Julia – Page 43 – Grow. Cook. Eat.

September 12, 2008

Burning Down the House

In my past life, I used to lead Interactive dinner parties. I would go into people’s homes and give a cooking demonstration while preparing a gourmet, three-course dinner. I had relationships with my clients similar to what a bartender might have with his customers. People let me into the hearth of their homes and cook for them. It’s a convivial relationship.

And new clients always ask for stories about past clients.

Client Tina thought I was infallible. I had been helping her with dinner parties and giving her private cooking lesson for years. She had never seen me burn, undercook, over-season or otherwise screw up a dish. Boy, did I have her fooled! It’s especially surprising since she had a challenging, albeit fancy, kitchen. The burners were induction and her oven was Gagganeau. The burners required practice to learn how to control the heat. And the oven…. Well the ovens had a series of marking – lines and squiggles – that were supposed to indicate the basic functions: bake, broil and convection.

For Valentine’s Day one year we planned a special meal for her and her husband, including a salad with croutons. We diced some bread, tossed it with melted butter, salt and pepper and put them in the oven. Since I didn’t understand the markings on the oven, I can only tell you it was set to 400F.

After 10 minutes, I started to smell something burning. I opened the oven and the croutons inhaled just enough oxygen that they immediately burst into flames. I guess I had unknowingly broiled them. And thankfully, Tina got a good laugh in knowing that, in fact, I’m not perfect… not even in the kitchen.

I wish that were the only time I had set fire in a client’s kitchen. (yes, I did have insurance). Again, it was the fault of the client’s equipment (it’s never my fault). And again, it was in the oven. This time it involved gougères – cream puffs with cheese folded in. This time, though, I was able to read the markings, and accurately set the electric oven to bake at 375F. I piped out perfect little rounds of dough onto (the client’s) cookie sheet, and put them in the oven. The sheet buckled in the heat and all the gougères slid off and onto the electric coil, igniting instantly.

Unlike the first time, when I could grab the tray of croutons and quickly run outside, this was a little trickier to salvage. But with a quick cut of heat and dousing of salt, the fire quickly extinguished.

Thanks to Kristen at Dine & Dish for conjuring up these memories.

Gougères are a great hors d'oeuvre. Be sure, when baking them that you have a high quality, thick bottomed cookie sheet with sides.

Gougères
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup water
4 tbs. butter
4-5 eggs
½ cup grated or cubed gruyere cheese.

1. Bring water, butter and salt to a boil. Stir in flour all at once and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Let cool slightly.

2. Beat in eggs, one at a time into flour mixture. Do not add next egg until first one is fully incorporated.

3. Spoon (or pipe) 1” round mounds onto a baking sheet, and bake at 400 for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 and cook for 25 minutes more.

September 10, 2008

Preserving Summer: Cucumbers

When I visited Ed Bruske’s urban garden, I sampled several varieties of his homemade pickles. He had an impressive array of sour, dill, Cajun, bread and butter. Pickles are one of the few things I’ve never made before, so I decided that this summer I would try my hand.

I decided to start with the Bread and Butter variety (it was either that or the dill). I really like pickle relish in my tuna and egg salads, so this seemed like a good beginning. Ed has a wonderful primer with recipes on his website that I used as my guide.

Since I didn’t have pickling lime, which seemed to be a key element in his recipe, I combined the salt ratio for the basic dill with the ingredients of the “bread and butter.” I cooked the pickles for half the recommended time in hopes of preserving the crunch. And if you can believe, I couldn’t find celery seed at the Whole Foods, so I used celery growing in the garden. The flavors came out wonderful. The texture was somewhere between firm and crunchy. I’ll leave full-on crunchy for the experts.

This is what I came up with:

Bread and Butter Pickles
4 cucumbers, sliced into ½ inch wheels
4 cups water
1/4 cup salt
1 1/2 cup cider vinegar
1 ¼ cup sugar
1 tbs. mustard seeds
1 celery stalk
¼ tsp. turmeric
1/8 tsp. clove
1/8 tsp. ground ginger
Black Pepper, freshly ground

Put everything in a stainless steel (or non-reactive pot). Bring to a boil, stirring frequently to dissolve the sugar. Simmer for 20 minutes. Let pickles stand overnight. They will keep for 2 weeks this way or you can can them.

_______
The garden continues to proliferate cucumbers. With early success in the first pickle venture, I decided to try again with half sour dills.

This time I followed Ed's recipe more closely.

Half-Sour Dill Pickles

For every 2 cups of water, add 1 tablespoon of salt. Use enough water to cover cucumber wedges. Add crushed garlic, fresh dill and black pepper. Let sit for at least 24 hours to ferment before storing in the fridge or canning.

September 8, 2008

Misnomer Cupcakes

I’m a salt-head. I’ll take a salty snack over a sweet snack any day of the week. Every once in a while, I crave a sweet or I’ll peruse a dessert menu. There’s little rhyme or reason to what I like, but it’s never nutty and it’s usually pie or cake. No overly sweet confections for me. Except when it comes to cupcakes.

Whole Foods came out with a line of sweets, “Two Bites.” Two bite cupcakes, two bite brownies… you get the idea. For me, the chocolate cupcakes were the perfect little treat: just enough sweet to finish off a meal. The cake was moist and light with a creamy, chocolate butter-cream frosting. For a while, I was buying a 12-pack a week. But then they ran into production issues and the cupcakes were consistently stale. Sadly, I had to give them up.

Kick-Ass Cupcakes recently opened in Davis Square, and soon received a “Best of Boston” award and Boston’s Best from the Improper Bostonian. I tried desperately to avoid the place, knowing full well that if I found a suitable replacement for the Whole Foods cupcakes, I was in big trouble.

Last week, temptation got the best of me, and I went in. They have an astonishing variety of cupcakes… traditional variations of vanilla and chocolate cake and/or icing, mojito cupcakes (soaked with rum and mint), lemon, cinnamon, and a rotating list of specialty flavors. They also have twice-bake cupcakes dipped in chocolate and sprinkled with m&m’s – a variation on biscotti?

For the first round, I opted for the vanilla cake with chocolate frosting. The frosting, supposedly butter-cream, was too dense and too rich, and the chocolate too dark. The ratio of frosting to cake was good, but since I didn’t like the frosting, it didn’t matter. To shake it up in round two, I opted for the chocolate cake with vanilla frosting. The frosting was indeed buttercream, but the texture was grainy and I couldn’t taste the vanilla nor the butter. The cake was dry and crumbly. By this point, my head and stomach hurt from all the sugar. Perhaps the mojito cupcake would have been better – a better textured cake from the rum soak, and a refreshing minty icing. My guess is that the twice baked cupcakes were the batch that accidently got overcooked. I will never know. At $2.75 for a modestly sized cupcake (read: small), it’s not worth the experimentation.

September 5, 2008

Preserving Summer: Fresh Herbs

All summer, the herbs in my garden have been prolific. It’s been a wonderful treat to go into the yard, snip a few herbs and enhance whatever meal I was making – a little tarragon for egg salad, some parsley and arugula for an artichoke pesto, thyme for roasted portobellos and mint for mojitos, tossed with grilled zucchini or with bacon on grilled trout. Chopped scallions garnished the grilled miso eggplant. And the basil went into Fred Flintstone’s sauce or simply in a salad of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. As hard as I tried, I was not able to use all the herbs… even with many gifts to friends and neighbors. Now I must think about how to capture that summer burst through the winter.

Tarragon and Thyme dry well. With the warm autumn days, and nary a drop of humidity, they will sun-dry easily. I can save them in the freezer (just to be safe). The basil can be pureed with oil and frozen in ice cube trays, or made into pesto as PsychGrad suggests.

I had thought I would make mint jelly with the overgrown patch. This seemed like a particularly good idea since Farmer Brett is giving me half a lamb as compensation for all the work I’ve done for him this summer. But the prospect of more canning is overwhelming. The batch of tomatoes (smoked, stewed and ketchup), which yielded 48 jars took many hours over the course of three days. I decided instead to freeze it. I will make a mint syrup that I can use for either mojitos or a la minute mint jelly. I will make a second batch of mint-jalapeno syrup to use the hand full of peppers in the garden.

Mint Jelly or Mojito Base
3 cups mint leaves
3 cups sugar
1 ½ cups water
1 jalapeno, sliced in half (optional)

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add mint and cook for 30 seconds, or just until bright green. Drain and rinse under cold water.
2. In a sauce pot, combine sugar and water (and jalapeno). Bring to a boil and stir until sugar dissolves. Let cool to room temperature.
3. Put mint in a food processor and coarsely chop.
4. Combine mint and sugar water and refrigerate for 24 hours. Discard jalapeno.
5. Freeze in 1 cup containers

Tips for making Jelly or Mojitos:
1. When you make jelly, you will need pectin. Be sure to follow the directions on the box – each kind of pectin reacts differently and needs different amounts of pectin for the same amount of liquid.
2. This recipe has half as much water as necessary for jelly, but the proper amount for mojitos. As such, you will need to dilute the syrup before making the jelly. For every 1 ½ cups of syrup, add ½ cup water.
3. You will want to add a few drops of lemon juice for jelly and lime juice for mojitos.

Early in the season I blathered on about the sage. Even in April, before any other crops were up, I was up to my eyeballs in sage. The pungent flavor makes it difficult to use in copious amounts, unless you fry it.

I started the season with 5 plants and it got so out of control that I dug up one completely and dried it, and moved another to the front yard to become “ornamental.” I know this will last through the first frost, so I use more as fall meats and vegetables pair so beautifully. In the meantime, I continue to shear the plant and dry sprigs tied into bundles. Burning sage, the lore suggests, rids a room or a house of evil spirits. These will be housewarming gifts to friends.

September 4, 2008

What Every Omnivore Should Eat — According to Andrew

Over at Very Good Taste, they have a little challenge. They put together a list of 100 foods that they think every good omnivore should try at least once. I could add a few things to this list — based on strange, and usually unfortunate things I've eaten — like beaver, cow's foot or steak and kidney pie.

Want to play along? Here’s what you do:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (Julia’s note: I’ll try anything once… at least a small bite)
and let me know the things you think are missing from the list!

The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:

1. Venison (I even have a few pictures of the deer, but I don’t think you want to see them J)
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (probably when I was 19)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi (see below for my recipe)
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses (yummy, creamy, salty goodness)
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (and I don’t particularly recommend it)
19. Steamed pork buns (best part of Chinese Dim Sum)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper – I’ve eaten other varieties raw.
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut – though I do prefer my Reuben’s with coleslaw.
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (I’m thinking I had one during my college years, but I must have black it out)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (- chipolines in Oaxaca Mexico)
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I must have had one when I was in junior high school)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
A most unfortunate experience. The durian barely hit my tongue before I spit it out.
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
So close, I had a tasting menu at Le Bristol in Paris, only a two star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam – I’m proud to say no!
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake – In the bayou country of Louisianna

For a grand total of: 81!
What's your score?

1 lb. cauliflower, separated into florets
3 tbs. ghee
½ tsp. brown mustard seed
½ tsp. cumin
pinch fenugreek
½ tsp. turmeric
3 slices fresh ginger, minced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 onion, finely sliced
1 tomato, chopped
1 fresh green chili, sliced
½ tsp. salt
Heat ghee and fry mustard seeds until they start to pop. Add cumin, fenugreek, turmeric, ginger, garlic and onions. Cook, stirring frequently, until onions are soft.
Add cauliflower, and stir until well coated. Add tomato, chili, 1/4 cup of water and salt, and cook covered for 15 minutes, or until cauliflower is tender.

September 3, 2008

Feeding the Spirt

The best way to be supportive when friends have challenging times is to bring a meal. Challenges can be positive or negative, but they are always disruptive to peoples' daily lives. This month, one friend of mine was challenged with a new baby, and another was challenged by chemotherapy. Food provides both literal and spiritual nourishment.

For the friend who just had a baby, her days (and nights) are consumed with feedings and diapers changes. If she’s lucky, she’ll sneak in a nap or a shower. The last thing on her mind is cooking. And yet, a proper meal is probably in the top three things that will help her get through the challenging first weeks and months. Sleep and exercise are the other two, but I couldn't bring them over in a pyrex dish. Pasta salad with corn, chanterelles, chicken and bacon is an easy meal to heat and eat. She can hold the baby in one arm and eat with the other. And should she have a few moments of quiet, Portobello-Eggplant Napoleons with Fred Flintstone Tomato Sauce and Seared Chicken can add a little festivity to the day.

As for the friend going through chemo, she just needs a distraction. During the three weeks between treatments, she has a small window of time of feeling semi-normal with energy and an appetite. The dinner I brought was an occasion to invite friends over, celebrate life, and for a few hours, forget about her troubles or talk them through.

I had wanted to make Lemon-Ricotta Ravioli with Osso Buco for a long time, and was waiting for the occasion (and the time) to do it. When I saw veal shanks on sale at Whole Foods last week, I heard my calling. This rich dish also seemed like a great meal for Kath, as I’m sure she’s trying to keep weight through the chemo. In case this was too rich, I also made a platter of vegetables — a veritable antipasto – which would be nutritious and easy to digest if she was still feeling nauseated.

Taking my cue from friend Dina, I gave special treatment to each item on the platter:

Beets were roasted (without foil this time, Bishop22) and tossed with red onions, thyme, basil, balsamic and olive oil
Roasted Kohlrabi from the garden
Zucchini was grilled and tossed with bacon, mint and lemon
Thin slices of Portobellos marinated in garlic, shallots and thyme.

…and

Grilled Bread, sliced mozzarella and fresh tomatoes from my garden filled the platter.

Kath had warned me that she probably wouldn’t eat much, so I was thrilled when she took seconds of the vegetables, and extra ravioli!

Here’s to healthy and joyous times with friends!
……………………………….
A few years ago, I contributed to a cookbook called “Great Chefs Cooking for Great Friends.” The book was published by Dana-Farber and all proceeds go to support cancer research. You can buy the book by clicking here

Or… according to the Jimmy Fund website:
Great Chefs Cooking for Great Friends features 140 recipes from 70 of Boston's most celebrated chefs, including Ming Tsai of Blue Ginger, Jasper White of Summer Shack, Laura Brenna of Caffe Umbra, and Ken Oringer of Clio. The book costs $35, and is on sale at the Friends' Corner Gift Shop in the Dana-Farber lobby, or call (617) 632-3307.

September 2, 2008

Training Cucumbers

On my last visit to DC I visited Ed Bruske’s garden. I was particularly keen to meet him since we’d shared so many similar experiences at Even’ Star Farm, though not at the same time. You can read about the pig matanza… part 1 and part 2. I participated too, two years prior. One of these days, I’ll post my story too.

In any case, I was fascinated to see another urban garden. His is impressive in its size but also it’s structure. He has tomato cages that are seven feet high. I could have used those too.

And my favorite was how he trained the cucumbers up a trellis. I decided to take this home with me. It worked great to clear up the ground space for my fall plantings, and it also makes it easier to see the cucumbers, and pick them when they’re ready.

August 29, 2008

Beer Can Chicken

Last week Dina called to say she was having a few people over for dinner and had bought 2 whole chickens to roast. I’m not sure how I got to be so bold, but I suggested she make Beer Can Chicken. Great, she said, as long as you’re the one to do it. Not sure how my day would progress, I tentatively agreed.
I don’t typically buy beer at Whole Foods (much less any beer), but I was there for other things so I thought I’d just buy it there. I was perusing the beer case, when a “team member” offered assistance in my search.

“I’m looking for a beer to make beer can chicken with,” I said.

“What???” he replied.

“You’ve never heard of beer-can chicken??” I asked stunned.

“Nope, what is it?”

“It’s when you stick a can of beer up the chicken’s bum and cook it on the grill,” I answered.

“You’ve got to be kidding me!”

We settled on Narragansett Bay. The cans were a bit tall, but the flavor profile was just right for such a dish.

Back at Dina’s house, dinner preparations were a bit harried. I didn’t arrive until 6:30 and guests were expected at 7:30. The chickens were still in their packages. No time for any sort of marinade or brine. So I pulled the skin away from the meat and rubbed salt and butter on the meat.

I smoothed the skin back over.
Half way through the cooking, we took the chickens off the grill, put some wood chips on the embers, and finished the chickens with a little smoke.

August 27, 2008

Cooking for Fred Flintstone

Last summer, I dated a man I affectionately called Fred Flintstone. He garnered this nickname because of his caveman-like eating habits. He had many wonderful virtues, but his palate was not one of them. His diet consisted of three things: chicken parmesan, pizza and kung pao chicken.

Since eating out is one of my favorite pastimes, I wanted to expand his repertoire and expose him to new flavors so we could eat together at a greater variety of restaurants. I had a plan: start with the basics and refine them. I thought, “I’ll make him the best friggin’ chicken parm he’s ever eaten!”

Off to Whole Foods: I bought organic, free range chicken, fresh mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, and brioche for homemade bread crumbs. For the sauce, I had organic, heirloom tomatoes that I canned. I proudly served him my masterpiece: The chicken was cooked perfectly, properly seasoned and juicy. The mozzarella had a light golden crust and the crunchy bread crumb crust with seasoned with the parmesan cheese and olive oil.

He said, “Your sauce could use a little tomato paste.”

He ate more broccoli than chicken, which was a particularly bad sign since vegetables were not part of his regular diet. I was thoroughly demoralized.

I wouldn’t tell him this, but he wasn’t completely wrong. The sauce was watery. Tomato paste was not necessarily the answer but it did need thickening – either by longer cooking or by using a less juicy tomato.

Out of this came a new way of making tomato sauce that does not require long simmering and stirring. I roast roma tomatoes, sliced in half, with garlic cloves and shallots. When everything is slightly browned and caramelized, I puree it all with some olive oil, balsamic vinegar and fresh herbs.

Why did we break up, you ask? Because he was a hopeless caveman, and I couldn’t convince him to try foods beyond his basic three dishes. Perhaps, I had diminished his culinary trust in me with watery tomato sauce. He never did try the improved version. But I have a new red sauce recipe to remember him by.

Fred Flintstone Tomato Sauce

3 pounds plum tomatoes, cut in half, lengthwise
2 shallots, peeled and cut in half
6 garlic cloves, peeled
2-3 stalks fresh thyme
½ cup olive oil
2-3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 sprig basil
Salt and pepper, to taste

1. Toss tomatoes with shallots, garlic, thyme and oil.

Roast the tomatoes in the oven for 30 minutes at 400F or until tomatoes are tender and the garlic is lightly browned.

3. Puree the tomatoes with garlic and shallots in a food processor. When smooth, add basil and puree for 10 seconds more just to chop. Adjust seasoning with balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.

Broccoli that even a Caveman will eat

1 head broccoli, cut into florets
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1//4 teaspoon chili flakes
1 squeeze lemon juice.

Heat a large skillet over high heat. Add garlic and chili flakes. When garlic starts to brown add broccoli. Stir to coat in olive oil and garlic. Add ¼ cup of water to steam broccoli. When water evaporates and broccoli is bright green, season with salt, pepper and lemon juice.

August 26, 2008

Cultivating Creativity: Peachy Mamas

I spoke with Brett (from Even' Star Farm) this morning and the Peachy Mama are producing incredible amounts. It's no wonder, he says, he planted 800 seedlings. CSA subscribers will be getting a pint or two in their weekly boxes, and he'll sell the rest at the Chevy Chase Farmers' Market on Saturday and to his wholesale restaurant customers. Peachy Mamas are sweet peppers that look like habaneros, but have no heat. They have a wonderful floraly aroma.

I've received several inquiries for recipes. While I don't have recipes, per se, I can offer you these suggestions:

My favorite preparation is to slice the peppers and then saute them in (canola) oil until their soft. A slight brown is fine, but not much more than that. Season with salt. The peppers make a delightful hors d'ouevre served with crackers. I served them this way for Farm Share Thursday.
I also mix them in tuna salad along with the standard mayonnise, celery and scallions. Brett also suggests mixing them in egg salad.
Grapeseed Bistro makes a peachy-mama jelly, in the style of red pepper jelly and serves it with Grilled Chicken livers. This would also work well with grilled swordfish or halibut.
Peachy Mamas pair beautifully with corn and okra. I put them in a succotash.
Mixed with rice, they perk up the standard side dish.
Make a relish with roasted peachy mamas mixed with olive oil, pinenuts and raisins. Season with salt and pepper, and perhaps a little balsamic.

Peachy Mama Jelly
2 cups diced peachy mamas
1/2 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes
1 tablespoons pectin
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup white-wine vinegar
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/4 teaspoon salt

Combine all ingredients, except pectin in a stainless steel pot. Bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add pectin, stirring constantly, and continue cooking for 5 minutes over medium heat.

You can refrigerate for a week, or can according to the directions here.

Happy Experimenting! If you have some interesting recipes, I'd love to hear them too!