Fun Stuff
Paczki Day
March 9, 2011 | 
Author In New Orleans, they had Mardi Gras; in Brazil and in Europe, they had Carnival.
And here in Michigan??? Yesterday, we had pączki.
First things first — it’s pronounced POONCH-kee. It’s Polish, not some Midwestern nasal twangy thing, so just go with me on this despite the seeming spelling anomaly. And remember that pączki is actually the plural, because no matter how many tons of fat and calories are in ‘em, no one — no one — eats only one. You’ve gotta get rid of all those treats before Ash Wednesday, after all!
These may vaguely resemble jelly doughnuts but oh, that is such an unfair comparison! Think of a jelly doughnut with a bare minimum of twice as much sugar and eggs and butter, and thus twice as much heft. These are sturdy little things! And they are filled with apple or raspberry or custard, or even — if you want to be very traditional — a lovely perfumed rose jelly.
You can buy pączki at the grocery store, but why??? They’re simply not as good as those that come from the Polish bakeries in Hamtramck [ham-TRAM-ick], a traditionally Polish (though now fairly mixed) city which is mostly-but-not-entirely surrounded by Detroit.
Every year, the local morning news crews televise long lines outside these shops. People set their alarms and get up extra early to stake a claim to a reasonable spot in a sea of dozens and dozens of others who have the same hope of being first in line (or perhaps 50th, if they’re lucky!). Folks buy the treats to eat for breakfast, to share at work, whatever … who needs an excuse???
There was even a “Countdown to Pączki Day” party in Hamtramck this past Saturday, featuring live music, Polish dancers, a visit from the Detroit Tigers’ mascot, and — oh, the thrill! — a bus tour (The Pączki Express) to take riders from one bakery to another for ease in purchasing goodies. Pączki Day is a BIG deal here!!!
Every year, I have the privilege of enjoying pączki bought at the fabulous Copernicus Deli; they are baked in Hamtramck and then schlepped here to Ann Arbor … does it get any easier? One of my very dearest friends in the world, Connie (of Pickle Soup fame), works there too, so I even get a quick visit in while I pick up my goodies.
Copernicus is an amazing place that imports all sorts of treats — from jams to chocolates to cookies to pickles — from Poland. At the counter, you can find a variety of sausages and pierogi, traditional cabbage dishes and salads. There are spicy mustards and rich sour creams, and so many delectable goodies that it’s hard not to just buy one of everything while shopping.
But in the chaos of Pączki Day, one only focuses on the sugar. For the record, let me tell you that Copernicus ordered 10,000 of those luscious, rich, sugary pastries … 10,000 at one little shop alone!
Because yesterday was Pączki Day. Nothing else mattered, other than getting the annual fix ….
“floo·zie \ˈflü-zē\: a usually young woman of loose morals.” Thus a Food Floozie is not a woman who can be seduced by virtually any man, but rather a woman who can be seduced by virtually any food (other than sushi).
For more blathering about recipes, restaurants, beverages, ingredients, and anything else even tangentially related to food, please come visit me Monday through Friday at Food Floozie or check out my mostly-regular Tuesday posts on AnnArbor.com.
Posted in Blogging, Foodies, Fun Stuff, Holidays, Shopping | 
Tags: Copernicus, doughnut, Fat Tuesday, Mardi Gras, paczki, Paczki Day, Polish, Shrove Tuesday | 
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How to Clean Fresh Squid
For many of us, gutting and cleaning squid is a task we would rather skip and pay extra money for. The slimy tentacles and inky goo are really not as appetizing and enticing to the eyes. What we’re saying is, face your fears. It really isn’t that hard. It just takes getting used to. Save your money and learn from the experience. Fried calamari made from scratch is unbeatable.
You can put on some rubber gloves if you want to. But this would defeat the whole purpose of the experience. Get a plastic bag ready nearby for the guts and all that good “junk”. Now, we’re ready to begin.
1. On a cutting board, lay the squid in a horizontal orientation. Depending on whether you are left or right handed, face squid in that direction.
2. Hold the squid’s head securely with one hand and its body with the other. Pull the squid’s head gently and steadily away from the body.
3. Guts will be on the cutting board. Don’t panic.
4. Now that the body is emptied, reach in and grab onto a plastic-like sheathing. Securely hold it in between your thumb and your index finger as if you’re picking something up daintily. Pull it out.
5. With the back of your knife, gently brush the outer ‘dermis’ of the squid’s body to clean it. This should give you the store-bought squid appearance afterwards.
6. The head and the tentacles are usable. Just make sure there is no cartilage left in the head.
7. Put all the unneeded parts in the plastic bag. Make sure to tightly lock the bag before throwing it away.
8. Slice accordingly depending on what kind of dish you’re preparing the squid for. For fried calamari, for example, you would cut the squid perpendicular to its back.
And voila! You are done. Don’t forget to save the squid ink and refrigerate it for other dishes later on. Bon Appétit!
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With open minds and a combined big appetite, hungryDUO shares their affinity for food one mouthwatering (and the not so much) morsel at a time. The good, the bad, and the ugly food experiences — whether it be in their own kitchen or at a well-established restaurant — will be revealed. There is no holding back. Just keeping it real.
The main motivation besides the obvious is to publish priceless hole-in-the-wall treasures, beer and wine tastings, experimental recipes, and hope to inspire fellow food lovers out there. Most of the entries (e.g. everyday cooking or beer/wine tasting) will be in photoblog format. If you have any questions and/or suggestions, feel free to drop them a line or two.
Read more from hungryDUO at http://hungryduo.wordpress.com/ or follow them on Twitter @hungrDUO.
Food and Wine Pairing at Vineyards at Southpoint
This past Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting Vineyards at Southpoint, one of North Carolina’s many wonderful wineries, located on a gorgeous rolling property near Chapel Hill and Durham.
North Carolina ranks seventh in the U.S. in wine production; its 100th winery just opened this month, with more scheduled to open this year.
There are more than 400 vineyards in the state, and no – they don’t all grow muscadine grapes! The NC wine industry is a significant part of the state’s growing reputation as a culinary and agro-tourism destination. (Click here for more on NC wines!)
Vineyards at Southpoint produces an impressive variety of wines, from light whites and Rieslings to a deep, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. At my visit, we tasted five wines, and had the additional great delight of sampling ideal food pairings for each one.
Dave Allison was our wine and food expert for the day. A winemaker and chef, Dave presented perfect pairings, while explaining exactly why each food went with each wine.
It’s complicated and simple at the same time. The complicated part is understanding the flavor elements in both the food and wine, and how they alter, map to, or overpower each other. The simple (and fun) part is trying as many as you can and deciding what you like best!
We started with the 2007 Viognier, a light fresh white that starts off dry but has a slightly sweet finish. It was my favorite wine of the day for drinking by itself, and it paired exquisitely with a simple snack of macadamia nuts. We also tried it with a crunchy, salty cracker with some creamy bleu cheese (wonderful!).
Next we tasted a wine called Niagara, made by Southpoint’s sister winery, Horizon Cellars. This one was sweet and acidic, and worked especially well with the salty and smoky snack of hummus, olives, and crackers.
The next wine, a 2006 Cabernet Franc, was a dry and relatively light red – good with lunch fare like sandwiches. I found it particularly tasty with a fun little appetizer that I’m going to make for every cocktail party from now on – a slice of baguette drizzled with Asian dressing and topped with half a grape tomato. Simple, and one of my favorite takeaways from the day.
The 2006 Chambourcin is made from a grape that grows particularly well in NC. It is very full-bodied with a gorgeous color, and it pairs well with spicy/herby foods. Dave presented it with a yummy treat of sundried tomato cheddar on a cracker topped with a bit of pepperoni, and I could have eaten heaping handfuls of those!
Last, we enjoyed the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, a Gold Medal winner. Classic and rich, it was sublime with a bit of bread and bleu cheese. (My personal favorite of the day.)
Although we didn’t have it with a food pairing, I want to mention their Double Gold Medal winning Prestige Reserve. At only $22.95 per bottle, this wine is a steal! I could easily see this wine costing $70 or more outside of the state.
There’s so much more I could rave about at Vineyards at Southpoint — their passion for wine; the breadth and savvy of their business vision; their sustainable farming techniques; their vast knowledge of grapes, wine, and food; their hospitality and friendliness; I could go on…
But I’ll cut this short and simply invite you to plan an afternoon on their patio the next time you visit North Carolina. You’ll enjoy meeting Dave and owner Guy Loeffler (and you’ll probably even see me there). Cheers!
King Cake
Last weekend, a friend of mine and I decided to make a King Cake (sometimes called “King’s Cake”). Even though it’s called King CAKE, the recipe is essentially a rich, egg-y and buttery brioche bread, with icing. This was the first time either of us had made a King Cake, and neither of us had much experience baking any kind of bread recipe, but it turned out quite delicious.
King Cakes are generally served either on Epiphany (Twelfth Night) or Mardi Gras, or both. But you might also find King Cake at any get-together during the entire Carnival season leading up to Mardi Gras. This year, the late timing of Easter and Lent means that the Carnival season between Epiphany and Mardi Gras is particularly long — more King Cake for everyone!
The King Cake takes its name from the three kings who brought gifts to Jesus. Usually a plastic baby (or bean or dime) is hidden inside the dough prior to baking, and the person who gets the slice with the baby is supposed to make the next King Cake or throw the next party. I’ve also heard that getting that slice brings good luck for a year, and sometimes the person who finds it wins a party favor or prize. The colors on the cake are the highly recognizable and festive colors of Mardi Gras – purple (for Justice), green (for Faith), and gold (symbolizing Power).
Many recipes you might find for King Cake call for a filled cake, usually with a cinnamon sugar filling rolled into the dough. The recipe my friend and I used came from the Junior League of Lafayette, LA, “Talk About Good II” cookbook, and it does not call for filling. Here is the recipe we used, with a few changes based on our experience.
Ingredients
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 packages active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
3 1/2 – 4 1/2 cups sifted flour
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon freshly grated lemon zest
1/2 cup lukewarm milk
3 eggs
4 egg yolks
1 stick butter cut into slices and softened, plus 2 tablespoons more softened butter
1 egg lightly beaten with 1 tablespoon milk
1 dried bean (or you can use a plastic baby, found in party favor supply or cake decorating stores, such as Party City)
Plus frosting and sugars, see below.
Directions
Pour the warm water into a small shallow bowl, and sprinkle the yeast into it. Stir gently to mix. Set bowl in a warm place for ten minutes, or until yeast bubbles up and mixture almost doubles in volume.
Combine 3 1/2 cups of flour, 1/2 cup sugar, nutmeg and salt in a large mixing bowl. Stir in lemon zest.
Make a well in the center and pour into it the yeast mixture and milk. Add eggs and egg yolks, and with a wooden spoon gradually combine dry ingredients into the liquid ones.
When mixture is combined, switch to an electric mixer or food processor. (We used a Kitchenaid mixer with the dough hook.) Beat in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time and continue to beat 2 minutes, or until dough forms a ball.
Place the ball of dough on a lightly floured surface and knead. Incorporate up to one more cup of flour if necessary. Knead until smooth and elastic – approximately 10 minutes.
Brush the inside of a large bowl with 1 tablespoon softened butter. Set dough in bowl and turn it so as to butter entire surface. (At this point, you can refrigerate dough overnight, but we didn’t do that.)
Cover bowl and set aside for 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in bulk. Brush a large baking sheet with 1 tablespoon butter. Punch dough down on lightly floured surface. Knead.
(Note: you can divide the dough in half to make two “skinnier” cakes. We kept the dough in one batch and made one gigantic cake, but we decided we would make two the next time.)
Pat and shape the dough into a cylinder about 14 inches long. Place on baking sheet and form into rings. Press baby or bean or dime into the dough so that it is hidden. Set aside to rise for approximately 45 more minutes. (In our trial, the dough didn’t rise very much during this second rising, but rose a LOT in the oven.)
When ready to bake, brush the top and sides of the rings with the egg-milk mixture. Be generous to get a nice golden crust!
Bake at 375 for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. (In our trial, 25 minutes was enough time, and we decided that if we had made two smaller cakes, the required baking time would have been even less. In other words, keep an eye on it.) Remove from oven and slide onto wire rack to cool.
Icing
Prepare the icing after the cake has cooled, and right before you are ready to frost. Once you pour the icing on, you have to work quickly to sprinkle with the sugars. They won’t stick if the icing has set up at all.
Ingredients
3 cups confectioners sugar
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
3 – 6 tablespoons water
Colored sugars: Purple, Green, Gold/Yellow. These are available in specialty stores or online. You want to find very bold, deep colors – not pastel.
Combine the confectioners sugar, lemon juice, and 3 tablespoons of water in a deep bowl and stir until mixture is smooth. If too stiff to pour, beat in more water, a few drops at a time, until desired consistency is reached. Pour the icing over the cake, allowing it to run down the sides.
Sprinkle the colored sugars over the icing immediately, forming rows of purple, yellow, and green stripes, each about 2 inches wide.
(We made extra icing by adding a little more sugar and then a little more water. Particularly if you are doing two cakes, you might want more icing than this recipe makes. It depends on how thick you like the icing.)
Enjoy with coffee, mimosas – and definitely with friends!
Gluten-Free Gingerbread Loaf!
Posted in Blogging, Dessert, Dishes, Foodies, Fun Stuff, Gluten-free, Holidays, Recipes | Tags: cooking-free, gingerbread, gluten-free recipes, Victoria Murdoch | 2 Comments »