Cole's Kitch

I don't know what to call these...except delicious

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Mon, 14 May 2012 02:47:00 +0000

Well, that's not entirely true - we did come up with a name... ...crunchy pig bowls. Which admittedly may not resonate with all. But name aside, they are delicious. And ingenious. A bowl made of prosciutto, into which you can put any number of things that will subsequently be permeated with salty pork flavor as it bakes. My friend Marika sent me some delicious looking recipes from Coastal Living magazine, which arrived in the mail last week (thanks Marika!). All looked scrumptious, but...

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pretzel time

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Mon, 30 Apr 2012 01:49:00 +0000

This weekend, I was introduced to two things with which I had not previously been familiar: Alton Brown's Good Eats series and making pretzels. The latter involved all sorts of fun new things: hand rolling (with a little pressure while stretching) elastic pretzel dough, forming pretzels, dipping them in a baking soda bath (2/3 cups of baking soda - I had no idea you could buy it in such large containers!), brushing with egg yolk and sprinkling with gigantic sea salt. And then the best part -...

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blackberry baked french toast

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sat, 07 Apr 2012 01:34:00 +0000

All settled in the new house! This past week has been a busy one, between moving and working and entertaining. But I am getting comfortable in the new kitch, which has been used this week for some old favorites (camembert & caramelized onion crostini, pea and pancetta risotto, brown butter chocolate chip cookies - all part of entertaining a fun crowd last night) and a new one: the beautiful baked french toast pictured above. Randy's friend Paul is visiting from Milwaukee this week. In...

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pizza pizza

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sun, 18 Mar 2012 02:16:00 +0000

Lesson 1 from the pizza-baking adventure earlier this week: after a pizza comes out of a 500 degree oven, even after it has sat for a bit and in spite of the fact that you really want to experience it's deliciousness, be cautious. And watch out for a tomato that is out to get you, like the incredibly hot one that slipped from the crust when I took my first bite and decided to attach itself to my chin. Ouch. Lesson 2: prebake the crust. It was a certain someone's birthday earlier this...

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the secret to great french toast

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 03:35:00 +0000

I love weekends, primarily for two routines that have been recently reintroduced to my life: 1) coffee in the sunshine - made possible due to my frequent trips to LA; and 2) making breakfast - the pleasure of doing this for and with the man in my life (who is the reason for my frequent trips to LA). It was coincidental that the second part of my weekend love led me to discover the secret to great french toast. It can be boiled down to two words: challah bread. I wanted to make french...

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black bean brownies

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 01:01:00 +0000

I am equipment impaired at the moment. Perhaps that's why it has taken me until late February to write my first post in 2012. I also think it's taken me this long to adjust to being back to real life post-2011. What a year 2011 was: some parts were amazingly happy while at others I was overwhelmed by the most intense devastation I have ever known; at times things were messy, at others there was crystal clarity on who I am and where I am going. There was divorce. There was cancer. There was...

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oh my, croque madame!

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:00:00 +0000

I love (love, love, love) croque madames. The french sandwich is composed of four of my six favorite foods: cheese, ham, bread, and egg (the missing two are chocolate and wine, but I think it's good that they were left out in this case). I had one for about every 3rd meal when I was in Paris earlier this year. I have always considered the croque madame something to be ordered at a cafe. I'd never really thought of making one myself. Now that I have, I kind of want to whack...

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garlic shrimp pasta in white wine butter sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Sometimes, we learn lessons the hard way. Yesterday, my lesson came via 44CFH ($47) shrimp. I was treating myself to some fancy food shopping at the gourmet grocery store on the bottom level of the Globus department store. I knew it would be expensive: I bought marinated artichoke hearts, a beautiful jar of green olives, pulchritudinous prosciutto (is it ok to anthropomorphize prosciutto? I believe so), and some other great treasures. When the resulting bill was higher than I expected, I...

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pumpkin, pancetta, and sage pasta

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sat, 26 Nov 2011 17:40:00 +0000

There is one thing I have learned in the past week: pumpkins are expensive in Zurich. Or to be more specific: pumpkin flesh is expensive (as I've only bough pieces of pumpkin, not an entire gourd). I let myself be sucked in early in the week by the container of pumpkin cubes: no rind or seeds to deal with...so easy: 11 CHF ($12). And it wouldn't really have been a proper Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie, right? No canned pumpkin for pie was to be found (my fault for grocery shopping on...

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super schokolade cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 02:00:00 +0000

Superschokolade: German for a whole lot of chocolate. Or Swiss, more precisely, as the chocolate in question is a whole lot of Lindt. I used a combination of Lindt weiss (white chocolate), milch extra (milk chocolate) and noir intense (dark chocolate, 70% cacao). The resulting cookies did not disappoint: they are crisp out of the oven, but now a day later have developed a pleasant browney-like chewiness. The multiple levels of chocolate tastes and types makes for one very robust, sweet,...

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big shell pancetta mac and cheese

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Tue, 15 Nov 2011 15:10:00 +0000

The weather has turned in Zurich this past week: a wintery cold to accompany the Christmas decorations that are suddenly everywhere. The trees that were brilliant shades of red and orange when I arrived are now bear. It's the sort of weather that makes me want to have something baking in the oven. This time, I opted for bubbly, cheesy comfort food: mac & cheese...with pancetta (because everything is better with pancetta). I didn't mean for the shells to be so big. It's hard to tell from...

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gemischte pilzen risotto

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 15:11:00 +0000

In case it wasn't clear from the picture, auf Englisch, this is a mixed mushroom risotto. I've been continuing to have fun exploring Zurich grocery stores and markets. The other day, one treasure I brought home with me was a box of magnificent mixed mushrooms. I couldn't conclusively identify a single one, nor would I have been brave enough to buy any of the varieties on their own (what would it taste like? how would I cook it?). In fact, I first reached for the plain old button mushrooms....

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my zurich kitch

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 20:00:00 +0000

I had an afternoon of playing in the kitch yesterday. The view out of my kitchen window shows fall in full swing in Zurich. I decided to revisit two somewhat involved recipes that seem fitting for the season: passaladiere and roasted butternut squash soup with fried leeks (click links for original posts with recipes). The oven-that-cooks-from-the-top is presenting some challenges. Namely, the tops of things are cooking much faster than I'm used to. Strategically placed...

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beginning with breakfast

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 03:00:00 +0000

I have arrived in Zurich. I will be here for the next two months, in a studio apartment in the middle of town. One thing I am truly excited about: my apartment has a kitchen! In terms of this blog, this means a halt to the restaurant-food-in-foreign-city posts and a return to here's-what-I've-made-in-my-kitchen posts. I welcome this change. So far, I'm quite excited by the prospect of cooking in another country. It presents some interesting new challenges. First, the kitchen. It's tiny. I...

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barcelona food

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sun, 30 Oct 2011 16:08:00 +0000

Tapas, tapas, paella, tapas. This pretty much sums up what I ate during my 5 day exploration of Barcelona. I am not complaining. While nearly everything I tried falls into the good-to-outstanding range, the standout food item for me was octopus: so tender and flavorful. I ordered it nearly everywhere I went. My single complaint having to do with food in Barcelona is that the vegetable dishes for the most part were uninspired and did not seem particularly fresh or ripe (roasted peppers and...

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paris aventures alimentaires: jours 9 et 10

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 15:33:00 +0000

Today, I explored Paris by foot. J'ai beaucoup marche. The culinary highlight was La Grande Epicerie Paris, the grocery store that's attached to the high-end department store, Le Bon Marche. It was the fanciest grocery store I've ever been in and I took no shame in snapping lots of photos of the beautiful food. Here are some highlights: Epiceries de fantaisie.An entire aisle of beautiful sucre!You can't tell from the photo, but each of these spice canisters is about a gallon in size.De...

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paris aventures alimentaires: jour 8

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 01:55:00 +0000

Biggest success of the day: buying figs from a market vendor...entirely in French! The conversation went something like this: Bonsoir madame. - Bonsoir! Je voudrais un demi kilo de figues, s'il vous plait.Oui. Voila. Trois trente, s'il vous plait. - Voila. Merci!Merci! Bonne soiree. - Bonne soiree! Not only did I understand how much I had to pay him, but I also gave him exact change. That may not sound like a lot, but it's the first time it's happened for me,...

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paris aventures alimentaires: jour 7

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 21:11:00 +0000

My last intensive French class was today. Je suis triste! My French, while much improved, still leaves quite a bit to be desired. I plan to keep practicing. I embarked on a Parisan adventure this afternoon with a couple of friends from class, which among other things, included une cafe sitting outside at a cafe and my first crepe of the current Paris trip, avec jambon et fromage. Tres bon! Though chilly, the weather today was beautiful and is supposed to stay that way through the...

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paris aventures alimentaires: jour 6

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:00:00 +0000

Sadly, I just passed the halfway point of my current Paris trip. Though the time seems to be racing by, I am content with the volume of experiences that I've been able to pack in so far (intensive language classes, museums, parks, churches, amazing food). 4 more days of exploring are ahead of me... Today, I embarked on a very fun and novell adventure: Paris grocery shopping. I enjoy grocery shopping in general (I'm one of those people who takes an hour or more to do it because I like going up...

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paris aventures alimentaires: jours 4 et 5

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 17:43:00 +0000

Salut! The past couple of days have been packed with intensive French classes and exploring the city (including getting lost more times than I can count!). Despite the full days, I've had no trouble continuing to enjoy a healthy amount of French food. In particular, the dinner restaurant meals of the past two evenings have been spectacular. Last night, I dined at Au Fil des Saisons and had what has definitely been (and I can only imagine will continue to be) the standout meal of my...

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paris aventures alimentaires: jour 3

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Mon, 17 Oct 2011 21:11:00 +0000

I have but 4 words for you this evening. Market bounty: for dinner. Oh, and some touristy pics because I couldn't resist. Enjoy! Fennel salad with pomegranate, dill, lemon, and olive oil. Lamb from the Marche d'Aligre bucherie with fig reduction and haricot verts. Chocolats artisanaux. l'opera la Tour Eiffel

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paris aventures alimentaires: jour 2

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:26:00 +0000

I started today by rushing out the door to catch the metro to a cafe in the 12th arrondissement to meet my market guide, Aurelie (of Succulent Paris). We spent two hours perusing the goods at the Marche d'Aligre. Most of the outdoor portion of the market contained vendor after vendor of beautiful fruits and veggies. In the covered market space, cheeses, meats, seafood, and specialty foods abounded. I took home a sampling of chevre including Rigotte de Condrieu and Rocamadour Fermier (they...

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paris aventures alimentaires: jour 1

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 19:27:00 +0000

I arrived in Paris at 8:30am this morning, after only 3 hours of sleep, but full of excitement. While waiting for the apartment to be ready, I stopped in at a cafe in the 14th arrondissement and enjoyed the above petit déjeuner: pain au chocolat et un café. Ai goûté une très bonne. There were many high points during the day, but rather than recount them all here, for now I'll just share a recent highlight: watching the Eifel Tower sparkle as the lights go crazy on the...

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more rustic bread

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:43:00 +0000

You may recall that I returned home from my rustic bread class on Saturday with a lot of dough. That is no longer the case after the evening I just spent baking bread. I'm going to turn into a loaf of bread, I think, given all that I've eaten over the past few days. I don't really have a problem with that. I started with two big dough-filled bowls: one was the pugliese that I posted on a couple of days ago. The other was whole wheat (same recipe, just substitute fine or medium grind...

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rustic bread

noreply@blogger.com (Cole Nussbaumer) — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 01:35:00 +0000

Fresh bread. Still warm from the oven. Crisp and golden on the outside, stretchy and soft within. Slathered with pasture butter. This is what I am experiencing right now. Words can't quite do my pleasure justice. I have not one such loaf, but rather four loaves (the three pictured above, plus the least pretty of the quartet, which I am ripping hunks of off currently and enjoying immensely). In addition to the loaves, I have enough dough for 4-6 more and a generous heaping of starter...

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