Yearly Archives: 2008

Heat

Mark Bittman, in a column about his small kitchen (bigger than mine!) in last Sunday’s Times, brought up something I’ve been thinking about:

> I’ve developed material for my column and books when cooking on electric stoves (heat is heat, after all), in unfinished basements using hot plates and microwaves, and in borrowed kitchens all over the world. The equipment can make things more or less difficult, of course, but after all, cooking is cooking.

I’ve used cheap gas stoves, cheap electric stoves, and expensive gas stoves. The expensive gas stoves are definitely the best. But I’d argue–and this seems to be a minority opinion among cooks–that cheap electric stoves are much better than cheap gas stoves.

It’s all about the heat output. My cheap electric stove gets really, really hot (the large burners do, at least). Not Viking-hot, but hot enough to do a respectable stir-fry. Every cheap gas stove I’ve used has annoyed me by being wimpy. When we had one, I got used to it, but if someone had under $1000 to spend and asked me which kind of stove they should get, I would say electric, definitely.

The only thing I’ve ever felt an electric stove was holding me back from accomplishing is dolsot bibimbap.

Trivia

Two items of note. First, this site should now be iPhone/iPod Touch friendly. If you have one of these lovely beasts, please let me know if it works. Second, there is now a Hungry Monkey site:

[hungrymonkeybook.com](http://hungrymonkeybook.com/)

It’s on the lean side, but more will be coming soon.

My chili is spoiling…for a fight!

It’s the kind of Seattle winter weather that makes us put on parkas and tire chains in order to entertain scoffing midwesterners. When Iris and I headed out this morning it was 23 degrees. To make myself feel better I checked the weather in Minneapolis, where it was -1.

So stew is the meal of the week, and last night I made one so good I took a picture of it. As you know, my dinner is notoriously camera shy, but check this out:

Pork stew with greens and beans

Here’s how it came together. It was a bit of a fridge-cleanout recipe, so substitute whatever you have on hand.

Toast, seed, and grind a dozen guajillo chiles. Stir in salt, minced garlic, and enough water to form a paste. Brown 2 pounds boneless pork shoulder, cubed. Remove the meat and set aside. Add diced onion and celery to the pan and cook until browned and softened. Add the chile powder mixture and cook a couple minutes. Add 2 cups chicken stock, 1/2 cup tomato juice, and the juice of half a lime. Simmer until pork is tender; adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Meanwhile, saute some baby bok choy (or whatever greens are handy). Garnish the stew with the bok choy, some pinto beans (we had homemade in the freezer but canned would be fine), and scallions. Serve with lime wedges and hot sauce.

While the stew simmered, I thought about Anita and Cameron Crotty of Married with Dinner and their chili recipe. You know I don’t make a habit of criticizing other people’s recipes, but with chili it’s almost required. I mean, Mother Teresa used to go off on the most profane rants about the Dalai Lama’s chili (“yak shit” was the kindest term she used), and the Lama threw it right back.

Anyway, you’ll notice that the Crotty chili contains only 1 tablespoon of chile powder in the whole pot. It has as much *cinnamon* as chili. And it contains no cumin. A person who would put chile powder into a pot without ground cumin would send their kids to school on a 23-degree day without pants.

That’s the rant I was working on when I realized that I hadn’t put any cumin into my stew. Or chili. Or whatever. Which means there’s a significant chance that the Crotty chili is awesome. But you won’t hear me admit it.