It's not often that a first-time cookbook author has a video done by a real documentary filmmaker but that's what precisely what happened in my kitchen last October.....although next time I do a video, I think I'll clean the kitchen a little more thoroughly and put a little make-up on!
I met Doug Pray a few years ago when he did a series of videos for Farms Not Factories, the group I co-founded in response to a proposal to open a factory farm with 26,000 hogs in Bayfield County, and given that he a) lives in Los Angeles and b) is a seriously busy guy, I was surprised when he agreed to come for dinner and do a little filming.
My philosophy about food has remained relatively unchanged since I started cooking -- the table and the folks seated around it are the reason I cook, not some desire to make earth-shattering gnocchi (although that can be an perfectly acceptable, ancillary goal). I love having people in my kitchen (on the 'other' side of the kitchen island) , dogs underfoot, a few glasses of wine, and some good things cooking on the stove.
And that's why we've decided to open a cookery school in June 2019 -- to welcome people into our home, share a meal, and take a beat from a world that seems to be moving at an increasingly rapid speed. Stay tuned in next few months -- I'll share our inspiration, photos of our progress, and what's on the docket for classes. It's going to involve a fair bit of fire -- from saunas to start the class to a wood-fired pizza oven....I can't wait to start planning!
Enjoy this sneak peek into the Dougherty kitchen -- we're looking forward to sharing our kitchen with you next summer!
Peanut Butter & Pumpkin Dog Treats
4 cups whole wheat flour
3 eggs
1 (15-ounce) can of pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup flax or chia seeds
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbsp chopped ginger
1/2 tsp kosher salt
Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix together the flour, eggs, pumpkin, peanut butter, flax seeds, ginger, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Add water as needed to make the dough workable, but the dough should be dry and stiff. Roll the dough out to about a 1/2 inch thickness and cut into 1/2 inch pieces.
Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and bake for about 40 minutes, or until hard.