Rookie Cookery

My Mom, Aletha Meek

My Mom passed away a week ago Friday, on Sept. 17, 2010. I was blessed to be with her and let her know that she was loved. She died peacefully.

I'm sad, but also glad to know that Mom did not linger and can move forward into the next phase of her spiritual life.

I want to acknowledge how touching it has been to receive so many expressions of love and support from friends, family, co-workers, and the wonderful care givers who assisted Mom in the last year of her life. Thank you. Most especially I want to thank my husband Jim and my sons Ethan and Evan who have stood by my side and helped so much.

I will truly miss my Mom, and I thank God for her life.

--Andrea

Pasta e Fagioli (pasta with beans)

Pasta with beans may sound funny, but it is a traditional combination in Italy.  Once you try it, you will understand why. For this light, quick supper I added a few pieces of sauteed sausages, tomato sauce and a garnish of freshly grated Parmesan cheese. 

INGREDIENTS

small shaped pasta such as bow ties

several sausage links (Italian style)

small can red kidney beans

small can diced tomatoes

small can tomato sauce

small white or yellow onion

two garlic cloves

Parmesan cheese for garnish

salt and pepper to taste

optional: red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS

Here's what you do:

Boil water and cook some bow tie (or other favorite) pasta. This dish works best with small shapes of pasta rather than noodle styles.

In a medium size sauce pan, add a drizzle of olive oil and saute sliced pieces of sausage. I used a spicy turkey sausage. When the sausages are browned, remove them from the pan and set them aside.

Add chopped onions to the pan and cook them until translucent.

Add a couple of minced garlic cloves and cook until they are fragrant. 

Now add a can of drained and rinsed kidney beans.

Add a small can of chopped tomatoes and half a can or so of tomato sauce. Add a splash of red wine to get the consistency you like.

Add salt and black ground pepper to taste, and a little red pepper flakes if you like a kick of spiciness. (I do).

Return the sausages to the pan and heat it all through.

When the pasta is done, drain it and place a serving on a plate. Cover it with the bean and sausage sauce, then garnish liberally with fresh Parmesan cheese. Enjoy with a hearty red wine. This is one of my favorite meals.

A Simple Falafel Recipe

Pita bread is a round, flat bread from the Middle East. By gently slicing it open, it can form a pocket to hold any number of sandwich fillings. For a delicious vegetarian sandwich, try the traditional falafel.

A falafel is simply a fried dumpling made with chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans).  In the recipe below, I suggest you start with dried chickpeas that you soak overnight in water. However, if time is scarce, you can also use canned chickpeas that you drain and rinse.

PREPARE AHEAD:

Take one and 3/4 cups of dried chickpeas and cover it with two to three inches of water. The chickpeas will triple in volume, so put them in a large enough container to hold ample water, and be prepared to add water if need be to keep them covered.  Give them at least 24 hours to soak.

INGREDIENTS:

1 and 3/4 cups dried chickpeas, soaked and drained (see above)

2 cloves are garlic, minced

one small onion, chopped

1 teaspoon ground coriander

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 cup chopped parsley (Italian flatleaf)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 tablespoon lemon juice

enough vegetable oil to fry dumplings

DIRECTIONS:

Drain the soaked chickpeas, reserving some of the water. Place them in a food processor. Add all the remaining ingredients except the oi and pulse until well combined. Add small amount of water from soaking the chickpeas if the mixture is too thick to mix well. 

Pour the oil into a large, deep pan to depth of about two inches. Turn the heat to 350 degrees F., and heat oil until a drop of batter will sizzle in the hot oil.

Using your hands and a spoon, shape the chickpea mixture into small balls about one inch in diameter. Fry them in the hot oil, small numbers at a time, being careful not to overcrowd the pan. Fry them until they are deep golden brown in color, remove with slotted spoon to a paper towel where they can drain. 

TO ASSEMBLE THE SANDWICHES:

Slice open the pita bread to form pockets. Fill with the falafel, adding other items such as chopped lettuce, sliced cucumbers, chopped tomatoes etc. as desired.

OPTIONAL:

Falafels are traditionally served with a hummus type of sauce, thinned with water or lemon juice. Or try tahini (sesame paste) mixed half and half with plain yogurt, a tablespoon or two of lemon juice, seasoned with salt and pepper.  Alternatively, I also enjoy falafels with chili paste or salsa on them. 

Falafels travel well and can be eaten hot or cold.

Thoughts On Not (Yet? Ever?) Learning To Hunt

    A local food blogger, Holly Heyser of NorCalCazedora, just posted news about an opportunity for local women to learn how to hunt for food. This caught my attention. The notion of learning to hunt had been a barely perceived question brewing in the back of my mind, especially because I am a carnivore and strongly believe we ought to respect the animals we cull for food. That includes understanding and respecting the quality of life, and necessary death, of those animals.  Now I was presented with an opportunity. Do I want to learn to hunt?  My own answer came quickly: I am not yet ready, and I may never be ready, to hunt.

    Was it simply a matter of cold feet? Too busy? No, that's not it. I realized that although I am never one to shy away from a challenge, and I am not especially squeamish about life and death, learning to hunt has a big potential price tag associated with it.

    You see, when it comes to hunting a live animal, I am terrified of Doing It Wrong, of making a mistake. I am terrified, but not of  missing my shot. I am, in fact, a very good shot with a handgun on a shooting range. I am terrified of wounding, not killing,  an animal. I dread the possibility of shooting an animal, injuring it, then the poor creature would run or slink away, and I wouldn't be able to find it, (or would find it after a time), and it would die a slow and painful death all because I made a mistake.

    I am sure all hunters deal with this.  Target practice must be a frequent routine, to ensure that wounding animals is a rare event. When the inevitable wounding does occur, the majority of hunters are, I like to think, (and hope and pray) responsible and kind enough to spend all their efforts to track and down the injured prey and finish the job, as quickly as possible. I'm certain that most hunters (at least the ones I know and respect) anguish over this issue.

    Cal me a coward, but wounding an animal while hunting it is a risk I am simply not willing to take at this time. Not even once.

    This is why I prefer good old fashioned animal husbandry. I increasingly entertain the idea of raising my own meat animals, most likely chickens. In such a case, the life of the beast is truly under my jurisdiction. I can make sure it is well cared for, treated with respect and kindness and yes even love, until the day I would dispatch it as swiftly and with as little of the necessary pain as possible. Until that time I can select organic and responsibly raised sources of meat at the market.

    I am not anti-hunting for food. I definitely oppose hunting for non-food sport.

    Even though fishing can also result in wounded fish (the wayward slash of a hook that did not catch), fishing seems more humane to me.  Maybe I'm really wrong about that. Trapping... that's a grey area with lots of potential for animal suffering, (best avoided) but I would not oppose lobster traps for example. I do admit to being curious about trapping and eating squirrel or rabbit. But these would have to be non-wounding traps. That's a grey area for me right now, and I have not had the opportunity to discuss it with friends who trap small animals.

    What do you think, readers? Would you endeavor to learn to hunt for food? Why or why not? If you are a hunter I'd love to hear how you work with these issues. One caveat: I don't tolerate or publish spam or antagonistic  comments. Speak passionately, but respectfully, if you want to be heard in this venue. Thanks.

A (Better) Traditional Shortbread Recipe

Behold: A study in Beige on White.

I know that's an uninspiring picture of shortbread.  But I wanted to finish telling you about my entry in the Traditional Shortbread category of the Shortbread Baking contest at the Scottish Highland Games in Woodland CA, (see my last post) AND I need to perform the blogging equivalent of "Stop the presses!" because THIS recipe is FAR superior to the one I previously posted. 

Let me tell you the odd way this came about.

There I was, having decided it was pointless to enter into the Traditional Shortbread contest because, really, what's to compete about? Shortbread is virtually defined by its basic simplicity. Shortbread is as shortbread does. Or something to that effect. But then as I said, my genetics kicked in and I was compelled to offer a traditional entry as well as non-traditional.

Meanwhile, after I posted my first article about the contest, a reader left a comment gently chiding me for referring to shortbread as a "cookie". In my defense, I pointed out that I was referring to Michael Ruhlman's  book, "Ratio", in which he states that shortbread is in fact a basic cookie dough.

Fast forward to my own decision to enter the traditional recipe contest. Just for kicks, I do a quick Google search on the term "traditional shortbread"  and found this little gem of an article, titled Scottish Shortbread,  written by--of course!--Michael Ruhlman!  Even more coincidentally, he posted this article on March 9 of this year, ,several weeks before I posted my article on shortbread.  And even though I am a reader (and fan) of Michael's blog, this particular post got past me. 

I made note of the fact that Michael's recipe was from a very traditional source: The Edinburgh Book Of Plain Cookery Recipes, published in 1920.  I also noticed that the recipe calls for a portion of the flour to be substituted with rice flour, or alternatively, corn starch.

I didn't have any rice flour on hand, but the night before the contest I knew I had corn starch and all the other necessary ingredients in my pantry. So I used the Edinburgh recipe and whipped up a batch early on Saturday morning for the contest.

I decided to use my hands to mix the ingredients, and pat the dough into a round pan. As I worked the dough gently, I meditated on all the other Scottish women and men who had made this shortbread down through the decades. Maybe I was being overly romantic, but I felt connected to them that morning, in a kind of culinary lineage that blended with family ties that went all the way back through my Dad, to his Father whom I never met, back to my ancestors in Scotland. 

I tasted a small bite of the shortbread after it finished baking. It tasted absolutely delicious, and I knew this was a superior recipe.

My shortbread was not a winning entry in the contest, but I noticed the judges lingered over it very thoughtfully. The flavor and color were right, as I learned later from the baker who took first place. But it was thin; I should have heeded Ruhlman's advice about making it thicker. Next time.

No matter.  I claim a personal victory, for I have found a traditional shortbread recipe that is so, so, so good. It is now my new standard.

Turns out one shortbread recipe is NOT as good as another! Not by a long shot.

This shortbread is soooooo good.  Out of deference and gratitude to Mr. Ruhlman, I'll recommend you find the recipe here on his site.  

This is what I did:

INGREDIENTS

4 oz. flour
2 oz. corn starch
4 oz. butter
2 oz. (granulated) sugar

DIRECTIONS:

Sift flours together, then add all other ingredients and mix by hand, being careful not to overwork the dough. Pat the dough into a nine inch round cake pan* and place in pre-heated oven at 350 degrees F. Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until shortbread is very light tan color. Allow to cool for 15 minutes before scoring with a knife to cut. When completely cooled, remove carefully from pan to slice and serve.

*Use a bread pan or smaller cake pan for thicker shortbread.

HONEY MINT PESTO SHORTBREAD RECIPE

 

  I'd like to be able to say I tested dozens of ideas and recipes for my entry in the non-traditional shortbread category in the first annual Shortbread Contest at this years' Scottish Games. But the fact is, this original recipe for Honey Mint Pesto Shortbread is the first idea I had, and I stuck with it.

    I wanted my non-traditional shortbread to be flavored with something seasonal yet unexpected. Traditional shortbread variations include brown sugar and spices such as cinnamon or Allspice. My garden is currently full of fresh mint, and so I took my cue from the garden. The mint pesto recipe can be found in the Rookie Cookery archives (link below).  My process was to simply to add the pesto into a standard shortbread dough.

    The first batch I made had a very subtle hint of mint. I liked the subtlety of the mint quite a bit. However I felt the mint was not pronounced enough for my entry into the contest, so on the second batch I more than doubled the mint pesto added to the dough.

    Because the mint pesto calls for honey, I did some research into the effect of substituting honey for sugar in baked goods.  My biggest concern was that the honey would make the shortbread too sweet or too moist, and I considered cutting back on the sugar and increasing the flour in my basic recipe to compensate. My final decision was to keep the original ingredient amounts, although in retrospect I think I would have preferred to add a quarter cup of flour to the recipe below.

    The resulting shortbread was kind of a hybrid (some might say unholy love child) between shortbread and a kind of minty baklava. I liked its tenderness and fragrance. Plus, it has the added bonus of giving me another use for honey mint pesto.  On a personal note, I was proud of myself for taking a chance, stepping outside my comfort zone   and entering a contest with this recipe.  Even though it garnered no ribbons, it was a success for me. If you try it, please let me know what you think in the comments.

TO MAKE THE MINT PESTO:

one half recipe of Honey Mint Dessert Pesto:

1 cup of fresh, cleaned and loosely packed mint leaves
1/4 cup of chopped walnuts
1/6 cup of honey (eyeball it)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
In a food processor, briefly chop the nuts. Then add all other ingredients and pulse into a smooth paste.
Set aside.

TO MAKE THE SHORTBREAD DOUGH follow these directions (with alteration, as follows)
AND ADD ONE QUARTER CUP of the honey-mint pesto to the dough. Blend in mixer until thoroughly incorporated.
Place the dough on a silpat or parchment lined pan, score as directed, and bake at 375 degrees F. until the edges begin to turn golden (about 15 minutes).

After the shortbread has cooled for 15 minutes, gently slice into wedges without moving it out of the pan. Wait until it has cooled completely before transferring shortbread to a serving plate.

   

Sacramento Valley Scottish Games and Festival Shortbread Contest Winners 2010

    Lads and Lassies, we have a winner! Several winners, in fact. Pictured here are the first and second place winners in the Traditional Shortbread category for the first annual Shortbread Baking Contest at the Sacramento Valley Scottish Games, 2010.

    First place winner (holding the trophy on the left) is Tim McLaren. On the right is second place winner Isabelle Duncan. I will post the names of the other contest winners (third place traditional, non-traditional and junior category winners) as soon as I can track them down.

    The shortbread contest is a fundraiser for the Betty Connelly Scholarship Fund for the Scottish Performing Arts, sponsored by the Daughters of Scotia, Sacramento. This fund awards scholarships to pipers, drummers and dancers who keep traditional Scottish arts alive. The Daughters of Scotia awarded several scholarships at the Games this year.
   
    I was also a (non-winning) participant in the shortbread contest. I entered in both categories: traditional and non-traditional.
   
    At first, I was only going to enter in the non-traditional category. My reasoning for this was The Intimidation Factor.  In fact, never having entered a cooking or baking contest before, the whole event was kind of spooky for me. It was only my Scottish pride that prompted me to get involved. And although I had made shortbread before, I was not at all sure that my recipe or technique was strictly "traditional". I didn't want to embarrass myself.  So initially I focused on the non-traditional recipe. However, after finding a special and very old shortbread recipe, my genetic predispositions kicked in and I did enter a traditional recipe shortbread as well-- and even though it was not a winner, I am SO GLAD I did. More on that later.

    Here is a glimpse of the entries in the traditional and  Categories:

    And here are the non-traditional shortbreads:

There were junior baker  (age 16 or under) entries as well, although I am not sure they are among those pictured.

    Each entry into the contest was dropped off, with an entry form and fee paid, at the contest table by 11 am Saturday. Shortly before 1 pm, contest judges arrived and began sampling from each plate, marking their impressions on a form.

Finally, the judges' points were tallied and winners were announced to the small crowd of shortbread enthusiasts huddled nearby.

    The first place trophy was an engraved serving plate, with ribbons and gift certificates being awarded in every other category as well.

Winning entries:

    A HUMBLE CONTEST REVIEW (no sour grapes included, I promise)

    My only disappointment with the contest (other than not winning, of course! --whimper, pout--) was the lack of feedback from the judges about the shortbreads they tasted. I would have loved a short statement about each winning entry. What was it they found to be especially good or exciting about it? This would have been satisfying to the winners, but also an education for those in the audience, who are anxious to learn what the judges are looking for in a particularly good shortbread. After all, they had a list of qualities they used to grade the entries. I'd love to know what was on their list.
    The non-traditional recipe category was also a big tease. Beyond the few visual clues (chocolate on one, a clever Saltire design on another, the perhaps distressing herbal coloration of my own entry), there was no way of knowing what was unique and non-traditional about it. When one of the contest organizers asked me "Is that made with wheat flour?" I said, "No, it's a mint pesto", she visibly blanched. Later my husband thought he heard someone say one of the entries was made with "olive oil."  I certainly hope it was not confused with my own, which had no oil in it (the only fat coming from butter). The word "pesto" may have made for the wrong impression for someone unfamiliar with the modern use of the term. Presumably the taste buds of the judges were their foremost assessment device. In any case, a simple title for each non-traditional recipe might have given clues to the tantalizing flavors within.
    All of the contest entries appeared to be on paper plates, covered with plastic wrap as instructed by the entry rules. However I did wonder to what extent the presentation would be considered by the judges. Certainly the visual qualities of the shortbread itself would be a factor. But would the plate itself matter? The contest rules hinted that more leeway in such matters would be afforded the non-traditional entries. More clarity in the rules about this will be welcome in coming years.
    When the contest was over, I enjoyed taking a few photographs and chatting with a couple of the delighted winners. (Entrants needed not be present to win). I especially thought the second place winner, Isabelle, had the prettiest shortbread on offer, and was glad to tell her so. 
    Luckily for me, the first place winner offered a taste of his winning entry over at his booth on the fairgrounds. I ambled over and sampled it, and it was in fact delicious: A lovely soft-dense crumb and lightly sweet crunch. It was then that I had the opportunity to learn what to look for in a traditional shortbread. I also offered him a taste of my own offerings. I was pleased to learn that he thought it quite good, and that the color was the proper light golden-tan color. His only advice to me was to make it thicker, as my shortbread was only about 1/4 inch thick. So noted. I can hardly wait to make another batch!   

    It would have been nice to have won that trophy, especially since it also had my birthday (April 24) inscribed on it! But the real prize was rediscovering the infinite joys of shortbread, and a new favorite recipe, and most of all the close knit community of bakers who revel in this most Scottish of delicacies.

    Next article: My own shortbread recipes: Traditional (and fabulous!) and my original Honey Mint Pesto Shortbread.


   
   
   

Carrot Cake recipe

I'm a big fan of Easter Baskets. At least in theory. The kind I like really are woven baskets, on the modest side, no cellophane required, and it really ought to contain at least one chocolate bunny and an assortment of egg shaped, pastel colored candies. Maybe a few jelly beans. I've seen that the local bunny has occasionally slipped in a small stuffed toy such as a chick or rabbit, or a copy of a book by Margaret Wise Brown in her fabulous rabbit obsession days. Done.

The thing is, we are not big candy eaters in our house. And although I fully believe that Easter baskets are not only meant for children, sometimes I like to change it up a little and celebrate the day with a different kind of treat.

Easter=Spring=Rabbits=Carrots=Carrot Cake. Follow me?

This year, despite my fears of ruining the appearance of the cake and ending up a spectacle on the Cake Wrecks web site, I even decorated the cake with a little carrot in the icing. I did it freeform. When I made the frosting, I put aside a tablespoon or so, to which I added one drop each of red and yellow food coloring. Mixed together, this made a lovely carrot orange blob of frosting. Then, taking a very small flat knife, I carefully smoothed on a long triangle shape (the carrot) onto the top of the frosted cake. Not bad! Then I took another bit of leftover frosting and added a drop or two of green food coloring. It was tricky, but I managed to sketch out a few green leaves on top of the carrot. Woo hoo! Watch out, Ace of Cakes! The carrot cake rookies are on your bunny-tail.

As you probably know, carrot cake is a dense, moist cake that Alton Brown says is more properly a "muffin" in its construction. In fact, I took Alton's advice and, using an instant-read thermometer, actually took the temperature of the cake to test for done-ness. Turns out that was a good idea, and I baked the cake another ten minutes over the suggested recipe time in order to make sure it was thoroughly baked.




This carrot cake may not fit in a basket, but it is sure to satisfy all the bunnies in your home.

This recipe makes a nine inch round carrot cake, baked in a spring-form pan.

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounces (or 2 and 1/2 cups) of all purpose flour
12 ounces (about 6 medium size) carrots, grated
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces (1 and 1/3 cup) sugar
2 ounces dark brown sugar (about 1/4 cup, packed)
3 large eggs
6 ounces plain yogurt
6 ounces vegetable oil
Cream Cheese frosting (see recipe below)

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
To prepare pan: Butter and flour the pan, and line with parchment paper.

Grate the carrots and set aside in a large bowl.

Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix, then add them to the grated carrots ad toss until the carrots are well covered with the flour and spice mixture.

In food processor, combine both sugars, eggs and yogurt. While mixing, slowly add the oil. Pour this mixture into the carrots and stir until just combined.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan, and bake on middle rack of preheated oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees and bake for another 20 minutes or until cake tests done. (Recommended temperature is 205 to 210 degrees in the center of the cake).

Allow cake to cool for 15 minutes until removing from pan, then allow to cool completely on a rack before it is frosted.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING:
8 ounces cream cheese
2 ounces butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 ounces powdered sugar (about 2 cups), sifted

DIRECTIONS: (using mixer with paddle attachment)
Cream together the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla and continue mixing on low. Add powdered sugar slowly, mix until smooth.

Cool the frosting in the refrigerator for ten minutes before frosting cake.

Baking My Way Through The Ratios: Pound Cake Recipe

I might as well make it explicit: I have been baking my way through Michael Ruhlman's book "Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind The Craft of Everyday Cooking". It's high time I brought my Rookie Cookery readers in on the fun.

Because this is a site for Rookie Cookery, you will rarely find exotic ingredients, complicated procedures, or fussy recipes here. What you will find are simple and straightforward recipes and techniques that will yield consistently delicious and satisfying results for the dinner table-- and the dessert plate too.

My favorite cook books tend to be those that teach me not only a recipe, but a theory and an approach to food and cooking that allow me to cook from memory as much as possible, as well as allow room for elaboration and improvisation. In short, to go from "open minded rookie" to become a Competent Home Cook (or CHC for short).

Michael Ruhlman's "Ratio" is just such a book. Here you will find the tried and true ratios of ingredients that, once understood and employed, will yield consistently good results for certain classes of baked goods (and some sauces as well).

Practice the ratios in this book, I reason, and one is well on the way to creating the foundation of a lifetime of excellent baking and cooking.

So today, it's all about the pound cake ratio!

I love the simplicity of a pound cake recipe. The crucial data is all right there in the title: A pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of butter and you're good to go.  In fact, as Ruhlman points out, the actual ratio of ingredients includes eggs and goes like this:

1 part butter, 1 part sugar, 1 part egg, 1 part flour.

NOTE: For best results and a true 1:1:1:1 ratio of ingredients, these are measurements by weight, not volume. (Buy a scale. It's important).

The method of combining ingredients is also important, and Ruhlman points out that the same ratio of ingredients, combined in a different order, will yield sponge cake instead of pound cake. More on that story later.

INGREDIENTS (Note: double this for true pound cake; This amount is for a half- pound cake and will fill a 9 inch loaf pan)

8 ounces butter (plus some to butter the pan)
8 ounces sugar
1 tsp salt
8 ounces eggs (approx. 4 large eggs plus one yolk-- I confess I omitted the extra yolk and nobody died)
juice and zest of a lemon (plus a lime if you have it-- I didn't)
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 ounces flour (about 1 and 3/4 cups)

DIRECTIONS:

First weigh out all your ingredients.
Cream together the butter and sugar until the mixture is lighter in color and increases in volume by one third.
Add the salt.
Mix in eggs slowly, being careful not to over mix.
Add fruit juices and vanilla.
Add in flour slowly, mixing until incorporated.

Pour into buttered pan and bake for one hour at 325 degrees F. or until cake tests done.

OPTIONAL:

Dress it up with a drizzle of citrus glaze (2 tablespoons of lemon or lime juice mixed with 1/4 cup confectioner's sugar), macerated and sweetened fruit, or a dusting of powdered sugar.

Commit this ratio to memory and you'll always have something sweet to snack on from the staples in your pantry.

Just for fun: Here's a variation on pound cake made with Sprite soda pop by Pioneer Woman!

Shortbread Competition at the 2010 Highland Games in Woodland, CA

I never imagined that I would be one to enter a baking or cooking contest. Frankly, I am not that talented or creative of a cook. But when I learned that there would be a Scottish Shortbread Baking Contest at this year's Scottish Games in Woodland, a perfect storm of factors conspired to reel me in:

1. I am proud of my Scottish heritage
2. I love the annual Scottish games, and plan to attend this event anyway
3. shortbread is among my favorite baked treats
4. (bonus:) the contest is held on my birthday, April 24

The contest will feature three categories of entries: Traditional, non-traditional, and junior baker, which is open to bakers age 16 or younger.

At first glance, this appears to be a fairly straightforward baking contest. But as anyone who has ever baked shortbread knows, shortbread is the simplest and most basic of all sweet baked goods.  It is, as Michael Ruhlman puts it in his brilliant book "Ratio", "the essence of a cookie".     

Shortbread (so named because the high proportion of butter in the dough makes for a crumbly texture), is composed of merely three ingredients: sugar, fat (butter is traditional), and flour.  And while shortbread is not a "cookie" per se, Michael Ruhlman points out that these three core ingredients  form the core DNA of cookies. Using Ruhlman's 1-2-3 Cookie Dough ratio (one part sugar, two parts fat, three parts flour, all measured by weight not volume) will yield a consistently good cookie, with a delicate balance of sweetness, crispness and crumble.

    Given the reduced, utter simplicity of shortbread, one might ask: Where's the room for competition? A traditional recipe is just that, with no alteration wanted.
   
    Ah but that is where the challenge begins. Taste a shortbread from ten different bakers, and you are likely to encounter ten different iterations of flakiness, sweetness, tenderness, butteriness, crispness, and any other dimension offered up by this mother-of-all "cookies".

    The potential for variation in the traditional shortbread comes about through the combination of numerous factors and preferences of the baker. Factors such as actual ratio of ingredients used (some like more butter, some less, for example), oven temperatures and cooking times, kitchen humidity on the day of baking, method of measuring and combining ingredients, and whether or not the cook's cat looked at her funny that morning can all affect the final product.

    It will challenge the judges as much as the bakers to choose which shortbread gains their respect come the day of the contest.

    The non-traditional category of entries will offer much more freedom for the bakers to express their own tastes. Again, Michael Ruhlman  speaks to the almost infinite ways that the basic shortbread cookie ratio can be augmented to create new flavors and textures.  In fact he suggests that once the basic cookie is experienced as a learning device about the power of the ratio, most people will probably leave the basic shortbread cookie behind.  Lovers of shortbread will be quick to affirm that the basic shortbread is perfectly satisfying and delicious as it is, complete in every way.

    The essence of a cookie indeed. 

Need a shortbread recipe? Here's one from Rookie Cookery.

    For complete rules and more information about the Shortbread Competition at the Scottish Games on April 24, 2010, please visit the Caledonian Club web site. I hope to see you there.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Thanks to reader and commenter Mary, I have learned that it is not customary to refer to shortbread as a "cookie". My apologies. I have edited the post to eliminate that confusion where possible, while at the same time retain the information that shortbread ingredients form the basic components of cookies, and the 1-2-3 Cookie Dough written about in Ruhlman's excellent book Ratio. --Andrea