bread

Coming Soon to Philadelphia’s Science on Tap

   Adam Zolkover

I am pleased to announce that — thanks to the generous patronage of The College of Physicians of Philadelphia and Mütter Museum, and thanks to my thoughtful friend Anna — I will be the featured speaker on April 14 at Philadelphia’s Science on Tap.

If you don’t know, Science on Tap is a monthly gathering at Philly’s National Mechanics bar and restaurant in which folks wander in to drink good beer, eat good food, and listen to an informal presentation by a scientist or other expert followed by lively conversation. The goal, say the Science on Tap folks, is to promote enthusiasm for science in a fun, spirited, and accessible way, in the sort of venue where people are at their most relaxed.

Twice Cooked Thanksgiving Recipe Index

   Adam Zolkover

The moment of truth is upon us, Thanksgiving cooks.  Now is the time for a frenetic flurry of brining birds and baking bread, looking up last minute formulae for oyster dressing and sweet potato pie.  At this late date, there’s little I can do to soothe your jangled nerves.  But I can at least do this.

Thanksgiving Thoughts: Vegan Pumpkin Soup

For your convenience, here is an index of Twice Cooked’s Thanksgiving recipes from this year and last:

And here are a couple of other recipes that you might find useful (and seasonally appropriate) as you plan your Thanksgiving meal:

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!  And happy Chanukah, too!

And when all the food is eaten and all the dishes are done, remember to support this site by clicking through here to Amazon.com to do your holiday shopping.

The Single Greatest Virtue of the Toaster Oven

   Adam Zolkover

Nobody ever asks me about the merits of toaster ovens relative to the pop-up variety. But it turns out I have an opinion on the matter. There is one key application that makes the toaster oven undeniably superior to its less capable cousin. And that is toasted cheese on bread.

The Single Greatest Virtue of the Toaster Oven

By clicking through this site to Amazon.com, you too can be the proud owner of a proper, fully cheese-capable toaster oven. Which is a thing that I would highly recommend.

Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

   Adam Zolkover
Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread

Bread is really important.

The English word companionship derives from a Latin compound — cum and panis — meaning with bread. The word that we use to describe pay for work, salary, also comes from Latin — from salis, meaning salt. But when we’re trying to be cool, or casual, or colloquial (the three c’s!), we might tell people that we’ve made some dough this week — or that we’ve made some bread.

For a large swath of the population, Sunday mornings are all about getting up, jumping into one’s best clothes, heading to church to ask for bread. Forgive us our tresspasses, Christians intone (though some intone debts, instead), and give us this day our daily bread.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

   Adam Zolkover
Homemade Hamburger Buns

Grilling time is here again, and I’ve been thinking a lot about something. I don’t know about you all, but when I’m getting ready to cook burgers outside, especially for friends, I put a lot of thought and effort into finding the right kind of pastured, sustainable, local meat. I am careful to gather and slice only the snootiest organic tomatoes and cucumbers to use as a topping. I go shopping at the fancy cheese store for the most complementary dairy accompaniments. And I’m even pretty careful about which lump charcoal I use.

But when it comes to the buns, it’s kind of a different thing. Though in other circumstances I am a total bread snob, often as not I end up using those horrible, squishy packaged jobs from the cut-rate grocery down the street. And it’s not just a matter of convenience. When I think about those buns at all, it’s with a little shot of pleasure.

Honey Wheat Boule

   Adam Zolkover
Honey Wheat Boule

Fresh baked bread: hot, straight from the oven, crust crackling as it cools on its wire rack in the chill air of winter. You wait, mouth watering. And then — like some Maenad with a sacrificial goat — you tear it apart with your bare hands and share it out, letting its steaming insides warm you all over.

Romantic? Yes. Gruesome? A bit. Rife with all manner of problems? Most definitely.

Italian Semolina-Truffle Oil Rolls

   Adam Zolkover

Surely, I’ve thought to myself, all these many months that I’ve been posting here — surely, I’ve already written about semolina bread. It is, after all, a perennial favorite in this house. It is, after all, a regular in my bread rotation. But I did some searching through the archives yesterday, as I was thinking […]

Stuffed Bread

   Adam Zolkover

You all know the story of the pasty, right? If you don’t, you should. As I am given to understand it, this little jewel of meat and vegetable, wrapped in golden flaky crust, was developed by the families of Cornish miners as the original hot lunch-in-a-box. The wives of the miners (wives, of course, because […]