Tales from the Fruit Cellar

Farm Musings

2011-03-09T13:58:00.000-08:00

Grandma turned 80 this year. She's been the cornerstone of the farm since she married my gramps in 1948. Prior to that she was raised on her own family farm down the road. Running a farm is her identity.

She's a simple gal; we wanted to throw a big polka party, but all she wanted was to go to the casino. My aunt will testify that she had to drag Gramma away from the slots kicking and screaming. It runs in the blood; isn't farming all a gamble?

As Grams celebrated her entrance into octogenarian-ism and warned us all that "she wouldn't live forever" (I beg to differ) we all started to think: what will happen to the farm? One thing was clear: we still want it to be our farm. The process began to place a conservation easement on the property.

We're currently in the middle of this interesting process that requires many banal things such as tax documents, etc. I won't bore you with any of it. But at one point I was asked to write a very short pursuasive essay to support this easement. It was the most gratifying thing I'd written in a long time, and I wanted to share it with you.

We’re a farm family. We’ve been sustainable before “sustainable” was a buzzword and organic before “oraganic” implied a certain social status. In a day and age where obesity is an epidemic, we have a healthy relationship with food and manual labor. We’re American. We’re middle-class.

None of us are full-time farmers. We have careers: a chemical engineer, a research biologist, a project manager. We shop at large grocery stores, drive non fuel-efficient cars, and live in 1970’s-era subdivisions. You wouldn’t call us environmentalists, but our farm is our world.

We divide our year by the season: June is for strawberries, July is pea and pickle season. August is for cauliflower and tomatos. April is spent in the greenhouse, November finds us winterizing the chicken house.

We practice farming because we know we have an incredible gift of land to which a decreasing amount of people have access. We do it because we always have. We do it because it is our heritage and because it is immensely satisfying. We do it because we believe its incredibly inportant to pass it on.

Of course this farm is special for one thousand or more snapshots in time: for the myriad summer evenings the pond has given up its sunfish to ecstatic grandchildren; for the 40+ years that the woods have sheltered bands of campers and ordinary families singing like a world-class choir around a campfire; for the simple mystery of filling a plastic milk jug with crisp spring water straight from a hillside spigot; for the grove of pines that have provided years and years of Christmas Trees, for the sugar maples and the sugar shack and a rich warm maple perfume that cuts through cold spring air. For innumerable nights of catching fireflies in mason jars. For teaching brothers and cousins how to work together to get the ATV out of a mudhole or to construct cauliflower boxes at a rapid pace or to move an entire irrigation system in the 30 minutes after ice cream cones and before sunset. For teaching three generations how to be good stewards of our earth.

It’s not that you can’t encounter these attributes elsewhere. This type of tradition binds families and generations across the US; its our American heritage. Organic peas, berries and pumpkins can be grown anywhere. Instead, whats makes this farm unique is the people it has produced. Two married farmers built a system that produced four generous, hardworking individuals who will testify that their moral fabric is a direct result of their farm upbringing. Those four adults have in turn produced ten principled, productive members of society who choose to spend their summer vacations taking part in the familial-bound food production process. We, the human products of the Zenner Road Farm are instilled with sense of unique tradition, responsibility and a tie to the earth that we are determined to pass on to generations in perpetuity.

Ravioli with Dueling Fillings

2011-02-22T18:14:00.000-08:00

I’ve been saving this nugget for a rainy day. And by golly, that’s today. After a week of 70 degree-sunshine, rainbows and Picasso, we’re back to reality. Fortunately, ravioli is a proven remedy for any damp spirits out there.

Eric and I were inspired to make these pasta pockets after we found the most adorable and intriguing mushrooms at Ellwood Thompsons: Lobster Mushrooms. Aside from the fact that they look like little gingerbread men in their dried form, it’s entirely way too fun to discuss the mushrooms. “The lob-stahs are enjoying their hot soak”. “The lob-stahs are ready for sautéing”. I suppose they get their name from their reddish hue because they neither taste, look nor smell like lobsters. Still, they are meaty and delicious.

We went all out and made a ravioli packed with 3 types of dried mushrooms enhanced with regular white button mushrooms (because those dried suckers are expensive). Even after all that we STILL had more dough than filling. Eric got creative with a kale, walnut, and ricotta salata filling to use up the rest of the dough. I was, by all accounts, impressed.

These ravioli are especially good on a cold night with a light white wine and lemon sauce with a dash of cream and smattering of chopped parsley. Bonus points if you eat them while watching a Hawaii episode of Dog, The Bounty Hunter. Just sayin.

For the Dough and Ravioli Method

The general rule of thumb is one egg per 3/4 cup flour, which I follow closely. If my eggs are really small, I'll add an extra yolk at the end.

Lots of people like to make a pile of flour on the counter and put a well in it and dump the beaten eggs into the well. Rather than make a big mess and have the eggs spill out of the well and form a slimy waterfall off the counter and onto the floor, I put the flour in a bowl and make the well in there.

Also, it seems to me that Italian Grandmothers always have the exact perfect ratio of egg to dough to make a silky noodle. I generally have shaggy dough that requires a little water. Go ahead and add it. We did 6 eggs for this recipe which made an enormous batch.

After incorporating the egg into the dough, flip it onto the counter and knead for about 8 to 10 minutes until silky and smooth. Wrap whatever dough you aren't immedietly using with plastic wrap.

We used our pasta roller to roll out thin ravioli sheets one or two at a time. We then used a ravioli cutter (you can use a biscuit or cookie cutter) to identify where the filling would be dropped by lightly cutting into the dough, but not all the way through. We dropped a little spoonful of filling on the assigned parking space, lightly moistened the dough around the edge of the inside of the ravioli with water, and dropped a second pasta sheet on top and pressed it down around each mountain of filling. Then, we used the ravioli cutter to fully press through the dough.

We coated the raviolis in flour and let them sit out awhile to dry up. When its time to cook, drop them into boiling, salted water and let cook five minutes after they float. Generally you let them cook just until floating but for some reason these needed more time.

To freeze your extra ravioli, coat with flour and let them sit on a cooling rack for at least 1.5 hours to dry out a bit. Lay flat in a freezer bag or Tupperware. If you must stack, place sheets of parchment or plastic wrap between layers.

For the fillings:

Mushroom filling

1/3 ounce each dried lobster, porcini, and shiitake mushrooms
2 tablespoons butter
1 large shallot, finely chopped
½ cup white mushrooms, finely chopped

3 tablspoons chopped fresh roma tomato
¼ cup white wine
2 tablespoons bread crumbs

1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese

For mushroom filling:
Put the three types of mushrooms in separate bowls. Add hot water to soak your dried mushrooms for at least 30 minutes. Reserve two tablespoons of the porcini soaking liquid. Chop cooled mushrooms finely. Melt butter in a non-stick pan and sautee shallot until soft. Add white mushrooms and sautee until soft. Add your other mushrooms and sautee together over high heat for 1.5 minutes. Add the wine and porcini soaking liquid and chopped tomatoes and simmer until the liquid evaporates. Add the bread crumbs until the mixture comes together. Only add more bread crumbs if you really need it. Season with salt and pepper and let cool a bit. When cooled, toss the mixture with the grated parmigiano. Let it cool to room temp before filling the raviolis.

Kale Filling
2 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
¼ cup finely chopped roasted walnuts (to roast, put in 300 degree oven for 8 minutes)
2 large bunches kale, finely chopped and pre-steamed in the microwave (and drained)
½ cup ricotta salata, broken by hand or grated into tiny pieces

For the kale filling:

Wash and chop the kale. Put it in a microwave-safe bowl and add a sprinkling of water. Cover with plastic wrap or a plate and microwave for two minutes to wilt the kale. Toast your walnuts in the meantime.

Heat the olive oil and add the chopped garlic to sautee until fragrant and translucent. Add the chopped kale and sautee until all the water is evaporated. Remove from heat and toss with the chopped walnuts. We added the ricotta directly to the dough and put the filling asa layer on top of the cheese. HOWEVER. If we did this again, I would definitely use regular ricotta and mix it right into the filling. I suggest doing that, I just don't know how the ratio would work out. You'd most likely want about 3/4 cup.

I swear I still cook

2011-02-01T17:28:00.001-08:00

I'm sorry, but I'm a little rusty. It's like going back to the gym after months of laying on the couch. Or going back to school after years of using a lesser portion of your brain. I don't really have a good excuse. I moved, changed jobs, experienced a major (but happy!) transition in my relationship. And I caught writer's block. I'm sorry I haven't written. But you should know that I've cooked.

Goodness, have I cooked. When you live in a new place with significantly less friends and obligations, you turn to what comforts you. I was reminded that for me, cooking equals comfort.
It's good to be back.

Speaking of comfort...

Immedietly prior to leaving DC I was the guest at a fabulous party hosted by my friends at Social Epicurean in honor of Chef Joan Nathan and to benefit Martha's Table, a DC-based non-profit with the mission of breaking the cycle of poverty by providing family-strengthening programs. What a party! I bought Joan's new book "Quiches, Kugels and Couscous: My Search for Jewish Cooking in France" and sampled food from the book. I fell head over heels for Babka a la Francaise (a rich brioche-type bread stuffed with olive tapenade) and had to make them as soon as possible.

This was the first thing I baked in our new kitchen in Richmond. It's beyond fragrant and delicious slathered with butter and when the two of us couldn't finish all that bread we turned them into really gorgeous croutons.

Babka a la Francaise

This is taken directly from Joan Nathan's book, but I've made a few parenthetic notes where I made some intuitive changes. I really had a hard time incorporating the butter into the dough like they describe in the recipe in my Kitchen-aid. In the end, I took it out of the mixer and kneaded it by (greasy, messy) hand.

2.5 to 3 cups all purpose flour (I used closer to 2.5)

1/8 tsp salt

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp yeast

1/2 cup whole milk, room temperature

1 large egg plus 3 to 4 yolks- enough to make 1/2 cup egg mixture total

1/2 cup unsalted butter cut in small chunks plus 2 tbsp melted butter

1 1/4 cups pitted black pincholine olives ( I don't know what pincholine is: I used a mixture of kalamata and oil cured)

2 canned anchovies, drained ( I used 1 tsp anchovy paste)

1 tablespoon fennel seeds, pulverized ( I would have reduced this to 1/2 tbsp)

1 to 2 tablespoon olive oil

Put 2.5 cups flour, salt, and all but 1 tbsp sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with dough hook attachment.

Put yeast and 1 tablespoon warm water (110-115 degrees) and the reserved sugar in a small bowl and let dissolve. With the mixer, using the dough hook on low speed, pour the yeast mix the milk and egg mixture in and mix into the bowl and mix on low speed. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 min, adding more flour if needed.

Add the pieces of butter one at a time until incorporated, then knead on low speed about 5 minutes until silken and rich ( I couldn't get there in the mixer and used my hands).

Transfer to a clean, greased bowl, cover with plastic and let rise about 2 hours. When doubled in size, punch down and press into plastice and refrigerate 2 hours or overnight.

To make filling: put olives, half anchovies and 1 tablespoon olive oil in a food processor (a mini one works best). Process until smooth and taste to correct for salt.

To assemble: grease two 9 inch round pans (HA! I didn't trust this part of the recipe and I should have. I used one 10" round pan which is why my photographs look like Dr. Suess Whoville Babkas- they were really overcrowded).

Take dough from refrigerator and divide in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll out each piece into 12x16 inch rectangle. Spread half of the filling over the dough leaving a 1/2 inch border. Tuck in the ends of the long side and roll it on up tightly. Cut, or use dental floss to divide into 12 equal pieces and place with cut sides up in each pan. There will be lots of extra room...that's ok.

Let them rise again while you pre-heat to 350. When they're ready for the oven, brush them with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until golden. When cool, pull apart into babkas. PS: they are even better with more butter if you can believe it!

Even if you don't like anchovies, I'd suggest giving this a try.

So I hope you're ready: I've a few months of pent up postings. In the meantime, check out my baby brother's blog! www.krupskicookbook.blogspot.com He's taking after his big sis with his own blog and is doing some impressive writing about some of our down-home family recipes from Buffalo while he learns the traditions for himself. I was going to write about our family tradition of Wigilia, but he beat me to it.

And ladies: he's single.

Mexican Thanksgiving, and I didn't even cook a thing!

2010-11-24T08:46:00.000-08:00

I have the Best, Friends. Ever.

Seriously.

Anyone who knows me understands that my favorite day of the year is the day that I get to throw a monster-sized dinner party that is an ethnic interpretation of Thanksgiving Dinner. It's always the sunday before Thanksgiving. This year, with having a kitchen that's torn apart, less furniture than normal, and a cross-state move to Richmond just five days later, I couldn't pull it off. Being a realist is hard.

I was really devastated about this. Tradition is tradition. And while I'm always up for change, some things, like "Thanksgiving with Friends" remains sacred.

Luckily, my kind-hearted and thoughtful besties in DC knew this and made sure Thanksgiving with Friends happened in spite of the circumstances. They told me to arrive at 4:00 p.m. ready for a walking tour and suggested I bring a camera. "Sweet!! A scavenger hunt!!" is what I thought.

However, when I walked into Nancy's apartment an entire Mexican thanksgiving spread awaited. There were appetizers (an herbed goat cheese, guacamole, homemade pita chips, crudites, veggie quesadillas), Sangria, and a beautiful table complete with menus and chili pepper floral display. I was beyond touched.

We ate:

Ensalada Yucatan (greens with avocado, grapefruit and a ginger/coriander dressing that I implore Meredith to post here)

A Jalepeno Cornbread Pudding

Roasted Turkey Enchiladas

Slow-cooked black beans over corn and cilantro rice

Shrimp Gazpacho

Spicy Chipotle Sweet Potatoes

Flan

Not only did I roll out the door warm, glowing and satisfied; I was inspired. And as a group we decided that Thanksgiving with Friends would go on next year. Perhaps it would happen another weekend, but it will always happen.

Ladies, thank you for making my last week in DC so special and memorable. I love you dearly.

I can take not one ounce of credit for these sweet potatoes. But major props to La Nance for turning out a miracle of texture and flavor for even people who don't generally like sweet potatoes (me, included).

Chipotle Sweet Potato Potatoes

2 cups heavy cream (oohhh, so THAT's how they were so delish)
2 red jalapeno peppers

1 teaspoon ancho chili powder

1 teaspoon vinegar

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In small bowl, mix finely diced jalapenos, chili powder, vinegar and tomato sauceWhisk together cream and chipotle mixture until smooth. In a 9 by 9-inch casserole dish, arrange the potatoes in even layers. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the cream mixture and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, cream, and salt and pepper to form 10 layers.

Hortopita- For Sober People Only

2010-11-10T09:21:00.000-08:00

Saveur's August/September issue was all about Greece and it's diverse regional culinary heritage. I read it cover to cover for a month straight as a bed time story. The articles read like fairytales: exciting, exotic, heart-warming. They didn't just feature recipes. They featured someone's YaYa collecting wild nettles in the springtime and fisherman chasing giant octupuses on cerulean sea. I was inspired to empty my piggy bank to see if there was enough for a plane ticket to Lemnos immedietly. Alas, I would have to settle for bringing Greece to me.

One recipe in particular caught my eye as a challenge: a pie of greens with phyllo dough made from scratch! You can make phyllo from scratch? And the recipe calls for VODKA and SODA? I was so giddy with the prospect of my new project that I went out, bought all of the necessary furnishments for hortopita and chopped my way through the afternoon in anticipation of a Sunday full of culinary domination. I was going to rule that phyllo dough. I was going to whip it into shape. To celebrate, I poured myself a little vodka/soda cocktail and headed out with friends for a Saturday night.

The next morning found me asking “What. The. Hell. Happened?” Is that pizza crust from me? Did I make macaroni and cheese at some point? Did I DRUNK TWEET? I wanted an aspirin and a bagel. And my mommy. And there was just no way I was about to embark on a Greek journey of making paper-thin sheets of pastry in a manner that required me to open the vodka bottle. I hightailed it (ok, maybe I walked very slowly) to Whole Foods and purchased a large Vitamin Water and frozen phyllo. Had I not chopped and prepped everything the day before, I would have spent the rest of the day on the couch watching the entire Batman series.

Here's a link to Saveur's instructions for making homemade phyllo, you sober show-off, you.

If you enjoy the bittersweet chew of kale or chard, you'll love this recipe. It's essentially the same as spinach spanakopita, but with a deeper, earthier flavor and more fibrous texture. It's a lovely autumn counterpart to the springy bright spinach version. I left the ribs on the chard to impart a surprising crunch in a few of the pockets. Oh, and I didn't have the correct pan for hortopita, so I wrapped them up just like spanakopita.

A word on the fat: Saveur's version calls for only olive oil. But I doubted the ability of the olive oil to gloss the outside of the pastry with that caramel-brown buttery crunch. Plus, I love butter. So I used olive oil on the first three sheets of phyllo and butter on the outside of the wrapped-up pastry. They browned beautifully, but the filling seemed lighter.

2 tablespoons olive oil plus approximately 1/2 cup for brushing on the dough

2 tablespoons melted non-salted butter
8 scallions, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 lbs. mixture of swiss chard and/or rainbow kale

12 ounces greek feta, crumbled

salt and pepper

1 cup each:

fresh dill
fresh mint
fresh parsley

Give the phyllo several hours to thaw. Keep it in the box until you are ready to use it. When you take it out, carefully unroll and cover it with a damp towel at all times you aren't using it.

Mince garlic and scallions and set aside. Wash, drain and chop chard/kale. I put about a cup of the chard/kale into a food processor for a fine texture and left the rest roughly chopped. Wash drain and food process the dill, mint and parsley together.

Heat the 2 tablesoons of olive oil in a large skillet until hot. Saute the garlic and scallions until transluscent, then turn down the heat. Add all of the chard/kale and saute until completely wilted (you might have to add a few tablespoons water now and then and cover the skillet). Shut off the heat. Add in the fresh herbs, salt and fresh ground pepper and stir it all together to let the ambient heat of the greens invite the herbs to mingle their flavors. Let cool for 15 minutes, then add the crumbled feta. Let it cool to room temperature.

Lay one sheet of phyllo on the counter and brush it with olive oil. Lay another sheet on that and brush again with olive oil. Repeat until you have 4 sheets of phyllo. Brush the top of the final sheet with butter and cut into 4 strips. At the top of each strip, place about 1.5 tablespoons filling. Take the outermost corner of the strip and fold it diagonally over the dollop of filling. Continue folding diagonally. Here's an excellent illustration. When done folding, brush the outside of the triangle with melted butter.

At this point, you can put the pockets on a cookie sheet so they aren't touching and put them in the freezer. When they're totally frozen through, layer them in a tupperware and separate the layers with wax paper. They freeze beautifully and I take them out 2 or three at a time to stick in the oven for dinner.

If you're ready to make them, heat the oven to 350. Lay them on a cookie sheet and let them bake for about 15 minutes. Flip them over and let them bake another 10 or until nicely browned on each side. They will be HOT in the middle....so take care (and patience) when biting in.

Someday, I'll be sure to make phyllo from scratch. Obviously, I'll celebrate with the vodka and soda after the deed is done. Oops.

2010-10-28T09:27:00.000-07:00

Oh! Hi!Geesh, where did the month go to? I'm mystified by the date on my calendar. October 28 you say? Did I sleep through October?

NO! I've been busy planning a big life change. Nay, a HUGE life change. People: I'm moving out of DC.

Two months ago I fell into an interview for a position at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond (yes! That's where Eric lives!) Last week they offered me the job. I'm over the moon about this transition....except the whole part about leaving DC. Leave my friends?! Leave my Whole Foods? Leave my YOGA STUDIO?? I'm really panicking about that one. Leave the familiarity of a home you've had for 5+ years?

Everyone seems to be doing it. Macheesmo is going to Denver. Iflipforfood just moved to LA. Those DC Food Blogger Happy Hours are shrinking.

Happily, there's lots of advantages in moving to a smaller city. Richmond is going to support a ton of interests I've got that I can't cultivate in DC. I've had an extremely challenging time getting into a community garden in DC and participating in the DC "Fair". And the farmer's markets are gorgeous, but ghastly expensive. In Richmond I plan to buy a bike (with a basket!), take part in community gardening, join a CSA, follow this truck regularly, and join in on a whole new food blogging community.

I'm so pleased that I got the call for the job when I was home in Buffalo with family. In our family, there's always a bottle of champagne chilling in the fridge so its never to early to mix it with OJ and have a mimosa. What do you eat with mimosas? Why, eggs of course.

The Polish hens have just started laying. Actually, I was around to witness Daisy's First Egg on October 24, 2010. Have you ever heard the old adage about the chicken not knowing where to lay their egg in reference to a restless person? Well Daisy (the white one in the photos) had the same problem. She woke up Sunday morning in a panic. She ran back and forth across the yard, crowed and cackled, balked and brooded, ran up to us as if to say "help!! Something's happening to me! I don't know what it is!!" She got in an out of her roost about 43 times until, magically, Daisy became a woman. She laid an egg. More champagne.

Now, I know how she felt. My completely comfortable nest is about to be taken apart. My feathers are going to get a little ruffled. My life is going to feel a little panick-y, a little strange in the midst of transition. But soon I'll have a nest somewhere else that I get to share with someone else...even if that means flying my DC coop. Because birds of a feather flock together. But I wonder whose going to rule the roost? HA! OK! I'm done.

Little Debbie, Little Debbie

2010-10-04T16:58:00.000-07:00

Since I was in 7th grade I've had a vision of opening a bakery. The concept has evolved through the years but I think I've finally shed light on the right idea: a kitschy, campy coffee shop filled with board games and 70's-era knick-knacks with homemade versions of Little Debbie snacks behind the counter. Obviously there might be a few IP issues to work out between Debbie and I, but I couldn't imagine a better job than one where I get to wear 70's aprons to work EVERY DAY. It would be a fabulous excuse to get a pair of cat-eye glasses, wear a beehive and shamlessly play Joni Mitchell and Curtis Mayfield over the sound system. That sounds like the Best. Job. Ever.

Do you know how many people in the world just LOVE Little Debbie Snacks? My favorite as a kid was the Strawberry Jelly Roll. I had a boyfriend in college who could eat Christmas Tree Cakes morning, noon and night (and he sang a little song that went with his method of eating them branch by branch). Our favorite older backyard neighbors would slyly slip us treats of Nutty Bars when we raked their leaves. And who doesn't love a Swiss Cake Roll? Deb's motto is "Unwrap a Smile". I cannot argue with such a positive slogan about the power of baked goods.

But I've got a score to settle with Debbie.

Before I was actually aware of "high fructose corn syrup" or other red dye #42-type ingredients, I never had a problem eating one of those big marshmallow coconut Snowballs, or an Oatmeal Creme Pie, or a Ding-Dong for crying out loud! Those things were GOOD. But now we are all more conscious about the risks of putting preservative-laced, mass-produced packaged foods in our mouths. I understand that those ingredients are necessary for any type of factory-made, processed snack that has to travel umpteen miles from the factory floor to your grocery shelf. It isn't her fault. But in the process Little Debbie loses a lot of of innocence.

Still, I love the all-American image she represents. So why not recreate Little Debbie at home where I can control what goes into the dessert?

I decided to start with the iconic Chocolate Cupcake with the white piping on top in honor of my colleague Helen who was leaving our office for a new, awesome job in the historic house of her dreams. In thinking about the perfect dessert to honor Helen, who loves chocolate, I wanted something that would represent a down-home, midwestern picture of simplistic joy. This is what Helen exudes and thus, her departing dessert had to be representative of her sparkling personality.

Before I get to the actual recipe, I must admit that this is a bit of an undertaking. But I promise its a LOT of fun to get into the process and the techniques are pretty simple and versitile. Above you see a sharp knife going into the center of a cupcake. I made an "x" cut all the way down into each cake so the cream filling met less resistance when piped in (below).

This cake is from Smitten Kitchen's Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake, which she adapted from Sky High: Irresistable Triple-Layer Cakes. The batter may give you pause because its so liquidy. I put it into a plastic water pitcher so I could pour it into the cups evenly.

Cake: yield about 26 cupcakes
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, preferably Dutch process
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup neutral vegetable oil, such as canola, soybean or vegetable blend
1 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350. Sift the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl. Whisk to combine them well. Add the oil and sour cream and whisk to blend. Gradually beat in the water. Blend in the vinegar and vanilla. Whisk in the eggs and beat until well blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and be sure the batter is well mixed. Pour into cupcake liners. Bake for about 19-22 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let them cool completely.

While the cakes are baking, make your ganache. This is an AWESOME recipe and very versitile. As you let it cool it comes to a bunch of different textures.

Ganache: yield about 3 cups ganache
12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp corn syrup
*You can double this recipe if you intend to fill and frost a layer cake.

Into a heavy 2 quart saucepan measure the chocolate chips and heavy cream. Stir constantly while the chips melt and the mixture becomes homogenous. Let it come to a mild simmer and continue stirring for about 5-7 minutes to let it thicken, scraping the bottom consistantly. When thick, pour it into a mixing bowl and stir in 1 tsp. corn syrup. Let it cool, giving it a stir every 10 minutes or so in the beginning, and every 30 minutes or so after awhile. The stiring part is key. If you forget, it will cool into a BRICK. Stiring it keeps it light.

For this recipe I used the ganache for a glaze on top (at about the 2.5 hour cooling mark) and then put the fully cooled ganache (about 5 to 6 hours cooled) into a pastry bag to make the swirls you can see on top of some of the cupcakes. You can also use this fully cooled ganache as a smooth frosting that makes great glossy swoops on a birthday cake by letting it cool the full 6 hours and then giving it a good beating with a wooden spoon to put a little air in it before spreading onto a cake.

Filling: yield about 2 cups filling
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Put all ingredients into a clean, dry mixing bowl. Use electric beaters (handheld works best) to whip the cream. When it is VERY stiff, like almost to the point you think it might turn to butter- stop. It has to be very thick to hold up in the cupcake.

*If you can find Rich's non-dairy RichWhip topping at your grocery store ( I couldn't) I recommend trying that. It's already sweetened and holds up well in the cupcake.

White frosting for piping: yield about 1/3 cup
1 cup confectioner's sugar
1 tablespoon milk
1 tablspoon butter, soft and at room temperature

Whip these ingredients with handheld beaters until they come together. You might need a little more or a little less milk to get it to a place where it feels very stable. Put into pastry bag with standard lettering tip.

For assembly:
So after your cupcakes have cooled, stick them in the fridge for an hour or freezer for 30 minutes to firm up because they are soft and fudgy and will fall apart otherwise. Take out of the freezer and use a super sharp knife to make an "X" all the way to the bottom in the center. Wipe the knife clean after each cupcake. Fill with the cream filling by gently inserting a pastry bag with the cream as far down into the cupcake as possible without creating a giant crater. Fill it further than you think is necessary. It WILL plump up the cupcake.

Dip the tops into the cooled ganache that is still liquid-y. I actually gave them two dips into the ganache and refrigerated between dips. The second dip is optional.

Refrigerate again so the ganache cools and smooths. Some of your cupcakes might still have a crater impression in the center. It's ok: just put more chocolate on them! Decorate as you see fit (see my photos below). I put the completely cooled ganache into a pastry bag with a large tip to make swirls of chocolate over the craters. Pipe the Little Debbie squiggley onto any cupcake that is smooth enough to do so.

I'm completely inspired by the classic, kitschy snacks out there that I want to modernize and purify. I've got BIG PLANS people. There are grand Twinkie dreams in our near future :)

Anybody out there want to invest in my 70's bake shop? You'll get to wear an apron too. Pinkie swear.

101 Things to do with Apples

2010-09-27T14:55:00.000-07:00

When I graduated from college in 2003 we were still very close to 9/11. In fact it was just a few months earlier that we invaded Iraq and President Bush (with still somewhat popular ratings) had made a national call to service. He challenged youth to serve their nation in whatever way felt compelling to them. I, with no idea what to do next with my life, answered. I applied for AmeriCorps and was placed in the National Civilian Community Corps for a period of 10 months which is how I first came to know Washington, DC.

NCCC is a team-based, residential program that serves 5 key areas: Education, Environment, Public Safety, and Disaster Relief and.......We trained for a month on a campus in Anacostia and then were placed on teams of 9 or 10 people, according to our skills. My team and I fell in love with one another. We bickered, we argued, we beat one another up, and we fell asleep snuggling. We traveled in a stinky 12 passenger van all over the east coast serving in project after project. Our very first “spike” (as travel projects were called) was in West Virginia building a walking trail and educating West Virginia’s most obese county (Putnam) on health and wellness. I totally understood why this county would have a high obesity rating. They had Tudor’s Biscuit World.

Oh dear, how I miss it. Tudor’s is a fast food chain that sells BISCUITS. Honestly, before that fateful day in October 2003, I had never had a biscuit. My family never made them. So, like Hansel and Gretel in a gingerbread house, I dove in. We all did. Here we are: 10 of us generally thin and fit people educating the masses about making healthy food choices while secretly gorging on all the things that contribute to obesity in the first place. Principle among the fattening agents: biscuits and apple butter. I must have gained 6 pounds on that spike.

I’ve not been back to Tudor’s since then, but this fall, due to an amazing find of a Foley Food mill for TWO BUCKS in a thrift store, I decided to revisit what was once an obsession. I mean, I’ve grown up, right? I know how to restrain myself, right?
The first step to making apple butter is to make applesauce. We went back to Homestead Farms to pick a ridiculous amount of apples. There is something very childlike and innocent about applesauce. Unadorned and sweetened little, its mother nature’s most soothing carbohydrate. At the bottom of this entry you'll find the necessary instructions for making applesauce and applebutter. But first I'd like to get on a soapbox about why this is a worthwhile venture. I have a few reasons.

Reason #1: Applesauce is a family-friendly recipe. First, you can teach your child about canning. Which teaches them about following instructions. And also teaches them about a heritage. Which brings you family members together in a kitchen. And allows you to relive fun family memories when you pull jars out of the cabinet months later. And, your child begins a process of recognizing where food comes from. Hopefully they'll wonder the same thing about Doritos someday down the road....
Reason #2: its economical. 30 pounds of apples is basically all it takes as long as you've invested in the jars. We got about 15 pint jars of apple sauce or butter out of $1.49 a pound apples. See how much it costs to purchase 15 jars of boutique organic apple butter at a store.

Reason #3: it planet-friendly. Seriously. Aside from replacing lids every year, the jars are filled, used, washed and re-used next year. There is no waste. That is a priceless investment.

So, to make applesauce (and then applebutter):

As always, wash jars, lids and rings in high heat and dry thoroughly. Keep your jars warm for the applesauce. I started by peeling my apples because I wasn't completely confident in Homestead's organic rating although technically you don't have to peel your apples. The peels will get worked out in the food mill. So peel, core and cut apples into chunks and put in a big kettle on the stove (5-8 quarts). We needed two 8 quart kettles. To each kettle add about 3/4 cup water and 1/4 cup white or cider vinegar. Let them simmer until really soft and mushy, at least for an hour. When you think they won't get any mushier, set your food mill up over a bowl and push the apples through.

At this stage of the game, you're essentially done. I didn't add any sugar, but I did add about 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Half of the applesauce went into jars and the other half went into a slow cooker where I added a half cup of brown sugar, half cup white sugar, and two more teaspoons of cinnamon (to about 10 cups of sapplesauce). Then I set the slow cooker on medium for eight hours. One recipe suggested 5, another said 12. By 7 hours I thought it had reached a nice shade of brown. Truth be told, the applebutter could have used more sugar. But I couldn't bring myself to do it.

The applesauce was processed right at the time it was jarred for 15 minutes. The applebutter also got 15 minutes submerged in the canner in boiling water. HOWEVER, applebutter and applesauce freeze really, really well. So if you have room in the freezer, skip the whole canning thing.

We also made apple pie that night. But by 2:00am, I wasn't churning out the best pies in the world. Another story, another day.

So the moral of today's posting is: hit the orchard. Take your family. Create a tradition and teach your kids to be mindful of where their food is coming from. Those experiences truly made me who I am today and I wouldn't trade any of it for a $3.49 jar of grocery store applesauce.

Exercise your voting rights

2010-09-20T06:37:00.001-07:00

Hi all! Today is the actual start of the food blogger COMPETITION! Voting opens at noon EST, so don't forget to click on the link to my profile on the right of this page and VOTE FOR ME! You'll have to create an account with Foodbuzz if you don't already have one, but you'll appreciate that you did for joining such a warm, spirited and open community is most definately worth your time.

If I make it to the next round I'll need your help and suggestions for making a dish from a more exotic cuisine. What's the most exotic dish from another culture that you've ever had?

xoxo,
Jillian

"I Wanna Live with a Cinnamon Girrrl"...

2010-09-16T07:01:00.000-07:00

So sings Neil Young. Listen to Neil. He knows best.

When you turn 21, most kids get things like savings bonds. Or liquor. Or their first suit. Me? I got expensive cinnamon and a professional 9x13 pan for cinnamon rolls. And a shot of Luksusowa vodka, of course. In our Polish farm family, that meant "I confer upon you the responsibilities of a head-of-household woman. Go forth, have many babies, fatten them on cinnamon rolls". Well 8 years later, still no babies. But someday when they arrive, I'll be ready for them.

I hadn't made cinnamon buns in awhile, but two things prompted me to hop to it. First, Eric begged. Second, Aunt Linda gifted me with some King Arthur SAF Red Instant yeast and I wanted to take it for a spin. I wish I'd taken a photo of the sponge because HOLY MAN the yeast was a MONSTER. I was afraid that if I stuck my hand in the bowl, it would eat off my fingertips. After a lifetime of Fleishmanns in the packet, this changed my world.

Look at that happy dough! It was smooth as a baby's bottom and very elastic. I used King Arthur Flour too. I think we can safely say that I'm a snooty King Arthur convert now.

Fun fact: did you know that the majority of the cinnamon available in the US is not actually real cinnamon? If you go to the supermarket and purchase a bottle of "cinnamon", its most likely cassia, a cousin of cinnamon with a stronger flavor and much broader geographic region of cultivation. Basically, its more plentiful and therefore cheaper. True Cinnamon is generally marked as Ceylon Cinnamon, (name for the place of its origin in Sri Lanka). It's sweeter and milder. Read more about the history of cinnamon/cassia here. You can find Ceylon Cinnamon in the US through Penzey's but honestly, you might find it boring and mild since our American taste-buds are used to the strong flavor of cassia. I use Penzey's Vietnamese "cinnamon", a kick-butt potent and fragrant spice.

I'll get to the recipe below, but check out the method for cutting the log of dough. Yes, that's dental floss. Be sure to get plain dental floss. Unless you like to freshen your breath while eating cinnamon buns.

This dough log is just ooooozing butter, sugar and cinnamon. Sometimes its hard to restrain your boyfriend from licking the end of the log.

And here is where we reveal the secret waistline killer: pecan rolls. So the cinnamon roll dough makes either plain buns or pecan buns. The whole recipe generally fits into a 9x13 pan, so I separated it into two 8x8 pans for some variety.

These guys rise twice. Remember this when 9:30 p.m. on a Saturday night rolls around and you get the brilliant idea to make cinnamon buns, like I did. Don't plan on getting to bed until 2 am. The good news is that when they are through with their second rise, you can cover with plastic wrap and stick them in the fridge. If you stir from your slumber early the next morning, go take them out of the fridge and set them on the counter to come to room temperature and set the oven to pre-heat. Go back to bed for an hour (or more).

Parysek Family Cinnamon Rolls:

Recipe by my Grams

2 packages dry yeast (if you use a big canister of yeast, each packet holds 2 and 1/4 teaspoons) dissolved in 1/4 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
2 cups milk
1 cup water
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 cup Sugar plus 3 tablespoons
1/2 cup butter plus 2 tablespoons
1/4 cup "lard" (because my grandma often renders her own. You can use Crisco's with non-hydrogenated oil shortening if you don't have any pigs nearby. Some grocery stores will indeed carry lard, though).
3 eggs
About 7 cups white flour (it was a humid day, I needed an extra 3/4 cup)
Raisins or nuts (optional)
Cinnamon, as much as you like
Confectioner's sugar and milk if you want a glaze

Dissolve your yeast in water. If you want to make it grow, add 1/2 tsp of sugar to get a nice sponge. Set aside. Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a kitchen aid mixer (or just a large bowl) combine butter (does not have to be softened) sugar and lard. In a saucepan heat the milk and water until very warm but not boiling. Add nutmeg and salt to milk mixture. Stir and allow salt to dissolve, then pour the milk mixture into the butter/sugar/lard bowl mixing bowl. Stir and then let cool to at least 115 degrees. When cooled, add the yeast sponge and hook it up to your dough hook on your mixer. Add the eggs and flour alternatively, ending with flour when you have a cohesive, sticky mass.

Dump it onto a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth (8-10 minutes). It should still be a little tacky and could absorb more flour, but you don't want to dry out the dough. Put it back in the mixing bowl and cover with a towel to let it rise in a warm place for at least an hour or until doubled. Check it often if you try the Super-Monster Yeast. Mine spilled over the top of the bowl within 40 mintues.

Roll it out flat on a floured work surface. Melt your extra 2-3 tablespoons of butter in the microwave and spread it over the dough. Sprinkle with 2-3 tablspoons sugar and as much cinnamon as you wish. This is a good time to add raisins or chopped nuts. Roll it up like a jelly roll. Use dental floss to cut it into about 2.5 inch slices and place them in a well-greased pan. Smoosh them in good and let rise a second time for at least an hour. Bake immedietly or refrigerate overnight.

My Grams says to bake at 375 for 30-35 minutes. That's too hot for my oven and they brown too quickly, so I stick with 350 for 35 to 40 min.

If you want to make the pecan rolls (and I'm pretty sure you do), melt 1/4 cup butter with 1/4 cup milk in a saucepan. Add 1 cup packed brown sugar and cook slowly for five minutes until simmering and thickened. Pour into the bottom of an already greased pan and sprinkle with whole or chopped pecans. Place the rolls on top of that and follow the rest of the steps by letting it rise a second time.

Those with wild sweet tooths can make a glaze out of confectioner's sugar and milk or soymilk to drizzle over the top of the sweet rolls. OMG YUM!

Giardiniera is for Lovers

2010-09-13T07:30:00.000-07:00

I write this blog not because I love food, but because I love people. Sometimes with the fast pace of our modern and disconnected lifestyles, we forget to talk about what we are eating and why we choose to eat it. Food is powerful; the most powerful form of currency we’ve got. And when we share it and the unique traditions that we associate with our food, we’re forming and transforming and negotiating relationships. I would suspect that 99% of the talented people who participate in Foodbuzz and other food-related communities do so out of their love for sharing stories more than the actual food they write about. That’s what makes our meals, menus and stories so gosh-darn special.

Tales from the Fruit Cellar is unique because I always feature the people at the heart of the recipe and the relationships and heritages that are bound by what we perceive to be our individual food culture. I love to instigate a discourse about why we step into our kitchens in the first place and I hold myself responsible for acting as a virtual scribe to record the conversations. I'm eager to bring people back to a tradition-based food system, regardless of how the individual defines "tradition". I love to celebrate the fact that we all define tradition in myriad ways.

I generally power up my computer to write not because I’m so worked up about a recipe, but because I can’t wait to tell you about the people that have become inextricably linked with that recipe. Today, I’ve got a love story for you.

Eric and I met in 2008 on the island of St. John in the Caribbean. He was from Indianapolis, I from DC. We didn’t want anything to do with long distance. A few months later, we were heavy in the throes of a Long. Distance. Relationship. Sigh.

For those of you who would rather eat worms that get involved with someone who lives over 50 miles away, I’m here to tell you: long distance really isn’t all that terrible. When you’ve got a full and busy life, it’s actually quite nice to set aside chunks of time to spend 100% focused on one another. It’s exciting to fly back and forth and discover a new town you wouldn’t have found otherwise. Especially when that town has Goose the Market.

Eric and I fell in love over a sandwich. Seriously. You know how its way more enjoyable to eat a hot fudge sundae with someone who oohs and ahhs over it as loudly as you? Well foodies about the globe know what I mean when I say that falling in love with a person feels much more punch drunk when your time with that person is punctuated by fabulous food you’re equally smitten with. For us, that was the Batali sandwich. Oh my goodness…I can’t even write about it without feeling wispy nostalgia tear at my heart.

Goose the Market, in Indianapolis, is like a souk for the modern Midwest urban explorer. Filling a brightly colored store-front in a newly reclaimed part of the city, Goose opened in 2008 and knocked the pants right off the Indy food scene. Would you like to join a Bacon of the Month club? At Goose, you can. Need to find blue-ribbon local cheeses? They’ve got it. Hungry for gelato? Hit it up. But under no circumstances should you ever leave the market without a Batali.

A Batali is actually a simple sandwich, but the combination of flavors and the integrity of the meats make it outstanding. It's coppa, soppressata, capocolla, sharp provolone, tomato preserves, pickled red onion, hot giardiniera, mayo and lettuce on crusty bread.

So here we are: Eric and I, deep in that early intoxication phase of love, when he takes me to the newly opened Goose and we share a Batali. It was like our eyes were opened to what sandwiches were always meant to be. I'm entirely serious when I say it was a religious experience. We went back the next day for another Batali. I started picking them up on the way to the airport for my lunch in DC the next day (it NEVER made it to lunchtime). When Eric would eat one without me, I always knew it. My sixth-Batali sense would ring in my ears. He would admit to it, full of shame. I couldn't ever judge him. If I could, I'd eat them all the time as well.

The next thing you know it’s a once a month occurrence where I’m running to find my new love at the baggage claim at Reagan airport, giving him a quick kiss hello and saying “where’s my sandwich??” Tourists in DC would watch us, thinking that I must not eaten for days with the way I am ravenously tearing into a sandwich at baggage claim. Eric watches with a little frustration that I’m paying no attention to my freshly arrived boyfriend, but with a little pride too. “That’s my girl”, he thinks. “Can I have a bite?” he says. We share a greasy, spicy kiss and the Batali is gone in under 5 minutes.

Eric and I now live just two hours apart: he in school at VCU in Richmond, me still in DC. When he arrived in Richmond this past winter, I wrote a love letter to Goose, imploring them to share the secret of the Batali with me. Graciously, they shared their recipes and we attempted our first recreation of the Batali in Richmond. The issue is that while our recreation came out mostly alright, we used a jarred Giardiniera that seemed to have no spice or sass. I spent a few sleepless nights wondering what went wrong before deciding that the Giardiniera is what left our homemade Batali lacking. So we said "let's try again, but make the Giardiniera ourselves".

Like many of my recipes, this one is a classic, banal item that you probably buy in a jar at the grocery store. But the secret is that its unfailingly simple to make at home where you have more control over what you put in the jar. Use organics and quality vinegar or oil; I promise you’ll be glad you did. We used a lot of super extra hot peppers, again from Clagett Farm, and we tried both the oil method and the vinegar method to see which we preferred. The answer is: I like to mix a tablespoon out of the oil jar and a tablespoon out of the vinegar jar!

Hot Giardiniera

About 1.5 pounds mixed hot peppers (jalepenos are perfect, we used green chilies too)
2 red or green bell peppers cut into strips

3 stalks celery, sliced thinly

3 carrots, sliced thinly

2 cups cauliflower cut into mini florets

1 whole garlic clove for each jar (cleaned)

1 cup good quality green olives, sliced (we used garlic marinated ones off the olive bar at Whole Foods)

1/2 cup kosher canning salt

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon pepper corns

1/2 tablespoon hot pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds

Olive oil for your oil-packed jars

White distilled vinegar and sugar for your vinegar jars

Cut all of the veggies to the size and shape you prefer. I left the seeds in half of the peppers since we like them hot. Toss all of the cut veggies in a large bowl with the kosher salt EXCEPT the olives. Add enough water to just cover the veggies. Cover and let sit in the salt bath in the fridge overnight or for at least 12 hours.

The next day drain and rinse really, really well. I irrigated the whole bowl for a good 30 minutes, swishing and draining in fresh water. Let drain well.

Toss the veggies with the olives and the oregano, hot pepper flakes, fennel seeds and peppercorns. Drop a whole garlic clove into the bottom of each jar and pack the jars with veggies. Cover with olive oil and give it a lid.

If you prefer to use vinegar, simmer 1 cup white vinegar with 1/4 cup sugar. When all dissolved, pour the hot vinegar over the veggies in the jar. Some recipes claim you can mix the vinegar and oil but it seems the vinegar and oil separates anyways.

I didn't process the Giardineira, so it's got to be kept in the fridge. However, you can process the vinegar ones for 15 minutes in a canner and give away very colorful holiday gifts.

We haven't re-made the sandwiches yet, but I'm gearing up to make the onions and tomato preserves. Undoubtedly, the act of making a Batali will make me think fondly of my now-seasoned relationship and our first sparks of love. When you think back to your favorite recipe, who are the people that make it special for you?

California, Part 1

2010-09-09T08:26:00.000-07:00

Julia Pfeiffer-Burns State Park

I'm laughing because I'll begin this post the same exact way as Not Derby Pie; we obviously had a similar summer vacation!

I had a conference in San Francisco and Eric tagged along for a birthday trek. I've always wanted to go to Big Sur for the majesty of it all, so we touched down on a Saturday and got right into a rented jeep and drove down Highway 1. Bonnie 'Prince' Billy was our soundtrack and it was perfect!

Our plan was to stop at the famous Nepenthe for dinner, but cars lined the street a mile down and the reviews all say that you should go to Nepenthe for the view, not the food. "Meh" food didn't resonate with us, so we went to Deetjen's, attached to the famous Big Sur Inn just a few miles down the road instead. It was 7:30 in the evening, but our east-coast-time-zone stomachs that had survived two Cliff bars, a bag of peanuts, half an airport sandwich and 3 apples wanted DINNER. And dinner we got. We both agreed that it might have been the fresh mountain air or the giddiness of being somewhere new or our super exciting celebrity siting- Zooey Deschanel in the empty parking lot- For real! Whatever it was, Deetjen's was our most favorite meal of the trip. (and it was a gift from my dad. THANKS DAD!)

We both had a glass of local cab, and the roasted tomato basil soup. They served a delicious tapenade with their bread. Then Eric had a seafood pasta with clams, mussels and shrimp, capers and a saffron cream sauce that had a certain umami about it that I can't replicate. I had a filet (!) with sea-salted green beans and a smashed potato cake. We practically licked our plates and agreed that one of the best parts of the decidedly upscale meal was that we were wearing sneakers and cargo pants. That's the thing about Big Sur; casual=fabulous.

We stayed at Treebones: an eco-tourism resort that offers upscale camping in posh, heated yurts. If you're going to Big Sur, STAY THERE. But call at least 6 months to a year in advance for a reservation. We definately want to return. It was so remote and yet incrediably comfortable and close to nature. They have their own extensive organic garden on site that participates in WWOOF and that provides all the vegetables for their on-site restaurant. After a day of hiking, we celebrated Eric's birthday dinner in the restaurant. Baby, I think 35 is the new 25 :)

We started with grilled artichokes from the garden seved with a zinfandel aioli. Then we shared the Moroccan Lamb Tagine for two, which could have easily been for four.

Then we opted for a trio of desserts: from right to left- a chocolate mousse, a key lime pie cheesecake cup, and this incredible, amazing, to-die-for thing called "Australian Sticky Date Pudding". It was so good that the next morning I begged the front desk attendant to call the old lady up the road who makes it for Treebones to ask her to send the recipe. Sticky-date-pudding-lady wasn't home. Does anyone know how to make this?

I also must note that we got a bottle of wine that was amazing and we learned why the California coast is an excellent environment for pinot noir. We LOVED this Poppy Pinot Noir.

Of course we also hit the Big Sur Bakery, but unfortunately we got there around 11:00 a.m. when their breakfast pastries were gone and their lunch options were just coming out. We shared a sweet onion and goat cheese foccacia which I really liked. However, sweet onion at 11:00 a.m. on what feels like a race track with a precarious drop off into the ocean? Eric couldn't take it. I'd like to give Big Sur Bakery another shot and perhaps have something soothing, such as a ginger scone!

A few tips if you travel to Big Sur: spring for a 4 wheel drive vehicle. You'll be happy for the extra weight through the twists and turns in the road. Go to Limekiln State Park for redwoods. Plan to spend money; there are only a few restaurants, places to grab food, and places to gas up. We also had our WORST meal of the trip here and were so angry that it cost us over $60 for something less than mediocre that would have cost $25 anywhere else. Also, Big Sur is a BIG place. We thought that we could stay at Treebones and go to Nepenthe for lunch one day. You can't. The drive is single-laned, twists and turns along the ocean. 30 miles takes 60 minutes or more. So stay in an area that is accessible to all the things you want to see.

Next: San Francisco!

Vote for Jam!

2010-09-07T09:37:00.000-07:00

So, you may have noticed the little "featured publisher" button on the right side of my blog that appeared a few weeks ago. I joined a community called Foodbuzz that is basically Facebook for food nerds like me. We all "friend" each other and post photos of the things we make, discuss trends, techniques, tips, and basically bask in the warmth of a diverse group of people who are just like ourselves: obsessed with virtually breaking bread. Someone over there accepted my application to be a featured publisher and I'm pretty happy about that. More importantly, I've been meeting fabulous people. (Like Chef Dennis! He actually reads my blog! Check him out too at http://morethanamountfull.blogspot.com/).

The exciting news is that Foodbuzz is launching a blog competition. They are searching for the best new food blogger among 1,733 contestants at last count. The first competition post will be up on September 20th and the task is to create or make something that is uniquely "you". I'm putting on my thinking cap to decide what that might be. I already posted about pickles, so what is left that defines "me"? Meanwhile, get your index finger ready to vote for me with that little button on the top right corner. YOU will have a chance to weigh in!

OK, business over. Now on to fun.

I wish I'd saved this posting for that "uniquely you" assignment because my life can be defined by jam as much as pickles. However, until the age of 26 I would only eat one kind of jam: my mom's strawberry. The sad thing is that I've never tried to make it by myself. Why reinvent the wheel when my mom can do it better than me? I leave my annual supply of strawberry freezer jam to the pro until she says she won't do it anymore. (Deal, mom?) Oddly, strawberry jam on white bread reminds me of cauliflower because I used to eat it while in the back of the cauliflower trailor on wet harvest mornings. A strawberry jam sandwhich is best eaten in a big cardboard cauliflower box fort. You should try it sometime.

So, because I leave the best to mom, I decided to try entirely new flavors. Peaches are by far my favorite fruit, so that one was a given. I looked for an orchard where we could pick peaches and found Homestead Farm in Poolesville, MD. They also had blackberries in season. BINGO. I should note that this jam came at a high price: Eric's sanity. He didn't wash his arms off immedietly after the blackberry picking and got chiggers for 4 days. Poor guy. Let that be a lesson to you all!

An afternoon of picking gave us about 6 pounds blackberries and 15 pounds of peaches at a cost of about $42.00. It yielded 9 half pints of blackberry jam, 3 pints peach, 4 half pints peach and 3 pints of peach/blackberry mixed.

We used the reduced sugar SureJell recipe instead of full sugar which calls for SEVEN cups sugar for five cups of fruit. It's enough to make you never want to eat jam again. Even the reduced sugar SureJell was a bit too sweet for my taste, so next year I vow to find a way to use even significantly LESS sugar than this. Perhaps I can find a way to produce my own brand of pectin and market it to people who (a) don't like overly sweet jam and (b) refuse to use Splenda for the "no sugar" recipe. I'd rather use too much real sugar than one ounce of fake sugar.

Please assume that for all recipes we washed and rinsed the jars in scalding water and scalded the lids and rings.

We prepared the peaches by dropping them gently, one-by-one into boiling water for 1 minute, then an ice bath for 2 minutes. The skins slid right off and the stones separated from the flesh when cut in half.

So for both jams, it went like this:

5 whole cups blackberries (or 5 cups peaches) crushed

4 cups sugar

1 packet SureJell mixed with 1/4 cup of your measured sugar

Crush the berries/peaches into a 6-8 quart saucepan and let them slowly heat up and release their juices. Add the 1/4 cup sugar with the pectin. If you want to strain out a few seeds, go for it. But make sure you aren't taking away significant volume from the saucepan. Let it all come to a full rolling boil, stirring constantly. When the boil is constant, add the rest of the sugar and boil 1 minute more.

Ladle immedietly into jars with 1/8 inch space on top. Wipe the mouths of the jars clean and cover with the scalding hot lids and tighten with rings immedietly.

This is where it gets fun: my mom and grandma say that processing isn't necessary and that you can just flip your jars over for 5 minutes on their lids. When they flip back up, gravity will slowly pull the hot fruit down and seal the jar. I wanted to test this hypothesis so I didn't process the blackberry, but I did process the peach.

To process: lower the jars into boiling water that covers them 1-2 inches. You don't need a canner for this, people, so that can't be your excuse for not making jam. Just don't let the jars touch the bottom of the pot. I use a stainless steel trivet. The guys from The Bitten Word used this ingenious contraption: http://www.thebittenword.com/thebittenword/2010/08/canning-tomatoes-how-to-tomatoes-packed-in-water.html#more

Let them boil for 10 minutes in this manner before gently removing them to cool.

Surprise! ALL the jars sealed, including the ones that stood on their heads for 10 minutes. It certainly saved a step.

We also made a mixture of peach and blackberry that turned out to be my favorite of the whole bunch. Because the blackberries have a stronger texture, we just used one cup berries to four cups peaches.

Jam is time intensive, but I prefer to think of it as "love intensive". You've just got to give it a lot of love. Certainly when I can give jars of homemade organic sunshine away in the miserable winter, I hope people think of it as jarred love!

Summer's almost over, but don't get crabby

2010-09-02T12:30:00.001-07:00

August, 2010 marked my five year anniversary as a Maryland state resident. And this August provided to me various opportunities to complete my checklist of "things Maryland residents do". I saw a show at Ram's Head Tavern. I spent a crazy girls weekend in a beach house on the infamous Dewey Beach. Above all, I ate crabs.

Seth and Emily, also fellow New Yorkers have always been way ahead of me in their mid-atlantic assimilation. By now, they are old hats at the crab thing and Seth declares it his most favorite meal EVER. When asked why, he'll say its because it takes forever.....the crab eaters are forced to take their time with their meal. With their fingers occupied with crab-dismantling, there is ample time for beer and socializing. Eric and I were the lucky guests to Seth and Emily's first crab-christening of their new house in DC. I'm sure that a solid two weeks went by before the crab scent vacated their sparkling new home. Somehow, I don't think Seth was concerned.
I wish I could explain to you "how to eat a crab", but I can't. There is a method to the madness and a general process of tearing away the belly shell which Seth explained in a pre-dinner lesson, but after awhile your fingers take over and your mind mellows out in general crab-bliss. I honestly don't remember how I got all that crab meat into my mouth but I'm confident that if given the chance, I could easily do it again. Three days later Eric and I were still cleaning Old Bay seasoning out of our finger nails and scrubbing our hands with lemon.

That reminds me: I'm not a true Maryland resident until I keep a canister of Old Bay in my spice rack. There. That's my assignment for Labor Day weekend. Then I'll be official. Or maybe, I should finally go and get a Maryland license.

A few photos and happy news......

2010-08-25T08:58:00.001-07:00

I'm so far behind, people! Since the tomato soup we've made eggplant parm, three kinds of jam, canned tomatoes and spent a week in Big Sur and the Bay Area. After an excellent summer together, Eric has left me to return to Richmond (wah!)and I'm left to wallow in my lonliness.

Then, lo and behold, such happy news from the homestead up north to cheer me up. People: we have CHICKENS!! Not just your average egg-layers. These ladies (and their one rooster) are very lovely Polish hens. They are our new friends and family and I'm just dying to meet them. Apparently, they are quite friendly and like to be held. I must recognize that these are a gift to Aunt Karen for her half-centennial birthday coming up in just a few weeks. Of course, they are Aunt Karen's chickens. But I'm sure they already know who feeds them. Can they crow for Gramma yet? Before any naming ceremonies take place, may I request that we call one of them Francine?

Aside from the chickens here are a few photos of the Berkeley Farmers Market from this past Saturday. O.M.G. I wanted to BUY IT ALL. If we weren't hopping a plane in three hours, I swear I would have made friends with someone who owned a home in Berkeley so I could cook this produce for dinner.

To come: jam and a comprehensive restaurant review from our trip. Let's just say that I'm on a diet.

Classic Tomato Soup with Croutons

2010-08-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

I can remember watching Elmo and Big Bird on the couch as a four-year old, loudly slurping cream of tomato soup out of my white campbells soup bowl that had Mmm Mmm Good! printed around the edge and washing it down with cold (probably not organic) milk. It was 1985. There must have been Wonder bread too. Just the other day I thought of that bowl. Where has it gone? Then, I thought about the soup.

What is it about tomato soup that is so comforting and nostalgic? Perhaps its that tomatoes are essentially just really creatively constructed simple sugars that break down to sweet, complex flavors when you add heat. Perhaps its that adding cream to anything can make it taste better. Or maybe its because it reminds us all of the simple Sesame Street kind of days.

Whatever the reason for tomato soup being so gosh darn good, I wanted to make it like a grown up and eat it like a grown up......with wine, while watching Anthony Bourdain. The only thing that could have made it better was if I had eaten it out of my Mmm Mmm Good! bowl.

This recipe is one of my first ever truly "made up" recipes. Frankly, I found lots of recipes that sounded good, but it wasn't what I was looking for. I must have scanned at least 30 recipes from Epicurious, AllRecipies, Gourmet, etc. In the end this is mostly inspired by Ina Garten's recipe for Roasted Tomato Basil Soup.

Cream of Roasted Tomato Soup with Croutons

4 pounds tomatoes- I used a variety of whole, red, yellow and cherry

2 red peppers, cleaned and cut into wedges

6 cloves of garlic, cleaned and peeled

1 teaspoon kosher salt

generous fresh ground pepper

1/4 cup good quality olive oil

1/2 cup chicken or veggie stock

2 tablespoons sherry or white wine (you could probably also use vodka!)

1 tablspoon butter

2 finely diced shallots

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 large handful washed and torn basil leaves

2 springs italian parsely

Several sprigs of dill for garnish

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Place your prepared tomatoes, peppers and garlic in a shallow baking pan and coat with the olive oil, salt and a few cranks of the pepper mill. Toss gently and put it in the oven to roast for about 40-50 minutes. When you take it out, let it cool for a solid 25 minutes to release and coagulate the yummy juices. In the meantime, wash and chop your basil and shallot.

Dump the contents of the baking pan (roasted tomato, pepper, garlic and all the liquid that has accumulated) plus the basil and parsely into the bowl of a food processor and process until its as smooth as you like it. I prefer it totally smooth, but you might prefer a rough, chunky chop. Let stand while you heat the butter in a medium sized pot (5 quarts is perfect). When the butter foams, drop into your finely chopped shallots and sautee for about 2 minutes to caramelize. Dump in your wine or spirit to deglaze the pan, then add the tomato puree. Bring it to a simmer and add the chicken stock. Let it simmer gently for about 20 minutes to thicken. Right before you are ready to serve, add the cream with a french whisk and let simmer a minute more to thicken. Garnish with dill and croutons.

The croutons are simple; they just require an appaling amount of olive oil. Start this in the morning or night before by cutting your bread to the desired size and letting them sit out to stale. In a bowl combine about 1/3 cup olive oil (for half loaf bread) with garlic powder, salt, pepper, thyme and dried oregano. Drizzle that over the bread as you toss quickly to evenly coat. Dump them on a flat baking sheet and stick them in the oven at 400 for about 20-25 minutes. The best time to put them in the oven is right when you take out your tomatoes!

I think a little yogurt or sour cream would also be excellent on top of this soup. Or a fat grilled cheese for dipping!

Ratatouille

2010-08-06T06:28:00.000-07:00

I have this friend who loves Ratatouille. Except she calls it "Rat. Tat. Two. EE" and I've never heard her pronounce it like the rest of the world does: "radatooee", a word that rolls quickly off the tongue. For someone who is as active as she, talks as fast as she does, and generally lives life rapidly, it throws me into a fit of giggles when she slows down to say each syllable of "RAT. TAT. TWO. EEE". It's completely endearing and an inspiration to take my windfall from a share I inherited at Clagett Farm and turn it into ratatouille. However you want to say it.

It's high eggplant and squash season and tomatoes are just beginning to reveal their glory. I received a little over 3 pounds of eggplant, 2 pounds of squash, a bunch of peppers, tons of herbs, and the cherry tomatoes were u-pick. Check out that color! The purple ones are called something like "black jewel" and their sweet taste and firm texture stood out from the rest.

I've made ratatouille several times before, but never with such stunning produce. This was going to be special. The secret to ratatouille is in the olive oil: to get that velvety texture, each vegetable is sauteed (almost fried....you need a hot temp) by itself in olive oil. Each veggie soaks up the oil, turning the final product into a luxurious stew of soft, golden veggies.

Ratatouille is something you with which you should take some "artistic freedoms". Most recipes call for eggplant, red and green peppers, onions, garlic, zucchini and/or yellow squash and whole, large tomatoes. This time around I had a few white mushrooms that needed to be put to use, used 1 large tomato and the rest cherry tomatoes, and I threw in basil, thyme and rosemary. If you love eggplant, use a ton. If you prefer zucchini, use more of that. You can't mess this up.

Take time to prep your veggies first: a range of textures and sizes will make your final dish more interesting. And if your eggplant is big and has lots of seeds, slice and salt it and let it sit over a colander to remove any bitterness. It will drip brown liquid that you'll want to discard. Rinse the eggplant slightly, pat dry and set aside. Then, heat your oil. I generally start with about 1.5 tablespoons of oil per vegetable. But the eggplant requires more, the peppers a little less.

So heat your oil in a 10" regular not non-stick fry pan and drop in your finely diced garlic (about two cloves...however garlicky you like it) and 1 sliced sweet white onion. After a few seconds of flash frying, sprinkle with salt to release the liquid. Sautee over high heat for about 3 mintues or until a few onions show some good caramel color. Remove it all to a bowl and set aside. Repeat this process with the peppers, eggplant, squash and zucchini.

When all of those veggies are done, use a larger pan or pot such as a 5 quart dutch oven or even a paella pan and heat about 2 tablespoons olive oil until it shimmers. Add all of your tomatoes and flash fry for about two minutes until they release their juices and the sugars start to thicken. Then, add all of the rest of your veggies including any juices they've left in their bowls plus your chosen diced herbs. Give it a few gentle stirs and pop it into a 325 degree oven for about 45 mintues. This will concentrate the flavors and bring out that velvety texture.

Serve it with a sprinkling of freshly grated parmesean over cous cous or rice. It's excellent reheated or at room tempterature and serves as a lovely bed for any grilled red meats or chicken. AND this gets better with time as the flavors blend. A third-day ratatouille is almost always better than the day you make it.

Eat at sunset with a bottle of pinot noir and some crusty bread, preferably while looking at a field of sunflowers. Now isn't that summer?

This just in: "DC Voters Choose Pizza"

2010-08-04T12:32:00.000-07:00

There's a new match-up in town, and it has nothing to do with politics. Lately, we're arguing over our pizza. In truth, there weren't many contenders until a few years ago unless you count Jumbo Slice. If you count Jumbo Slice, your vote is immedietly disqualified on account of your probable drunkeness.

Take note of subject 1 below: Eric with jumbo slice, most likely at 3am, with a grease smudge on the lens of the camera. Brilliant.

So recently everyone's talking pizza! When did DC get to be a pizza town? Arugula Files just wrote about Pizzaria Orso, Mango and Tomato wrote about Pete's Apizza...Chowhound was talking about "We, The Pizza". All of this talk just makes me hungry.

I know that despite my age of "almost" 30, I still say that pizza is my favorite food and am immedietly tempted to add that "Full House" is my favorite show like any good 3rd-grader. But I like to think I have an evolved palette. Mature taste-buds. The good thing for my oh-so-sophisticated cravings is that DC has super grown-up pizza. It's not like Buffalo-style I grew up with, and don't get me wrong I LOVE Buffalo pizza, but here we have descriptors like "wood-fired" and "Neopolitan" whereas Buffalo sticks to descriptors like "half sheet with a bucket of wings and side of ranch dressing" (again, delicious).

Well, I must start my engines because I've tried almost NONE of these new pizza places. Awful for someone who claims pizza to be their favorite food, I know, but we generally make pizza at home. So in honor of joining the masses in arguing like a good DC-politico and taking part in my American right to vote, I've got to have an informed, educated opinion. I must try all the pizza in town. Well, not jumbo slice. I've had plenty of that. My list includes our city's recent openings of "boutique" pizza that you can't get past midnight. So sorry, Alberto's, even though you're kind of the darling of the jumbo slice.

The contenders, so far, include:

Pete's Apizza

Pizzaria Paradiso

We, The Pizza

Pizzaria Orso

Two Amy's (check)

Matchbox (check)

Radius

I figured that to be fair, Two Amy's deserved a revisit to refresh my memory. It had been a solid three years since my last visit and it has been around longer than many contenders on my list. So what a happy place to meet Dan and Caroline for dinner. Dan actually gets credit for the inspiration for this posting because he declared his favorite to be Paradiso. I hadn't had it, so I couldn't argue. I was bummed. I enjoy a good food argument.

We needed a good sampling of the menu so everyone got to choose one appetizer: we had several cheeses and meats, including a gorgeous duck prosciutto and some burrata and a plate of squash blossoms for the table. Then each couple got a pizza: both classic Neopolitan, one with pepperoni and the other with cherry tomatoes and sausage.

This is a prosciutto on what they described as a "sweet onion creame". Whoever thought to transform onions into little pillows of heaven needs to be knighted, STAT.

The pizza is excellent. You can't argue that. The crust is chewy and stretchy and crisp is all the right places, the sauces are added in the right amounts and the cheese and toppings are top-notch. And my favorite part is that they serve it with a little creamer of olive oil for drizzling (liberally, in my case) a top your pie. Below is Caroline and Dan's pizza with sausage and cherry tomatoes. They are adequately priced and just the right size for sharing.

The interesting thing about Two Amy's is this (which our server even said himself): everything ELSE is so good that many people actually go for the appetizers and small plates. If you go that route, you can easily spend a small fortune and not be full. On the other hand, it could totally be worth it. Here is our dessert: dark sweet cherries poached in spiced wine and served over ice cream. YUM.

So, I'm not going to make a judgement call yet. Two Amy's sets the bar rediculously high for the quality of their pizza, service, other menu offerings and atmosphere. It harkens back to a true Neopolitan pizzeria. I quite feared that if Captain McClusky and The Turk were eating there that we may have seen a gun fight. Anyways. I loved it. But I want more. The cravings are getting stronger.

Where is your favorite local place to get pizza?

Grampa's Chicken

2010-08-03T11:42:00.001-07:00

I can't take much credit for this recipe except for the fact that I'm inextricably, forever linked to this chicken. I mean, I'm certain that since I was born in December and spent the spring, summer and fall in the womb, at least half my make-up must be bar-b-qued chicken (or however you want to spell it....barbeque? Bar-b-cue?) Anyways, many of us farm kids went straight from the breast to the chicken. And you know what? That's ok with me.

Pool parties, farm parties, birthday parties, sunday dinner, you name it....we had this chicken. It's integrity lies in the fact that in addition to how delicious it is, it can feed a lot of people. You see, this recipe calls for a whole quart of vinegar, a pint of cooking oil, a 1/2 cup of salt, and that's just to feed 12 people. Let's not get into the amount of oil it took to feed the crowd at my first communion party!

This recipe posting is 100% dedicated to my late grandpa, Ed. He's the one who built the family grill barrel. He's the guy who added the extra essence of cigar flavor to the experience (and its never really been the same without him). He's the brains behind with the ingenious method of turning the chicken so that the skin stays intact and never tears. He's the man who made this chicken so gosh-darn special. Even though it's a family legend, I think we'll all happily call it Grampa's Chicken forever. Mom, Mike and Uncle Kenny have carried the torch forward, ensuring that we'll nourish other babes in the womb with The Chicken for years to come. But for now and for always, this one's for you Grampa.

Marinade Recipe: bastes 12 chicken halves. Order your chicken from your butcher in halves. We get ours from Clark's Poultry and Seafood on Lake Street in Hamburg, NY.

1 Quart Cider Vinegar
4 Eggs
1 Tablespoon pepper
2 Tablespoons celery salt
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 pint cooking oil (canola or vegetable)
1/4 cup salt
2 Tablespoons poultry seasoning
2 Tablespoons paprika
1 Tablespoon Garlic Salt
(my grandma also lists "shots of chosen liquor" and "1 case beer" in the recipe....but now I understand that the alcohol is solely for the basting of the chefs and has nothing to add to the actual chicken!)

Beat the eggs until thick. Slowly add spices except salt. Beat well. Add oil, then add vinegar, stirring constantly. Stir in salt. Add thin coating to chicken for marinade prior to grill, then baste as you cook.

For the method: I am literally copying and pasting my mom's instructions from an email.

The secret basically is NOT TO RUSH the cooking process. You need a hot fire but the chicken has to be far enough away from the fire so it cooks slowly. You need 20 lbs. of charcoal briquets (not lump charcoal) for a "barrel" which will do 12 halves. The pit we used (in the photos) does 48 halves comfortably and uses 60-70 lbs of charcoal. Hot day no wind: 60 lbs, hot windy day with fire in wind: 70 lbs, cold day: 70-80 lbs. Mound the briquets up in the middle, soak down with very generous (whole bottle on big pit) lighter fluid. Let burn till you start seeing grey edges on briquets. Spread out briquets evenly in pit with shovel. Lay chicken skin side down on racks and watch carefully till skin turns golden yellow. Flip chicken over and baste generously. Continue to flip and baste approx every 10-12 minutes or so for the first hour. It must be watched carefully so your fire does not flame up and scorch chicken. If this happens, you have to move the chicken for a minute or two or if the fire is just starting to flame, you can raise your racks a little higher for 15-20 minutes. After the first hour, you will turn and baste a few more times.......total cooking time is anywhere from 1hr. 45 min. to 21/2 hrs. depending on weather, fire, amount of alcohol consumed while cooking etc. Chicken is done when you can freely twist drumstick in leg. Do not ever use grilling tools or tongs or forks on the chicken, you want the skin to remain intact. Always flip with racks or move chicken by hand with white gloves. Prepare racks by heating, cleaning and wiping with cooking oil or grill spray to prevent skin from sticking on initial placement.

So take notice of the flipping method: you need an extra grill rack to place on top of the chicken. Two people hold the sandwiched chicken in between the grill racks, pick it up, move it over on top of the other chicken, flip (so the excellent juices baste the other racks) and set it back down in its original place. See the photos.

This chicken is absolutely always served with potato salad, tomato salad or cucumber salad, and for some reason a handful of good old fashioned potato chips. And lots of napkins.....use your fingers for eating!

There's one catch: to do it correctly, you have to build a spit. For some extra cash, I'm guessing my brothers would do it!

Credit for the photos of Grampa goes to Uncle Brack, the family archivist.

Dear Pickles: I heart you. Love, me.

2010-07-22T14:02:00.000-07:00

So, this posting is somewhat ceremonious. The really big pickling operation takes place back home on the farm. But since I'm not necessarily a kid anymore (don't tell my mom that) I figured I should try to do this completely on my own for once. I wasn't without calls to grandma (only three!) and I only panicked once when I didn't hear the third jar seal....but it was 2:00 a.m. I may have fallen asleep, dreams of pickles swimming in brine. It ended up sealing just fine :)

I love dill pickes. And sweet pickles. And bread-and-butter pickles. I've yet to meet a pickle I don't like and I think this gene runs in our family (yes, I'm looking at you, Noah). So its no surprise that dill is a staple of the garden. I was home in Buffalo last weekend for my little-est brother's 21st birthday when pickle season started rocking. With the lack of rain this year, many of the little green darlings were drying up on the vine! We needed to get whatever survived into jars as quickly as possible. Since they came off the vine monday morning and I was flying back to DC monday afternoon with a suitcase already dominated by a massive jar of webers mustard, I started the process for a few jars at home, packed it all up, and finished it at night in DC.

Pickling is really simple. You need pickles (these are the big dill-sized ones), dill, ingredients for brine, jars and lids. First, dump your pickles in a bath of cold water. Give them a good swish and then let them chill for about two hours. This is a good time to also clean out your jars- scrub them well in HOT water and set aside to fully dry.

Then find some sort of a brush with medium bristles to really clean your pickles. You can use a toothbrush, a mushroom brush, whatever. The dirt just needs to be totally gone. Rinse them thoroughly and let them fully dry on a towel.

Once your pickles are ready for their jars, start the brine. This recipe will fill 7 quart jars packed full with pickles. I halved this recipe and still had a little leftover.

3 quarts waters

1 quart white vinegar

3/4 cup canning salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp (or more!) of turmeric

Put all ingredients in a saucepan and let it come to a boil for a moment. It should still be pretty warm or hot when you put it into the jars.

Next, pack your jars. At the bottom place about 3 marble-sized hunks of peeled garlic (3 whole cloves seems to be too much) and fold up one stem of dill and shove it into the jar kind of haphazardly so it bends and fits. I remember helping with this process as a child and falling in love with the smell of garlic and dill. One year I even taped a clove of garlic to the neck of my barbie doll and put some dill in her hair. I was so disappointed when her cheap plastic skin and synthetic hair never absorbed the smell! Perhaps I should pitch this idea to a perfumery...

You might have to slice a few pickles to make them fit. You can slice them all if you want; it makes do difference in their pickling. I generally start with the straightest, tallest pickle in the center of the jar and then pack around him. You can see we added strips of hot pepper to one jar to see what would happen. I'll let you know when we open it!

At this point, stick the lids (without the rings) in a hot saucepan and bring them to a simmer. You are making sure they are sterilized. Keep them nice and hot while you pack.

Once packed, use a funnel to add your hot brine to the jars. Don't add too quickly; give the brine a few minutes to trickle into the spaces between the pickles. Also, be sure to fill the jars all the way to the brim. Any pickles left sticking out of the brine will get soft...and that's ok, just don't eat that pickle or part of the pickle. It won't contaminate the rest of the jar.

CAREFULLY grab your hot lids and press them onto the tops of the jars. The heat will help create a seal. Put the clean rings on next and completely tighten them down to really batten the hatches.

Next, find the biggest pot with a lid you've got. I happen to have a 12 quart pot which was perfect...but you can find a cheap one anywhere, like here for example. Now, I don't know why but you're not supposed to place the jars directly on the bottom of the pot. A canning pot generally has a rack inside of it for all of your jars. I didn't have one of those, but I did have a stainless steel trivet that fit in the pot. I suppose this is to ensure that one part of the jar doesn't receive more heat than the rest of it.

One issue I had was that my jars were kind of sitting lopsided on the trivet. Once the water started to bubble, it could potentially move the hot jars around and perhaps crack one. I stuck the insert of my asparagus pot in there so all the jars fit snuggly. Fill the pot with water up to the neck of the jar and let it sit on medium heat JUST until it comes to a boil. The second it boils, shut it off. Let it sit for just a few minutes then using gloves, remove the jars and sit them gently on a towel to cool. Hot jars that meet cool air can crack easily if they bang on something. "Nice and Easy" is the appropriate method.

After about 3 hours the jars will seal with a "pop!" sound and the button on the lid will depress into the jar. I only had three jars to seal....but it brought back fond memories of 20-40 jars sitting on the kitchen table at home making a nice racket in the middle of the night. If your jar doesn't seal for some reason, its ok. Put that jar in the fridge, give the pickles a few days to process, and eat that jar within two months. Just keep it cold. The sealed jars will keep at room temperature or in a cool, dark cupboard for about a year with consistant quality. They'll be ready to eat within 3-4 weeks.

This brine is fairly versitile so you should feel free to introduce some variations that appeal to you! Increase the sugar and decrease the salt, or add some hot pepper flakes or peppercorns. The point is to have fun with it. The work will be worth it when one winter day you finally crack open that jar and smell the perfume of summer when you really need it most.

Eat your greens...with this dressing....

2010-07-07T06:28:00.000-07:00

I know I've casually mentioned the new Whole Foods that opened literally right across the street from me in Friendship Heights but I've got to let the choir finally cry out on this: I'm thrilled to have Whole Foods in the neighborhood. Sure, I'll admit its not financially prudent to walk in there. And yes, I often go in for a pound of coffee and walk out $56 bucks later with a $6.00 yogurt that comes in a glass bottle with a $2.00 deposit on the bottle that I never actually return to get my $2.00 back because its also a pretty vase (what? Whole Foods also has lovely flowers. Just you try to walk out without peonies.)

But I'm a fast learner and quickly found that if I don't institute all kinds of rules and restrictions on my spending habits, there could be trouble. For instance: no emu eggs unless I'm having a party. Ok that's an easy one. A better rule is that I have to make a list ahead of time and am only allowed to be seduced by ONE off-list luxury product per visit. Good thing I let myself have that easement, otherwise I wouldn't have found my new favorite salad dressing.

A few sundays ago during high-pandemonium time at WF I was shopping for our Phish picnic when an all american, fresh-faced teenage boy with an agonizingly sweet smile and braces asked if I'd try his mom's salad dressing. Holy crap...is mom a marketing genius or what? Way to use your adorable 15 year old who probably plays lacrosse and has a girlfriend named Sally to hawk your wares. It really only took one bite and I was hooked. Really, the dressing is super simple: lemons, olive oil, salt and pepper. And at $5.99 a bottle, you're probably thinking "dude, you can make that at home".

You're right. You can make it at home. That's what this mama did. And then she figured out that most people who get home from work, workout, happy hour, etc at 9:00 at night aren't going to make their own. And that's how she got me. It's fresh and light and will entice me to eat salad at 9:00 a night even when I don't feel like slicing garlic or zesting lemons or engaging in any other dressing-making activies. I'll gladly pay the $5.99 for a bottle that lasts me two months to save me from eating tortilla chips and hummus because I have nothing healthy and delicious to eat on my salad.

Plus, as I checked out their website this morning I noticed that there are THREE fresh-faced teenage boys hustling salad dressing somewhere across the state of Maryland. Go find one and try a bottle. I swear you'll be hooked.

http://www.tessemaes.com/

And really, that's kind of what WF is all about: getting you to spend a little extra on food you feel good about. They only work really well in cities because we're full of busy, young and single, career-minded, socially concious people who pay attention to how their consumer choices have an impact on the world around them. How many of you are guilty of buying a pound of WF curried chicken salad to take to work all week because (a) you didn't get a chance to make your own chicken salad this week and (b) you can trust that what you're eating is mostly natural, organic and anti-biotic free? For all of the cooking I do, I proudly raise my hand and say "I am!" That chicken salad is addictive.

Thanks to my new neighborhood store for turning me onto Tessamae's dressing, a local Maryland product!

Peas n' Milk

2010-06-23T10:39:00.000-07:00

People, hold your breath: pea season is officially upon us.

We wait for this moment all year. And for me, its the absolute most difficult time to be away from home. Sure, Thanksgiving or Easter are difficult because of the traditions. But anyone away from home can make their own Thanksgiving or Easter tradition. Christmas might be really difficult, but with a good attitude you can make the best of any situation. Those holidays are somewhat transferrable and not necessarily bound to any space, time or participants.

But oh, the peas. I'll never be able to recreate this anywhere or with anyone other than this family, on this farm, in this part of upstate NY. It's the seasonality and the connection to the land that you can't move, direct or change. And while its somewhat predictable, you really never know when they are going to arrive. I was excited for the trip home for the 4th of july this year figuring that with a cool, wet spring I'd be there for all the glory. It was a disheartening phone call to get last friday when mom ringed to say "it's time".

"Mom! We have a board meeting!! Couldn't you just cover them up for a few weeks??" Nature don't wait for no one.

We've been doing this for years. My grandparents did it on their farm, their parents did it on their farms, and I'd love to talk to distant relatives in Poland to see if they had the same connection to peas in the motherland. When did it start, I wonder?

I know that in my lifetime I can safely assume my mom was out picking peas with me in the womb. As soon as I grasped dexterity in both thumbs, I could shuck a bushel fast enough to keep up with the adults. If my friend Dawn is reading this she'll remember the time I baited her to come over and watch a movie in high school and forced her to shuck half my share of the peas for the evening. It's been as much a part of my life as...hmm.. well, there's nothing else like it!

Two memories stick out in my head with regard to peas. First, they somehow always remain cool. It will be a stifling hot day and you've shucked a whole bucket and are beaming with pride at the work you just accomplished, sweating the whole way (sucking on a Genny Cream Ale, of course) Now, reward yourself by sticking your whole hand and forearm down into the shucked peas. They are cool, like a huge bucket of lightweight ball bearings that envelop your appendage. Once as a child I stuck my feet into the shucked bucket when no one was looking. What?? They get boiled anyways.

Second, your dominant shucking thumb remains green for a solid two weeks from all the hulling. At least its a pretty shade of green.

I know there are a lot of pea-haters out there. But just hear me out. Its most likely because you had frozen or canned peas from the grocery store growing up. Those store-bought, heavily processed slandering imposters are huge and olive green and mealy or mushy, with thick skins.

These homegrown jewels, blanched and frozen just a few hours after they've been picked and hulled are unlike anything else you've ever had. While the color is bright, so is the flavor. And since they are frozen on the same day as they are harvested, their flavor remains fresh deep into the winter. Take a pack out of the freezer in January to find they are taut and turgid and resist your bite just a teeny bit before giving way with a tiny little "snap" under your teeth. It's guranteed summer in the dead of winter.

The problem is: it's very difficult for me to prove the Integrity of the Pea to you. You see, I'm a hoarder. I'll admit it. Eric will back that statement up since he found out the hard way when he once dropped a few peas on the kitchen floor by accident. I protect my peas with the ferver of a religious zealot. We get a tiny ration per year and I'm going insane waiting for my freezer to be full again. Soooo....maybe if you beg a little and bring me some dessert, I'll share a small part of a bag with you.

Then of course, there's the smell when they are blanched. Grassy, warm and sweet, its a wonder none of us dug our whole faces into the pile of just-blanched peas. At least, not that I know of anyways.

Then the big reward: lunch on the farm at this time of year consisted of a combination of any three items: fried bologna sandwiches with onions and webers mustard, peas and milk, or strawberry shortcake. Or if you were me, all of the above.

Peas and milk is....well, what is it? It's kind of like a soup. Kind of like a stew. Even possibly a poor man's version of a fettucine alfredo with peas. It doesn't really matter what it is and I can't tell you where this recipe came from. Like the peas themselves, they've just always been there

Peas and Milk

This recipe is for two people, but we've doubled or tripled or made a huge pot when the whole family is around. It's simple and easy to amend.

1 quart milk

2 cups fresh peas that have been boiled for just 1 minute and drained

1 (or more) cups cooked and drained short pasta such as shells or elbows

3 tablespoons butter

generous salt and pepper

Put your butter to melt at the bottom of a 2-3 quart saucepan while you boil your fresh peas for just 1 minute and drain them. Add the milk to the butter and season with fresh pepper and about 1/2 tsp salt. Let it simmer for about 4 minutes, stirring often so a skin doesn't develop on top. Add the peas and cooked pasta and simmer for just another mintue to warm everything through.

If you like more of a stew, make a roux first of butter and flour first and add your milk warmed up and slowly. It will thicken significantly and you can add more pasta. A dusting of parmesean cheese is also good when its a thicker stew.

My most heartfelt and sincere thanks to Grandma, Mom, Aunt Karen (photo credits to AK as well) and Aunt Linda and any other worker bees for doing the peas. Can we take a bag out of the freezer to make peas and milk to share over the 4th?

Celebrity Sighting!!

2010-06-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

Remember how a few weeks ago I posted about Comfort, a super-awesome restaurant right across the street from Eric's apartment in Richmond? Well, we went again on Friday. But THIS time we were in foodie-heaven.

As we walked in the front door, I noticed that the silver fox eating at the best seat in the house looked strikingly familiar. And he had several plates of food in front of him. And he was alone. All of those pieces of evidence led me to believe this was definately someone important. Our favorite bartender Patrick confirmed our suspicions: it was Eric Ripert, creator of West End Bistro, Chef of Le Bernadin in NY, and all-around food super celebrity. I would insert lots of gloating here about how we've obviously refined our palates so much so that we choose the same restaurants as famous chefs....but I can't take any credit for that. One visit to Comfort and you just keep going back...

I know what you are all wondering: what did he eat? I snuck a peak onto his plate and noticed the catfish and the mac and cheese. Of course we ordered the mac and cheese, but chose the pan-fried trout this time (with green beans and fried okra too). The trout was topped with a pat of maple-bacon butter that melted into the light, crunchy breading on the fish and left teeny bacon pieces meandering about the plate. I can only imagine how they made this and am hell-bent on figuring it out no matter how much butter I have to plow through! Now that's a promise.

Reminder: I still love peanut butter

2010-06-17T13:32:00.000-07:00

After a really tough training session and lovely dinner with Joy last night that truly filled me up (she cooked! For me! In a sexy new All-Clad pan!) I got home and my metabolism caught up with my earlier expenditure of energy. It was 10:30 and I had a conversation with the little gnome inside my head.

He said "haha...you're hungry, aren't you? It's 10:30 at night! You always say you can't eat that late, but I know what's going on and I'm going to nag you until you give in". I said "what? Who are YOU calling hungry? I'm just fine. Totally fine. I'm not even thinking about the jar of peanut butter in the pantry".....as my voice trailed off and I floated to the pantry. The little gnome gloated "I knew it! You think you're so tough. But your willpower can't withstand the tempation of the peanut butter".

And he's right. Who doesn't love peanut butter? I've got three jars in the house right now, all for different moods. I happily dug a soup spoon out, dipped it in the smuckers natural and then re-dipped in the Nutella. I'm a bad, bad, naughty person. And it feels so good.

I started re-reciting my only foray into poetry. For any new readers (uh, yes you, please speak up and comment so I know you're there. Are you there?) two years ago I spent a few months living in a tent on a beach doing an archaeology internship. I lived out of a cooler and cooked on a camp stove and had few supplies. Peanut Butter was my best, most reliable friend and I wrote an ode. I thought I'd re-post it here for posterity.

And if Susanna happens to be reading, this is dedicated to her. She left the island that was her home for more than half a decade this week and I am sharing in her nostalgia. Susanna and Ronnie, best of luck in your move and lots of love.

"An Ode to Peanut Butter"

Oh, Peanut Butter, how you sustain me,

It's been just you and me as of lately.

Silky smooth or crunchy sweet,

almost as much protein as a piece of meat.

I prefer to eat your kind without hydrogenated oil,

but without refrigeration, I fear you would spoil.

You are perfect with jelly and other stuff,

but sometimes I'll even crave you with fluff.

On crackers, on wheat bread, on haagen daas vanilla,

I'll take you with me when we rent the villa.

A fiber-rich food that's good morning, noon or night,

when there's nothing else to eat, you're always right!

Oh, Peanut Butter you make chocolate taste better,

super dark or milky, you're so perfect together.

Sometimes you stick to the roof of my mouth,

unfortunately you are absent from grocery stores waaay down south.(south america that is)

If I become lucky with more fruits from Susanna,

I'll see you tomorrow morning on a banana.

Oh, Peanut Butter the ants share my love.

They often try to get into your tub.

This explains the three plastic baggies....

Just please don't make my thighs look saggy!

A busy weekend....

2010-06-11T06:09:00.000-07:00

Eric and I had fun with some new recipes last weekend. My paella pan was just screaming to be christened after FIVE whole years of sitting around untouched. I'm sorry, paella pan. And then a rain storm chased us inside forcing us to make an orange-scented panettone topped with sliced almonds and early season cherries from the farmers market. I'm not kidding. The recipe called out to us from a book saying in Jamie Oliver's cute British accent "bake me!"

Well, the cherries were rediculously expensive so I had to do something extra special with them. We had it for breakfast after a night of HOT Jamblaya. For all of our paella needs, we went to A&H Seafood in Bethesda. This truly spanish fish market is full of awesome imports and have paella pans hanging from the ceiling.

We loosely followed a recipe from the yellow Gourmet cookbook. But instead of sticking to a solely seafood dish, we opted to add the chicken thighs I had to use up from our trip to Polyface Farms last year and chorizo from Whole Foods. WOW what excellent chorizo. It gave the dish a ton of flavor.

Go for some paella this summer. It's just too fun to miss out. I almost said "miss out on" but that would be ending my sentence in a preposition, which would get me in big trouble. Anyways, be sure to play some Gipsy Kings while you cook.

Q-U-I-C-H-E.

2010-06-08T11:46:00.001-07:00

I once remember joining my mother at a baby shower or wedding shower or something at a cozy little restaurant in western NY. I must have been about 7 years old and I believe it was Colden Country Kitchen (is that still around?). Anyways, I don't remember the exact venue or celebration, but I remember all the ladies ordered quiche. All of these grown up ladies celebrating a rite of passage for a fellow female could order anything they wanted, and they all picked quiche. Ever since that moment quiche has remained the absolute definition of sophistication in my mind. Like a good pair of high heels, a sexy black cocktail dress and a cordless drill, its something for every woman to have in her bag of tricks. And for some reason, I thought it would be difficult to make. I was so deceived.

"QUICHE". Even the word is somewhat complicated to spell or say, right? (I always think there is an “s” in there somewhere. I swear that at one point there was indeed an “s” until some Frenchman blackened it out with the end of his cigarette and changed the word forever).

The good news is that while a quiche is, admittedly, just teensy bit fussy to make, once it’s made it’s the most chilled-out food you could ever have in your house. Fill the shell at the last second for unexpected house guests. Cut it into wedges for an impromptu appetizer. I’m toying with the idea of strapping it to my back and carrying in on bicycle to my next picnic. It remains sturdy in your fridge for quite some time. And its versatile…in fact, I just created this filling based on what I had in my fridge!

This tart dough recipe is from James Peterson’s Glorious French Food. James calls this “basic pie and tart dough”. I have to tell you, James: the dough is awesome for quiche. But then I used the scraps to make apple hand pies and it was a little dense. Even Eric, who will eat anything that remotely resembles an apple pie, let it sit in the kitchen until I threw it out four days later. And I couldn’t blame him. It just wasn’t delicate. I suggest we stick to grandma’s proven pie crust and let James Peterson win the blue ribbon for a sturdy, flaky, reliable quiche dough.

Just looking at this recipe seems like its long and tedious. But I promise that once you get the method down, it’s as simple as Kraft Mac n’ Cheese. Well, almost.

1 stick plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter
1 and ¼ cups all purpose flour
1 large egg plus 1 yolk beaten with ¼ tsp salt and 1 tablespoon cold water
1 to 3 tablespoons ice water, added slowly

There are two ways to do this: in the food processor or with a pastry cutter by hand. I am usually a traditionalist but am happy that my pastry blender broke within two minutes of using it, forcing me to step into 2010 and use my food processor. It worked perfectly. The downside is that I need a new pastry blender.

First: get your butter really cold by sticking it in the freezer for 20 minutes. Take it out and cut it into about 36(ish) small pieces by slicing the unwrapped stick of butter long-wise, then turn it over and slice long-wise again, then make 8 cuts across it. Toss those pieces with the flour so they are well coated and stick the whole bowl back into the freezer for another 10 minutes. While it’s chilling, beat your egg mixture.

After 10 minutes in the freezer dump the well-chilled flour and butter into your food processor and pulse it about 12 times or until the flour and butter comes together in pea-sized chunks. Don't over pulse. While pulsing, add the egg mixture slowly. Depending on the size of your eggs and the humidity of the day, you may need to add anywhere from 1 to 3 tablespoons of water. Do it very slowly so you don’t over-moisturize your dough. Once the dough comes together in a ball on one side of the blade, STOP. Take the ball out, wrap it in plastic and stick it in the fridge for at least 1 hour and up to 24 hours. I like doing this at night so I can start the next morning with dough ready for baking

The next step is to do what the French call “blind baking”: baking the tart shell without filling so it doesn’t get soggy when you add eggs. Get out your tart pan and butter it good. Preheat the overn to 400 degrees (I stick with 375 because I think my oven is a little hot and it browns too fast at 400).

Roll out the dough on a cleaned, lightly floured work surface or on a marble pastry board to about ¼ inch thick. I use a 10” tart pan and always find that I have a ton of dough left over. That extra dough is awesome for mini quiches or little cupcake quiches; just stuff the dough into the well-greased wells of mini cupcake tins!

Once you have rolled it out, gently gather it up and lay it into your greased tart pan. Use your fingers to press it into the ridges evenly and cut off any excess dough with a sharp knife. Use a fork to make a few fork marks in the bottom of the crust so it bakes though evenly.

Now, Robert Peterson says to refrigerate the dough-lined tart pan for another hour. The first time I did this I was pressed for time and skipped this step and it came out beautifully. If you’ve got 15 minutes, I say give it a good chill. Otherwise, let’s move on.

The pastry dough will puff up when baked, removing some of your surface area for fillings. So we have to keep it pressed down. Lay a large sheet of parchment paper on top of the dough (NOT wax paper or foil, ONLY parchment) and put dried rice or dried beans or anything else you’ve got on hand that you don’t care too much about in the shell on top of the parchment like so. Put this in the oven for about 15 minutes or until the shell loses its shiny color and becomes golden brown.

Remove it from the oven and let cool for a few minutes before gently lifting off the parchment and discarding your rice or beans (I keep them in a jar and use them over and over for this express purpose). When it’s cool, brush it with an egg wash: 1 beaten egg with about ¼ tsp salt.

Old pal James again says to bake it for another 20 minutes (this time with no beans or rice). I did this the first time and thought the tart dried out, so now just stick it back in the oven long enough for the egg wash to seal: about 8 minutes. Take it out and cool completely. You can do everything up to this step a whole 24 hours before filling it. Just put your baked crust into a sealed Tupperware and keep it in the fridge. Let it come to room temperature before you fill it with custard.

This is where it gets fun! As long as you use an egg and cream base, you can be really creative. Swiss cheese and bacon or lardoons or prosciutto would make it “quiche Lorraine”. Mushrooms are divine in this. So is smoked salmon, scallion and cream cheese. Try asparagus and goat cheese! Or ricotta and layered sliced heirloom tomatoes. Use arugula or chard or dollops of pesto! I can go on and on. This one happens to be feta, spinach, scallion and parmesan.

Basic egg custard:

James uses more cream than eggs. I like more eggs than cream. For a 10” pan, I generally use:

6 whole eggs

3 whites

½ cup of heavy cream

½ tsp salt and a few cranks of fresh pepper

Quiche usually doesn’t call for whites, but I appreciate the lighter custard and I think your heart will appreciate it too. However, if it’s a special day and you are psyched for a rich entrée, use 9 whole eggs. It won’t kill you and tastes amazing.

The quiche in the photo was made like this: wash, de-stem and roughly chop a big bag of spinach. With the water clinging to the leaves, put it in a big pan or wok and add about ½ cup of water. Cover and steam for just about 3 minutes. Dunk the steamed spinach in ice water for a moment to stop the cooking and let it drain in a colander set over a bowl. When you think its done draining, squeeze any excess the moisture out. If its winter and fresh spinach is hard to come by, use one box frozen spinach. You can skip the cooking but make sure it’s well-drained.

Finely slice the green and white parts of 2 scallions. Flash-fry in about ½ tsp of hot butter for about 2 minutes over high heat. Dump the hot scallions right into the tart crust.

Beat your 9 eggs or 6 eggs plus whites with the ½ cup cream, salt, pepper and about 1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan. Dump in the spinach and mix it all up. Pour your custard into the tart crust. It will only puff up a little, so if your pan looks really empty, add another beaten egg. I scattered about 1/3 cup of feta on top and pushed a few larger pieces down into the custard before baking.

This one took about 40 minutes in a 350 degree oven to completely set. I honestly don't know if your use of more egg whites as opposed to whole eggs will have an effect on cooking time. Can a food scientest please answer me this? Either way: it will take at least 30 minutes. Keep your eye on it from then on until its set in the middle and a little browned. Gorgeous!

Picnic Salad to pep up your Memorial Day

2010-05-28T07:34:00.000-07:00

Why does Memorial Day weekend have to begin so dark and gloomy, right off of a full moon? I think its a proven fact that people go CRAZY during the full moon. I had insane, tripped-out dreams last night. Eric has a mysterious, feverish virus. My mother is currently a little overwhelmed and I'd like to help. Uncle Kenny, I wish I could help you feel just a teensy, tiny bit better today.

However unsettled your holiday weekend may be beginning, take comfort in the fact that once you make this pasta salad to take to a picnic, you'll find yourself revisiting it again and again, year after year. It's like my old, reliable friend. I'd even say its a kitchen soul mate...something familiar that arrives with the spring as sure as thunderstorms and azaleas to bring a bit of color back to your life. I am a true believer that once you find something as tried and true and delicious as this recipe, you should spread the love around.

Happy Memorial Day, friends. Let's take the "memorial" part literally and extend true thanks to those who have enriched our lives in meaningful ways, particularly those who have served this country. I'm sorry this isn't a particularly aesthetically patriotic salad, but lets leave that to the jello mold, shall we?

SESAME CHICKEN AND ASPARAGUS PASTA
The New Basics. Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins
Introduced to me by Aunt Linda and Uncle Brack many moons ago...

~14 oz. linguine
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
6 tablespoons chunky peanut butter
¼ cup soy sauce
6 tablespoons sesame oil
3 tablespoons hot chili oil
~ 1 - 1.5 lb boneless and skinless cooked chicken breasts
5 tablespoons sesame seeds, toasted*
1 lb thin asparagus, trimmed
3 scallions, white bulb and three inches green, cut into 2-inch julienne
1 small cucumber, halved, seeded and cut into ¼-inch dice

1. Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Add the linguine, and cook at a rolling boil until just tender. Drain, rinse under cold water, drain again, and set aside in a large mixing bowl. (must be cold before setting aside, so noodles don’t stick to each other).

2. Place the garlic, vinegar, brown sugar, peanut butter, and soy sauce in a food processor. Process for one minute. With the motor running, slowly add the sesame and hot chili oils through the feed tube, and process until well blended.

3. Shred the chicken into 2-inch julienne, and toss with the linguine. Add the sauce and 4 tablespoons of the sesame seeds, and toss to coat well.

4. Cut the asparagus on the diagonal into 1-inch lengths. Blanch in a saucepan of boiling water for 1 minute. Drain, rinse under cold water and pat dry. (adding ice cubes to the asparagus helps cool it rapidly so that it retains an intense green color).

5. Place the linguine and chicken in a large flat serving bowl, and arrange the asparagus on top. Sprinkle with the scallions, cucumber, and remaining 1 tablespoon sesame seeds. Serve at room temperature.

6 servings

*Spread sesame seeds on pan and place in 350° oven for 10-15 minutes, or until golden.

AND PS: this salad is GREAT vegetarian. I've added snap peas and tofu in the past as well.

Top 50 Restaurants in the WORLD

2010-05-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

San Pellegrino has put out THE list again and I wasn't going to comment on it since (a) I haven't been to any of these restaurants and (b) couldn't it be somewhat biased towards really expensive restaurants? I mean, sure, expensive restaurants have access to the best ingredients, therefore by default offering a better product. But I will argue that in almost every city, my favorite and most enjoyable meal is at the hole-in-the-wall on the corner (such as Fattoush in Brooklyn Heights).

But this week as I caught up on my usual food blogs THE LIST keeps appearing everywhere. Everyone is talking about it. I doubt I'll ever make it to any of these restaurants. But just in case you happen to find yourself in Denmark, you'll want to hit up the Number 1 restaurant in the world. It's good information to know anyways (and a shout out to Chicago!)

http://www.theworlds50best.com/awards/1-50-winners

There. I've done my civic duty.

What's your favorite restaurant ever?

love, me.

We declare the farmers markets OPEN!!

2010-05-10T06:21:00.000-07:00

Let us commence the celebration! (Get it? Let us? Lettuce!?)

Eric and I enjoyed a gorgeous spring weekend in Richmond; the kind that reminds you of the joy and bounty of warm weather. In fact, as usual for us, it was a culinarily delightful weekend all around!

After a night at Richmond's First Friday gallery openings, we headed over to Comfort, a unique restaurant and bar across the street from Eric's apartment that features soothing, classic southern food. I'm not talking fried chicken and biscuits, though. The menu changes weekly and features local pork belly or wild tile fish or 1/2 roasted chicken with 2 or 3 sides. It was late, so we shared friend green tomatoes and two sides: braised collards and mac and cheese. We agreed that the best way to eat our late night food was to mix the greens and mac and deliver it to our mouths in mixed up forkfuls washed down by the BEST SUMMER COCKTAIL EVER. It took trips to four liquor stores the next day to find the right liquor, but we did it. Comfort called this cocktail something that I can't remember now. So instead, we rename it:

"Richmond in May (on bicycle)"

1/2 lemon, juiced

1/2 tablespoon sugar

small bunch fresh mint

muddle all that together and add lots of ice

equal parts vodka and St. Germain (about a shot each)

big splash very fizzy soda water

Give it a good stir and enjoy

We figured out that St. Germain is also decadent with champagne and there is a recipe for Pisco Sours with it thats on the list for next time.

St Germain is an elderflower liquor and the website specifically says that each spring the elderflower is collected in the foothills of the alps by peysan (a french peasant) on his bicycle and trekked to market. Isn't that charming? I wonder if its true...

Anyways. Saturday began early at the Forest Hills Farmers Market, which could also be called The Happiest Place On Earth. Seriously. There were guys playing banjo and singing "Goodnight Irene", babies with faces stained with fresh berries petting puppies. Even a big old hound dog that wanted love from everyone. And produce a-plenty. We left with some stunning red leaf lettuce, a bunch of scallions and the most gorgeous strawberries I've seen in a awhile.

After a trip to Ellwood Thompon's, a local organic grocery to get some rainbow chard and scallops for dinner, we dropped our treasures at home and headed to Pocahontas state park for a hike and picnic lunch. We were feeling aggressive: I had 11 miles in mind. But the pollen in the air had us beat and we settled for around 5. Just enough to whet our appetites for a healthy dinner and a cocktail (or 3).

Eric and I have recently become obesessed with all leafy greens: chard, kale, spinach, you name it (except for mustard greens). It's DELICIOUS and filling in a way that I thought only carbohydrates could satiate me. And so simple. And easy to change up! This weekend we made rainbow chard with the method below. But be advised that kale or chard are also delicious sexed up by being steamed with orange juice, garlic, raisins and crushed red pepper flakes.

Bring a small pot of salted water to boil. Meanwhile, get a nonstick pan heated with about a tablespoon of olive oil. Add fresh minced garlic to sizzle. Add slivered almonds and mix it up with the garlic and oil. Keep the pan hot and sizzling. When the water is boiling, add your rinsed and chopped greens for just 30 seconds to a mintue. Using tongs, tranfer your greens right to the sizzling garli, nuts and oil. Pan fry for about 3 minutes adding any other flavorings you like. Parmesean cheese is a nice finisher, but we didn't have any. A note: you can also dunk your greens in iced water after they boil to stop the cooking for a moment.

Our dinner of scallops, sauteed chard and salad with tomatoes, avocado and scallion was plain and decadent at the same time: in the way that only a farmers market can produce. And it made us both HAPPY! Welcome spring :)

"Cilantro-Haters: It's not your fault". Love, the NY Times

2010-04-14T07:01:00.000-07:00

When I cook for lots of people, I am often cognizant of those who fall into the "cilantro-hater" category. Outwardly, I am understanding. However my inner dialogue wants to scream "what is WRONG with you people? It's so fresh! It tastes like SPRING!! It tastes....like Mexico."

However, this article solves the great mystery. Cilantro-haters, I'm sorry that I ever thought ill of your palette. This article also explains some of the reasons why we might not like a food at first try, but grow to crave it after a few trys (sushi, I'm talking to you).

Cilantro Haters, It’s Not Your Fault

Tony Cenicola/The New York Times

By HAROLD McGEE
Published: April 13, 2010
FOOD partisanship doesn’t usually reach the same heights of animosity as the political variety, except in the case of the anti-cilantro party. The green parts of the plant that gives us coriander seeds seem to inspire a primal revulsion among an outspoken minority of eaters.
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Culinary sophistication is no guarantee of immunity from cilantrophobia. In a television interview in 2002, Larry King asked Julia Child which foods she hated. She responded: “Cilantro and arugula I don’t like at all. They’re both green herbs, they have kind of a dead taste to me.”
“So you would never order it?” Mr. King asked.
“Never,” she responded. “I would pick it out if I saw it and throw it on the floor.”
Ms. Child had plenty of company for her feelings about cilantro (arugula seems to be less offensive). The authoritative Oxford Companion to Food notes that the word “coriander” is said to derive from the Greek word for bedbug, that cilantro aroma “has been compared with the smell of bug-infested bedclothes” and that “Europeans often have difficulty in overcoming their initial aversion to this smell.” There’s an “I Hate Cilantro” Facebook page with hundreds of fans and an I Hate Cilantro blog.

Yet cilantro is happily consumed by many millions of people around the world, particularly in Asia and Latin America. The Portuguese put fistfuls into soups. What is it about cilantro that makes it so unpleasant for people in cultures that don’t much use it?

Some people may be genetically predisposed to dislike cilantro, according to often-cited studies by Charles J. Wysocki of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. But cilantrophobe genetics remain little known and aren’t under systematic investigation. Meanwhile, history, chemistry and neurology have been adding some valuable pieces to the puzzle.
The coriander plant is native to the eastern Mediterranean, and European cooks used both seeds and leaves well into medieval times.

Helen Leach, an anthropologist at the University of Otago in New Zealand, has traced unflattering remarks about cilantro flavor and the bug etymology — not endorsed by modern dictionaries — back to English garden books and French farming books from around 1600, when medieval dishes had fallen out of fashion. She suggests that cilantro was disparaged as part of a general effort to define the new European table against the flavors of the old.

Modern cilantrophobes tend to describe the offending flavor as soapy rather than buggy. I don’t hate cilantro, but it does sometimes remind me of hand lotion. Each of these associations turns out to make good chemical sense.

Flavor chemists have found that cilantro aroma is created by a half-dozen or so substances, and most of these are modified fragments of fat molecules called aldehydes. The same or similar aldehydes are also found in soaps and lotions and the bug family of insects.

Soaps are made by fragmenting fat molecules with strongly alkaline lye or its equivalent, and aldehydes are a byproduct of this process, as they are when oxygen in the air attacks the fats and oils in cosmetics. And many bugs make strong-smelling, aldehyde-rich body fluids to attract or repel other creatures.

The published studies of cilantro aroma describe individual aldehydes as having both cilantrolike and soapy qualities. Several flavor chemists told me in e-mail messages that they smell a soapy note in the whole herb as well, but still find its aroma fresh and pleasant.

So the cilantro aldehydes are olfactory Jekyll-and-Hydes. Why is it only the evil, soapy side that shows up for cilantrophobes, and not the charming one?
I posed this question to Jay Gottfried, a neuroscientist at Northwestern University who studies how the brain perceives smells.

Dr. Gottfried turned out to be a former cilantrophobe who could speak from personal experience. He said that the great cilantro split probably reflects the primal importance of smell and taste to survival, and the brain’s constant updating of its database of experiences.
The senses of smell and taste evolved to evoke strong emotions, he explained, because they were critical to finding food and mates and avoiding poisons and predators. When we taste a food, the brain searches its memory to find a pattern from past experience that the flavor belongs to. Then it uses that pattern to create a perception of flavor, including an evaluation of its desirability.

If the flavor doesn’t fit a familiar food experience, and instead fits into a pattern that involves chemical cleaning agents and dirt, or crawly insects, then the brain highlights the mismatch and the potential threat to our safety. We react strongly and throw the offending ingredient on the floor where it belongs.

“When your brain detects a potential threat, it narrows your attention,” Dr. Gottfried told me in a telephone conversation. “You don’t need to know that a dangerous food has a hint of asparagus and sorrel to it. You just get it away from your mouth.”
But he explained that every new experience causes the brain to update and enlarge its set of patterns, and this can lead to a shift in how we perceive a food.
“I didn’t like cilantro to begin with,” he said. “But I love food, and I ate all kinds of things, and I kept encountering it. My brain must have developed new patterns for cilantro flavor from those experiences, which included pleasure from the other flavors and the sharing with friends and family. That’s how people in cilantro-eating countries experience it every day.”
“So I began to like cilantro,” he said. “It can still remind me of soap, but it’s not threatening anymore, so that association fades into the background, and I enjoy its other qualities. On the other hand, if I ate cilantro once and never willingly let it pass my lips again, there wouldn’t have been a chance to reshape that perception.”

Cilantro itself can be reshaped to make it easier to take. A Japanese study published in January suggested that crushing the leaves will give leaf enzymes the chance to gradually convert the aldehydes into other substances with no aroma.

Sure enough, I’ve found cilantro pestos to be lotion-free and surprisingly mild. They actually have deeper roots in the Mediterranean than the basil version, and can be delicious on pasta and breads and meats. If you’re looking to work on your cilantro patterns, pesto might be the place to start.

Cake Project: "And Baby Makes 3"

2010-04-06T10:05:00.000-07:00

It was my aboslute pleasure to attempt, for the first time ever, a really complicated cake. My lovely friends Amanda and Bill Markmann, to whom I was introduced by Meredith, are adding to their family! Additionally it was Amanda's 30th birthday. In my book, those are two VERY important things to celebrate and we celebrated all at once.

I wanted to design a cake that recognized Amanda's unique and individual style in honor of her birthday, but I also wanted the cake to pay tribute to the the PUC (person-under-construction) that Amanda and Bill will soon welcome. Therefore, I stole straight from their lovely invitation featuring a pair of lovebirds and added a little mini bird for effect. Then I took the tiny details on the birds and blew them up as decor for the sides of the cake.

This is not their exact invitation, but it is the same design (From Tiny Prints).
I have been avoiding fondant for awhile now, thinking that it sounds impossible to work with, but absolutely everyone says "fondant is eaaaassyy" (in a taunting, sing-songy voice) and thus I can't back away from a challenge! Thus, a big order was placed to Wilton.com and Eric's skills in logistics were employed.

And here's the rub: this cake was a true exercise in compromise for mine and Eric's relationship. You see, in the kitchen, I am the boss. And he really should be commended for following my constant instruction of "chop this, sautee that". HOWEVER. This cake was a work of art: so what happens when the kitchen boss and the artist come together?

I had the "plan" in my head. Just in my head. And I explained it with lots of hand motions and asked Eric to bring some scalples for cutting out fondant. But that wasn't good enough for the artist. He wanted artistic renderings of "the plan" (I can't draw). He wanted to know exactly how many leaves we needed to cut out (why count? Just use them all!) He wanted a time schedule of which design had to be completed by what time (that went out the window after the first bottle of wine).

In the end, I was so happy with how this turned out and glad that I could contribute to the party and the welcoming of a new person to the world in a meaningful way. Eric and I survivied and contemplated going into a cake business together (until the buzz wore off). But we will take requests for other special events!

Allie Carroll, of Allie Carrol Photography was at the party and took some fabulous shots. Obviously, the more delicious-looking photos on here are her handy work. Take a look at her blog for other shots of the party and a glimpse into her many talents!

Note: a few have asked about the actual cake recipe: I used baking diva Rose Levy Beranbaum's All American Butter Cake from The Cake Bible. It is a dense cake that I return to often for its tiny crumb and reliable structure. The chocolate buttercream recipe was off Wilton's website, which is also incidently where I ordered the fondant.

Allie Carroll Photography

website: alliecarrollphotography.com
blog: alliecarrollphotography.wordpress.com

Danish Pastry, my favorite

2010-03-09T08:21:00.000-08:00

I made this pastry two weeks ago in honor of the fact that I WASN'T in St. John running 8 Tuff Miles (ugh, again). For anyone who can't readily see the correlation, St. John was settled by the Danes.....

Regardless, its lovely and I can eat a whole loaf in less than one day. I once got in trouble as a 7 year old kid for eating a whole loaf in grandma's kitchen by myself while everyone was in the pool. You just can't stop yourself!

Ah yes, and for good measure I threw in some chocolate zucchini bread. With what food do YOU lose all control?

Snowmageddon, Part 2

2010-03-03T07:06:00.000-08:00

This is purely photographic...I had to show the other successes (and the one very pretty but somewhat dull quasi-failure) of my snow-bound kitchen madness.

I think that the mushroom risotto was the most comforting dish with its earthy wine-and-garlic soaked aroma. How can you argue with something that smells like that?

This is the coconut and peanut butter bar expiriment. Karen, in my office, was the only person satisfied by them. The recipe is from Gourmet's cookbook and I thought it sounded like a lot of flour, so I reduced it by 1/4 cup. I should have reduced it further and added some chocolate chips. I'll try again another time. They were indeed pretty.

The star of the week was a repeat of Saag Paneer (without paneer this time; a dollop of cottage cheese does the trick!) I topped it with Eric's mango chutney. The spicy and sweet together is truely to die for. I wrote the recipe on here in November. Go find it and make it asap!!

Also, I had to show you that I taught myself to make a cappuccino at home without any sort of milk steamer. So I guess that its actually not a true cappuccino, but you can see that it was steamy and frothy; a perfect antidote to the weather!

Please Please please, let spring come SOON!!! I think I speak for all of us when I say that we really would love a good, solid dose of promising sunshine at least.

SNOWMAGEDDON- Part 1

2010-02-12T13:07:00.000-08:00

Dear Friends,

Apparently I underestimated the brute force of Mother Nature in my Chicken Soup posting. Do you think she read my posting, sniveled at my witty scoffing of the weather reports and decided that punishment was in order? I'm sorry! I take it back! Extra toilet paper was INDEED in order!

It could be that my musings caused the latest storm. And though I conceed that is a rediculous self-centered remark, I STILL maintain that the Buffalo Sabres lose EVERY TIME I WATCH THEM. Regardless of the storm's cause, I still cooked my way to redemption. I baked. I chopped. I experimented and I relied on time-tested recipes. I trekked blocks in the snow to deliver my baking penance to the neighbors.

There was one flop (peanut butter coconut bars), two repeat performances of major successes (wild mushroom risotto and saag paneer) and one totally awesome new success: raspberry coconut bars.

Kudos to my mama on this one: instead of store-bought jam, I sacrificed half a jar of her raspberry-pomegranite jam for this and think it made all the difference in the world. But I think you can change up this recipe in several ways. For instance: use strawberry or grape jam. Add slivered almonds or chopped pecans. Add chocolate chips on top. They come out like a naughty granola bar, so make them with your favorite flavors!

Toasted Coconut Raspberry Bars- adapted from Gourmet

1 1/2 cups sweetened flaked coconut
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar (i used 1/2 cup to reduce the sugar)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
3/4 cup seedless raspberry jam

preheat oven to 375°F.
Spread 3/4 cup coconut evenly on a baking sheet and toast in middle of oven, stirring once, until golden, about 8 minutes, then cool.

Blend together flour, sugars, and salt in a food processor, then add butter and blend until a dough begins to form. Transfer to a bowl and knead in oats and toasted coconut until combined well.

Reserve 3/4 cup dough, then press remainder evenly into bottom of a buttered 9- by 9-inch baking pan and spread jam over it. Crumble reserved dough evenly over jam, then sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup (untoasted) coconut.

Bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes, then cool completely in pan on a rack. Loosen from sides of pan with a sharp knife, then lift out in 1 piece and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into bars.

Note: the recipe actually calls for you to use a 13x9 pan. Mine was dirty from the peanut butter flop, so I used a square pan that must have been 8x8. They came out perfectly and would probably be too thin in a 9x13.

When you need spice...

2010-02-05T18:40:00.000-08:00

Well, one of the few chicken dishes that our young gentlemen will eat is fajitas. As far as I can tell, this is one of those dishes that you don't really ever use a recipe for. Probably people who are more compelled to go authentic wouldn't do this, but the key to fajita taste success among the Brackenbury-Parysek Tribe is Fajita Spice from Penzeys. Well, we buy all our spices from Penzeys and anyone who don't know about them should, because they have everything, it's all high quality and the prices are reasonable. So check it out: Penzeys.

As to the fajitas, we add water, corn oil, and lime juice to the Fajita Spice, marinate the chicken strips, fry 'em up, add 'em into flour tortillas, add some rice, some slow-sauteed pepper and onion, some salsa, and some shredded lettuce and just chow it down. Life is good. If you start with 3 pounds of skinless boneless, you might even have some for leftovers!

Flying Spaghetti Monster by Eric

2010-02-05T18:23:00.000-08:00

This is a quick video that coinsides with the Chicken Noodle Sour recipie that Jill posted. Obviously, homemade noodles are far better than any store bought brand; although, these turned out with an amazingly silky consistancy that was easy for even the biggest carb-hater to indulge in. Don't be hatin..get down with your noodle lovin self. *

*Disclaimer...I don't agree with this so much, but since she's sitting next to me I have to comply with her wishes. "Jill is unshowered and still in pj's- beware." Her quote in third person.

Also, this video was only meant to serve as a visual for our noodle excursion and is only meant for entertainment purposes. However, I encourage you all to make these for yourselves.

One last note, I prefer Jill's natural state of beauty and think she looks marvelous!

Chicken Soup for your Snowpocalypse

2010-02-04T14:29:00.001-08:00

Everyone in DC is running to the grocery store for fear that they will be stuck in their apartment for weeks upon end, hemmed in by snow drifts, cut off from civilization, rabid and starving.

What could be better than chicken soup to comfort your snow-fear? I mean, as long as you are going to the grocery store anyways, grab a chicken rather than a second dozen rolls of toilet paper. Seriously people: how many dozen do you need? It's 2010. You'll be able to leave your house in two days, maximum. Plus, you will impress people with your domesticity.

Chicken Soup- recipe by my grandma.

Equipment: a 7-9 quart stock pot. A fine mesh strainer.

1 Chicken about 3-4.5 pounds

3 carrots

4 stalks celery

salt (to taste, depends on how much water you use and how big your chicken is)

1 bunch fresh parsley

1 small onion

Celery salt for serving

Wash your chicken and remove any giblets. Put him in a stock pot and cover with water (probably about 6 quarts). Peel the onion and cut it in half. Put both halves in along with a big bunch of fresh parsley and 1 whole stalk of celery. Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours. 3 hours is better! The chicken should be extremely tender when its done.

Remove from heat and let cool completely. If you are able to put it in a fridge and get it very cool, the fat and scum will congeal at the top and make it much easier for you to skim it off. I can never fit it in the fridge so I get a second large pot and stick it in the sink and place a fine mesh strainer on top. Then I pour the contents of the original pot over the strainer so I'm left with pure gold chicken stock below and the whole chicken and veggies in the strainer.

Discard the parsley, onion, celery and any skin and bones. Pick the chicken clean and put the meat back in with the broth. Further skim the surface to remove excess fat or crud and bring it back up to a simmer.

Slice your celery and carrots thinly and place them in simmering soup. Add salt and celery salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste. Let the veggies cook for about 40 minutes. Add two big handfuls of freshly chopped parsely and call it a day. Your soup is done!

The noodles in the photos are homemade (and damn, they look nothing like my grandmas). Eric shot a video of the noodle-making-process. And a process it was! I'll try to get him to upload it....

Stay warm, don't freak out people. Snow does melt! In the meantime, snuggle up with your loved ones and eat soup.

Easy and delicous pasta with sausage, bell peppers, and basil

2010-01-30T11:54:00.001-08:00

Last night Colin and I cooked dinner together. We made 1/3 of the below recipe, with a few modifications (added tomatoes and 2 cloves garlic, forgot the parmesan). The best part was we got our smoked pork sausage from Otto's, an amazing sausage place down the street!

(to buy online: https://www.ottossausage.com/)

12 servings

Olive oil
3 lbs Italian sausage, crumbled
5 c. sliced onions
2 red peppers, cut into strips
1 ½ c white wine
2 lbs pasta
1 ½ c grated parmesan
2 c thinly sliced fresh basil

Cook crumbled sausage until brown, abt 12 min.
Transfer sausage to bowl with slotted spoon.
In oil in pan, cook onions. Saute until golden, abt 12 min. Add peppers and most of basil. Saute till tender, abt 6 min.
Pour wine into skillet. Boil 5 min.
Add sausage back in.
Cook pasta, drain. Return to pot. Pour in sauce. Mix in cheese. Mound in bowl, and garnish with remaining basil.

Indian Celebration of Thanks

2009-12-03T13:45:00.000-08:00

Decked out in a Mang Tikka, I felt like Thanksgiving this year was a cultural explosion of friends, food, and flavor. One week in the kitchen, 20 (and a half!) lovely guests, a new dress and a smell wafting from my apartment that must have made my neighbors think that the Polish girl moved out......all adds up to one specatular dinner.

My "Thanksgiving with Friends" party has grown; but turkey innovators around the world have stuck to the same basic recipe for, oh, about 500 years now. I thought it was time start really giving thanks to what makes our country so great: DIVERSITY.

From now on, Thanksgiving With Friends shall celebrate a different cuisine, a different day of thanks from another culture. We explored India this year and their equivalent of a harvest festival called Pongal. Pongal marks the end of the monsoons and is equated with new beginnings and bountiful tables. Cows are bathed, people are bathed, everyone wears colorful clothing, eats heartily and wishes their neighbors well.

At our celebration we all:

took baths (check)

Wore bright clothes (check)

Ate heartily (check)

Bathed our cows (did you bathe YOUR cow?)

I had help! Several people made dishes (thank you Meredith, Stacey, Joy and Shari), cleaned dishes (Huldah and Stacey rocked this) and chopped/washed/cleaned/set up/went to store for/carried/fried/coated/cooked whatever I asked them too (Eric).

The Menu, which included a unique Indian god or goddess name for each guest:

Nancy
“Durga”
Powerful goddess of the mountain; unconquerable; rides a lion

~First Course~
Potato Samosas
Cauliflower Bhajis
Assorted Chutneys

~Main Course~
Chicken Makhani
Coconut Poached Shrimp
Saag Paneer
Channa Masala
Joy’s Dal
Saffron Pilaf
Shanti’s Olan
Roasted chile eggplant
Naan
Raita

~Dessert~
Mango Gelato
Coconut Saffron Ice Cream
Chai Tea

I think we all had plenty to eat, as Eric and Seth competed in their annual "food baby" competition.

As my guests rolled out the door, they declared the Butter Chicken their favorite. Thus, my next posting will be that recipe. Indeed, it was velvety, tangy and incrediably satisfying with a dollop of raita and rice to soak up all the sauce. It's a two-day recipe; the first part being traditional marinated Tandoori Chicken that gets cooled and re-fried in butter. Heaven.

NEXT YEAR: (drumroll please.....) Thanksgiving goes to....

MEXICO! I think I'll have to go there to do some research. Well, it has to be authentic!!

More Italy! The Venetian Spritz

2009-11-15T06:33:00.001-08:00

Still more Italian! Jillian, you asked for the Venetian Spritz recipe, so here it is. Nothing better in life than drinking a Spritz, brought to you by Mateo, on a patio overlooking the Rialto Bridge. Although drinking one in your own living room is a close second!

“Venetian Spritz”

1 1/2 ounces Aperol
3 ounces Prosecco or sparkling wine, chilled
Sparkling mineral water or club soda, chilled
Lemon or orange slice

Pour the Aperol into a champagne flute. Add Prosecco and top with a splash of soda water. Garnish with lemon or orange slice and serve.

We got this version from Chowhound.

Real Carbonara by an Italian-speaking Donna (by Jillian, recipe by Nina)

2009-11-13T08:41:00.000-08:00

I had better get the Italian out of my system this week before the Indian-mania begins next week. Last night I had a lovely dinner with newlyweds Todd and Nina and their Italian friend Margarita at their new(ish) home on the Hill. Nina drugged us- with bacon, prosecco, cream, parmiggiano, pasta and tea cakes. I almost asked Todd to put on his superhero costume and carry me to the metro. Then again, its my fault entirely. I didn't have to eat the entire plate.

Unfortunately I failed to take photos of this event. And really, I can't say there is a specific recipe. Rather its a story, an anecdote titled "how to make carbonara".

You start by boiling your pasta water. While the water is heating, chop up about two slices of bacon and fry them in a heavy bottom skillet until they are small and becoming crip. Take all but about two tablespoons of fat off the skillet and leave the bacon in.

Nina says "NO GARLIC" but her Italian friend Margarita insisted that chopped garlic goes into the bacon and fat. Then again, Margarita doesn't use cream and thus we immedietly discounted her opinion :) I say, if you like garlic, add it here with the warning that Nina's noni might come after you with her rolling pin.

Now, turn the heat to very low and pour some heavy cream into the bacon and fat. I would guess Nina used about 3/4 cup. She then simmered the cream and bacon and fat and let the cream absorb that bacon-y flavor for about 5-10 minutes. Remove everything from the heat and let it cool just slightly, for about 3 minutes.

While its cooling, separate the eggs, discarding the whites. You will need as many egg yolks as there are people to serve. We had four yolks. Nina broke them up with a fork and added them to the cream mixture, being sure to mix it all up good so that the yolks cook but do not currdle (if they do, the cream was too hot and you have to start over.

Add an extravagant amount of freshly grated parmiggiano in between sips of prosecco. Add your freshly drained and still very hot and dripping fettucine into the cheesy, eggy, thick sauce and toss it all up together. Add fresh ground pepper on top and serve.

I would also add a smattering a fresh parsley or a handful of green peas on top. We had some delicious roasted veggies: eggplant, squash, sweet potato, onion, etc.

With the pouring Nor'easter outside and the glow of The Office and and dear friends inside, it was the perfect evening.

In addition to being an excellent cook, Nina is a talented seamstress. I include photos of my hosts in their Halloween costumes. I don't know about you, but I am pretty sure that "carbonara expertise" falls under the realm of superhero powers.

PIZZZ-ahhhhhhh (by Jillian)

2009-10-29T08:22:00.000-07:00

Friday was always pizza night in our house. When everyone is tired from the week, there is no better way to placate your household than with fresh, hot pizza, especially if you lived in Buffalo.

I have fond memories of going with mom or dad to Anjon's or Bocce's or my favorite, Nino's to pick up a large pepperoni with either onions or peppers on half for mom and dad. We'd trudge through a dark, snowy night to get to the car; the prize was a hot, steaming and fragrant pizza warming your lap as you drive home. There were always warnings from the driver's seat: "don't tip it! The cheese will run!"

I think DC friends will agree that we don't drive to pick up pizza anymore (we don't really have cars anyways). If we did, where would we go? Papa Johns? I don't think so. DC has a surprisingly poor selection of good pizza, unless you've had a few drinks. Thus there are two solutions:

1) have a few drinks

2) make your own

Pizza can be daunting because you think "I have to work with YEAST?" but I promise, its simple. You don't need fancy equipment like a pizza stone, peel or rolling pin. A wine bottle and cookie sheet work just fine. And the best part about pizza is the vast amount of room you have to be creative.

PIZZA DOUGH (recipe from Smitten Kitchen, tested by moi. I always double the recipe).

1 1/2 cups flour (can replace up to half of this with whole wheat flour)

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon active dry yeast

1/2 cup lukewarm water (may need up to 1 or 2 tablespoons more)

1 tablespoon olive oil

Put all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and use a wooden spoon to stir it up. Dump the dough in a clump onto a clean work surface and begin to knead for just a minute. Once it is all in a homogenous ball, cover it will a clean towel and let it sit for about 10 minutes. Return to the dough and knead it for about 5 minutes until it is elastic and smooth, like baby bottom. Return it to a bowl coated with olive oil, cover with the clean towel again, and let it rise in a warm place for about 2 hours or until doubled in size.

Once you are ready to use it, dump it out and start rolling. If you double the recipe as I always do, you can either cut it in half and make two really thin pizzas, or one doughy, crusty one. Roll it out and transfer it either to your cookie sheet covered with cornmeal or olive oil, or if you have a pizza stone, transfer it to parchment paper and slide it and the parchment onto the preheated pizza stone. The trick here is not to burn yourself: putting the pizza on parchment gives your something else to grab onto other than hot pizza. See the photo of the two pizzas in the oven for a parchment illustration.

For the thin pizza, bake for 10 min on 400. For the thicker one, give it about 15 minutes.

To get that bubbly look on top, turn the broiler on for just a minute and keep an eye on it.

IDEAS: I had a pizza party last year and went a little overboard with the topping combos. As evidenced in this photo, there were a *few* leftovers. Here are a few ideas for what to put on your pizza aside from just pizza sauce and cheese.

Thai pizza- peanut sauce, shredded carrot, tofu and a smattering of fresh cilantro after its out of the oven

Mexican- Use an adobo sauce or add pureed adobo chilies and a little cumin to your red sauce. Top with jalepenos, onions, queso fresco or cheddar.

Hot and Smokey- puree some roasted red peppers in with your tomato sauce and add hot pepper flakes. Layer with smoked gouda cheese. (this pizza is inspired by Matchbox's "Fire and Smoke" pizza)

Greek- Use pesto sauce as your base and top with feta, kalamata olives and roasted grape tomatoes

White pizza- Make an alfredo or bechamel sauce and top with roasted garlic puree, shrimp and fontina cheese. This also works great if you take off the shrimp and add portabella mushrooms.

Speaking of mushrooms- Grab a little bag of dried porcini or shitake mushrooms from the store. When you reconstitute them with hot water, save the mushroom-y water and make a bechamel sauce from that. Top with a variety of fresh mushrooms and just lightly sprinkle with mozzarella

My favorite- Tomato-basil sauce with lots of garlic and big slices of fresh mozzarella. Sprinkle it with fresh basil leaves after it comes out of the oven.

What is your favorite pizza?

Restaurant Review- Chase's Daily in Belfast, Maine (by Jillian)

2009-10-21T08:21:00.000-07:00

Ohhhh wow.

I recently had the pleasure of passing through Belfast, Maine for work and as usual, I was hungry. I found Belfast serendipitously at lunchtime and with an hour to kill. From the corner of my eye, I saw (gasp) a street was blocked off for a Farmer's Market. Yipee! My most favorite thing ever!

First I must set the scene. Me in a black suit dress, heels, pearls-traipsing through the market. Maine in all of its Autumn splendor with rosy-cheeked vendors, Irish-knit sweater and LL Bean Wellie-clad children, bounties of kale, squash, sunflowers and lavender and hot tisanes of herbs (did I mention the boats and ocean in the background?). It was straight out of a book. Chase's Daily had a line out the door with an enticing scent spilling into the street with all of the people. I sneaked to the front where I could see a single seat at the lunch counter just made for me.

I marched to the lunch counter and, as I was dressed for the part, set to shaking the hands of my lunch-counter-mates to introduce myself. They were confused but my introduction had a deeper intention and I laid out my business proposition efficiently and convincingly: that we all strategically order something different from the menu and split. All of us. (except for the guy on the end who had already ordered and who may have had a cold anyway!) Why wouldn't they accept? We are all eating alone anyways, lets profit share! This turned out well and while my proposition may have alarmed them at first, we all made friends and tried a diversity of items on the menu. Five of us (two sculptors, an author, a real estate agent and I) shared:

A roasted corn and tomato pizza with goat cheese and cilantro (that was my pick)

A green bok choy and tofu curry over rice noodles

A 4 cheese grilled cheese on homemade bread with roasted tomato soup

An order of grits

A large salad of fresh greens dressed simply with oil, vinegar and shaved parmesean

A five bean soup

tri-colored pepper enchiladas

If you can't see a theme, it was a vegetarian restaurant with a menu that changed daily based on what the farmers brought in the morning. The back of the store was even a small farm market that could have been an ethereal museum for fresh food.

The moral of the story: make friends with your neighbors when you go out to eat; they just might share lunch with you!

I've tried to re-create that amazing corn pizza and I've got a good idea of how they made it. My next posting shall be pizza crust. Out of all of the culinary wonders of the world, I think that, like a 3rd grader, I would still say that my favorite food is pizza. So would my grandma. Wouldn't you?

Book Review "Monsoon Diary"- by Jillian

2009-10-15T13:06:00.001-07:00

In the past year I found a passion for reading cooking/eating memoirs. I think it started with HEAT by Bill Buford, which is still my favorite for its laugh-out-loud passages and colorful charachters. Also on the list were two of the Ruth Reichl books (RIP Gourmet!) Garlic and Sapphires and Comfort Me with Apples, the former reading better than the latter in my opinion. Then, there was The Omnivore's Dilema by Michael Pollan which you must all drop what you are doing and begin reading right now! Quick! Go get a copy! I'll wait!

As you toggle between Amazon and reading here, let me tell you about another book you should order, as long as you are paying shipping costs. Or, you can take it from the Indianapolis Library like me (uh, darling, don't forget to renew that....)

Monsoon Diary, by Shoba Narayan is like a road trip from Delhi to Chennai to St. Louis. As many Indian families mark the day that a baby eats solid food as a religious experience, Shoba's journey from toddler in India to married woman in America is punctuated by the everyday and special foods of her life and culture. I picked up this book off the Indy library shelf of cookbooks- because it has fabulous recipes in every chapter. I've already made the bhajis and channa masala. What makes Shoba's story different from all of the other food memoirs competing for our attention right now is the juxtaposition of exoticism; it begins with explanations of foods that are wholly unknown in the US and ends with Shoba's discovery of foods at her college in Connecticut, unknown to her. For example: most Indiana eat gentle, savory foods for breakfast that may have onion or lentils in them. She is astounded (and a tad nauseated) by the buffet of sweet pastries, sugary cereals, waffles and pancakes with fruit and syrups that were offered in her college commons and resorted to rice and yogurt until her stomach could handle the sweets.

If you love food memoirs that also tie heavily into family and culture, read Monsoon Diary and make one of her recipes. You will be enchanted by discovering sour mangoes and my new favorite condiment: hot mango pickle!

A short excerpt about Indian cooking from Shoba: "Cooking and eating in India is a communal activity governed by a complex system of rules, rituals, and beliefs. My mother recited examples to me whenever she got the chance. Cumin and cardamom arouse, so eat them only after you get married, she instructed. Fenugreek tea makes your hair lustrous and increases breast milk, so drink copious amounts when you have babies. Coriander seeds cool the body during summer; mustard and sesame seeds lend heat during winter. Cardamom aids digestion, cinnamon soothes, and lentils build muscles. Every feast should have the three Ps: pappadams, pachadi, and payasam (lentil wafers, yogurt salad, and sweet pudding). Any new bride should be able to make a decent rasam (dal-and-tomato soup). If you cannot make rasam, do not call yourself the lady of the house. And so it went. "

Saag Paneer and the Wonder of Roasted Spice- by Jillian

2009-10-12T12:20:00.000-07:00

For years, I've dreamt about making restaurant-quality Tikka masala at home. I've delighted in bowls of leftover channa masala smothered in raita, eating only the tiniest bites to make it last a moment longer. I've marveled in the mystery of perfect, warm naan. But I've always been too timid, too intimidated to commit to cooking my own Indian Food. And not McCormick's curry-powder-mixed-with-canned-coconut-milk-over-chicken but real, fragrant, authentic Indian food.

And Indian food presents itself just like that: a commitment. We think we need certain tools, big tandoori ovens, things like asafetida (a smelly resin that stinks up your whole house) and expensive saffron. It's scary, maybe a little overwhelming and causes people (like me) to say "oh...I'll try that recipe next week...." What we forget, though, is that Indian cooking evolved in kitchens that didn't even have countertop space.

Once you let go of that anxiety and let Indian food into your heart just once, it will never fail you. I recently learned what makes Indian food so satisfying, so delicious, so....exciting. It's the spices.

Do me a favor. Go into your kitchen and reach for your little bottle of cumin. You probably paid $3.69 for .90 ounces of it and its been in there for a year. Take off the cap and smell it. Does it smell like cumin? Do you even really know what cumin smells like? Do you think its still fresh?

Real Indian food depends on freshly roasted, freshly ground spices which only requires a heavy fry pan, and a morter and pestle, very cheap at World Market. For the recipe below, you only need to roast and grind two spices: cumin and coriander. It really doesnt take that long and whole spices (World market, Wegmans, or any other specialty food shop will have them for less than $2.00 a package) last longer because you use them as you need them.

The process is simple: heat a small fry pan for a few minutes on low heat and add your spices (1/4 cup at a time is a good amount). Start swirling the pan immedietly. For an 8" fry pan and 1/4 spices, you'll do this for about 4-6 minutes. First the spices will become fragrant. Then they will start to brown and a nutty, toasty smell will fill your nose. When you get to this point, stop and dump the spices onto a cool plate and let them cool. Then put them in your morter and start grinding! If you have a clean coffee grinder at home, it works faster (but DON'T use your coffee grinder for spices and coffee. Neither will taste good).

You'll be amazed! Coriander seed has a lemony smell. Cumin has a very clean scent. I'll bet you never knew that!

SAAG PANEER- (sent to me by Turi Nevin Turkel)

5 tbsp oil or ghee- may use canola, grapeseed or olive

1 cup chopped onion

1 tsp fresh minced garlic

1 inch ginger finely chopped or ground

2 tsp freshly roasted and ground coriander

1 tsp freshly roasted and ground cumin

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp red chili powder

2 tsp Garam Masala (an Indian Spice blend available at almost any foodstore)

2 tsp dried metha leaves (fenugreek leaves- Metha will be the Indian name on a box)

1 green chili chopped...deseed for mild, use seeds for hot

1/2 tsp salt or to taste

14 oz petite diced tomatoes

1/2 cup plain yogurt

2 10 oz packages of frozen spinach, thawed

1 10 oz package of paneer (Indian cheese)*

* or the easy way to do this is to top your dish with a little cottage cheese for protein. Paneer is solid curds of milk protein with all of the liquids taken out. Cottage cheese is a close cousin. You can also just serve this over basmati rice or bread...its delicious on its own without the dairy!

1. Heat oil or ghee in heavy bottomed saucepan. Add onions, garlic and ginger mix and fry until golden brown.

2. Stir ground spices, salt and tomatoes. Cook until oil/ghee appears on the surface of the mixture.

3. Add the yogurt, green chili & spinach.

4. Cover saucepan and let simmer on medium-low heat for 10 min or until the spinach liquid has been absorbed. Stir each time you look into the pot. (can simmer longer)

5. To gain creamier quality you can puree about half of it in a blender and put it back to simmer.

I swear that the ground spices make all of the difference in the world. I don't think that I shall ever return to regular, sitting-in-the-spice-cabinet-for-two-years spices! Really!

(paneer, I tried to make it myself. Another post another day!)

Stick around for more Indian lessons to come: Thanksgiving this year is going to be Indian-themed and I'm heavy into testing recipes. I'm tired of cooking the same meal every year. Let's be thankful for cultural diversity and eat fun new foods!

Warm, Comforting, Sophisitcated and Cozy Macaroni and Cheese- by Jillian

2009-10-08T08:27:00.000-07:00

Word on the street is that its going to get COLD in DC next week. And by cold, I mean a high in the 50's. The Buffalo friends are laughing right now. Sorry; I've been de-sensitized! Plus, we in the city walk everywhere or take public transit. We don't have cars with automatic starters and heaters. We are real brave souls :)

Also, I've been a vegetarian this week. Try it just for a day or a week: its a more sustainable, environmentally friendly way of eating. You don't have to change your whole life forever, just try it for a day or a week. And vegetarian eating doesn't always mean healthy flaxseed and celery, as you shall see here!

I credit the Brackenbury's with this recipe. If you like to make art with your food, try lining up the macaroni in tall layers. When you chill and slice it for leftovers, it comes out in a honey comb. I recommend making this with some sauteed spinach and a glass of wine. It's also delicious with a dollop of pesto on top. Have lots of friends around as you will feel very guilty if you get stuck eating the whole dish by yourself.

Macaroni and Cheese
by Paul Bocuse

¾ lb. long macaroni
1 tablespoon coarse salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
5 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

For the sauce:
7 tablespoons unsalted butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
pinch, freshly ground pepper
pinch, freshly ground nutmeg
½ cup heavy cream
1½ cups grated Beaufort or Gruyere cheese

Fill a large saucepan with 4 quarts of water, add the coarse salt and bring to a boil. Add the macaroni, bring back to the boil and cook until al dente. Drain well.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce: Melt the 7 tablespoons butter in a saucepan, add the flour and mix well. Stir in the milk, salt pepper, and nutmeg and cook over medium heat, stirring constantly with a whisk until the mixture boils. Let boil briefly. Stir in the cream and about 2/3 of the grated cheese. Continue to cook and stir until the cheese has melted.

Preheat the oven to 400º

Use the 1 tablespoon of butter to coat the bottom and sides of an oval gratin dish. Arrange a layer of the macaroni on the bottom of the dish. (It’s attractive to align the macaroni). Spoon a layer of sauce over, then add another layer of macaroni and sauce, continuing until the last of the sauce has been used. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the top, then sprinkle on the grated Parmesan.

Place in the preheated oven and cook for 25-30 minutes, until nicely browned on top.

Do you have a vegetarian recipe to share? Let's all save a few animals and try not to eat animal products for just one day. You will pay a lot of attention to your natural food choices. Let us know how it turns out!

Bacon wrapped dates (with water chesnuts)- by Seth

2009-10-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

For MY first entry I wanted to keep it nice and simple. I found this app at a house party while visiting my friend in Ohio few years ago and it is a winner. 3 ingredients, prep at home, bring to party, bake for 20 minutes, and watch them disappear... every time.

Ingredients:
1 pack of Bacon
1 can sliced water chestnuts
Approx 30 dates (Machine pitted are the easiest)

Preheat oven to 400 (if baking at home)

1) Cut the package of bacon down the middle making half strips.
2) Stick the pack in the fridge or freezer so it is easier to work with later
3) Cut the dates the long way, but only halfway deep (like a hot dog bun). If they have not been pitted, remove the pit now
4) Cut the larger water chestnuts in half
5) Remove bacon from the fridge/freezer
6) Remove about 30 toothpicks and place them on your counter ahead of time
7) Stuff one or two chestnut pieces inside a date, wrap with a half strip of bacon, stick a toothpick through the date (so that it pierces the chestnut and holds the bacon in place) and drop onto an ungreased baking sheet.

You can do the rest of this "on site", or continue and make the whole thing at home and transfer them in a container.

7) Place the baking sheet in the oven until the bacon touching the pan browns (about 10-15 minutes)
8) Remove baking sheet, twist each wrap so that the other side of the bacon is on the sheet so that it can brown also. Place back into the oven for another 10 minutes or until the bacon is noticeably brown but not burnt.
9) Let them sit and cool for a few minutes, transfer to a serving dish, and serve.

Enjoy!

There are plenty of variants to this, including bacon wrapped scallops, bacon wrapped dates, bacon wrapped water chestnuts, etc. The closest recipe I could find online includes ricotta cheese in the stuffing, so maybe I will have to try that out one day as well.

Loganberry...really? (by Meredith)

2009-10-01T08:58:00.000-07:00

This last weekend I had the pleasure of enjoying some of Buffalo, NY's most famous cuisine...Buffalo chicken wings. Yes, they were juicy, crispy, spicy, covered in bleu cheese and left my lips tingling. But I'm not here to talk about wings. After a great bachelorette party night out downtown on Chippewa Street, the boys came to pick us up and we were all insistent on some late-night food.

Being from DC, I expected pizza, but I was quickly corrected that what I really wanted was Mighty Taco:

http://www.mightytaco.com/

Being a good backseat passenger (after being scolded for trying to order from the backseat) I allowed our drivers to order for me. My only request was for a Sprite. I was immediately told no. I was getting a Loganberry. (Did I mention this was about 2am?). My initial reaction? I do NOT want berries on my Super Mighty Taco! After a good laugh at my expense and a quick clarification I was informed that a Loganberry was another Buffalo specialty. A refreshing fruity beverage.
Ok, whatever. By this time I'm just ready to eat. We get our food from the drive-through, I'm handed my large Loganberry beverage sans straw and scolded again to NOT take the lid off until the car stops moving. We drive home and I'm bursting to try my new beverage, I rush into the house, rip off the straw wrapper and take a huge gulp of the Loganberry.

Now, we've all been here...when you take a drink expecting say a glass of water but really it's a huge glass of vodka. NOT good. Well, I pretty much had that with the Loganberry. No carbonation, crazy syrup-y and tasted closer to cough syrup than anything else. Sulking in the corner of the kitchen with my Super Mighty and wishing I had a Sprite I finished my food while cursing the boys for making me get the Loganberry.

So the next day, I still couldn't get over it. I've polled my Buffalo friends and they're all in consensus that it's pretty much a God-juice. But I disagree. Maybe you need to be from the area to develop a taste for the stuff at an early age, otherwise BLEH!

Knowing I wanted to write about this as my first entry, I went on a google hunt for the stuff to share with all of you who have never experienced the Berry of Logan before. Surprisingly (not) it was hard to find. In the end, Wikipedia came through for me and we have a small reference at the very end of the Loganberry entry...which talks more about the actual fruit.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Loganberry

I leave you with this...after a long Saturday night out in Buffalo, NY, when your judgement may or may not be quite where it should be, do not let a local convince you that you will love something called Loganberry. Stick with what you know. And regardless, in the morning all will be ok because while they may have a foul fruity flavored fountain drink...they redeem themselves with Tim Horton's Coffee and Timbits.

Roast Chicken (by Jillian)

2009-09-30T13:15:00.000-07:00

I mused long and hard over what my first real post should be. A dissertation of why this is so important to me? A description of the lasagne blitz this summer (the five gained pounds is gone, by the way)? A favorite recipe? What Meredith and I made this week?

Then I decided to tell a story that embodies what cooking is all about: Going with the Flow in the Kitchen! Except no part of the story actually takes part in a kitchen....

There are several people who constantly entertain my food obsession. One of them is Eric. Not only does he entertain, he's usually already holding a spatula and saying "when do we start?" This spring, Eric and I were hell-bent on going on a hunt to find morels in the woods and cooking with them. I was slightly fearful: how would we be able to tell if they were edible? Where would we find them? What would we actually do with them if we found them? (If you don't know what a morel is, it is a wild mushroom prized for its woodsy taste mostly in french cuisine. It's not as pungent as a truffle. Not that I've ever had a truffle. Note to self: "must try truffle").

Part of the going-morel-hunting-in-the-woods gig was camping, including dinner over a campfire. AHA! Open flame! What could we char? Beans would just not do. We decided on chicken, with the caveat that it had to be cooked on a spit that we would rig over the open flame.

As we pulled out of the driveway in Indiana, I thought to myself at the last second "why don't we throw the tagine in the car, just in case?" It kind of felt like cheating, but I wasn't sure how our open flame rig would hold up. (Tagine: a ceramic Moroccan cooking vessel shaped with sloped sides).

We arrived in Hoosier National Forest. We chose a spot. Eric began building the fire while I looked for the perfect sized log with which to spear our chicken already marinated in fresh herbs and olive oil. The fire grew, it reduced to hot coals. Now was the time....

It took quite awhile for us to figure out how to lean over the fire long enough to position the chicken atop the flames. I made Eric do it. At first it looked pretty good. I was smug with our brilliance.

Then we watched the fire spit and sputter with the dripping fat and oils. Uhhh....is it supposed to do that? How do we stop the flames from engulfing the chicken?? Moment of panic: the outside will burn before the inside cooks!!! It's supposed to be ROASTING!! SLOWLY! And gently. Why didn't we bring something to help rotate it, like a handle of sorts? Like bike handlebars? Like a LONGER stick!! Holy Crap its going to fall off the stick into the flame!!

The above photo chronicles the moment that we realized true defeat. The Chicken would not survive the Stick. The wilderness of Hoosier Forest and open flame had overcome us. It was time for the tagine, lest we lose our dinner. The transfering of the flaming hot chicken off the stick into the tagine took two sets of hands, otherwise I would have photographed our folly.

The tagine is already a fired ceramic, so we took our chances by nestling it between two logs over the fire and dumped a generous glug of champagne into the vessel to keep it moist. Actually, the point of a tagine is to allow for coninual basting. As juices rise to the top and condense, the sloped shape allow fluids to drip evenly over your food, keeping it evenly moistened. Then we took a walk with the rest of the champagne to watch the sunset (and to drink champagne, you know, in case there would be no dinner upon return).

But Voila! This was the BEST. CHICKEN. EVER. The outside was charred so that the skin caramelized gorgeously. The inside, from being in the moist tagine, was tender and juicy. It tasted like fresh herbs and campfire. We paired it with asparagus and potatoes that were wrapped in foil and thrown into the fire.

I supposed you are wondering about the morels. After an entire day of hiking up and down hills, throughout the Hoosier hinterlands, one tiny sad morel was all we found.
No less than a week later when Eric was at work, he found almost a pound of morels growing in the yard near his office. Go figure. (I cannot tell you exactly where. True morel hunters never reveal their special places, lest they be poached).

If you are without the combination of an open flame and a tagine, fear not! you can still roast a succulent chicken at home. Good roast chicken is at the backbone of anyone's recipe repetoire.

Note that chickens that you buy at the supermarket should be around 4 pounds or less. Anything at 5 pounds or more you can be sure received extensive growth hormones. Look for a chicken that has been labeled 'hormone free' to get the best meat, or check out your local farmers markets and co-ops.

Pre-heat your oven to 350.

A traditional roast chicken is laid in an open roasting pan on a bed of the royal trilogy of veggies: celery, onion and carrot (called the "aromatics" together because the blending of their scents is heavenly). Parsley is also a traditional roasting accompaniment (and a nice garnish at the end too). Wash your chicken and be sure to remove anything in the cavity. Reserve any giblets and put them at the bottom of the roasting pan if you intend on making gravy. Leave the veggies in large chuncks but layer them so they are high enough to keep the chicken out of its own juices.

You need not put anything in the cavity but a bunch of fresh rosemary and/or parsley will make things smell and taste fabulous! With your fingers covered in a bit of butter or olive oil, give the chicken a little massage. Sprinkle him with salt and fresh ground pepper. You may also add any other dry seasonings that you like.

For variations, add Herbs de Provence, lavender or curry powder or paprika...be imaginitive! Stuff it with lemons and limes! Comment with your favorite preparations!

Stick him in the pre-heated oven. As a general rule, calculate a cooking time of 20 minutes per pound of meat plus an additional 10 - 20 minutes at a temperature of 350ºF Honestly, the best way to do this is to under-time yourself and then check every 10 minutes after the primary period of time with a meat thermometer. You will then ensure that the meat is fully cooked, but not overdone. A thermometer stuck into the leg/cavity intersection needs to read at least 165 according to the USDA.

When you take it out, let it rest for awhile. I'll add a posting a different day on gravies and carvings. Essentially at this point you should just serve and eat it while you bask in the praise and compliments of your guests!

Welcome- Our Credo and Launch

2009-09-30T09:20:00.001-07:00

Where we come from, love, affection and dedication are all demonstrated by food. We make sure that our loved ones have access to only the best of the best. We keep conviction in the fact that a long day in the kitchen makes for a meal that just tastes better. We believe that a long road trip to collect organically grown chickens from the source of their birth, life and slaughter equals happiness and health. We know that soup made from one of those chickens will cure anything. We will go to the ends of the earth in search of good flavors and have a wonderful adventure on the journey. And we know that a basket of jars gifted from the fruit cellar are a deep declaration of love.

When I wrote my Valentine's Day cards this year to family members, I used the following theme:

"My love for you can be measured in the following: 2 bushels of peas, 22 quarts of dill pickels, 18 pints of freezer jam, 25 freezer bags of beans, 10 pints of sour cherries, and three bushels of peaches..."

And everyone to whom I sent a similar card knew exactly what I meant.

In pondering our systems of reciprocity based around this food culture, I thought about how we should have a system to include more people in the conversation. The dialouge about food in which we partake is equally as important as sharing the physical items! Eric recently suggested to me that my next career should be as a culinary anthropoligist because the reasons why we eat certain foods together is just as interesting as the fact that we eat them. They create, so to speak, the ties that bind.

Please join me here to begin that dialouge while many of us are far apart. Post your triumphs! Share your recipes! Write about your dinner parties, your romantic breakfasts, your travels, the unique dish you found in that random diner in Pittsburgh, the amazing farmer's market you found in Maine, the little bites of happiness you intend on sharing with others. Share your pictures and stories, share your memories and menus.

Like a jar of homemade pickles or a warm apple pie, share this amongst friends and family.