Jennyfriend

Sephardic Challah

2010-03-18T15:19:00.000-07:00

Today was spent in a state of mild euphoria. No kidding. I was Giddy. Upbeat. Smiling. The weather didn't hurt, I suppose-it was reaching towards 70 degrees today and during lunch my fasting partner in crime and I walked into Central Square to the food co-op and bought some yummmies that we will enjoy at a future date.

I found some reusable muslin bags for bouquet garni and loose herbs for infusions and such and was happy not to have to order them on line. I also picked up some coconut milk for the soup I will break my fast on!

So far the fast has been remarkably painless; I didn't realize I had such discipline. In fact, the most discomfiting thing about fasting is how precious little I have to do in the kitchen. Cooking is usually what I look forward to when I come home from work so in lieu of dinner making, I whipped up some instant gratification challa bread.

The recipe is adapted from my old friend Jessamyn Waldman who is the executive director and chef of Hot Bread Kitchen, an AMAZING triple bottom line business in good ol' NYC(sniff, sniff)...but I am going there tomorrow, so joy! joy!

Sephardic Challa:
Ingredients:
2 tbl. sesame seeds
1 tbl. flax seeds
1 1/2 tbl. anise seeds
1 1/2 tbl. caraway seeds

1 package yeast
2 c. warm water
5 c. breadflour (today I did AP flour with 3 tbl. wheat germ for good health, but it makes a denser loaf)
3 tbl. olive oil
2 tbl. honey
1 tbl. salt
cornmeal for dusting or parchment paper
2 egg yolks for glazing

Toast seeds two minutes until fragrant over med. low heat
In the Kitchen Aid, combine flour, oil, honey, and water and mix on low until dough forms.

Dissolve yeast in a bit of the warm water.

Add yeast mixture, salt and seeds and mix at medium low about 10 minutes

Then transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover, and let it rise for a while, one hour at minimum. Now cut the dough into thirds (that's a "Y" shape out of the circular loaf) and roll it out to 18 inches.

Lightly oil and dust with cornmeal a cookie sheet. Then braid the loaf and let it double in size, on the cookie sheet, covered with a damp towel for about an hour. Jessamyn actually makes two long ropes of dough and then makes two coiled loaves out of them, but I am romantically attached to the idea of braided challa and the it is more elegant to me than a simple coil.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and whisk the egg yolks with a dash of water and let it stand 30 minutes. Repeat the egg wash and then sprinkle with the reserved seeds.

Bake for 30 minutes and enjoy! Pics coming soon.

Ugh. Soooo disappointed. My challa is not the right color. It was too brown on top. It rose in the oven so it has really, really white bits where the new dough puffed up and really, really brown bits of the exterior dough.

Is this the end of the world? No. Will it taste fantastic? Yes. But I am a visual eater and a stifled creative type whose medium is food, so I am a little bummed about this one, to say the least.

Did I go too crazy with the egg glaze? Was my oven too hot? Do I need to put aluminum foil on top for the last 10 minutes? It looks like I am going to have to figure something out here.

Was it the braid? I coiled it before. Looks like I will be baking challa every week for a month and will keep myself posted of the results.

Semla

2010-03-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

One day I was looking for something unique and special with which to celebrate Mardi Gras and I came across an awesome blog that featured a recipe for Swedish semla, the traditional pre-Lenten treat. It was so beautiful that I just HAD to try it and I am glad that I did because it is truly a sublime not too rich just perfect kind of confection. I did modify the original recipe quite a bit, and will post soon, but here is a photo, enjoy!

Oh, this is them before the final touches were made; they are truly divine just plain with a little butter, actually. Next time I have overnight guests, I may make them for breakfast.

Semla: SOOOOOO worth it! This was adapted from a recipe from Nordstjernen located via the *fantastic* occupation: housewife blog
Ingredients for the dough:

5 tbl. unsalted butter
3/4 c. milk
1/4 c. water
1 1/2 tbl. yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
3 tbl. sugar
3 c. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. freshly ground cardamom
2 eggs, beaten

Filling:

10 oz. almond paste
1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. creme anglais
1/2 c. marscapone
powdered sugar

In a large mixing bowl, combine all dry ingredients (flour, sugar, salt, cardamom).

Melt the butter on the stove and add the milk to warm, but not so warm that you can't comfortably stick your finger in it.

Dissolve the yeast in warm enough for your finger to take a dip and let sit about 5 minutes while the butter mixture is cooling.

Add liquids (yeast + butter mix)to the flour and when difficult to stir, turn the dough out on a floured surface to knead until it is soft and supple.

Let the dough rise for an hour, covered with a damp cloth. While the dough rises, you can make the creme anglais, which is simply freshly whipped cream with vanilla extract to taste.

Then, hand roll the dough into an oversized tootsie-roll shape and with a sharp knife, cut the log into 16 sections.

Place each bun on a parchment lined cookie sheet and pre-heat your oven to 440 degrees for about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, let the buns proof.

Brush the buns with the beaten egg and bake for 10 minutes on the middle rack of the oven.

Let the buns cool until you can handle them and then slice off the tops, if you can stand "wrecking" such a glorious bun and then scoop out the soft inside dough of the bottom half and place into a small mixing bowl.

To the scooped out dough, add the almond paste, milk, creme anglais and marscapone. Then re-fill each bun-with a pastry pipe if you have one (I used a regular teaspoon)and replace the tops.

Finally, dust with powedered sugar by knocking a confectioner sugar filled seive with a fork to your heart's content and fasten your seat belt for an outrageous treat!

Miracle Grains

2010-03-16T16:24:00.001-07:00

Making Rosemary Gladstar's miracle grains has been on my list for quite some time and now that I have finally made them, the results are stupendous and I want to share them here.

Miracle Cleansing Grains. That's quite a statement. But if you use them, you will know why-they are truly miraculous! I made up a batch, put them in a plastic container in my bathroom, found a scallop shell from Pensacola to use as a scooper and designated a small marble mortar that didn't get much use in the kitchen to mix it up fresh every time I wash my face.

It feels so nice and I feel so pampered to be able to make for myself a truly wonderful beauty product. Here is the recipe:

2 cups white clay
1 cup finely ground oats
1/4 cup finely ground almonds
2 tbl. ground lavender
2 tbl. ground roses
2 tbl. poppy seeds
and rose essential oil for scent

That's it! To use, take a small amount and wet with water and/or honey (for extra moisterizer if you need it)and use like a regular cleanser.

I like to finish with witch hazel and then jojoba oil and my skin feels soooo soft and nice. I think it's a fraction of the price of regular products, too! Whoopeee!

Pain au Levain

2010-03-16T16:05:00.000-07:00

What does any sane woman do shortly after embarking on a two week long fast?

Bake bread, of course!

The fact is that after taking nearly a week to make my sourdough starter in the first place, I have major objections to NOT baking bread once a week on principle. What's more, if I don't make a new loaf, I have to discard half my starter and that makes me feel like well, there is no point to maintaining one in the first place.

SO, although I won't actually be consuming this loaf, I hope that my family appreciates it!

The story of this particular bread is as such: at my father's last Christmas I was introduced to baking with a poolish and thus began a bit of a baking bread frenzy. After a ton of internet research, I decided to seek out Daniel Leader's Bread Alone from my local library and see what all the fuss was about.

Well, two renewals and countless loaves later, I decided that infintley renewing the book at the library was a little ridonculous. Taking advantage of being in Union Square over the weekend, I stopped by Strand and lo and behold they had one copy left. Ten bucks, now it's mine!

Anyway, I couldn't possibly give better directions than Leader himself, so I won't. The only thing I do differently is that not having installed a make shift baking stone in my oven and lacking brotforms, I cook my bread in a cast iron dutch oven. Other than that, I try to stay true to the recipe!

If you are so inspired to delve deeper into the world of bread, go find the book in your library and give the recipe a shot!

Master Cleanse, Modified

2010-03-16T15:30:00.001-07:00

So my girlfriend at work mentioned Stanley Burrough's Master Cleanse and being as I am in need of serious detox after two years of non-stop eating, drinking and smoking whatever and whenever, I decided to committ to a 10 day cleanse. The basic recipe is as follows:

fresh lemon juice and maple syrup (grade B) in equal parts
cayenne pepper to taste
clean water

This is to be imbibed all the day long, whenever one feels hungry. I have been having four quarts of the stuff at work (8-4pm). For the day, I bring a mixture of one cup juice pre-mixed with one cup of syrup and mix the concoctions on breaks.

Now, according to the official literature, one is supposed to take a cup of smooth move tea (an herbal laxative) in the AM and then proceed to imbibe ONE LITER of water mixed with two teaspoons of sea salt so as to give oneself an internal enema(the salt water has the same density as the blood and therefore is not absorbed, so basically it's a shower for your digestive system).

Well, anyway, being that I don't want to sabotage myself with too much suffering in the beginning and seeing as I am not much of a rule abider anyhow, I'm actually not following the cleanse as prescribed. Big surprise! SO, no salt water for now. Maybe on day 3 or 4 when I feel super confident about my ability to stick it out.

I have decided that so long as I drink four quarts of the lemonade, my caloric and vitamin needs are met for the day. SO, in the evening, I am having cold herbal infusions as per my liking.

On day one, I had red clover/peppermint and on day two I am having red clover/mullein. This is to use up all the wildcrafted herbs I collected and dried last year before the new season comes and also because I really think that with no food in my system, the tonics might actually be quite beneficial.

What has been really amazing about the fast so far is how much easier it is to NOT EAT when you're fasting as opposed to not eating the WRONG THINGS when you ARE eating. This has sort of reawakened my taste for truly yummy things. I have been fantasizing not about rich and luxurious foods, but about avocados, sprouts, and raw food in general.

This could be, of course, because I am planning to break the fast on fresh grapefruit juice during the day and some kind of seriously herbal asian style brothy soup at night for the first three days and then start incorporating foods suitable for a raw food diet.

It's not that I want to go back to a raw food diet forever, but I do feel like I have to center myself and get back to those basics because I feel I have become rather addicted to those warming and yummy foods of winter. I am planning on joining a CSA this year and with the warm weather coming, I think it's a great time to make a change.

Interestingly, my fast is coinciding with lent, which is also a traditional time of fasting and in harmony with the coming of the spring and the bounty of the seasons to come.

Well, I suppose I will end here by saying, that I am truly and pleasantly surprised by the relative ease with which the fast has begun. As someone who receives an inordinate amount of pleasure from food, I thought this would be somehow more painful. I am really looking forward to the end of the fast, but not in a fiendish sense of "I can't wait to eat food again" more like, wow, I will have really accomplished something good for myself two weeks from today.

Oysters Parmesan

2009-12-30T06:34:00.001-08:00

I just had to sneak a rawbie with a little hotsauce.

So what you see here are not the usual oysters we get from Apalachacola, which are renowed for their, I dunno, radical excellence? They were, alas, out of them at Joe Patti's, so we got these much larger beauties from Galvaston. Not quite so local, but, hey, I was visiting Pensacola from Boston, so local enough for me.

This simple dish is de rigeur in any of the bombed out sea side steak and seafood joints along the Gulf Coast and is so ubiquitous, and relatively cheap, that we never thought to make it ourselves at home.

Well, as with most things, the homemade version was even tastier, and so this is now a New Year's tradition in the house! We make these little tasties alongside a few other tapas dishes with copious amounts of champagne. Delish! Here is the recipe:

Mix one part seasoned breadcrumbs with one part parmesan or pecorino romano. I prefer to make my own breadcrumbs with leftover bread thrown in a Cuisinart with garlic and onion powder and dried oregano flakes, but my lazier parents buy Progresso brand. Or maybe it's just that my Dad's bread is so good there are NEVER any leftovers?

Melt about some butter in the microwave or stove.

Shuck the oysters and arrange them on the broiler pan.

With a teaspoon, put some of the mixture on top and with another one, spoon on some butter.

Put them into a preheated oven at 450 degrees and leave them there until the breadcrumbs have browned, about 7 minutes.

Dad, is that right? I am writing from memory weeks after the fact! Will post a final pic soon! Muah!

Samosa!

2009-12-29T08:01:00.000-08:00

When I was little my parents would make these for me and often I would either watch them do it or help chop ingredients. In spite of this, it always seemed a miracle to me that they knew-actually KNEW!-how to make these savory little pockets of joy.

Well, I finally decided to learn it myself and the results were fantastic. The only thing I will caution against is that they are a bit labor intensive and if you decide to serve for guests or family you may want to make the samosa ahead of time and then fry them up quickly at the last minute.

Oh, one more thing, the samosa dough recipe is a MUCH BETTER alternative to the empanada dough recipe I have included here in an earlier post. I am going to use this for all future empanadas, being as this dough is thinner, easier to work with, and uses oil instead of butter.

For the Pastry Dough:

2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
4 tbls. vegetable oil
4 tbs. water

Sift 2 cups of regular all purpose flour and one tsp. salt into a mixing bowl. I don't own a sifter so I simply measured my ingredients in a fine mesh seive and knocked them into the bowl, voila!

Now add the oil and make a meal with the flour, using yor fingers to crumble it all together. To this, slowly add the water and form it into a ball. I had to use practically 4 more tbls. of water plus an extra tbls. of oil to reach the desired consistency so I think it depends on your water, the humidity, etc. So be open-mided about not following this recipe verbatim.

On a clean, lightly floured work surface, knead the dough for 10 minutes until it is smooth. Again, don't feel bad about adding more oil and water if the dough isn't cooperating. Form the smooth, kneaded dough into a ball and put in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

For the Filling:

4-5 medium potatoes
1 c. thawed green peas
1 medium onion, finely diced
2" chunk of ginger, peeled and grated
1 fresh chili or as jalapenos in a jar to taste
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper, less if you don't want heat
1 tsp. toasted and ground cumin
1 tsp. garam masala
1 tsp. ground coriander
3 tbls. chopped fresh cilantro
2 tbl. lemon juice
3 tbl. water

Boil potatoes in their jackets and peel and dice when cool. Heat 4 tbl. of oil and brown the onions and add peas, ginger, and chili with the cilantro and water. Cover, lower heat, and simmer until peas are cooked 3 min. Add potatoes, salt, spices and lemon juice and cook on low heat for 3-4 minutes.

Serve with pureed heaven, otherwise known as:

Coriander Chutney

1/2 tsp roasted cumin
1 tsp chili pepper
2 bunches of cilantro Or 10, if you worship this herb like I do!
1/2 lemon
1/2 tsp salt

Shrimp Creole, P'cola style

2009-12-27T17:47:00.000-08:00

First things first. Let me say how I love that cajun food reflects such a rich spectrum of culinary traditions. Now, just as sofrito (onion, cilantro, garlic, green pepper) is the base for Puerto Rican cuisine and mirepoix (onion, carrots, celery) the base of French cuisine, cajun food has the Holy Trinity. The Holy Trinity is equal parts onion, celery and bell pepper. Now, this being a culinarily eclectic household, we begin our cajun odyssey by throwing the following things in a Cuisinart, passing them off as The Holy Trinity, and blending them beyond recognition:

3 ribs celery
1 large onion
1 green pepper
4 cloves garlic

Now in the meantime, you will take 3 pounds of exquisite, head-on Gulf Coast shrimp and remove the heads by twisting them gently off. Reserve the heads and peel the shrimp, adding the shells to the ripped off heads with bulging shrimp eyeballs. Now, put 3 or so cups of water into a pot, add the shells, heads, a sliced lemon, a few ribs of celery, some onion, garlic, peppercorns, and thyme sprigs, bring to a boil and let simmer for 45 minutes. This is your shrimp stock. See? Now with the peeled shrimp, you will take a paring knife and devein as demonstrated below: Throw the holy trinity into a nice cast iron skillet with generous amounts of olive oil and sautee for a while on medium high heat. To this add a few chopped fresh tomatoes, salt, and some creole seasoning which you can buy or make yourself if you are so inclined.

After your shrimp are cleaned, you can toss them in said creole seasoning. Then go back to your sauce.

With your Holy Trinity (plus some) in the skillet, you will add 1/2 cup of white wine, 2 bay leaves, 1 tsp. of black pepper, 1 tsp. white pepper, caynenne to taste, and what the hell, a little more creole seasoning. I don't think you can ever have too much.

Let the sauce simmer for 45 minutes and then add some tabasco and worcestershire sauce to taste. Throw in the shrimp for 2-3 minutes and ta-dah! You're done! Serve with white rice and garnsih with anythign green and fresh. Deeee-lish!

A tart you can count on

2009-12-27T17:18:00.000-08:00

When Jessy and I went to Joe Patti's we stopped by Kara's fruit stand in the parking lot. James and I had paid her a visit this summer on the way back from Nola and stocked up on tomatoes and this time of year she had some uber choice citrus fruits and believe it or not, strawberries from Plant City, FL.

I bought three pints of strawberries, so beside myself with glee for the chance to eat-strawberries!-in wintertime, deprived as I am for local berries in my native Massachusetts. I also brought back a quarter bushel of outrageously juicy tangerines and a quarter bushel of sweet as can be pink grapefruit.

The citrus didn't last long; we made copious amounts of fresh tangergine margaritas and drank up fresh grapefruit juice with breakfast, leaving me the strawberries.

Well, after taking inventory of the pantry, Jessy and I settled on making a flourless almond strawberry tart. We havn't actually eaten yet, so I don't know how good it is, but judging from the ingredients, how could it not be? Here goes:

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almonds (cover raw almonds in boiling water for two minutes, drain, rinse, and then pop the skins off)
3/4 c. sugar, perhaps less though
2 egg whites
2 tbl. fresh lemon juice
2-4 cups fresh strawberries, in-season
1/2 c. apricot jam
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract ( I used my Dad's homemade stuff-divine!)
chopped nuts of your choice for garnish
2 shots of Amaretto, one for the citrus glaze, one for you, on the rocks

This is remarkably simple and gives a visually attractive result. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Start by getting some parchment paper and tracing with a pencil around an 8" cake pan, and place it on a bakingsheet.

Then put your blanched almonds and sugar in the Cuisinart and blend until they are a fine powder.

In a separate bowl, whisk the egg whites and vanilla until frothy and add them to the mixture. Now if you have a pastry bag with a pipe, congratulations, fancy pants. If you wanna do it ghetto style, like us, get a plastic ziplock bag and stuff the almond paste into a corner of the bag. Then snip off the corner to make an opening of approximately 1/2".

Now, sqeezing the bag, pipe the almond paste in a spiral motion starting from THE CENTER of the circle you traced on the parchment paper. Place the tart in the oven and bake until it begins to brown, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, put the apricot jam, lemon juice and amaretto into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil. If you want, you can then strain it through a seive, but we like apricot chunks in keeping with our peasant tendencies (:

When the tart is cool enough to handle, brush the glaze on and toss the now halved strawberries in it. Be sure though to leave one berry whole to decorate the center of the tart. Arrange the berries on top as you like and let cool for at least an hour more.

We also threw in some bluberries for interest and then sprinkled some chopped pecans on top, in keeping with our in season options here on the Gulf Coast.

Post Script-this was a winner, totally delish. We served it with creme chantilly and it was lovely!

Boule

2009-12-27T10:46:00.001-08:00

Or, as my gorgeous little girls would simply say, "crunchy bread", which is one of their favorite things to eat with brie or butter.

Ingredients for Step One: 1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 tsp. active yeast
1 c. water

OK, start off by warming 1/4 c. of water to the point that it is warm, but not so warm that you can't stick your finger in it comfortably.

Dissolve 1/2 tsp. active yeast in the water. When the yeast is dissolved, add some tap water to the beaker.

Then add the liquid to 1 1/2 c. flour, but first make a little well in the center and then combine until all dry ingredients are incorprorated.

If your mixture is at all dry looking, add a little water. The idea is to have a dough that looks like a very wet mass. This will challenge your idea of what dough is supposed to look like if you make bread dough the "regular way". THIS way is called the "wet" or "sponge" method of bread baking, also known, as my father smugly informed me, a poolish. What a cute word!

Once this is done, simply cover the mixing bowl you used to combine the ingredients and let the dough rise. Cover it with a kitchen towel and set it in a warm, cozy spot, for about 12 hours. You can do this in the evening, let it sit overnight and then have fresh bread for the day.

BOULE STEP TWO:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. yeast
2/3 c. water This is essentially the other half of the dough. Add the flour and salt to your Cuisinart or Kitchen Aid and pulse it together to blend. As in the first step, dissolve the 1/2 tsp. yeast in 1//4 c. water and when fully dissolved, increase the amount of water to 2/3.

Add the liquid to the original dough and stir with a rubber spatula until well combined. Then add the wet dough to the dry ingredients in the blender and pulse until combined, adding tablespoons of flour to the mix as necessary to achieve a good consistency (as in not too wet).

Remove the dough from the Cuisinart and knead by hand for five minutes, forming into a nice round ball, "smooth like a baby's bum" as my Dad would say. Place the ball of dough in the same bowl that the wet dough had risen in and let rise for another two hours. Now sit back and watch these videos to see what happens next!

After about an hour, you will be ready to bake your boule! Place your finally risen dough on parchment paper and place it gently in the bottom of a cast iron dutch oven. Make sure to score your ball of sweet baby bottom with a sharp knife or if you gansta, a razor blade,and stick it in the oven at 450 degrees for 35 minutes (ANd remove the lid to the dutch oven for the last 15 for color).

Voila! And don't worry, it only takes all day!

Here is the final project, and it was super yummy!

Berenjena (Melanzana) Parmagiana

2009-12-24T16:18:00.000-08:00

Yes, my father is THE master of eggplant parm south AND north of the Mason Dixon line. I will be honest and upfront about his advantage over the general populace in the fact that he owns a mandoline, which most of us do not, and which is indispensable in the creation of this fine, fine dish. T

his summer, James will be challenging him to a cook off no doubt, once we level the playing field with the mandoline thing. (:

Here is how we roll:

Slice the eggplant to 1/4" thick. Soak it in salt water for 30 minutes to nuetralize the naturally bitter flavor. If you live on the Gulf Coast, using sea water is fine. Giggle.

Dip each slice of eggplant in a breadcrumb and freshly grated parmesan cheese blend, about 50/50. My parents use Progresso brand breadcrumbs, which if you have some, ahem, integrity, should be substituted with real breadcrumbs to which you can add some onion powder, garlic powder, and dried parsley flakes to taste.

Not to diss the master, but in an efficient kitchen, it isn't hard to save stale bread and pass it through the cuisinart so you don't have to buy what is essentially a waste product.

Fry the eggplant on medium or medium high heat in a cast iron skillet in some peanut oil, taking care to preheat the oil so that the eggplant doesn't suck up oil, which it shouldn't, if the oil is good and hot. (:

Now, once that is done, you will simply layer aggplant,tomato sauce,and grated mozzarella cheese, lasagna-style, in a glass baking dish. Bake at 400 degrees for about a half hour.

As for the tomato sauce, if anyone reading this blog doesn't know how to make fresh sauce, then comment and I will post an addendum. Otherwise, I won't bother cuz everyone I know makes their own.

Bon appetit!

Wildcrafting

2009-06-15T11:32:00.000-07:00

Today was a bit rainy and overcast in Massachusetts but we went out anyway and I harvested a motherload of red clover that is now drying loverly in my kitchen. I am going to use it for iced/hot tea- it is a great female tonic and the fresh buds are a nice visual addition to salads that also add a touch of sweetness.

My other find was some choice wild mustard greens; they are shaped like arugula but with the fine teeth of radish leaves. I plan on sauteeing them in garlic and oil and tossing with spicy italian sausage over pasta for lunch today, instead of broccoli rabe. Yum!

The Plaintain

2009-01-27T06:20:00.000-08:00

"The Chip." "The Cracker." Even "The Pretzel," can't compete with...

"The Plaintain."

It's "The Godfather," of all things cruchy, fried or baked! The most versitle food on the planet! Well, maybe that's the tomato but..."The Plaintain," my friends, "The Plaintain" puts salsa in your step, tangos on your tongue and swirl in your hips. It pizazzes the palate with it's ability to change forms. Mash, you say...no problem; make a Mofongo! Sweets you want? Got it covered...let's have Amarillos (or Moduros depending on where you're from). In the mood for a pot pie? Make The Plaintain your crust for a surprisingly tasty and healthy alternative. Having a party? Need some chips & dip? Or just in the mood for a crunchy snack but got snowed into your house and I can't get out? If you're an Irizarry, or any other self-respecting Puerto Rican, you will always have "The Plantain" in your home. Don Poncho said, "Let them make chips!"

And so we shall...

"The Plaintain" Chip

This plaintain should be green and firm. Slice it up - length-wise. Easier to do with a Mandolin but if you have a cuisin art, get the attachements out! Cut the plaintain in half so it fits in your machine for a long cut. Let it dry out a little - 20 minutes or so. Salt it up a little add a dash of pepper if you like. Or paprika, or oregano, or garlic salt (see how versitle!) Heat a cast iron skillet about 1/3 of the way with canola, vegetable or peanut oil. Let the oil get hot but do not let it burn. Toss the leggy-plaintain strips into the hot oil. It won't hurt them; they like it! Don't over fill the skillet or you'll bring the temperature down too much or risk an oil spillage. Flip them around. When They look sunburned, take out and set on a paper towel. You may choose to season your plaintains at this point instead of before frying. That's ok, especially if you want to save your oil to fry up something else! Empanada's anyone?

Serve atop chili, add a little crunch to a salad, make nachos, eat with salsa. Or eat on it's own. You won't be disappointed.

Luuuuuuv Chocolate

2008-12-27T07:13:00.000-08:00

Pre-made chocolate mix is an affront to humanity. Why anyone would NOT make their own hot cocoa is totally beyond me especially with the laundry list of unpronouncable ingredients that make powdered mixes "consumable" for immeasurable periods of time on bodega shelves the world over.

This is Titi Jess' luuuuv chocolate that she makes especially for her little niece my sweet baby Ava Bean.

Enjoy!

1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. cocoa powder
dash salt

Combine dry ingredients and add 1/3 c. hot H2O and 3/4 tsp. of vanilla and bring to a boil and dissolve the dry ingredients, stirrign constantly for 2 minutes.

Add four cups of cold milk and bring to a simmer, don't let it boil. For a thicker cup of chocolate, add some dark chocolate pieces, and for a change, a pinch of cayenne pepper.

This recipe makes 6 cups of hot cocoa.

I am a Salad, My Sister is a Dish

2008-12-27T03:49:00.000-08:00

At lunchtime my father unveiled a stunningly deft analysis of my sister's and my particular personalities based on what we excel at preparing in the kitchen.

I am a salad: no need for recipes or fussy ingredients, can be thrown together from anything lying around with surprisingly good results, can be tossed recklessly,even thoughtlesssly into a bowl, without fuss and with complete spontenaity, ingredients flying this way and that. He also said I may be good at soups- though actually my baby is the one who excels at that, leaving us in a particularly one sided culinary conundrum if my father is right about food and personality.

I would of course add the following list of adjectives to his description: homegrown, fresh, a little crunchy, creative and neccessary for your health.

Jessica, on the other hand, is a dish or perhaps a sauce-measured, precise, complex, multi-stepped, ordered, and sophisticated...I can't argue with this one bit, it's true. Jessy doesn't like making salads, she says that mine always come out tasting so much better when I make them for her and I, in return, have to call her at least twice a week for this recipe or that because she really does have a certain method to her madness that produces excellent results!

This is the coven on the beach on Christmas day. I am the lettuce leaf and she is the layered, accessorized one. Go figure.

Shrimp Boil

2008-12-27T03:27:00.001-08:00

I've said it before and I will say it again: one of the finest things about the Gulf Coast is access to cheap, local, delicious, and totally fresh seafood. My Mom works in an heirloom sewing shop (more on her particular talents later)and has a customer who regularly purchases her seafood directly from a local fisherman straight out of Bayou La Batre, Alabama. Sometimes he catches more than he expects and when he does, my Mom's customer will call up the shop and the staff will sop up some of the surplus (the disturbing side to this is the reckless spoiling of certain felines in this household who are accustomed to this abundance and get hand fed shrimp at the table...my parents cats-gorgeous and nuerotic-live truly high on the hog). When that happens, as it did the other day, my Mom will buy 10 pounds of shrimp at $3/lb and have a good 'ol fashioned Southern shrimp boil.

It's fast, easy, simple, and satisfying. Add a couple tablespoons of shrimp boil to a pot of boiling water with potatoes. When approaching desired softness, add corn on the cob and boil for about 5 minutes.

Remove the veggies to a colander(reserving the liquid)and add the unpeeled shrimp until they shine with that customary pinkish hue, no more than two minutes. Whip up some cocktail sauce, throw some newspaper on the table to save your linens from shrimp spooge, and dive in.

Again, shrimp is one of those things I don't usually care too much for, like crab, but my palate seems only to reject the stuff when it's of the shipped across vast oceans variety. When I am here, I love it!

I Love Milk....

2008-12-26T15:57:00.000-08:00

but only in a frothy, spiced milk punch with a shot of 151 and creme de cacao straight up with milk and half and half and a dusting of fresh nutmeg on top, seved in a chilled martini glass, preferably.

This is one of only three ways I will drink this most hideous and vile dairy product in its liquid form, the others being hot chocolate and cafe con leche.

My Dad got me started on this drink this morning as a prelude to my coffee and I have to say it's a good thing he didn't make me any more because I definitely would have spent the day in the hammock on the beach sleeping.

James, you will LOVE this drink, babe. Can't wait to whip one up for you. Here it is:

for two cocktails:

put ice in a beaker and throw on top 2 shots 151, and a pony shot of creme de cacao
add 4 shots of half and half and shake vigorously.
Garnish with fresh nutmeg or dark chocolate shavings and don't operate any heavy machinery.

Mallorcas

2008-12-26T08:52:00.000-08:00

The tastiest and most delectable little confection you can imagine-not too sweet, oh so soft and just lovely with a little cafe con leche. I remember calling this pan dulce when I was a kid visiting PR but found out on my last visit back that they are actually pan de Mallorca-the most delectable of which can be found at La Bombonera- a 50's style throw back diner in Old San Juan where my great grandmother and her mother worked when it was definitely NOT famous at all and where they make honest, simple foods that most people could make for themselves but have forgotten and so are more rarified nowadays.

My great grandmother apparently was a tasty little confection herself, tramping in and out where her mother worked (I assume as a waitress), totally barefoot, whose affections were secured by a 50 some odd year old man who would become my great grand father and who had made a fortune in I think, construction. He bought her some shoes, probably maintained her impoverished family (why else would a family allow their child to marry a man so old?), and sired six or so children by her, one of which was my beautiful grandmother, Rosa. They later married properly when his first wife either died or moved on and were together until his death at age 101. My father told me that his grandfather's secret to longevity was 2 asprin and two beers every day. Does that mean that 3 or 4 beers will get me to 125? Hmmmm, that is something to ponder. (:

Anyway, here is the recipe:

3 eggs well beaten
Add to this 1/2 c. sugar and mix well
In a Cuisinart place 3 c. of flour and 1/2 tsp. salt and blend til incorporated
Warm 1/2 c. milk
Warm 1/4 c. water til it's warm enough to stick your finger in comfortably, around 105 degrees or so, I think. Dissolve in this 1 tsp. of sugar and then add a packet of yeast and let it sit a bit.
Meanwhile, take half a stick of butter and get it soft either by having had left it out or by nuking it a bit
Throw milk, yeast, butter into Cuisinart and blend until well incorporated.
Take it out and knead it a bit, grease lightly a big mixing bowl and put your dough in, nicely formed into a mound.
Cover with plastic wrap or a warm towel and put in a warm spot to rise for an hour

Upon rolling out the dough on a floured work space about a quarter inch thick (it should have a soft yellow hue)you can lightly lightly brush some butter onto the surface. Then roll it up and it will look like this:

Then cut the log of dough into 12 sections and place them on a cookie sheet, greased with butter. It will look like this:

And, after having risen again for a spell while we were fishing on the pier, like this:

We had more luck with the mallorcas than with the fish:

Okay, for the final touch, bake the mallorcas at 325 degrees for about twenty minutes. They should not be brown or really even golden, when the edges start to tinge, take them out.

Then simply place a cup of confectioner's sugar in a sieve and dust the little guys til your heart's content. Let them set a while to cool and then enjoy warm. These little babies actually freeze really well, too so you can make a bunch and have them ready when and if someone drops in for tea.

Here's the final product:

Christmas Cookies

2008-12-25T04:30:00.001-08:00

These are the best cookies, ever. EVER! I double dog dare you to say they aren't! And no garbage shortening! Yippee!

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cream of tartar

Mix butter, powdered sugar, egg, vanilla and almond extracts. Blend in flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cover. Chill 2-3 hours.

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Divide dough in half. Roll each half 3/16 inch thick on lightly floured surface. Cut into shapes and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Place on lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake 7 to 8 minutes or until light brown on edge.

Christmas, again!

2008-12-25T03:55:00.000-08:00

Well I finally made it back to Pensacola and the white wine and sumptuous little crab cakes (actually, they weren't so little)that awaited us when we walked in the door made the whole oddyssey that began in Boston in the early morning and ended over 12 hours later, instantly worthwhile.

My Mom and Dad get amazingly fresh and local seafood from Bayou La Batre; these little beauties were no different. You know I don't think I have ever had crab cakes the way they were meant to be had. Most of the time a crab cake is little more than an afterthought; sort of like something you do with leftover crab so that it's not wasted and thoroughly camouflaged by breadcrumbs and such. These were the complete opposite-I had a hard time finding anything but gorgeous lump crab meat-which interestingly enough, I historically don't like-but I suppose that's because I have an innate palatal prejudice against most foods out of season or shipped across vast distances to be on my plate.

It's really nice as usual to see my parents and spending time with my little Ava is just so so precious. But it definitely caught me off guard how wrong it feels to be here without the other half of my family, even though they have never been here before. It's really a strange feeling and one that is, I hope, in the future, a nonexistant one.

Merry Christmas! As my gift to the internet, the best recipe for the most amazing crabcakes EVER!!!!

1 lbs lump crab meat
2 eggs
2 slices fresh white bread cubed
1 tbl mayonnaise
1 tbl dijon mustard
1 tbl worcestershire sauce
1 tsp salt
ground black pepper to taste
1 tbl fresh chopped parsley
panko breadcrumbs

In a bowl, beat the eggs well and add all mayo, must, worcest, parsley, salt and pepper. Add crab and with hands or a wooden spoon, mix; when well incorporated, add bread gently. Let sit in the fridge for one hour.
Form patties and roll them in panko breadcrumbs then fry on medium high heat in butter adn olive oil, about three minutes on each side.
Serve immediately with fresh lemon or lime wedges. Or let it sit in oven at 200 degrees to serve (a bit) later.

Voila!

Empanada Dough

2008-12-22T13:33:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I took this straight from epicurious because I noticed that all the pre-made disks in the store have partially hydrogynated oil or shortening in them, so I decided to see what I could do with this. I usually suck at dough making, but we'll give it a shot. You can also use puff pastry dough, though I am not sure what's in that either. We'll see how these turn out.

Empanada Dough
2 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 stick (1/2 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 large egg
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar

Sift flour with salt into a large bowl and blend in butter with your fingertips or a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal with some (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.

Beat together egg, water, and vinegar in a small bowl with a fork. Add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until just incorporated. (Mixture will look shaggy.)

Turn out mixture onto a lightly floured surface and gather together, then knead gently with heel of your hand once or twice, just enough to bring dough together. Form dough into a flat rectangle and chill, wrapped in plastic wrap, at least 1 hour.

Post script: I didn't know how to best cut the disk shapes out of this dough so I emptied a can of Cafe Bustelo and used that as a mold, it worked perfectly. And this recipe seems to make about 15 wrappers, over hald of which I put in the freezer for later.

The results of this crust were excellent, though not at all like what you get when you make them with store bought. I just found out that my parents bought me Cocina Criolla for Christmas so I will try a recipe from there and see how it comes out.

Ode to The Haymarket

2008-12-06T11:09:00.001-08:00

What you are looking at is:

9 pounds of Roma tomatoes
6 pounds of onions
12 yellow and green peppers
1 pound jalapenos
10 bulbs of garlic
block of brie, goat cheese and gorgonzola
3 pounds baby red potatoes
2 fennel bulbs
2 bunches asparagas
2 bunches cilantro
and one big mamma swordfish steak

For which we paid 32 bucks. Yup, 32.

Being unemployed in Boston was never so gourmet!

They were also selling boxes of mango for 6 bucks, boxes of pineaples for 8. When I get a blender, I will start doing fruit, too so I can have smoothies for breakfast instead of bagels, which I am certain are directly responsible for the alarming fact that my pants don't fit.....ugh.

Turkey Time

2008-11-30T14:08:00.000-08:00

Curried Turkey Salad...Oh, so good...

I was totally resistant to this. My sweetheart asked me how I felt about curried turkey salad and being the food snob that I am I immediately scoffed at the idea of seasoning a dish from a pre-made blend of spices whose origins lay in family based and time tested recipes...repackaged for the mainstream...anyway, I got over it.

SO, here it is. Cube the remaining breast meat. Add maynonaise as if you were making tuna salad. Add curry to your heart's content (to taste). Chop up some apples, pecans or almonds, dried cranberries, red onion and serve on some beautiful artisnal bread. Delish!!

OK, so now here's the suprise...mon beau bebe made some stock out of the cracass and after it was done steeping, he meticulously, lovingly, ADORINGLY,removed the rest of meat from the bones and we ended up with two freezer sized bags of perfectly shredded turkey meat.

What to do with this?? Well, we made empanadas.

We already had the sofrito in the freezer so it was ready to go....two packets of sazon goya, a few cubes of sofrito, some olives and capers and a peeled chopped tomato later we had some turkey picadillo waiting to fill up some empanada wrappers that were waiting in the freezer for us.

Fried it up in some sunnflower oil and it tasted EXACTLY like empanadas de pollo. So perfect! Actually, I think now that the leftovers from Thanksgiving are better than the actual hoopla.

AND!!! They're kid proof! Our daughter, after initally having turned up her nose, couldn't resist litle fried pockets of yummily seasoned dough.

POST SCRIPT: To make sofrito, just put in a blender onions, garlic, cilantro, peppers and olive oil, cumin if you like, blend into a paste, put into an ice cube tray and when frozen, put into a freezer bag and reserve for later use

Voila! Et bon appetit!

O glory be to the humble lentil

2008-11-13T07:06:00.000-08:00

So this summer when my fiance's wife was moving out of her house, she graciously implored me to raid her pantry so things wouldn't go to waste (and gave me her Kitchen Aid mixer on extended loan to boot, VERY NICE!). As a result, I've been staring at a half gallon mason jar filled with boring brown lentils for six months now.

Well, I finally did something about it last night to spectacular effect! Here is the recipe:

Note: exact proportions mean nothing to me as I don't own a set of measuring spoons, and tend to be of the inexact vareity of girl anyway, as you might imagine, so my condolences to any forlorn reader who actually stumbles upon this wretched blog, because this recipe is really just my own insurance policy for forgetfulness!

OK, sautee the mirapois with as much chopped garlic as your immune system (or level of abundance-my honey brings me pounds of garlic from the Haymarket here in Boston because you get four heads for like 75 cents, so I am always swimming in the stuff)with as much olive oil as you like, till the onions soften and become clear.

Add as much toasted freshly ground cumin, coriander, salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper as your heart desires (I toast the cumin, not everything else, though toasted red pepper is a nice thing, too, if you are so inclined).

Then throw in as many chopped tomatoes as you see fit, I used about 4 Romas that I peeled first. Let it cook down a bit and then throw in a pound, give or take of lentils and 2 quarts of chicken stock.

I had to add more liquid later on, but that's not a big deal, ya know? Just play it by ear.

Bring it to a boil then let it simmer for an hour or so, also not crucial-in addition to having no use for measuring spoons, I generally live my life on island time, so my internal clock may be different from other North American humans.

When the soup is done, put a hand blender to it- my honeypie had one around the house, or maybe we inherited that from his wife, too, I can't remember, but anyway, I took that puppy to the soup to puree it a bit, but not completely, which seemed to have the effect of melding all the flavors together even more.

And for the coup de grace, serve this yummy tasting, brown poo looking concoction in your prettiest bowls (I have bright orange and red ones by Wachtersbach of Germany, thanks, Mamma) with a giant dollop of plain Greek yogurt on top for an immensely satisfying little lunch.

I'm a visual eater and a dilly dallyer, so I would also throw as much chopped green herbs as you have lying around-my favorites would be chives, dill, cilantro or parsley and then throw some finely diced raw red or yellow or orange pepper on top for interest and crunch.

The soup comes out so thick almost like a dahl, so I imagine that serving it over a small bed of spiced basmati rice is a delicious addition.

Enjoy!

Health Beverages

2008-05-02T13:49:00.000-07:00

The beauty of alcohol is that it is a vehicle for herbs, tonics, and super juices of all kinds because it takes the good stuff straight to your bloodstream. I have been making bourbon lemonade lately, and I swear it makes me a better person. (:

Simply juice a handful of lemons, add lots of water and honey and bourbon to taste. Yummy, refreshing, healthy dosage of vitamin C. So much better than Gatorade and more fun to boot!

Yay! My blog is back, Hi Mom, Hi Dad!

Mamma's Buttermilk Biscuits

2007-12-31T13:17:00.000-08:00

If you have never had real Southern style biscuits, you have not lived. They are so fluffy and flaky and buttery and delicious not to mention a snap to whip up. These are the best around, and the ultimate in comfort food. When you eat them, you feel warm and cozy inside like yo mamma right there with a hug for you! This recipe was taken from the Raleigh News and observer and then modified by my very own sweet lil' mamma.

2 c self rising flour Lilly White or King Arthur are the best brands.
1 stick salted butter
2/3 c buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cut the butter into the flour with a pastry cutter, or if you ghetto like me and don't have one, just use two butter knives in a crisscross cutting motion until well incorporated. Make a well in the center of the flour butter mixture, add the milk and stir it in with a fork.

Sprinkle a clean surface with some flour and knead dough until it is a soft little ball, Awwwwww.

Pat it out with your hands til it is about an inch thick and then cut the biscuits with a small glass cup or biscuit cutter, if you fancy.

Place the biscuits in an ungreased cast iron skillet or on a baking stone for best results and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

TIP: Don't preheat the oven until you have already cut out the biscuits in order to save energy.......my mamma so green!

Bake for 10-15 minutes at 450 degrees or until golden brown.

Serve hot with jam, if you make your own, yay, if not, St. Dalfour is available in most conventional grocery stores and is quite excellent, especially the cranberry with blueberry or the fig. I like my biscuits with jam and sausage patties; the sweet and salty is perfect!

Note: If you want to make your own French style jam, check out Chlotilde's site, zucchini and chocolate. To die for!

You Gonna Suck the Head????

2007-12-31T12:41:00.000-08:00

One of the best things about being on the panhandle is the guilt free consumption of the best wild, local shrimp around. Also, so far as I know, the last time you could order barbecue shrimp, cajun style, which has actually nothing to do with barbecue as you know it, was at Pascal Manale's, which never reopened after Katrina. So, if you make this, make sure you buy shrimp with the heads on-and if you can order them Wild American Shrimp certified, even better. This dish be MESSY, and that's alright, actually. Don't even bother trying to be neat about it, and make sure you suck the juices out of the head, cajun style. This goes mighty nice with some succotash on the side. I would say you need about a half a pound per person. The recipe below serves 4. Bon appetit!

In a large cast iron skillet, throw in 1 1/2 sticks of butter, 1 c olive oil, and the juice of 1 lemon or lime; set it to low heat.
Add four cloves of finely minced garlic, 1/2 tsp ground oregano, 1/2 tsp ground basil, 2 tbl crushed rosemary (dried), 1 tbl paprika, 1 tsp cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp thyme, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp ground black pepper, four crushed bay leaves. That's your cajun seasoning, if I ever saw it!

Cook the sauce for 7 minutes, bringing it to a boil, then set it aside for 1/2 hour and preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Throw in your whole shrimp until they turn that lovely characteristic red and then put the whole skillet in the oven for 15 minutes to bake.

Serve immediately with white rice with some sauce ladled over the top and enjoy!

French Bread

2007-12-31T11:54:00.001-08:00

So easy: Just Do It

There are a few reasons to make your own bread, even if you don't have a nice brick or adobe oven. First of all, in this country good bread is extremely scarce. Second of all, the bread you make yourself, while it may not compare with a fine artisanal loaf from a real bakery, will undoubtedly be much better than practically anything else. So, go for it, and embrace the magic of yeast!

1 and 1/3 c water warmed to approximately 112 degrees farenheit, with a tbl of sugar dissolved. Add one tsp or one package of yeast and stir and let sit until foamy.

In a seperate bowl, 3 c of BREAD FLOUR with 2 tsp of salt mixed well. Add the liquid, knead into a ball by hand and set it, covered with floured plastic wrap and let rise, for as long as you want, even overnight. You can let your dough rise as many times as you want, which is very convenient as sometimes it is difficult to be the domestic goddess you know you are, so you can just punch it down and let it start all over again.

When you are ready, punch the dough down and split into two equal parts. Form them into baguettes and let them rise again, covered with your floured plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot (I like to let it rise in the oven, or in my old house in the summer on the terracotta tiles in my garden. Sigh.)

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees for 10 minutes then lower the heat to 350 degrees for another 20 minutes and voila!

Here is a photo of the recently formed baguettes, just before I put them in the oven to rise.

Redi Whip is an Affront to Humanity

2007-12-31T07:44:00.001-08:00

Yes, it's true. Canned whipped cream represents like few other things the simultaneous laziness and ignorance of the American palate and the decadence of throw away culture.

Why anyone would buy an aerosol can of corn syrupy fluff when it is practically effortless to make your own divine cream toppings is beyond me. If you have a food processor, electric mixer or the like, you really have no excuse. If you don't have modern appliances, but you have a nice strong man around, just bat your lashes and swoon for him so that he whisks it for you by hand.

Here is the oh so foolproof "recipe" for whipped cream.

1/2 pint of heavy whipping cream, preferably organic, dahling
1/4 c powdered sugar or to taste
1/4 tsp vanilla extract or maple syrup

Combine and enjoy! And in the off chance you have a small amount of cream left over save it for your coffee the next day, it's outrageous with a shot of espresso!

My Sister Can't Resist Her

2007-12-30T19:36:00.000-08:00

Ah, sisters. It sucked when we were younger because she annoyed the hell outta me and I was a real bitch to her, but now, we are like peas in a pod. No one makes me laugh like Jessica and as I wallowed in the misery of post New Orleans euphoria the other day, scouring my imagination for ways to relocate (Tulane?) I may have just been experiencing the euphoria of being near my little sis.

Jessy left this morning; everyone got up a 4 am to see her off and as soon as she left, I, too felt the need to go. It's just not the same without her around. Alas, perhaps New York and I have a chance to salvage our relationship. I am finally ready to go home. Did I say that I was coming here for the WHOLE summer??????

Gulf Coast Grouper

2007-12-30T19:30:00.001-08:00

Coming soon

Fettucine with Ham and Peas

2007-12-30T18:32:00.000-08:00

Okay, this is a nice little cream sauce recipe that is simple to whip up and an enormously satisfying winter pasta. Set a pot of salted water to boil for your fettucine-I like the "al dente" brand called wild mushroom fettuccine that Mom and I picked up at Everman's,but I believe it is widely available in natural and upscale markets.

Start with some butter and olive oil in a cast iron skillet and throw in one half a large onion, chopped finely, then cook until translucent.

Add the mushroom of your choice-anything will do, but I think porcini's are especially nice. Cook them down and while you're at it, take out about a cup and a half of frozen peas and get those bad boys defrosted, however you can. Add a cup of heavy cream to the skillet at lowish heat so that it doesn't boil and throw the peas in. Add 1/4 lb of ham cut into strips and just talk to it real sweet like. (:

If you have some cheese lying around your fridge and you don't want to eat it because you can remember how long ago you bought it, but this is conflicting with the inner voice telling you that it doesn't really matter when you eat cheese because it's a freakin fungus anyway, and you can just cut off moldy bits, then throw in the cheese to the sauce mixture because it will be delicious. We have thrown in sharp cheddar cheese that was excellent, but anything will work. If you have no cheese, then that is utterly perfect, because the original recipe calls for no such addition!

Toss the pasta with your sauce, grind some fresh black pepper and some fresh nutmeg on top and serve immediately. A nice little bowl of freshly grated pecorino romano on the table is nice for topping it all off.

Yummy. But make sure you eat a nice salad with this, 'cause it ain't all that good for you! And as for the wine, we paired it with Scenario, a 2003 cabernet sauvingon that was simply lovely!

Belgian Waffles with Cream

2007-12-30T16:13:00.000-08:00

1cup of water
1 cup milk

Warm this so that you can stick your finger in it without feeling burning.
Then add 1 tsp of yeast

Let this sit for a bit. Stir

Seperate two eggs. Place the yolks in a large bowl and beat with 1/4 cup of powdered sugar until yellow in color. Add half a stick of room temp butter and cream.

Add a pinch of salt, stir and add the liquids above.

Mix in 2 and 1/2 cups of all purpose flour and stir.
Now beat the whites until stiff peaks are formed.
Fold the whites gently into the batter. Cover and let it rest for one hour before baking in a waffle iron.

We served these the first time with fresh whipped cream and blackberries rolled in turbinado sugar. Today we are doing them with some freshly shelled local pecans from Everman's, and some organic banana slices. If you have children who wake up starving like me and don't want to wait an hour for the batter to rest, you can make the batter the night before and let it rest in the fridge so you're ready to go the next morning.

Best Damn Margaritas Ever

2007-12-30T15:05:00.000-08:00

Margaritas

Juice several lemons and see how much liquid you got
Shoot for 3/4 c or about 3-4 or so lemons

Then throw in 1/3 c sugar into some water and dissolve, this is your simple syrup; you want equal parts simple syrup and lemon juice but don’t start off with 3/4 c water because the sugar has volume.

Combine and stir, put in fridge to chill while you...

Fill your beaker with ice, slightly less than halfway. Add to your beaker two 1.5 oz shots of patron and one 1 oz shot citronge. Add to this the juice of 1/2 lime.

In a seperate glass, add 3oz (little less than 1/2 c) orange juice and 2oz (about 1/4c) simple syrup lemon mixture.

Poor this in the beaker with the lime and alcohol and shake vigorously for a few seconds.

Pour into two cocktail glass on the rocks and enjoy!

Lessons form the Patriarch: Tart Tatin

2007-12-29T16:01:00.000-08:00

For the Crust:
Put 1.5 c ap flour in the freezer mixed with 1.25 c powdered sugar and pinch of salt until very cold.
Put stick of butter in freezer, sliced into pats if you wanna
2 large eggs beaten, on the side, in fridge, gettin' cold

Have a glass of ice H2O on the side with a little spoon, just in case you need more liquid. When sufficiently cold, add flour mixture to cuisinart with butter,pulsing until granular and incorporated. Add eggs while pulsing and it sort of sticks together and then dump it over onto a sheet of wax paper, forming it into a ball and be fast about it, grasshopper.

MINIMAL MANIPULATION is essential DON'T TOUCH THE BLOODY DOUGH, IT WILL MELT THE BUTTER, FOOL. When you're done, throw it back in fridge or freezer, if it will set for just a bit.

OK, now peel 6 or 7 granny smith apples according to the size of your cast iron skillet. Then quarter those bad boys and throw them in a bowl with the juice of one lemon.

In a cast iron skillet, on low heat, throw 2/3 c of sugar and let it caramalize. Then throw in the apples over medium low heat and let sit. Don't worry that they don't cook, they just want to form a syrup on the bottom with the sugar.

Meanwhile, flour your wax paper and go fetch your pastry dough. You gonna roll that shit, girl!! Cover your ball of dough with the other piece of wax paper and flatten the hell outta it.Then throw it back in the fridge to cool off on a plate.

Then cover your cast iton skillet with the apples with the chilled pastry crust and tuck it in all snug and cozy, seal it up with a knife and a kiss! It'll lok lumpy, and that's cool.

Throw it in the oven for 45 minutes at 400 degrees et voila!

Galatoire's

2007-12-29T07:51:00.000-08:00

Galatoire's is a NOLA institution and one of the few places to catch locals on Bourbon St, especially on a Friday afternoon. They aren't hard to spot and actually they bear a striking resemblance to your typical big hair, big make-up Westchester JAP/guidette-nice clothes, big rocks, hair blow dried straight. You know the type.

Anyway, we had to wait about three hours for a table at the 2 o clock seating, which we happily passed sipping cava-what else?-in the upstairs bar. Two bottles of cava and a campari and soda later, I was pretty starved. We finally sat down-the same table my parents always get-and our waiter, a chappy Hungarian, took fine care of us. We started with crabmeat Lorenzo (to die for!), oysters Rockefeller, and I got sweetbreads which were pan fried to perfection in a buttery caper sauce. The foie gras was served with candied apricots and was in tact, as in a whole liver. For some reason when I think of foie gras I think of pate, which this was definitely not. I do love pate, but this was less processed tasting, lighter, and perfectly delicious. As for the oysters, I like my oysters down and dirty, raw and with hot sauce, so that appetizer pleased me less so, but not for any other reason than my own idiosyncratic prferences-the creamed spinach was delicately flavored and beautifully done.

Anyway, three out of four of us ordered fried fish, which, while fresh, delicately and lightly fried, just did not compare to the supah flavah of the fried fish that my Papi catches himself and makes at home, so I think next time I will stick to appetizers, which are more complex and dynamic overall. In fact, it sort of seems like entrees at Galatoire's are mostly for people who don't know how to make food for themselves. C'est la vie.

En fin, if you go to Galatoire's, which YOU SHOULD, because it is one of the few places servin' up real Gulf Coast- and that means UBER-LOCAL-specialties (no fish from Thailand, no lamb from New Zealand) go for the appetizers and save the mosre conservative entrees for some one else.

Pensacola Beach, the emerald coast

2007-12-26T09:33:00.000-08:00

I never had much regard for Pensacola, as it sorta just figured in my mind as a hillbilly backwater/military town/ugly republican sort of place. It may be that, but it also happens to have some spectacular beaches. Yesterday the water was an irredescent shade of tourquiose green; it was overcast and the sky was all soft pink pastels, the sand like powdered sugar, so fine and so so white. When my Dad and I went out it was raining and extremely windy; we found the body of a dead sooty shearwater, an open sea bird, washed up in the sand. It was beautiful, and huge, and hopefully not at all an omen of anything to come. But I read too much into these things.

They planted rows of sea oats on the dunes after Katrina ripped through here in the hopes of controlling the erosion of the sand, they are so sweet when the sun shines on them.

Me and my Dad at just hanging out.

Hi, Ava, Hi Joey, Greetings from Pensacola Beach!

Christmas on Santa Rosa Island

2007-12-26T07:47:00.000-08:00

Merry freakin Christmas....here is a picture of me and my parents, I look so goofy, just like my Dad.

When I am in the kitchen, I am oh so happy, so today was a good day. Food is so comforting, especially when someone else makes it for you! (Nod to Klara and Razi) Here is how the day unfolded in the culinary sense.

BREAKFAST

So I flew in to Pensacola in a painless flight that had me on the panhandle by 9:45 am. We drove to my parent's new beach place-this is the first time I saw it-and of course my dad was preparing one of my favorite breakfasts. He was testing out a new Belgian waffle recipe that he had picked up recently on a trip to Bruges and was whipping up fresh cream for them when I walked in the door. He served them with some gargantuan, tart, blackberries, warmed Vermont maple syrup, and cava mimosas. Yummy.

Here is Mamma stuffing her face (:

More cava, please...

LUNCH/DINNER

For Christmas dinner, I put in my request for pernil con arroz y gandules y platanos maduros. Unfortunately, it can be hard to find Hispanic ingredients in the super white part of Pensacola where my parent's house is and they forgot to do the shopping in Mobile before they came. Since there were no gandules to be found, Mamma whipped up some cajun style rice and beans using conecuh sausage, a local specialty made in Evergreen, Alabama. This was served with a simple salad of fresh tomato, avocado and red onion. I chose a spicy shiraz, Cimicky, from the Barossa valley, to accompany the meal and it was brilliant. Simple, straightforward, delicious.

I managed to snap a pic of my plate before I dove into it, my photography leaves much to be desired, but, anyway...

DRINKS and DESSERT

So my Dad makes the BEST DAMN MARGARITAS you ever had, this is simply a fact. He makes them strong, too, but the fresh lemon, lime, and orange juice make it seem like, well, juice. I sucked the first one down and it made me pretty giggly. The second one had me falling asleep at the kitchen counter watching over the biscotti in the oven while Mom and Dad got sucked into Walk the Line. I refuse to indulge their tv addiction, so ever the diligent student, I stayed in the kitchen trying to read Foreign Policy.

For the biscotti, we only had turbinado sugar, which definitely affected the color, and I accidentally added it to the flour instead of dissolving it in the eggs, so we had to adjust by adding water to the recipe and then some flour and then upon the second baking of the biscotti. Dad didn't set the timer assuming that I was paying attention-of course due to the interference with the margaritas, I was actually passed out, so the rack of biscotti on top came out a little overdone, but on the whole, they are all just fine. The most surprising thing about biscotti di Prato is that the secret ingredient is ground saffron-who knew?

Here's Dad dong damage control on my goof with the biscotti...