Building My Gourmet Kitchen

Building a gourmet kitchen is a broad subject for sure, but I’ll begin with the basics in this article.

I’m not talking about gathering the finest olive oils, exotic spices, or the most ingenious, expensive kitchen equipment. I’m talking about outfitting my kitchen with the finest, most efficient equipment possible, at a reasonable price. I’d like to create a place where cooking, chatting and spending time with friends happens almost daily.

We all know of artists, wood workers, sports contenders, and truck drivers who wouldn’t think of applying their trade using anything but the finest, most efficient equipment, and neither should a gourmet cook. My kitchen needs some help, as you can see. Actually, I started building it when we first moved to Boquete, Panama, and I’m making progress quickly. I began by studying some of the most famous gourmet cooks’ kitchens.

This is an old file photo of Craig Claibourne, one of the finest chefs in America. Craig is wearing an attractive apron and he’s surrounded by his personal cooking tools.  The thing I notice about Craig’s kitchen, is that it looks much like mine, but seems much friendlier. It’s one place I’ve always wanted to visit.Craig’s kitchen has been my inspiration for kitchen design for many years. He wrote over 20 books and hundreds of articles as a food columnist for The New York Times.

Upon all my study of Craig, James Beard, and many gourmet cooks over the years, one theme runs true. A gourmet cook should never try to cut with dull knives, or make sauces with a wooden spoon rather than using a wire whisk. Looking at it from a practical angle, setting up a new kitchen requires lots of thought and planning. The budget must be considered and whether to spend thousands of dollars on building a “professional” kitchen must be decided. With all the upscale equipment available, that could easily be the result.

If you read “Julie and Julia”, remember how elaborate Julia’s kitchen was?  Her kitchen is probably the most famous kitchen in the world.  Notice Julia’s mix of cookware in the photo at the right, which is being cleaned and replaced in the museum.  Everything has a place where it belongs. Julia’s husband, Paul made a chart for her to follow so that everything got back to it’s original position. That’s not a bad idea, but it doesn’t suit my style right now.  You can visit  The Smithsonian National Museum of American History and actually see Julia’s kitchen on display.

Let’s start with nothing and build from there. When I first arrived in Boquete, Panama, I bought 2 of the finest knives available, a 7 inch Santuko knife and a sturdy paring knife.  Must they be of the same manufacturer? No.

Then, a large stainless steel mixing bowl and a small, oven-proof glass bowl were purchased.  A medium-sized skillet, 2 saucepans and a stock pot, all with lids were added. I tried to buy the finest, stainless steel cookware possible, ones with glass lids to make peeking easy. Other pieces were added later, as just the right pot was found.

After bowls and cookware, I added a 3-quart casserole dish, something that goes from oven to table, and a set of Pyrex glass baking dishes. Lastly, I invested in a few gadgets to make preparation easy and fun. I always buy stainless steel. I found a swivel-bladed potato peeler, wire whisk, large, plain spoon, large slotted spoon and 2-pronged fork.  A sturdy stainless steel colander, measuring spoons and cups, 2-cup glass measuring cup for liquids, can opener, beer can opener for David, 4-sided stainless steel grater, spatula, tongs, and a marble rolling pin. When I started to splurge, I got a salad spinner.

At this point, I found that only one appliance was really needed, a Mr. Coffee coffee maker, since coffee is a must in our household. Most other appliances are used very seldom, so I waited until I knew exactly what to buy. That $1,500 espresso maker is still waiting.

That’s it, my gourmet kitchen was equipped with the finest equipment my money could buy and it will last me my lifetime, if not beyond. If you’re ever in doubt about which piece of kitchen equipment to buy, my advice is to get the best quality item, even if it’s the only one you get for many months.

This last photo is another view of Julia Child’s kitchen.  Soon, I’ll post a more recent photo of my kitchen and tell you about putting the finishing touches into my fabulous, stainless steel, fun-loving gourmet kitchen.

Enjoy the fineness and sparkle,
Cora

Coffee Recipe Roundup

Boquete Gourmet is writing and compiling recipes for the first “BOQUETE GOURMET COMMUNITY COOKBOOK”, to be available this June. The developing and collecting of interesting, useful, local recipes has begun. I’m “rounding-up” the best recipes available for this new cookbook and I need your help.

It is hoped that the book will bring about a greater understanding and appreciation of the natural resources available in Boquete, Panama, including fine coffee, bountiful foods and lives full of plenty. The air is cool and clean here, the water is pure and plentiful, the soil is rich, and the views are incredible. The lushness is seen everywhere you look.

Many residents have shared their historic recipes, new-comers have added ‘nouveau’ recipes brought with them for all over the world, local restaurants have contributed, and several Boquete charities have entered recipes that have a special meaning to them. This will be a very collectible cookbook, a unique group of recipes folks will want to use regularly. This is a “sneak preview” of a superb drawing by artist David Necker, which will be used on the title page of the book.

Boquete produces some of the finest, if not THE finest coffees in the world. This is a photo of some of our coffee beans we just finished roasting. I love the dark color and the aroma is amazing. We have a few coffee trees on our property and it’s fun to have fresh coffee available year round

Because Boquete is known for growing fine coffee, one chapter in my cookbook will contain recipes using coffee as the main ingredient. So, I am “rounding-up” original recipes that use coffee in the title or that relate to coffee in a major way.

If you know of such a recipe and would like to share it with our readers, please forward it to me at boquetegourmet@gmail.com, along with your full name and contact information. I will send you a reply as soon as possible and let you know the status of your recipe.

Thanks for your thoughts, and I hope to hear from you soon.
Cora

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Are You “Crazy for Chocolate”?

Several years ago, David and I went to Sarasota, Florida to a “Chocolate Convention” and I’ll never forget it. We each had a card with 20 numbers on it and each numbered station offered servings of a different chocolate treat. We stayed at the convention until all 20 numbers were punched on our cards! It was an incredible experience and we’ve been “crazy for chocolate” ever since.

In Boquete, there is a “new” pastry chef in town, Richard Meyer. He opened Sugar & Spice Bakery in a new location on the main street, on the right side coming near the town center. Richard specializes in making delicious chocolate pastries using several varieties of chocolate. He also makes country breads, rolls, pies and almost every form of baked goods you’d expect to find anywhere in the world.

From the Sugar & Spice sign above the bakery door, you can tell from the loaf of bread and star-studded chef’s hat, that fine bread and a fine chef can be found there. Look carefully at Richard’s sign, it’s handmade and full of information.

I am very happy to announce that Richard will be the next Boquete Gourmet’s guest chef for April’s cooking class. He’ll make three very special chocolate desserts using 3 different chocolates and 3 different techniques to use with chocolate. His class will be held on Wednesday, April 7, 2010, beginning at 1:00pm at the Sugar & Spice Bakery.

The registration fee of $25 includes not only the class instruction, a serving of each of 3 desserts and unlimited “Boquete Gourmet” coffee, but a recipe book, paired wine tasting and “goodie bag” to take home.

If you love chocolate, or are actually “crazy for chocolate”, you won’t want to miss Richard’s very special “Chocolate Class” coming up April 7.

There are only 12 seats available, so email boquetegourmet@gmail.com, call 6614-9514 or pick up your ticket today at Sugar & Spice. First come, first served.
Chocolate lover,
Cora

Filled Nubes de Chocolate

Guest Chef Renny Karnich presented a fun-filled cooking class in my kitchen earlier this month. Her menu included fajitas hot off the griddle, Pico de Gallo, and all the accompaniments. The fajita ingredients were sizzled on a red-hot griddle and stacked to make a steaming volcano. You can see her recipe for fajitas in a previous article.

For anyone not knowing, Boquete is situated high on the side of Volcan Baru, the tallest volcano in Panama, so Renny’s fajita technique is apropos. Then, she used her “volcano” technique in a totally different manner, to make Nubes de Chocolate, or “clouds of chocolate”.

At the end of the class, Renny piled filled cream puffs high on a footed cake plate and dribbled them with hot icing.  It was like another volcano had erupted, spurting hot chocolate all down the sides of the mountain.  Everyone cheered in delight as the chocolate kept flowing. “The more hot chocolate, the better!”, exclaimed Renny.

Here’s how Renny made the cream puffy clouds and put it all together:

Eclairs or Cream Puffs

½ cup water
4 tablespoons butter
½ cup flour
2 eggs, room temperature

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine water and butter in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Add flour and stir vigorously with a wooden spoon until the dough leaves the sides of the pan and forms a ball. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time beating hard until the dough is smooth.

Place 12 rounded tablespoons of dough on an ungreased cookie sheet, 2 inches apart and bake 30 minutes or until golden. While still warm, carefully slice the tops off the puffs. Pull out the soft insides and discard them. Cool the puffs, then fill with cream filling and dust with sifted powdered sugar.

Creme Patissiere Filling

1 cup milk
½ cup sugar
3 tablespoons flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 egg yolks, beaten
2 teaspoons flavored extract, vanilla, cherry, almond, etc.
OR 2 tablespoons liquor, Abuelo rum, Tia Maria, Curacao, etc.

Heat the milk in a saucepan until hot, not boiling. Whisk the sugar, flour and salt together in a medium bowl, then add the hot milk until well blended. Pour mixture back into the saucepan and continue to stir vigorously over low heat until very thick and smooth. Add the egg yolks and cook for a few more minutes. Cook, stirring from time to time, then add flavoring. You may add color, to make the filling more festive.

Now that you have the cream puffs filled with your favorite flavored filling, stack them on a pedestal cake plate and sprinkle them with slivered almonds. Heat half a container of ready-to-use fudge or double-chocolate icing in the microwave until it is runny, only about 15 seconds. Slowly drizzle the filled puffs (nubes) with hot icing. Wait for the compliments, then serve with a steaming cup of Boquete coffee.

Delightful!
Cora