The Panini Press Goes Wild

As a cook, I learn new tricks regularly and I'm always on the lookout for more. I like combining new ingredients and using kitchen devises in ways that they weren't exactly intended for, in a non-Darwin award winning sort of manner anyway. I think maybe observing Alton Brown's "only one uni-tasker in the kitchen is allowed, and that's the fire extinguisher" philosophy has encouraged my adventurous nature and has made me more willing to approach things with a little more creativity.

However, I somehow doubt that the makers of my panini press had the idea of how I'd be making use of that devise, and I again have Alton Brown to thank (or blame.) While I was in Nashville at the Food & Wine Festival, he told our little group about an interesting use for a panini press. "Take some day old Krispy Kremes," he said, "and put them on the press. It's a great way to use up those old donuts you'd toss and it is really good!"

Hmmm. Leftover doughnuts? What is this he was speaking of? Oh, this is for those people who don't eat all the doughnuts the instant they get them! What a novel concept...

So one weekend shortly after the festival, it was time to give this a try. Since I live in a town not graced with the presence of a Krispy Kreme but we do get them delivered in by truck to local grocery stores, my friends arrived at our house with a box of semi-fresh donuts in hand. Into the kitchen we went, firing up the press. A little warm-up time later, we dropped a few doughnuts on the press and closed the lid, waiting to see what happened.

What emerged from the grill about 45 seconds later was an entirely new taste and texture experience and I can't begin to compare it to any other food I've had so far. It was this caramelized sugary pastry goodness that was really the anti-doughnut. It no longer had that melt-in-your-mouth lightness, it now had some resistance to bite. They were still sweet, but that sweetness transformed from a sugary coating to an almost caramel or toffee flavor. It sounds bizarre and tasted really great. To make sure we were getting the most bang for our panini press buck, we tried two other versions besides the classic glazed doughnut; cinnamon bun donuts and chocolate covered donuts (both varieties are here). The cinnamon bun type did well while the chocolate ones just melted the chocolate frosting right off the top.

To really put the icing on the cake, we gave them a finishing touch of just a bit of vanilla icing dolloped onto the still hot doughnut. As if the now flattened, caramelized treats weren't sinfully good enough on their own, the icing simply pushed them off into their own category of deliciousness.

In fact, the only downside I can find to making these is the cleanup. My panini press thankfully has one amazing non-stick coating and while there's plenty of sugar bits left to clean up after, it's not some arduous task. Since this first trial was such a success, we've gone back for more which has been met with equally good results and just as many smiles.

Now to go ponder more uses for the panini press, since I can no longer relegate it to being just a sandwich taskmaster anymore.

Holiday Eats

It's the holiday season so my traveling and dining has been more limited than usual. It does give me a chance to spend a bit more time in my own kitchen, which generally has the best cooking and food around our area. I think I naturally tend to be biased to my own cooking as I cook what I like, the way I like it cooked. I completely cook the onions, well all the veggies for that matter, and do not care for this "tender crisp" stuff that restaurants try to tell me tastes better. I know what my taste buds like and those unnaturally green things are not it.

I'm breaking out the cookbooks and recipes I've wanted to try lately to make a few holiday goodies to share. I get a chance to taste something that looks interesting, yet not keep an entire desert setting around the house to taunt me into the guilty pleasure of eating it all in one calorie laden feast. My friends get to sample the results of my kitchen time without over-indulging as well. Since I enjoy cooking, it ads up to a happy day for all involved.

Over the past year I've worked to develop a little better sense of self control when it comes to what I eat. (I say this after scarfing down vast quantities of chips & dip at dinner.) I love to cook and I love to consume and offer no apologies for that. I do not love what it does to my hips when I over-indulge. I flat refuse to live on some bizarre restricted diet to look like what TV and magazines promote as attractive. I'll take the healthy body of a woman from Runner's magazine over Cosmo any day. When it comes to the holidays and the plethora of food choices constantly presented, one of my personal trainers really summed things up nicely. "Everything in moderation, even moderation." Take a bite, maybe even two. This year I might even try to make those holiday treat eaters feel a little less guilt by including some homemade breakfast granola in the mix. Hopefully they won't take it as an insult but rather a helpful gesture. I like getting a nice homemade batch of cookies just as much as the next gal, but I appreciate the baker providing a healthier option for when I'm consumed by the guilt of eating the entire plate of cookies first.

Best gift to yourself during the holidays? Don't give up on exercise and eating healthy. I'm glad I have held it together so far, just don't let me back in the kitchen tonight. There's these Peanut Butter Cream Brownies in there ready to be sacrificed, all in the good name of hip expansion.

A Little Learning Never Hurt

I recently attended my second class at the Viking Cooking School and I have to say that the school and instructors have impressed me both times. The classes in their hands-on kitchen are both fun and informative. Clearly the design of the facility was well thought out, not just cobbled together by a crew of construction guys whose idea of a kitchen is a beer tap and a microwave. In the center of a large humidity-controlled "kitchen" is an island work surface, wide enough I can't reach the center and big enough to easily accommodate twelve students with good sized cutting boards. The two instructors I've met so far both had an easygoing demeanor but lead the class through the recipes and kept things moving at just the right pace so the time preparing the food seemed to vanish quickly. After talking with one of the instructors, I know I still have a lot to learn; yet seeing some of the other students unfamiliar with the simplest concepts around the kitchen is a reassurance I'm not reverting to my "culinary dark ages" either.

The class I just attended was one about holiday baking, all sweets and treats such as gingerbread scones and toffee almonds. I previously went to a class that was more of a meal, full of Italian dishes from a Roasted Red Peppers antipasti to the Chocolate gelato finish. The holiday baking class was little more fun as it let me participate in making every recipe, versus focusing on one dish and just stealing quick glances at others being prepared around the kitchen classroom. Besides, what's more fun than dipping sticky homemade marshmallows into delicious dark chocolate goodness? After attending the second class with friends, that's most definitely the way to go. Have a fun time cooking and enjoying the great food with great company makes the time zip by even quicker.

With the holidays coming up, if there's an aspiring chef or cook on the gift list and a Viking school nearby, a gift certificate for a class would make a great gift. Fun, educational, and an environment in which you're encouraged to play with all the fabulous Viking appliances? Here, twist my arm. Ok! I'll go for a class again... and again. Next up: The Steakhouse menu!