Jun
30
Found a pint bottle lying on the street. Almost full of an amber liquid. And around the neck, a label saying “Drink me.” It was all very well to say “Drink me,” but wisely, I decided I was not going to do THAT in a hurry. “No, I’ll look first,” I said, “and see whether it’s marked ‘poison’ or not”; for I had read several nice little histories about children who had got burnt, and eaten up by wild beasts and other unpleasant things, all because they WOULD NOT remember the simple rules their friends had taught them: such as, that a red-hot poker will burn you if your hold it too long; and that if you cut your finger VERY deeply with a knife, it usually bleeds; and I had never forgotten that, if you drink much from a bottle marked “poison,” it is almost certain to disagree with you, sooner or later.
However, this bottle was NOT marked “poison,” so I ventured to taste it, and finding it very nice (it had, in fact, a sort of mixed flavour of cherry-tart, custard, pine-apple, roast turkey, toffee, and hot buttered toast), I very soon finished it off.
Serendipitea
makes 1
1 ounce Jeremiah Weed’s Sweet Tea Vodka
1/2 ounce bourbon
8 ounces club soda
1 lemon slice
Combine all ingredients in large glass with lots of ice and enjoy the feeling of shutting up like a telescope.
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Jun
21
A half-sour is a pickle that is fermented in a brine at room temperature, and not processed; that is, it has not been boiled/pressure-cooked for canning, and so it must be stored in the refrigerator. “Half-sour,” however, is not a great way to describe the flavor of this pickle. Even though it’s made without any vinegar, it is quite sour, and, to me, one of the purest joys of summer. The magic of salt and water and cucumbers is a wonder to behold, and one that you should not pass up. These pickles are crisp, and salty, and sour, and juicy; and the brine itself is, after fermenting, a beverage begging for its own worthy vessel.
I’ve tried making these in a variety of containers, from crocks to glass jars, and I really prefer using the 1-quart plastic tubs used to transport take-out Vietnamese soup from our neighborhood pho restaurant. The problem with room-temperature fermentation is that contact with air tends to allow unpleasant molds to bloom in the fermenting product. Various pickling resources describe different techniques for keeping the air away, but I find that these plastic tubs do the best job.
I discovered the utility of the tubs quite by accident while trying them out as fermenting containers on a whim. The lids had already been pierced by the restaurant to allow steam to escape from the hot soup, and it turned out that these piercings were perfect for allowing some of the expanding gas from the fermentation to escape, while excluding the outside air.
The cucumbers you want for this recipe are Kirbys: short, thick, green to greenish yellow, with bumps or spikes scattered across the skin. Don’t use the waxed, smooth-skinned cukes you find at the grocery store; the farmers’ market is probably the place to find your cukes. And by buying from a local farmers’ market, you get the added benefits of reducing your carbon footprint and supporting local agriculture. Keep up the good work!
Spicy Dill Half-Sours
makes 4 quarts
2 dozen small (4- to 5-inch) pickling cucumbers (about 3 pounds)
4 jalapeño peppers, stemmed & halved
6 ounces fresh dill
8 teaspoons black peppercorns
8 cloves garlic, peeled & halved
4 one-quart plastic soup tubs, lids pierced twice with a small skewer
water
pickling salt
In a large bowl, cover cucumbers with cold water & ice cubes; allow to soak for 2-3 hours. Scrub cucumbers well, remove from water, and cut 1/8 inch off of the blossom ends. Divide cucumbers, jalapeños, dill, peppercorns, & garlic among tubs. Depending on the size & number of your cukes, this may take some clever packing skills.
Make 3.5% brine by stirring 1/4 cup pickling salt into 2 quarts water until clear. Divide brine among tubs, filling right up to the brim. Snap lids onto containers quickly. A little brine should squirt up through the holes and pool in the lids; leave it there. Place tubs in a rimmed baking dish or pan and put the dish in an area of your house that will stay between 70º and 80º F. Put remaining brine in a handy covered container nearby.
After a day or two, the cucumbers will begin to ferment, and brine/gas will be forced up through the holes in the lids of the tubs. You want to keep the cucumbers as completely submerged as possible, so if you notice air pockets under the tub lids, you will need to remove the lids, add more brine, and replace the lids quickly, as before. Also, if a large amount of white or yellow mold starts to cake under any of the lids, you will want to remove the lids, wash off the mold, add more brine, and replace. After four days, you should do this even if there is no mold.
After 6 days, remove one of the cucumbers and taste it. If your fermenting room is on the warm side, the pickles may be sour and ready. I do the fermenting in my kitchen, and in the summer, the temperature in there stays around 76 degrees. My pickles are sour to my satisfaction after 8 days.
Shake the tubs to dislodge the bottom sediment and transfer the ingredients of the tubs to clean jars. Refrigerate for 3 days (and keep refrigerated until they’re gone). Pickles are best in the first 2-3 months, but I’ve eaten them after a year, and they’re still pretty good.
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Jun
14
First grown in Vidalia, Georgia in the 1930s by farmers looking for a more successful crop than the usual cotton and tobacco, the Vidalia onion is a sweet variety, with thick, juicy layers and a noticeable lack of the heat most onions possess. The sweetness comes from the sandy, low-sulfur soil that predominates in the southeastern part of Georgia, and is perfect for caramelizing. I’ve added a teaspoon of sugar to boost the speed of the caramelization, but it’s not strictly necessary.
Caramelized Vidalia Onion Mashed Potatoes
serves 4
1 pound Vidalia onions, peeled & sliced 1/4 inch
2 pounds Russet potatoes, peeled & cut into 2-inch chunks
4 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons cream, at room temperature
Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over low heat, stir in onions, salt, & sugar, and cook very slowly, stirring often, until onions darken, about 1 hour. Be careful not to brown them too quickly; onions should just barely sizzle. Remove from skillet and chop.
Cook potatoes in plenty of boiling water in large pot until done, about 20 minutes. (Check for doneness by piercing a piece of potato with a paring knife. If you can pick the potato piece up out of the water with the knife, they’re not done.) Drain and return to pot; heat over medium heat until potatoes are dry. Mash potatoes with chopped onions & cream. Taste for salt and serve.
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Jun
6
Strawberries are apparently not actually berries at all! OMG! THEY’RE NOT EVEN FRUITS! Well, horticulturally, anyway. Strictly speaking, a berry has seeds on the inside, whereas a strawberry has seeds on the outside. However, those little pips you can see attached to the outside of a strawberry are, again, strictly speaking, not really seeds. They’re actually complete fruits in and of themselves, the seed contained within an outer husk, like a sunflower seed. So the strawberry is really just bait for the birds, not the placenta analog that most fruits are. Go figure. And what, Dr. Persnickety, is an avocado?
Avocado Strawberry Salad
serves 2
1 ripe avocado
1/2 pound fresh strawberries
balsamic vinegar
salt
black pepper
Skin & chop avocado into 1-inch chunks. Stem & chop strawberries (in half if small, in quarters if large). Divide between two plates. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar, and sprinkle with salt & pepper.
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May
31
Morels, known in Kentucky as hickory chickens, kissing cousins of the more mundane cap mushrooms, possess a marvelously nutty flavor and a delightful tooth, if cooked properly. However, they do contain small amounts of monomethylhydrazine (MMH), a chemical favored by rocket scientists as a propellant. Cooking morels reduces the amount of MMH to a level normally tolerated by most humans, but eating them raw, especially in large quantities, may degrade your motor skills. (Try explaining that one to a cop.) Also, as I recently learned in Harold McGee’s On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen 
Sauteéd Asparagus & Morels
serves 4 as a side
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 pound fresh morels
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound fresh asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into 2-inch lengths
Parmigiano-Reggiano
In 12-inch nonstick skillet, over medium-low heat, melt butter. Add morels & salt and sauté, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes (morels should just barely be sizzling). Blanch asparagus in boiling, salted water for 2 minutes; drain and place immediately in ice water. Drain again when cool, then add to morels in skillet. Sauté until asparagus is heated, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Serve with shavings of Parmigiano-Reggiano and black pepper if desired.
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May
27
Braised Tongue, Under Pressure
Filed Under All, dinner, meat, pressure cooker
I realize that today’s post may seem a little extreme to some, but meat is meat, and if you’re an omnivore, you really owe it to yourself to try all of the parts, right? Tongue, one of the fattiest pieces of offal, also contains quite a bit of connective tissue, so a slow braising (or “accelerated” slow braising, in a pressure cooker
Braised Tongue, Under Pressure
makes 1 tongue
1 3- to 4-pound beef tongue
1 tablespoon salt
4 cups dry white wine
1 head garlic, cloves separated, peeled & roughly chopped
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
Place all ingredients in pressure cooker, cover, bring to pressure, and cook over high heat for 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 15 minutes, then relieve pressure. Remove tongue from pot, peel outer skin (it should pull off pretty easily). Carve and serve with wine sauce.
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May
19
Potato Leek Kale Soup
Filed Under All, creamy, dinner, meatless, soups & stews
Some nights you don’t want anything elaborate, just something simple to remind you that food can be plain and perfect at the same time. Perhaps some soup and a boule of coarse bread. A salad of soft butter lettuce tossed with lemon juice and olive oil. A glass of crispy, flinty Chablis. For those nights, this is the soup you want. It’s friendly and subtle, rich and earthy, and not likely to show up on Iron Chef. It’s just good food. Make it.
Potato Leek Kale Soup
serves 8
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 pound leeks (white & light green parts), halved lengthwise & sliced 1/8 inch
2 pounds russet potatoes, not peeled, diced 1/4 inch
2 cups dry white wine
2 quarts chicken stock
4 ounces kale, chopped 1/4 inch
1 cup whole milk
In large stockpot, sweat butter & leeks covered over low heat until translucent. Increase heat to medium, add potatoes & wine and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes. Add stock, bring to simmer, reduce heat, and cover; simmer, stirring occasionally, 15 minutes. Add kale and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Add milk and simmer, covered, 5 more minutes. Taste for salt and serve.
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May
10
This is an great little dish with plenty of interesting flavors to get your taste buds jumping. It’s my version of the Thai specialty, sometimes also called laab gai. “Gai” means chicken, but this is also good with pork. It’s best served barely warm, either on a bed of lettuce, or rolled up in a flour tortilla with shredded lettuce and avocado. The last ingredient, fish sauce, is called nam pla in Thailand, nước mắm in Vietnam. It’s a fantastic salty flavoring made from fermented fish, and you should be able to find it in an Asian-themed grocery store or even an enlightened gourmet grocery.
Larb Gai
serves 4
1/4 cup white rice
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1/2 cup minced shallots (about 1/4 pound)
1/2 jalapeño pepper, seeded, pithed, & minced
1-1/2 pounds ground chicken breast
1/2 cup minced green onions
1 medium bunch fresh cilantro, chopped (about 1 cup, firmly packed)
1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup fish sauce
Toast rice grains in dry skillet over low heat, shaking pan often, until golden brown and fragrant. Grind to course powder in mortar & pestle or coffee grinder. Set aside.
In 12-inch nonstick skillet, heat peanut oil & sesame oil over high heat until almost smoking. Add shallots, jalapeño, & chicken and sauté, stirring often, until pan is almost dry, about 5 minutes; remove from heat. Stir rice powder into skillet with chicken and allow mixture to cool slightly. Combine green onions, cilantro, lime juice, & fish sauce in large bowl, then stir in chicken. Let sit for about 15 minutes; taste for salt and serve.
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May
2
Taglietelle with Salmon & Asparagus
Filed Under All, creamy, dinner, meatless, pasta, sauces, seafood
Well I’m going through a big fresh pasta phase now, it seems, so here’s another pasta recipe. If you still haven’t tried your hand at fresh pasta, this recipe is a great reason to get started. The flavors are fresh & bright & fishy & yummy and fresh pasta really makes it sing. I’ve always like capers with smoked salmon, but it turns out they’re a perfect match for fresh salmon as well. Note that searing the salmon in burning hot olive oil looks a little weird on paper, and I highly recommend you only do this with a very powerful exhaust hood (I do mine outside), but I think you’ll like the resulting crispy crust. And though it is a little tricky when you first start, I promise that making your own pasta gets easier every time. And if you need any assistance? Why, email your favorite pasta maker, of course, at john@hungryagain.net. Here’s another link for the Atlas Pasta Machine
Tagliatelle with Salmon & Asparagus
serves 4
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 pound salmon fillet, skinned (about an inch thick)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup minced yellow onion
3/4 pound asparagus, chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
2 tablespoons capers
1 pound fresh pasta, cut to tagliatelle (or fettuccine, if you’re in Rome)
Heat oil in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat until almost smoking. Sprinkle salt on both sides of salmon, then sear in skillet for 5 minutes on the first side, 4 minutes on the second side. Remove salmon from pan and set aside. Add onion & asparagus to skillet and sauté, reducing heat to medium and stirring often, 4 minutes. Add wine and simmer 1 minute. Add cream and simmer until thickened, about 2-3 minutes. Stir in parsley & capers; taste for salt.
Cook pasta in boiling salted water until just done, then toss with sauce and serve.
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Apr
24
Official cocktail of New Orleans by proclamation of the Louisiana House of Representatives, the Sazerac is a happy little whiskey drink whose “authentic” recipe is argued to distraction and no simple conclusion. Everything from the glass it’s mixed and served in to the proper brand of bitters is fuel for bartender and imbiber alike to debate with sincere vehemence. I will not add to that fire by claiming my recipe is authentic, because it’s not. It is, however, quite tasty, and if you sip it and close your eyes, you may very well be able to imagine yourself in New Orleans. Which is where I am tonight, in spirit, anyway. Because today was the first day of Jazz Fest 2009, the 40th iteration of that incredible celebration of music, food, and friendship. And yes, I do know what it means to miss New Orleans. Happy Jazz Fest, everybody. See you next year.
Sazerac
makes 1
2 ounces rye whisky
1/2 teaspoon absinthe
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 slice very fresh lemon rind
Add rye, absinthe, & bitters to a cocktail shaker filled with ice, and gently swirl for 2 minutes. Pour into chilled martini glass, twist lemon rind over glass to allow oils to spray surface of drink, then drop twist into drink.
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