Traverse City Record-Eagle

Sally Ketchum: In The Kitchen

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July 13, 2008

In the Kitchen: Add bling to your baking

BY SALLY KETCHUM

Knowing that when my kids went back to school, the teachers' first assignments would center around, "What I did this summer," I always tried to give my children exciting and educational experiences to report. But my ploy never worked, in fact, it usually backfired. Oh, sure, they went to Washington, D.C., (and to Cedar Point), they went to Toronto to see the sights, hear Canadian accents (and spend too much at the city's famed toy store).

But what did they report to their fourth-grade teacher and classmates? "Oh, my mom and dad spent a lot of money on this fancy hotel room in Baltimore, and there was a moldy cheesecake right there outside on the windowsill. It was really gross and fabulously moldy, cracked and shrunken." Ah, from the mouths of babes and their eyes, too.

I write all this as an introduction since I'm going to tell you what I did this summer ... so far. I've discovered a couple of tips. For instance, I am into potatoes. Like many people, I love oven fries, 1/4-inch thick "coins," neat and slender shoestrings, or in thick, rustic-looking wedges. My method: Peel baking potatoes and cut them as I fancy just then. Soak the potato pieces in cold water until ready to bake in a 450˚ oven. Dry the potatoes thoroughly with paper towels (I use clean cotton tea towels and throw them in the wash after use.) Toss the potatoes in oil, season them and bake them.

But, here is my secret: crumbled aluminum foil. After years of having my olive-oil-coated fries (peanut oil is great, too, and canola oil will suffice) stick to the pan even though it was lined with aluminum for easy cleanup, I hit upon a solution. Yes, I line the pan for easy cleanup. But then I also tear several junks, envelope-size, of foil and truly crumble them up. Then I uncrumble them, nearly, but not completely, and place them in the pan, and arrange the fries to rest on top of the crumbled foil. Last touch, sprinkle generously with desired herbs and bake them.

Rosemary is my favorite herb for potoates, and He-Who-Must-Be-Fed likes hot red pepper flakes. Bake the fries until done, 10 to 25 minutes, depending on thickness and size of the potatoes. You can turn once, but set on the crumbled foil, you really don't need to turn them at all. Two tips: A chef famed for his fries sprinkles Montreal Steak Seasoning on before baking. Salt last (sea salt preferred), before serving, not before baking.

What have I been doing this summer to dough, purchased-in-tube dough of various types? I've been unwinding it, adding a little culinary bling, and rewinding the dough as it was before baking -- usually a minute or two longer than the directions because of the additions. Breakfast rolls: Working on a large cutting board, I unwind the spirals or triangles. Then I scatter the bling, that being chopped nuts, additional spices (I like Saigon cinnamon), dried fruit including cherries, cranberries, raisins and currants, or chocolate or cinnamon chips.

A rather capricious addition to dinner-roll dough seemed ridiculous after the rolls came out of the oven, but that incident has a happy ending. Before baking purchased dinner-roll dough, I line up herbs and seeds that I think are tasty. Then I sprinkle a variety of herbs and spices on the individual rolls before baking. Often, I bake a batch with seeds. Some rolls get sesame, some poppy seed, some caraway, etc. Often, too, I use herbs like thyme, dill, or rosemary; sometimes I use both seeds and herbs.

Whatever the inspiration (I think it was the heat I felt when I heard an uninvited guest was "dropping in" for dinner), I put hotness into those buttery rolls.

I sprinkled red pepper flakes on some, chili powder on others, a dash of nippy summer savory, and a bit of smoked paprika on a couple. Ooooh, "Nasty, wicked me," I thought.

Embarrassed at my flagrant seasoning, thinking of the Dough Boy shaking his puffy forefinger at me, I warned the family and guests: "These rolls are firecrackers."

Guess what? Everyone loved them, especially the men. Folks ate them gingerly (culinary pun?). They ate them with close inspection, but they surely did eat them and loved them.

And that's what I've done this summer. Watch out for the weeks ahead in my kitchen ... and yours.

Super Sizing Betty Crocker's Suddenly Pasta Salad

(To feed a large party with one box)

1 8.3-ounce box of Suddenly Pasta Salad, Caesar type

1 7-ounce box thin spaghetti, pasta broken into halves

1/2 olive oil (or peanut oil)

1 t. red pepper flakes

Possible add-ins to increase quantity

Prepare Caesar Pasta Salad according to directions on box. Cook thin spaghetti (or other pasta if desired), according to directions. Drain with cold water and add to salad. Add red pepper flakes to olive oil and whisk. Add oil-flake mixture to salad and toss. Add additional ingredients to taste. Refrigerate, but serve at room temperature.

Add, as desired: hard-cooked chopped eggs, sliced olives (black, green, or brined), croutons, bacon bits, chopped vegetables (cucumbers, carrots, sweet peppers, torn greens, etc), canned white beans (touch of Tuscany), sweet or red chopped onions, nuts, sesame seeds, rice noodles, frozen peas, edamame (soy beans), small cheese cubes, grated cheese or pulled string cheese, feta or cottage cheese, bean sprouts, water chestnuts or pepperoncini.

Sally Ketchum is a northern Michigan writer. She lives on the shores of Lake Michigan in a small fishing village. "The neighborhood has an air of stepping back in time," Ketchum says, "like into a Norman Rockwell cover." She can be reached at ketchum1985@gmail.com.

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