Kitchen wisdom

Cooking is like anything else: some people have an inborn talent for it. Some become expert by practicing and some learn from books. The best way to feel at ease in the kitchen is to learn at someone’s knee.

From Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin 

What qualifies me to dispense cooking advice to you guys? I may not have any inborn talent for it but I've done plenty of the other three things mentioned in the quote. I've been cooking for myself and for your Mom for over 30 years, and have been the main cook for our family since all of you were born. I started learning to cook from my mom, your Grandma Pina, and from my Nonna Mimma, your Italian great grandmother, so it seems natural to pass it on to you.

I supplemented what I learned at home with lots of reading and watching. As a home cook, there's a lot to learn from reading the stuff published by the folks at America's Test Kitchen. They can be stuffy and insistent on doing things their way but their recipes almost always work. It's hard to go wrong with The Cook's Illustrated Cookbook as your first cookbook. It's also worth reading the articles accompanying the recipes in Cook's Illustrated magazine, which describe the trial-and-error process involved in the development of each of the recipes. Beyond that, there are lots of great cookbooks, blogs, and websites out there, all with something to teach if you read beyond the recipes. If you're interested in the science of cooking and baking, there are lots of good options for learning about that, too, starting with Harold McGee. Come with me to the Friends of the Library Book Sale twice a year and we'll load you up on good, cheap stuff to build your cookbook collections.

As for watching, Dylan will remember many evenings in front of the Food Network when they had real chefs on, like Mario Batali and Emeril Lagasse. But those days are over, killed by the likes of Guy Fieri. Fortunately, PBS still has good cooking shows, including America's Test Kitchen and Cook's Country, both of which you can watch in HD over-the-air (yes, there is still such a thing) or through the websites (works great with Chromecast).

And if you want to learn a certain kitchen technique, you can't beat watching Jacques Pépin do it—he is the master of kitchen skills and methods, and a cool guy to boot. Most of the little technical skill I have I learned from watching Jacques Pépin. For example, if you want to see the proper way to peel, core, and slice an apple, just watch Jacques do it in this video. "'Appy cooking!"

"Boring" Apple Cake

Adapted from Amanda Hesser in the New York Times

Time from start to finish (removed from the pan): 1:20

This is now called "Boring" Apple Cake because Brad said it looked "boring" when I made it. He must have liked how it tastes though because he ate more of it than anyone else. The original recipe is for double the ingredients (for the most part) and made in a large tube pan. You can click through to the original recipe if you need to feed a crowd but this is a good size for our family. I swapped out one-third of the flour for white whole wheat because it goes well with the other ingredients. The raisins are not optional in the original recipe but I can't use them because of someone who will remain nameless. (Seriously, they're just dried grapes, and you like grapes. It could be your "big banana moment.")

Amanda Hesser says to use tart apples, like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith. Chuck sells beautiful Honeycrisp apples at the Agriberry stand at the City Market. But don't use Granny Smith, they're hideous apples, the tart version of Red Delicious. There are lots of other good choices for baking, including GoldRush and Crimson Crisp. You can learn about dozens of different apple varieties at the Vintage Virginia Apples website. Better yet, go and ask the knowledgeable people who work there yourselves (it's on 29 South), on your way to get the best pizza in town at Dr. Ho's Humble Pie. 

340 grams (about ¾ pound) good baking apples (see note), peeled or not, halved, and cored like Jacques Pépin does it
120 grams (1 cup) all-purpose flour
57 grams (½ cup) white whole wheat flour (you can use 100% all-purpose flour)
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt
50 grams (½ cup) chopped walnuts
66 grams (½ cup) raisins, optional (see note)
160 grams (¾ cup) neutral-tasting oil
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar
2 large eggs
½ teaspoon vanilla

    1. Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 9-by-2-inch cake pan, or spray the sides of the pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the bottom with a parchment round (no need to spray the bottom of the pan or the parchment). Wrap the pan with a Magi-Cake® Strip if you have one.
    2. Slice each apple in half rather thickly, maybe 3 or 4 slices per half (6 to 8 slices per apple), depending on the size of the apple. Then cut each slice into thirds, to yield large chunks. You should have about 18 to 24 chunks from each apple. Measure out 2 cups (~220 grams) of apple chunks to use in the cake. Eat what’s left, they’re good for you.
    3. In a small bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, and cinnamon. Stir in the salt, walnuts, and raisins, if using.
    4. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the oil and sugar together until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the eggs and vanilla and beat on medium-high (speed 4 on the KitchenAid) until the mixture is fairly thick and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Stir in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined. Fold in the apple chunks.
    5. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan with the spatula. Bake until lightly browned, the cake is just starting to come away from the edges of the pan, and a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean, about 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then invert onto one cooling rack and reinvert onto another cooling rack. Serves 8 to 10.

For a gluten-free cake:
Substitute 180 grams gluten-free flour blend for the all-purpose flour. In step 3, sift in ¼ teaspoon xanthan gum with the other dry ingredients, but don't add the walnuts yet. Instead, fold the walnuts in along with the apples in step 4. Also in step 4, you can beat the dry ingredients in with the mixer since you're not worrying about developing too much gluten and it helps to activate the xanthan gum.