On the trail of the elusive rye

After a couple not-quite-so successful starts, the baker was determined to nail a loaf of Jewish rye. The secret: first clear flour and using a rye-based sponge.

First clear flour

First clear flour is a high-protein, high-extraction, high-ash flour - the secret ingredient to New York City's signature Jewish-style rye breads. After some local searching, a mail order from King Arthur Flour delivered both the first clear flour and some good light rye flour.

The result: a chewy, rye-y, rye bread. A recent purchase of a good electric knife lets the slices be thin for a great sandwich base, thick for terrific toast.

Not bad for the Irish Catholic baker.

Mess o' perch

A nice mess o' pan-fried perch for dinner tonight with a caper/butter sauce, a salad of greens and fruit, a bit of mashed potatoes. It must be Lent and I must be 9 years old again. Life is good.

Pho Viet: Pho Sho'

Beef pho w/ rare beef and well-done brisket


Spicy beef with lemongrass soup




Summer roll with peanut dipping sauce









There's a newcomer restaurant in "Little Saigon" area of our fair metropolis. Pho Viet just opened at 13 Mile and Ryan Road. My fellow culinary adventurer Kim and I checked it out for lunch today. Verdict: It's a keeper. We'll be back.

The space, formerly a nightclub is in a small strip mall. The space is surprisingly large and spacious with nice parquet woodwork, modern halogen table lights and sleek black furniture. The service is sincere, warm and welcoming. We were even thanked for our question about the cilantro garnish.

We started with very generous spring rolls ($3.50/2) that were full of fresh shrimp and delicious herbs. Accompanying peanut dipping sauce is addictive, the best I've had at any of the other Vietnamese places.

I ordered the beef pho with rare (yes rare!) beef and well-done brisket ($7.50). The meat was juicy, thin-sliced and served in a large portion. Beef broth was meaty, a little light on spices (start anise), but in a good way. Very generous pho/rice noodles. A wonderful meal -- and the beansprout, thai basil, cilantro, lime, and jalepeno garnish was not only beautiful but bountiful and delicious.

Kim had the spicy beef lemongrass ($7.50). It came with a generous portion of beef and a couple unfortunate chunks of liver (which she removed) and had a well-rounded warmth and clear taste of spice and citrus-y lemongrass. The flour noodles weren't quite as large a serving as the pho, but well cooked.

The bill for this came out to an even $20.

The quality of the meal, nice surroundings and the sincerity and warmth of the service speaks, I hope, to a long run for this newcomer.

Pho Viet
3854 E. 13 Mile Rd
Warren, MI 48092
586-558-8115

We Need No-Knead

The above beauty is a product of five minutes of active work ---aka the Sullivan Street Bakery no-knead bread. Such dividends from such little effort!

We are using the recipe from the New York Times (Mark Bittman). Assemble the bread, let it rest for 12 hours for first rise, after a quick second rise, shape in a ball and bake in a high-sided pot pre-heated to 450. Bake, turn down temp and -- voila, a tangy, crusty artisan-like bread. Made in your own kitchen!

The baker has perfected this....the non-baker may even be so bold as to give it a try.

Hey, take that you $7 loaves!

Mo' Food for Thought

Just returned from Model D's "Mo' Food," a panel and conversation on the future of food and food systems for the Detroit economy and community.

Among issues discussed were: What are the emerging opportunities for Detroit's local food economy? Is the city open to new ideas and ways of doing business? How are markets and restaurants changing the economic profile of the city and how can they contribute to its growth? What are the opportunities for collaboration between large scale markets, existing food markets and emerging entrepreneurs?

A panel discussion led off -- on it were DanCarmody, president ofEastern Market Corporation; Todd Abrams, food writer and co-founder ofGourmet Underground; James Garrison, kitchen manager at Honey Bee Market La Colmena; Joe McClure, co-founder of McClure's Pickles; and Jess Daniel, founder of Neighborhood Noodle. Noah Ovshinsky, WDET reporter on food issues moderated.

First off, the venue, Cliff Bells downtown was packed to the gills, standing room only. Clearly, there's a lot of interest and passion in the topic.

Second, Eastern Market is set to become a real power house in the development of food systems, linking consumers, wholesale, retail, entrepreneurs and even schools in developing a comprehensive, fresh, Michigan-centric products. According to Carmody, Michigan stands to become a national leader this area. Among things planned at Eastern Market are an open market kitchen incubator available to cottage and emerging artisan food producers; technical and business support for these emerging producers, a linkage between Detroit Public Schools kitchens (Carmody says they're some of the best commercial kitchens in the country) and entrepreneurs and farmers, making these sites for fresh produce for neighborhoods.

Also learned more about the Good Food Working Group that's helping start-ups connect with others in the same boat, the Detroit Food Policy Council and the Food Justice Task Force.

A critical mass is converging around this broad topic - food access, food business, food fairness and justice and it's an exciting mix of individuals, business, city experts all working to push Detroit to embrace and lead in this important area.

I'll look forward to learning more about all these various efforts --- inspiring and exciting.

Charleston Chow

Short trip to Charleston -- chowriffic
Thanks to chowhounds and yelp we had a great couple of chow days in Charleston. Lunch at See Wee restaurant in Awandaw --- special of fried flounder, shrimp oysters, fried green tomatoes, red rice (husband has mac and cheese and slaw.) Hot, fresh, ethereally fried -- washed down with a hop-sy Palmetto lager. Just a great, great meal and such friendly service.

Breakfast at Hominy Grill next a.m., Chalreston -- best grits I ever had, mile high biscuit -- husband had eggs and sausage -- very porky, spicy, coarse ground and obviously made there. Fresh and lovely restaurant in charming neighborhood, again, great service. Think I could eat there three meals a day.

Dinner at Magnolia's on East Bay. Rich and luxurious blue crab bisque, spicy shrimp and grits with andouille and tasso gravy, husband had the shellfish with lobster sauce over grits. Impeccable service, white table cloth but very warm and chic. Food was perfect --rich but not overwhelming, very nice wine list.

We loved the city and the chow. Just sorry it was a short trip. We'll be back as soon as we can.

Michigan's Lower Peninsula in cheese

You never know what wonders you'll find making lunch. Here's the Lower Peninsula, courtesy of Hoffman's extra sharp cheddar. On rye.