Mmm broccoli

I have a confession to make: I have never been to McBain. All I know of the place is that sophomores often get “shafted” there. I found my way to Alexandra’s relatively well-stocked double, complete with chicken cutlets, broccoli, mozzarella. It was a beautiful sight. Even with these options, the obvious vehicle was pasta, the go-to form of sustenance for the college student.

Pasta with Chicken, Broccoli, and Crème Fraiche

Serves 2

Ingredients:

• ½ lb. pasta, cooked in salted water and drained
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 2 chicken cutlets, diced
• Salt and Complete Seasoning (or pepper)
• 2 C broccoli florets
• ½ C crème fraiche
• ¼ C shredded mozzarella
• Parmesan for garnish

Directions:

1. While the pasta is cooking, heat the butter in the skillet over medium-high heat. Season the chicken cutlets with the salt and Seasoning. Toss the chicken into the skillet and sauté until cooked through, 2-3 minutes. Remove from the skillet to a plate, using a slotted spoon. Toss the broccoli into the skillet and sauté until crisp-tender, 2-3 minutes. Add the chicken back into the skillet and add the crème fraiche, making a thin sauce. Add the mozzarella to give the sauce a little body.
2. Right before the pasta is finished cooking, drain and toss with the sauce, over medium-high heat about 1 minute. The pasta will finish cooking to al dente in the hot sauce, and it will take on the flavor of the sauce.
3. Plate and garnish with the parmesan.

Fine cuisine is all about the placement of your nuts.

Last semester, we sent Matt Powell on a series of missions to see what he could cook up with the contents of a random individual’s room. In the midst of the start-of-semester flurry, Matt has prepared an improvisational piece for this week’s installment of Cooking with Bwog.

Let’s get real—I’m the kind of person who goes shopping every week and has a bounty of kitchen supplies. I’m not one to be cooking on the fly with no plan in mind. Right?

Little did I know that my precious cooking and shopping time were going to be snatched away from me this week. I found myself on Tuesday night, unexpectedly starving and scrounging around for something to cook. Although my kitchen may be a bit unique compared to the average dorm’s, this is what I came up with:

Hazelnut and Ricotta Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. spaghetti pasta
• 1 handful (about ½ cup) hazelnuts, toasted then chopped
• 2 tbsp. olive oil
• 2 shallots, sliced
• 2 slices of bacon, diced
• 8 oz. ricotta cheese
• 2 tbsp. fresh thyme, chopped
• Freshly grated nutmeg
• Salt, to taste
• A nub of parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the spaghetti until al dente, about 9-12 minutes.
2. While pasta is cooking, toast the nuts (300 degrees for 8-10 minutes, until fragrant). In a small skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add in the shallots and sauté until softened.
3. Add in the diced bacon and cook until fat is rendered, 4-6 minutes. Remove from the heat.
4. Drain the pasta, reserving about 1/4-1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. Pour the drained pasta back into the large cooking pot. Toss with the shallots and bacon. Add in the ricotta and reserved cooking water and toss until a light sauce coats the pasta. Add in the chopped hazelnuts and thyme and toss a bit
   more.
5. Serve pasta and garnish with nutmeg, salt, and a bit of cheese. If you’re feeling fancy, add some more hazelnuts and thyme sprigs.

With the trees lit, phase two of holiday-zation has begun. Initiate cookie sequence. Matt Powell of Cooking With Bwog is here with a triple whammy of festive treats that will make you and anyone you decide to share them with jolly. 

Coming from California, I associate the holidays with about 60 degree weather. Even though I’ve moved back East, my body is still programmed to 60 degree winter. Therefore, I started baking Holiday Cookies back in October. If you don’t believe me, check out these cookies.

Double Gingersnap Cookies:

For my first cookie, I improved on my gingersnap recipe, adding in more spice and of course, a white chocolate drizzle.

Yields: 24

Ingredients:

• 1 ½ C flour
• 1 ¼ tsp. ground ginger
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• ½ tsp. cinnamon
• ¼ tsp. cloves
• ¼ tsp. salt
• Pinch of Nutmeg
•  ¼ C (1/2 stick) butter
• ¼ C vegetable shortening
• ½ C light brown sugar
• ¼ C molasses
• 1 egg
• 1/3 C crystallized ginger, chopped
• 6 oz. white chocolate, melted

Directions:

1. Sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the butter, shortening, and sugar. Cream until fluffy, about 3 minutes on medium speed. Lower speed to low and add in molasses, egg, and crystallized ginger. Mix until incorporated. Add dry ingredients and carefully blend together until incorporated. Place the dough in the refrigerator covered with plastic for 30 minutes.
3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. Remove dough from the fridge. Scoop out 1 tbsp. of dough for each cookie and roll into a ball. Space apart on the baking sheets about 1 1/2 inches apart.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 10-13 minutes, until the tops are crinkled. Let cool on racks after baking.
5. Using a fork, drizzle the white chocolate on top of the cookies. You can drizzle as much (or as little) as you like. I typically allow the white chocolate to cool and harden before serving, but you can serve them when the chocolate is still gooey.

Procrastinator? No problem. Join Matt Powell, Bwog’s resident chef, for a last minute lesson in Thanksgiving entrées.

Disclaimer: Yours might not look like this.

Tomorrow is the biggest food holiday of the year—a day devoted completely to feasting and drinking and being merry! It’s the only day that almost everyone forgoes any restrictions and pigs out, to the brink of explosion.

As a college student still on campus, I won’t be cooking for a large crowd, just a few close friends. We’re chickening-out (quite literally). Yes, we have forsaken the sacred Thanksgiving turkey for the more manageable chicken. But that doesn’t mean that you have to! Most turkeys come in 10 pounds and up, quite too large for a small group. However, creating a seasonal turkey feast is not out of reach!

Cider-Brined Turkey Breast

This is the method that my friends and I are using for our chicken. Inspired by a recipe from Bon Appétit magazine, I created this recipe.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 2 boneless turkey breasts, 3-4 lbs. each
• 1/2 qt. of warm water
• 3/4 C kosher salt
• ½ C brown sugar
• 1 qt. of apple cider
• 1 handful of peppercorns
• 6 star anise
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 slices of ginger root
• 6 smashed garlic cloves
• 6 green onions, chopped, white and light green parts only
• Butter (about 2 tbsp.)
• 2 tbsp. Olive oil
• 1 C dry white wine

Read Matt’s recipe after the jump!

In the past, we’ve covered the spectrum of cooking all the way from the cooking essentials to Morningside’s exquisite dishes. Last week we showed you how to whip together a mean white wine pasta. For our third installment of Cooking with Bwog’s dorm chef challenge, we sent our campus-trotting chef Matt Powell to the kitchen of Bwog contributor Briana Last.

We’d like to extend an invitation to all readers to participate in Cooking with Bwog. Do you only believe in eating blue foods? Own a microwave but not sure how to use it? If you’d like Matt to take on your kitchen, argue for your eligibility with an email to tips@bwog.com.

I have always been one to firmly oppose veganism. As a meat lover, I praise the taste and proper preparation that comes with such an essential component of the culinary experience. My ideological adversary Briana began with vegetarianism and later graduated to veganism. The email I received this week said only that this week’s kitchen belonged to a vegan, and “that’s all you get to know. She’s also very nice.” I braced myself for what I hoped to be my biggest challenge yet. As my one weapon of choice I brought a caldero (a Spanish paella pan that I often use for stir-fries). For my ingredient, delicious butternut squash oil.

Luckily, Briana is quite a food lover, even if she is vegan. That said, my guess for a stir-fry was spot on. Supplementing my supplies with some fresh produce from the Farmer’s market, Briana and I created this flavorful dish in a dimly-lit Nussbaum kitchen.

Dandelion Stir-Fry with Leeks

Serves 1

Ingredients

1 large bunch of fresh dandelion greens, cleaned
3 leaves of mustard greens, clean and torn
Salt
2 tbsp. butternut squash oil
1 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Read more…

In the past, we’ve covered the spectrum of cooking all the way from the cooking essentials to Morningside’s exquisite dishes. Last week we showed you that it’s even possible to make prosciutto in the humblest of kitchens. For our second challenge, our dorm-trotting chef Matt Powell visited the kitchen of Daily Editor Alex Jones. Matt tells the story:

I hesitantly knocked on the door of one Watt suite. After last week, I just didn’t know what to expect. Thrown into the unknown of simple dorm life, a place where even basic ingredients can be sparse, I ventured into the dorm of Alex Jones.

I was greeted by a perfunctory, “The door is open.” Pushing the door, I found Alex along with his roommate Nashoba and a friend, Elyse. Alex had emailed me earlier, making sure that I arrived after he cleaned his Watt kitchen, as he was afraid of the “heinous state” of the space. I found the kitchen more than accommodating and quickly found myself at home, a glass of Sauvignon Blanc in one hand and a wooden spoon in the other.

I learned two things that night:

1. “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” is not even close to butter. I want to say that it is something of a vegetable derivative. Whatever it is, it does not properly brown like butter. For God’s sake, use real, unsalted butter.

2. It matters not what you cook but with whom you enjoy the meal. Alex, Nashoba, and Elyse were the perfect dining companions, spurring on rigorous conversation and drunken bemusement (It was only halfway through the night that I realized that I was in the middle of dedicated Bieber fans). Yet this was only the icing on the cake, as their friend stopped by to suggest a midtown party. While they continued through the night like a hilarious dream, I returned to crash in my own apartment. I had staked out an hour for this meal, but I ended up returning well after midnight.

Read more…

In the past, we’ve covered the whole spectrum of cooking all the way from the cooking essentials to Morningside’s exquisite dishes. This week, we challenged our fearless chef Matt Powell to enter where maintenance seldom ventures—the dorm kitchen. Contributor Marcus Levine offered to descend with him to the lowest depths of foodie hell. Matt recounts the adventure:

"But there's nothing on this list!"

In my time writing this column, I have been met with my fair share of criticism. My love of exotic ingredients, over-equipped kitchen, and enthusiasm for cooking (especially arugula), has at times seemed out of place in the scruffy dorm kitchen.

So what happens when you take away my usual kitchen amenities, ingredients and the rest? Will the enthusiasm remain? I showed up to last week’s Bwog meeting fully unaware of the challenge that would behold me. Marcus stood out from the group when he pointed out that he had duck prosciutto in his fridge. I figured that duck prosciutto was indicative of a student having at least a bit of culinary knowledge.

For my challenge, I was allowed only a single ingredient and one piece of kitchen equipment. Stripped I was of my fancy ingredients, my spice cabinet, my cookware, even my good plates and lighting equipment! How could I choose just two things? In the end, it came down to my trusty oven-proof nonstick skillet and figs.

Much to my surprise, I arrived to the Hartley suite to find that Marcus was not much of a food enthusiast. He didn’t even have salt and pepper! What he lacked in kitchen staples he made up by quite a selection of charcuterie and cheese. He had but a cutting board and dull ceramic knife, while no baking sheet or oven mitts could be proffered. So, putting my limited tools to good use, I created this little wonder.
Picture of the final dish and recipe after the jump!

As much as we love our campus, there is nothing spectacular about the square footage on some of our dorm kitchens. Cooking with Bwog helps you make the most out of your cooking while still dining in style. For this week’s installment, blade master Matt Powell breaks down the chef’s tools of the trade. 

White headgear not necessary

Basics

There are some basics tools that any home cook should have in the kitchen:
Cookware
You don’t need the top-of-the-line All-Clad ware or the latest line from Sur La Table. Instead, simplify. Look for a sturdy stockpot, 2 frying pans (one 9-12 inch pan and one 6 inch pan), and a saucepan. If you’re worried about food sticking, you can always get some non-stick cookware.

Bowls

Every cook needs mixing bowls. I have 2 large mixing bowls for mixing batter, making frosting, brining, etc. You can even use them for serving large bowls of pasta. Small prep bowls are always handy as well. Just enter any restaurant kitchen in New York and you will find a multitude of bowls for garnishes and components.

Utensils

Knives, forks, and spoons go without saying. In addition to these smaller items, find a good, heavy-duty whisk, a wooden spoon (I prefer bamboo), a ladle, a slotted spoon (which is a larger spoon with holes in it), and a spatula. Often, these utensils can be found in a bundle package for cheap.

Baking Supplies

Now, this depends on how serious of a baker you are, but for the average college bake sale, a cookie sheet and one cupcake tray should suffice.

Cutlery

As Jacques Pépin was quoted saying in the Times, “The best knife is a sharp knife.” Hence don’t need too many. For the home cook, there are three basic knives that you should have on hand: the 10-inch chef’s knife, a serrated knife, and a paring knife. I also love the Santoku hocho Japanese kitchen knife, which generally doubles as my kitchen knife.
Read more…

He's the president, and they give him the fun size cone?

Before running off to get your pumpkin spice latte, consider a chilled treat. This week we want you to put on your summer specs and dial up that radiator for a last toast to summer. In our latest Cooking with Bwog your not-quite-vanilla chef Matt Powell whips together a sensational delight.

This week, we will conquer the basics of a custard base, a simple sorbet, and a caramel sauce to go on top. If you would like to find more toppings, check out last week’s post on fresh whipped cream and chocolate ganache sauce.

Basic Vanilla Ice Cream

Ingredients
(Yields 1 quart)

• 2 C whole milk
• 2 C heavy cream
• 3/4 C sugar
• 5-6 egg yolks (save the whites for some meringues from last week)
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract (fresh vanilla pods would be preferable, but this is easier and more cost-efficient.)

Read more…

Craving something sweet? In this week’s edition of Cooking with Bwog, our saccharine chef Matt Powell reveals how to make basic and not-so-basic treats like cookies, meringues, and chocolate ganache!

Cookie close-up

The Classic Chocolate Chip Cookie

Makes 1 1/2 dozen 5-inch cookies

The best chocolate chip cookies in the city are made by Jacques Torres. This is his recipe.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
• (8 1/2 ounces) cake flour
• 1 2/3 cups (8 1/2 ounces) bread flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
• 2 1/2 sticks (1 1/4 cups) unsalted butter
• 1 1/4 cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar
• 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons natural vanilla extract
• 1 1/4 pounds bittersweet chocolate disks or fèves, at least 60 percent cacao content
• Sea salt

Read more…

Vegans and Vegetarians, avert your eyes! But carnivores, it’s time for us to use our gratuitous “meat and greet” tag, and you should start salivating. This week Matt Powell covers the basics of beef, pork, burgers, and chicken.

And bacon strips and bacon strips and bacon strips...

Beef

Know where your meat comes from! The Culinary Society has a handy guide to choosing cuts and such. Like wine, flavors of meat vary widely.

I usually stick with four different cuts when making steak: hanger, rib eye, sirloin, or filet mignon. Hanger steak is a very sinewy cut that should ideally be marinated, ideally overnight, before cooking. (A simple marinade can include ingredients such as lemon juice, garlic cloves, salt, pepper, herbs, wine, onion, oil). Rib eye and sirloin are my go-to cuts for a quick meal. They only need a sprinkling of salt and pepper and it’s on to the skillet. As for filet mignon, I reserve this cut for special occasions—it’s not exactly in everyone’s price range.

Basic Recipe for Steak

Ingredients:

• 1-4 oz. steak, preferably rib eye or sirloin
• Olive oil
• Sea salt and pepper
• 1 tbsp. butter/olive oil/animal fat

Pork ‘n more after the jump

Matt Powell continues his exhaustive “Back to Basics” series this week with veggies and fruit!

Now you won't be clueless!

Picking out and storing vegetables

1. Take a good look at your veggie. Is it bruised, soft? Are the leafy parts wilting? These are signs of vegetables decaying.
2. Most vegetables need to be stored in the fridge for freshness. Don’t store in plastic bags. Store leafy greens in paper towels ideally. Mushrooms are best kept in a paper bag. Exceptions to the refrigerator include winter squash, garlic, onion, potatoes, and yams. These should be kept at a cool 60-70 degree, a room temperature.
3. When ready for use, vegetables should be rinsed with cold water and scrubbed. Leafy greens should be swirled in cold water or tossed in a salad spinner. (This will decrease grit—which is especially a problem for West Side.) For mushrooms, use a damp paper towels to rub off excess dirt.

Popular Vegetables and Common Preparations (* indicates instruction below)

Broccoli: Remove any stray leaves and trim the ends of the stalks. Cut the top into 2-inch pieces. Broccoli is great to toss into stir-fries*, steaming, or boiling. Typically, it takes 5-10 minutes for the broccoli to become tender and yet crisp.

Carrots: Carrots can be julienned (cut into strips) with a vegetable peeler, for a simple garnish, sliced for soups, shredded for salads, or chopped into pieces. Carrots can be glazed, stir-fried*, roasted, turned into a slaw, or you can do the good ol’ fashioned boil. Simply boil for 5-10 minutes, until tender.

Read more…

Seriously mom, it's harder than it sounds

In this week’s Cooking with Bwog, our fearless chef Matt Powell has an existential crisis and begins a series on the basics of cooking for the epicurious collegiate. It’s a lengthy one, but packed with useful information.

This week, I started working on “Cooking with Bwog” when suddenly, I came to the realization that the recipe was far too difficult. It was a moment of clarity. Many times people have told me that my recipes are too difficult, or they’re not catered to the student cook. This is why I have decided to start a series on the cooking basics. The series will progress in the following order: starch, flour, and nuts; fruits and vegetables; meats; sweets and pastry; and knife skills and cooking equipment. I hope to cover those aspects of cooking that I feel are essential to any cook.

During this time, if you are still looking for those more challenging recipes, just visit the Culinary Society website.

Starch, Flour, and Nuts: The Basics

Oftentimes in my recipes, I call for “1 lb. of pasta, cooked” or “3 C of rice, cooked.” Yet, many students have yet to master these necessary skills. Here is a guide to preparing these grains.

Pasta: One serving of pasta is 4 oz. Typically, pasta is packaged in 12-16 oz. boxes/bags. To prepare, bring one large pot of water to a rolling boil. Water will boil faster if it is sealed with a lid. Once the water is boiling, add a good handful of salt to the water. This is not necessary, but it will nicely salt the pasta, infusing it with flavor. Once the salt has dissolved, add the pasta. Reduce the heat to medium. Stir occasionally, so as to ensure that it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pot. Most pastas take 10-12 minutes to cook to al dente. Drain in a colander. If you aren’t using the pasta immediately, add a little olive oil and toss to ensure that the pasta doesn’t stick together.

Rice: The rule of rice is 2 cups of water for every 1 cup dry rice. (That would mean 3 C water for 1.5 C dry, 4 C water for 2 C dry… you get the idea.) Rinse the rice first in a fine mesh sieve. In a large saucepan, bring the appropriate amount of water to a boil. Add rice to the water. I also usually add 1–2 tbsp. Of butter so the rice does not stick to the pot. I also like to add seasonings such as salt, chicken bouillon cubes or dried herbs to the water for extra flavor. Reduce the heat down to low, just simmering, and cover the saucepan with a tightly fitted lid. Cook for 20-30 minutes, until all of the liquid is absorbed into the rice. (I found that cooking times vary depending on the range.) Once the rice is finished, remove lid and fluff with a fork. (The same rules apply for quinoa as well!)

After the jump: potatoes, corn, nuts, pie

Cooking with Bwog, our resident fruit fanatic Matt Powell reveals some of the wonderful things you can do with berries.”>

Dessert before dinner

On this week’s Cooking with Bwog, our resident fruit fanatic Matt Powell reveals some of the wonderful things you can do with berries.

Strawberry Shortcake

Makes 4 shortcakes

Ingredients

• 1 C cake flour
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• ½ tbsp. baking powder
• A dash of salt
• 4 tbsp. butter
• 1 egg
• 1/6 C cream
• Turbinado sugar (or other raw sugar)
• Strawberries, sliced and macerated in 1 tbsp. sugar
• Whipped Cream

Read more…

Cooking With Bwog, resident snack chef Matt Powell serves up something even the least culinary competent can easily create!”>

No matter how simple the dish, the pictures always look amazing.

In this week’s Cooking With Bwog, resident snack chef Matt Powell serves up something even the least culinary competent can easily create!

It’s tough work to be a full-time foodie. It takes a lot of time: time to grocery shop, time to menu plan, time to cook, time to eat. So what happens when the foodie is met with a full class schedule, working part time, 3 final papers, and to top it all off, blue bins? Well, with all of my cookware and dining gear packed away in boxes, I had no choice. But I guess it all worked out, since commenters often ask me for easier recipes.

Cereal and Milk

Serves 1

Ingredients

• About 1 1/2 C of HoneyComb cereal (I would have preferred Honey Graham O’s, the official cereal of the Culinary Society, but I had no time to pick up this cereal from Fairway’s. Honey Nut Chex would have been an acceptable substitute.)
• About 1 1/4 C of non-fat milk (not only is non-fat milk healthier for you, but I believe it naturally complements the subtle sweetness of the Honeycomb cereal)

Special Equipment

• 1 4-cup bowl (I prefer to use my Guggenheim Museum ceramic bowl, which retails for $8.50)
• 1 funnel
• 1 spoon
• 1 colorful serving platter

Read more…