Strawberry Season in My Community Garden Plot

21Apr11

My harvest every three days

My strawberry patch

After two years on the waiting list, I finally received a plot at the Anthill Village Community Garden near the University of California, Irvine campus.  When I chose the plot in February of this year, it was a weedy mess with a few things to salvage including a dismal-looking strawberry patch in one corner.  I was hoping I could somehow get the strawberries to produce fruit that did not get eaten by bugs and critters but never did I imagine that my strawberries would do so well.  I am harvesting a basket every few days from a patch no bigger than 10′ by 3′.  In order to overcome the snails and rollie-pollies, I put small mesh nets over the berries and propped them up off the ground with wine corks.  Now I am just enjoying the fruits of my labor.

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Try this…Age Your Own

20Dec10

 So I’ve had this love/hate thing with steakhouses.  On one end, I can’t stand the rape and pillage philosophy of their wine mark ups but I love the bone in cuts, crusty exteriors, and depth of flavor that I couldn’t quite replicate at home….until now. Thanks to an episode of Good Eats and an impulse to buck the system, I went for it and aged my own meat.  Needless to say, it was extremely easy and the benefit was more than worth it.  Before starting the process I purchased two identical steaks (grass fed rib eyes, 2 lbs. each).  I ate one immediately and aged the second steak for consumption 1 week later.  The cooking technique was the same, 18/10 stainless pan cranked high and mighty with the protein only receiving a pat down and a healthy dose of sea salt. The outcomes were worlds apart.  The aged steak had a deeper beefy flavor but was more tender than the straight from the butcher cut.  Given how simple the rig set-up for the aging process was, this is my new go-to technique for a steakhouse quality steak without the ridiculous markups.  Now I can save the steakhouse wine tax while drinking a Barolo and adding an additional bottle to my Barolo collection.  Give it a shot…you’ll be amazed and your wine cellar will grow in the process.  Here’s a link to the Good Eats recipe.

Basically, you take your steak, wrap it in a paper towel and place it on a rack that you created by pushing some skewers through a pie tin. 

Drying rack

 You place your contraption in the fridge and the refrigeration process draws moisture from the meat.  Every day, you replace the paper towel.  By the 7th day, you have a bona fide aged steak.  Fire it up (I’ll let you figure out your own cooking method…Good Eats went with the chimney setup but an ultra hot pan worked for me), rest the meat, and enjoy.

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Eat: Roasted Capon with Gremolata Butter

01Dec10

This Thanksgiving, with a much smaller number of mouths to feed (10, rather than the usual 20-30 at my family’s house), we opted for a different take on the traditional turkey.  I called Marlow & Daughters a few weeks in advance to see what options they had for the upcoming holiday.  Upon the first utterance of the word “capon”, I was sold.  A capon is a is a rooster that has been castrated at a very young age.  The end result is a bird that is less gamy in taste and much more moist, tender, and flavorful than a hen or rooster. This recipe, adapted from Thomas Keller, worked out beautifully.  Gremolata butter also works universally for making a variety sauces and seasonings, or even spreading on toast.

Gremolata-butter (from Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc at Home):

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns, zest of one lemon, 1 large garlic glove, grated or minced, 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 1 tablespoon flat-leaf parsley, 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt.

To make the butter, crush the peppercorns in a heavy duty bag with a heavy pan. Add the lemon zest and garlic and mash to a paste. Put the butter in a medium bowl and mix in the pepper mixture, followed by the lemon juice. Stir in parsley and salt.

Roasted capon:

1 large capon (8-10 lbs) for 8 servings, 1 head of celery, kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper, 4 tbsp canola or vegetable oil, 6 garlic cloves (smashed, skin left on), 1 bunch fresh thyme, 1 lemon (used above, cut in half), fleur de sel.

Rinse the capon and dry well with paper towels. Season the inside with salt and pepper. Leave any fat at the neck attached, and trim any other excess fat. Starting at the cavity end of the capon, carefully run your fingers between the skin and flesh of the breasts and the thighs to loosen the skin. Spread about 1 1/2 tablespoon of the gremolata butter under the skin of each thigh and about 3 tablespoon under the skin of each side of the breast.

Truss the capon (tug under wings and tie the legs). Let it sit at room temperature for 30 min (or alternatively, store covered in refrigerator for up to 2 days and let come to room temperature before roasting).

Preheat oven to 400 F.

Place capon in a roasting pan atop several celery stalks, brush with canola oil and sprinkle with salt. Stuff the garlic gloves, thyme, and lemon halves inside the capon.

Transfer to oven and roast until the juices run clear and the inner temperature of the chicken is 165 F (approximately 2 1/2 hours).

Let the capon rest for 20 minutes before carving. Sprinkle with fleur de sel.

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Drink: The Frisco

30Nov10

Rye whiskey, Benedictine, and lemon juice- the only ingredients necessary for the perfect Frisco

Following this article in the NY Times a few months ago, my boyfriend and I began experimenting with an old but seemingly forgotten cocktail… The Frisco. The article discusses several different ratios and combinations that result in subtly different flavors, but after a lot of discussion and several hangovers, we finally found what we believe to be the perfect recipe. And the best part is, it’s REALLY simple. The end result is a drink that’s reminiscent of an Old Fashioned, with a slightly darker edge and acidic undertone. It’s likely the only thing I’ll be drinking for the next several months.

The Frisco (Brooklyn-style)

2 ounces high-quality rye whiskey

1/2 ounce Benedictine

1/2 ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice

* Combine ingredients- stir or shake over ice, as you desire.

The Frisco

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Eat: Italian Bread and Cabbage Soup

01Nov10

This incredibly easy bread soup from Jamie Oliver’s book, Jamie at Home, is all about celebrating the changing seasons and the king of winter veg- cabbage. It’s layered a little bit like a lasagne, with grilled bread and cabbage in stock, and as it cooks it plumps up like bread and butter pudding. I used swiss chard from my workshare, but it would also work great with kale or cavolo nero.  This dish will make any guests happy on a crisp fall evening with a bottle of wine to help warm up.

Italian Bread and Cabbage Soup with Sage Butter

Ingredients: 3 litres vegetable stock, 1 Savoy cabbage (stalks removed, outer leaves separated, washed and roughly chopped), 2 big handfuls of swiss chard (stalks removed, leaves washed and roughly chopped), about 16 slices of stale country-style or sourdough bread, 1 clove of garlic, unpeeled, cut in half, olive oil, 12–14 slices of pancetta or smoked streaky bacon, 1 tin of anchovy fillets in oil, 3 sprigs of fresh rosemary, 200g fontina cheese (grated), 150g freshly grated Parmesan cheese, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, a couple of large knobs of butter, a small bunch of fresh sage.

Directions: Preheat your oven to 350ºF. Bring the stock to the boil in a large saucepan and add the cabbage and swiss chard. Cook for a few minutes until softened. Remove the cabbage to a large bowl, leaving the stock in the pan.

Toast all but 5 of the bread slices on a hot griddle pan or in a toaster, then rub them on one side with the garlic halves, and put to one side. Next, heat a large ovenproof casserole-type pan on the hob, pour in a couple of glugs of olive oil and add your pancetta and anchovies. When the pancetta’s golden brown and sizzling, add the rosemary and cooked cabbage and toss to coat the greens in all the flavors. Put the mixture and all the juices back into the large bowl.

Place 4 of the toasted slices in the casserole-type pan, in one layer. Spread over one third of the cabbage leaves, sprinkle over a quarter of the grated fontina and Parmesan, and add a drizzle of olive oil. Repeat this twice. Pour in all the juices remaining in the bowl and end with a layer of untoasted bread on top. Push down on the layers with your hands.

Pour the stock gently over the top till it just comes up to the top layer. Push down again and sprinkle over the remaining fontina and Parmesan. Add a good pinch of pepper and drizzle over some good-quality olive oil. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30 minutes or until crispy and golden on top.

When the soup is ready, divide it between your bowls. Melt the butter in a frying pan and quickly fry the sage leaves until they’re just crisp and the butter is lightly golden. Spoon a bit of the flavored butter and sage leaves over the soup and add another grating of Parmesan.

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Eat: Pickled Watermelon Radishes

27Oct10

Though I haven’t quite gotten around to making everything I set out to do since my last workshare, I have had time to play around with the watermelon radishes I brought home.  Having eaten several of the raw (I eat them like apples), I decided to preserve a few for future use (read banh mi sandwiches). I took Thomas Keller’s recipe for basic pickling liquid and spiced it up a bit, using a vinegar my mom and I made last year with sage and raspberries.

Watermelon Radishes from Clagett Farm

Pickled Watermelon Radishes with Sage and Raspberry

Ingredients:  the equivalent of 2 large watermelon radishes (trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut into thin half circles), 1 cup red wine vinegar or vinegar infused with raspberry and sage*, 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup water.

Method:  Combine the vinegar, sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the liquid.  Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature, then chill in the refrigerator.

Place the radishes in a canning jar and pour the pickling liquid over them.  Let stand for 20-30 minutes, then cover and refrigerate for up to 1 month.

* To infuse vinegar with sage and raspberries, combine 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 cup vinegar in a stainless steel saucepan. Heat, stirring occasionally, until hot but not boiling. Pour mixture into a glass bowl; stir in1 cup fresh raspberries and 5-7 fresh sage leaves. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand in a cool place 6 to 7 days. Pour through a fine mesh sieve then through cheesecloth. Transfer to vinegar bottles.

Pickled Watermelon Radishes with Sage and Raspberry

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Clagett Farm Workshare Update

18Oct10

This weekend I did another workshare at Clagett Farm in Upper Marlboro, Maryland. You can see my previous post for more details about the incredible farm and amazing people that work there.

As we begin to enter Fall (my favorite season), we are seeing some great and exciting produce coming out of the farms in and around the this area. Here is a list of things I brought home with me after a hard day’s work:

• Nova Scotia garlic
• Green tomatoes (baby ones and big ones)
• Swiss chard (just beautiful!)
• Cabbage
• Sweet potatoes (and sweet potato greens)
• Okra
• Watermelon radishes
• Daikon radishes
• Turnips

The things I am most excited to experiment with this week are sweet potato challah (to make french toast and paninis), baby fried green tomatoes (perhaps with a ravigote sauce), and a take on Jamie Oliver’s Italian bread and cabbage soup. I’ll report back soon with photos!

Oh, and my favorite part of working this weekend was nurturing these baby heads of bibb lettuce. They will be so beautiful in a few months:

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Drink: Wines from Kermit Lynch

06Oct10

I figure it’s about time we gave Kermit Lynch a shout-out. After all, we have been loyal fans drinking his wine for almost a decade now.

As most of you oenophiles already know, Kermit Lynch is somewhat of a living legend in the wine importing world. He is highly respected for his portfolio of wines, which he hand-selects while staying true to his philosophy- supporting producers who represent the best of their appellation in the purest form, with minimal external influence or manipulation- or as the French say, vin naturel. He is also an author, an educator, and a winemaker. His first book, Adventures on the Wine Route, is a must read for anyone interested in how a self-described hippie helped to revolutionize the accessibility of French wine in the US. I have read it twice.

Thomas Jefferson's sacred words "good wine is a necessity of life for me," adorn each bottle blessed with Kermit Lynch's label- and truer words have never been spoken.

Last November, Susie and Albert shipped me a case of Kermit Lynch’s (“Kermie” in our family) wines- an early Christmas present. To say that it was difficult to keep my hands off of the case for 6 months is an understatement, but I was determined not to break into it until they came to visit me in DC. When Susie came for a weekend in April, we finally broke into a first bottle of Silvio Giamello’s “Villa Gentiana”, a classic rich yet subtle Nebbiolo from Barbaresco. Susie and Albert, having met the winemaker personally the year before (during which Alby self-admittedly developed a man-crush on Silivo), couldn’t stop raving about his wines. I was sold the moment I encountered the first aromas from the glass. It was a truly lovely evening with my family as we drank from a bottle of handcrafted wine delivered to us by Kermit Lynch and baked goat cheese, prosciutto and olive pizzas.

Since then, I have opened each bottle from the case with assiduous care. That is not to say that I am hoarding the wines, failing to spontaneously enjoy those that are ready to drink now, but rather making sure that each time I open a bottle it’s with people that I love and want to share the memory with. Luckily, the past few weeks have given me special occasion to open two more of the coveted KL wines: a bold Syrah from Domaine Auguste Clape in Northern Rhone and a Gigondas-esqe Grenache blend from Brunier. Both proved to be true expressions of the terroir from which they were born.

2008 Domaine Clape Le Vin des Amis

Nose: musky nose with warm spices of cloves and nutmeg, violet aromatics, and notes of black pepper and fennel.

Palate: vivid palate of strawberry, cherry, and dark plum fruits; dry with medium tannins and a savory complexity.

Notes: region- Cornas (a tiny 250 acre village) in Northern Rhone ; varietal- 100% Syrah; Auguste Clape is affectionately called the “King of Cornas” by many, both because his wines are widely considered to be the best from this tiny appellation and because he has fought to maintain its integrity and recognition over the years. Clape continues to use neutral oak barrels or steel for all his winemaking, and he has no problem waiting months on end for the fermentation to finish. Likewise, most of his wines are still made by hand and meticulously picked, sorted, crushed and fermented in single lots. These lots, after they have taken their time to ferment and age for a while, are blended to make the final wine.

2007 Brunier "Le Pigeoulet en Provence" Vin de Pays de Vaucluse

Nose: dark fruit aromas of raspberry and plum, roasted sage, tobacco and sandalwood.

Palate: flavor of crushed herbs, cherry, pomegranate, and raspberries; open and soft with nice acidity and a mineral core. An excellent everyday drinker.

Notes: region- Provence, France; varietal- 80% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 5% Cinsault, 5% Carignan; The name Pigeoulet was given to this Vin de Pays de Vaucluse – the “house wine” at Les Vignobles Brunier – because it is the name of the vineyard where the family home is located. Because there is no irrigation on Brunier’s vineyards, there is considerable hydric stress in the summers, which contributes to the intensity and character of the grapes. The maturity of these grape and harvesting tend to come two weeks later than in CdP. The grapes are picked by hand and destemmed, then undergo 12-15 days’ vinification in temperature-controlled concrete vats. Pneumatic pressing and systematic malolactic fermentation take place before the wine is aged in vats for 6 months, and then in foudres for a further 6 months or so. Click here, for my review of the Pigeoulet blanc.

“Wine is, above all, pleasure. Those who would make it ponderous make it dull” – Kermit Lynch

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Eat: Momofuku’s Crack Pie

28Sep10

In celebration of Susie’s birthday last weekend, we decided to launch an experiment baking Momofuku’s notorious Crack Pie. I’ve been to Momofuku Ssam and Milk Bar several times, though admittedly I’ve never tried the crack (I can never convince myself to pass up the captain crunch milk shake!). But given that everyone from Ashton Kutcher to Anderson Cooper and Martha Steward raves about the thing, we figured we had to find out for ourselves why it’s so popular. Crack Pie is a twist on Chess Pie – a dessert found in the “Joy of Cooking,” popular because it can be made with common pantry ingredients such as butter, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Although there are several recipes for pastry chef Christina Tosi’s celebrated pie floating around out there, we based ours primarily on the recipe in the recent Bon Appetit magazine, with a few adjustments along the way. We used more butter in the cookie crust because the dough felt a bit dry at first. We also used additional salt to the crust to accentuate the “crack” element of the pie which comes from the combination of sweet and salty flavors.

Momofuku’s Crack Pie

Ingredients

Oat cookie crust: Nonstick vegetable oil spray, 9 tbsp unsalted butter (room temperature, divided), 1/3 cup light brown sugar (divided), 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 large egg, 2/3 cup old-fashioned rolled oats, 1/3 cup all purpose flour, 1/8 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon (generous) salt

Filling: 3/4 cup sugar, 1/2 cup (packed) golden brown sugar, 1 tablespoon nonfat dry milk powder, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (melted, cooled slightly), 6 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream, 4 large egg yolks, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, powdered sugar (for dusting)

To make the oat cookie crust: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 13 x 9 x 2-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper; coat with nonstick spray. Combine 6 tablespoons butter, 4 tablespoons brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons sugar in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat mixture until light and fluffy, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, about 2 minutes. Add egg; beat until pale and fluffy. Add oats, flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and beat until well blended, about 1 minute. Turn oat mixture out onto prepared baking pan; press out evenly to edges of pan. Bake until light golden on top, 17 to 18 minutes. Transfer baking pan to rack and cool cookie completely.

Using your hands, crumble oat cookie into large bowl; add 3 tablespoons butter and 1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar. Rub in with fingertips until mixture is moist enough to stick together. Transfer cookie crust mixture to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Using fingers, press mixture evenly onto bottom and up sides of pie dish. Place pie dish with crust on rimmed baking sheet.

To make the filling: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°F. Whisk both sugars, milk powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Add melted butter and whisk until blended. Add cream, then egg yolks and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Pour filling into crust. Bake pie 30 minutes (filling may begin to bubble). Reduce oven temperature to 325°F. Continue to bake pie until filling is brown in spots and set around edges but center still moves slightly when pie dish is gently shaken, about 20 minutes longer. Cool pie 2 hours in pie dish on rack. Chill uncovered overnight.

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Eat: Clam and Calamari Bouillabaisse

22Sep10

 

A lot of people hold the misconception that Bouillabaisse is difficult to make, most likely because its French and it involves fish. The truth is, its really just all about the stock. If you can get the soup base right, you can throw in just about any white fleshed fish or shellfish and come out with a fantastic dish.

Clam and Calamari Bouillabaisse

To make a delicious soup base, sweat down 1 large sliced yellow onion and 1 sliced sliced leeks in ½ cup of olive oil. Stir in 2-3 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (or 1 3/4 cups canned tomatoes in the winter), and 4 cloves mashed garlic. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Add 2 1/2 quarts water, a handful of fresh or dried herbs (parsley, bay leaves, thyme, basil and fennel seeds are great. You can also add saffron or any other exotic spice, but make sure to taste along the way), a pinch of pepper, 1 tbsp salt, and approximately 3-4 lbs of left over fish trimmings, such as fish head, bones, and shells (or substitute 1 quart clam juice and 1 quart water, but then don’t add any salt) to the kettle. Bring to a boil, skim, and cook, uncovered, at a slow boil for about 30 to 40 minutes. Strain the stock through a fine mesh sieve.

When you are ready to make the bouillabaisse, bring the soup base to a rapid boil in the kettle about 20 minutes before serving. Add clams and calamari (of course, you can also use lobsters, crabs, mussels, scallops and any other white fish you have on hand). Bring to a boil for 5 minutes. Be careful not to overcook. Serve with a loaf of fresh baked french bread and good wine.

Bouillabaisse with 2007 Flowers Pinot Noir

 

Wine pairing: We paired the bouillabaisse with 2 different wines. First, we finished off a bottle of the 2007 Brander Sauvignon Blanc- the minerality and soft velvety texture was a great combination with the saltiness of the soup. We then moved onto a bottle of 2007 Flower Pinot Noir from the Sonoma Coast. The pinot worked well because it had a light smokey undertone, which balanced out the fattier fish. I’d also recommend a rose from Bandol or a Sauternes for a more classic pairing.

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