked with. In a side by side test, grocery store cinnamon doesn't even compare. They just introduced Dried Wild Ramps which I have never seen before and can't wait to incorporate into my meals.
Rancho Gordo sells dried chilis, herbs, and spices, in addition to their beans. Mexican oregano, New Mexican red chili powder, and dried chipotle chilis are part of my rotation now.
I'm always on the hunt for special gem ingredients. Every spice order I place I challenge myself to order something new, learn it's flavor palette, and incorporate it into my cooking. This is something I hope everyone starts to do too.
Sunday
My Birthday Cake
I had the best time ever making this cake! I have always loved decorating cakes. It was what I originally wanted to do when I started culinary school but I can't even tell you the last time I actually made a layer cake.
I went classic with a vanilla cake, vanilla mascarpone frosting, strawberries, and raspberries. In true Marcella fashion, I covered the cake in flowers, more berries, and pomegranate seeds. It was like building a Board Babe board...with frosting.
I used some old recipes that I haven't touched in years. My mom loved it but said it needed more frosting. My neighbor Tom said it was one of the best cakes he has ever eaten. So these recipes are keepers. I want to work on them a bit and then I'll share them. A reason to make more cakes!
Tuesday
Roasted Tomato Soup + Pecorino Rice Crisps
Run and grab as many end of the season tomatoes as you can find this week. There are a few out there still and it's time to stock the freezer with Roasted Tomato Soup.
This week I roasted five pounds of heirloom and cherry tomatoes with basil, oregano, shallot, and some onion. Gave it a whirl in my Vitamix and thinned with some homemade chicken broth. Voila, the tastiest tomato soup. If you want it a little spicy, throw some fresh or dried chilis into the mix. Oh and definitely add garlic!!!
I played around with something new for the soup. Croutons and crackers are out of the mix because of Marco's allergies but I wanted some texture. I combined 1 cup of grated pecorino, 2 cups of cooked rice, and black pepper. Heated some olive oil and butter in a pan over medium-low and cooked a thin layer of the rice mixture until crunchy. The same way I cook giant latkes for Birds Nest Latkes. These are a soup game changer!!! Think parmesan crisp and tahdig combine. Amazing!
Wednesday
Spicy Sausage Pasta with Tomatoes and Squash
I can't take credit for this Spicy Sausage Pasta recipe but it is a keeper for sure. Spicy, meaty, creamy feta, fresh mint...it's a perfectly balanced dish worth trying. I ended up doubling the harissa. The sauce was a little weak in flavor and I stored in a few extra tablespoons at the end to pump it up. Don't be shy with the mint and feta!
You can buy harissa at the store or you can make some! I followed Ottolenghi's recipe and recommend it. Fresno chilis are in season through fall and great to use for harissa. They are one of my favorite chilis because of the subtle fruity sweetness they have. This is the perfect recipe to try toasting whole spices!
Thursday
Roasted squash, coconut curry, ramen, soup?!
I don't know what to call this yet. It's a hybrid of so many wonderful things. The perfect fall dish that is still a work in progress. I'm going to make this again next week and type up the recipe. I was a bit too salty and needs a few adjustments.
Marco 8/10
"I have never had noodles in curry before and I love it. The sweetness from the squash is good too. A little too salty but still great."
Friday
Caramel Apple Tart
The Kale Salad
As cute and yummy as these little tarts sound they were a semi fail. I would say pass on trying to make them.
First, it was a total pain in the ass arranging the apples like this. I love tedious hands-on tasks but after one mini tart, I was over it. They also didn't hold well. The apples sitting on top of the caramel started to create a sugary syrup. After about an hour it was a soupy mess. Tasty but messy.
I pulled some homemade chocolate shell out of the pantry and turned the other four tarts into Chocolate Caramel Tarts.
Here is a Chocolate Caramel tart recipe on NYT Cooking that I have made before. Here is another on Bon Appetit to try. I haven't made the full recipe but I am a fan of the caramel recipe.
The Kale Salad is our favorite anytime everyday fall and winter salad. It is the only kale salad you need. Seriously, we have been making it for over 5 years and we make it a LOT. It was an adaptation, really a knock off, of a Whole Foods kale salad. I wonder if they still sell that salad? There are a few ways to mix it up, every way is a hit. You'll see this salad a lot and I hope you try it too!
Saturday
Harissa Cauliflower
I wasn't planning on cooking anything Saturday but I had the biggest craving for cauliflower. I loooove cruciferous veggies. Coated the florets in the leftover harissa (1/4 cup) from Wednesday, 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and roasted at 400 for 30ish minutes. I topped it with some GF panko, pecorino, lemon zest, and parsley mixture.
A pleasant surprise! Super tasty and curbed my cauliflower craving. I'm excited for lots of fall cauliflower recipes!
Marco rating: 9.5/10
"I wanted more breadcrumbs but that was a great dish. Different than any other cauliflower I have had before."
Random thing of the week:
I'm getting ready for spooky season and made this wreath! I call it spooky chic.
Pet photo of the week:
It's rare that all three cats snuggle together but when they do it's really freaking adorable!!
Thing I learned this week:
When I made butter for the , the fat separated and I was left with...buttermilk? Yes, it is buttermilk but it's not the buttermilk you can purchase at the store. I looked into it a bit more this week.
Way way way back in the day buttermilk was the liquid left behind after churning butter. There was no pasteurization and the milk would ferment for a few days before it was churned. This caused it to be slightly sour and thick.
Today all our dairy is pasteurized preventing natural bacteria growth. All conventional grocery store buttermilk is "cultured" buttermilk. Just like cultured butter and cultured yogurt, lactic acid bacteria are introduced to the milk allowing it to ferment, thicken, and have a slightly sour taste.
Bottom line, buttermilk today isn't "real" buttermilk but is manufactured to act in the same way.
Five not essential but fantastic spices everyone should incorporate into their cooking: Aleppo pepper, sumac, saffron, pink peppercorns, and Szechuan peppercorns.
Next week is English muffin week and I'm excited!
See you next week,
Marcella