the SIMMER blog

secret ingredient: smoked paprika

There are a few things I don't put smoked paprika in. Spaghetti sauce, for example. Yogurt. Green beans. Chocolate cake. (I use powered ancho for that, ha.)

 

But seriously, I put it in nearly everything else, so much so that around here it's only worth remarking on what I DON'T put it in. (Me: "So for the chicken meatballs, I used oregano, basil, garlic, capers, and NO smoked paprika.")

Why?

Depth.

Some things I want to taste overtly smoky. Like chili, of course. Or chickpeas and spinach in tomato sauce. In this case, I put in a lot. Two or three tablespoons. My chili recipe is always changing, but the base is generally one part actual powdered chiles, one part cumin, and one part smoked paprika. The smokiness goes so nicely with the beans, and really takes it to the next level.

But more often, it's not about making it taste like smoke. It's about offsetting something else, giving the food a can't-put-my-finger-on-it complexity. Like in a romesco sauce, which is otherwise sweet and peppery. Or lentil soup, thick and rich. Or my favorite feta-and-pepper dip. Or I add just a touch, a teaspoon or less, to a steak rub, or a coffee-maple coating for a pork tenderloin.

Secret ingredient? Secret weapon.

wordless wednesday xlvii

 

me, around town

Technical difficulties continue! Luckily, so do the articles, interviews, and reviews of The Kitchen Daughter I can link to!

Here's a great piece from the Experimental Gourmand (who interviewed me at a British candy store, an excellent venue) for Woman Around Town:

click here to read.

the kitchen daughter on facebook

Ugh. Still having technical difficulties and unable to load pix here. But I did get at least one to load to the Kitchen Daughter page on Facebook, so today's a good day to go over and visit me there!

(Sadly, my tech issues have escalated and I can't embed links either, but it's http://facebook.com/thekitchendaughter, so hopefully that will auto-link... grr.)

(In better news, if you click "like" on the FB page you can read the first chapter of The Kitchen Daughter on Scribd. So, happy Friday!)

 

5-star review in Sulphur Springs News-Telegram!

Oh, I love reviews. Is that weird? Every time I hear I have a new review of The Kitchen Daughter coming out -- in a newspaper, on a blog, through a website, what-have-you -- I practically squeal.

And this one, from the Sulphur Springs News-Telegram, is special. Not only did the reviewer rave about the book -- five stars out of five! -- we got the chance to talk over the phone as she was writing her review, so the piece itself is jam-packed with info on not just what the book is like and what she thinks of it, but what I was thinking as I wrote it.

Give it a click!

technical difficulties

Sadly, this Wordless Wednesday is now Pictureless -- can't get my photos to upload! Hopefully we'll be back in the swing of things shortly. Thanks!

iowa history

This weekend I took a trip back to Iowa for the first time in several years, and it could not have been more wonderful. (I knew I was back in the Midwest when the waitress who served me lunch in the Minneapolis Airport let me know she'd be bringing me "another pop.") I was at the Waterloo Library in Waterloo, Iowa, to kick off their "Spice Up Your Life" summer reading program, and it was an amazing, well-attended, thoroughly enjoyable event. But I don't have my pictures yet, and a full post will have to wait until I do. (Short version -- it was AWESOME.)

But while you're waiting, here are a few links to check out:

• My guest post on Hallie Sawyer's blog, Write For Me, about what it was like to grow up in small-town Iowa
• The print version of my interview with Radio Iowa
• My interview in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier (where I was once an intern!)

What is Writerhead?

The lovely Kristin Bair O'Keeffe has a site called WRITERHEAD, and on Wednesdays she invites other authors over to talk about what "writerhead" means to them. This Wednesday, guess who's up? Yours truly.

Click through, give it a read, and comment on the post for a chance to win your own signed copy of THE KITCHEN DAUGHTER!

Click here for my take on writerhead.

(Naturally, it involves food preparation metaphors -- can anyone understand pitting cherries with a bobbypin besides a fellow bobbypin-cherry-pitter?)

itty bitty lobster rolls

One of the things I really enjoy is making humble ingredients taste amazing. But, as I am a Gemini and full of contradictions, I also really enjoy going nuts with the luxury ingredients from time to time. Which is how this happened:

 

Super-fresh lobster. Dispatched (eek!), cooked and cleaned by yours truly.

 
(Yes, it's a lot of work, and it's messy, but from time to time, you just gotta go for it.)

So I took the meat from the tails, claws, knuckles, and legs (Thomas Keller has a great trick for this in the Ad Hoc cookbook -- it involves a rolling pin and works like a charm) and cut it in pieces, not too small.

Then I sliced up a brioche loaf from Bouchon Bakery (also pretty luxe) and toasted in butter. On both sides. Because that's how we roll... when people are coming over. (When we are by ourselves, sometimes we just saute a chicken breast and call it good. Gotta have balance.)

The lobster meat I mixed with just a little mayo, lemon juice, tarragon and/or parsley if you've got it, and pepper. Not too much of any one. Let the lobsterness be the main thing.

For serving, just pile the meat on the toasts. They're best if the toasts are warm and the meat is chilled, but even if everything's room temp, I don't think your guests are going to pass them by. Ours disappeared in a wink.

 
I also tried a mix with celery leaves instead of herbs, and I think I like that even better. But really, the specifics are up to you. Just use a light hand, taste as you go, and you can't go wrong.

 
Lovely and luxurious.

my birthday, YOUR present!

Yes! Today, June 10, is my birthday! And what am I doing to celebrate? Giving out presents to YOU!

Today only, I'm giving out signed bookplates free for the asking! Drop by www.jaelmchenry.com and use the Contact page to let me know where you bought The Kitchen Daughter (or where you're going to buy it if you haven't yet.) That, and your address, is all I need.

(And while you're there, if your book club is reading The Kitchen Daughter, let me know! I'm happy to Skype or call in to book group meetings when my schedule permits. So you can use that same contact form, today or any other day, to invite me to your meeting. I'll do my best to make it.)

Have a great day! Drop me a line! I'll drop a bookplate into the mail for you.