cucumber libation

I am looking for a recipe that involves gin and cucumber, for perhaps no particular reason. Hendrick's recipes are shite, btw. Here's what I've found so far:

From My Man's Belly: Hendrick's Gin Cucumber Cooler

Ingredients

• 2 Teaspoons Sugar
• 1 4 Inch Piece of Peeled Persian Cucumber (cut into chunks)
• 4 Mint Leaves
• 2 Ounces Hendrick’s Gin
• 1/4 Ounce St. Germain
• Heavy Squeeze of Fresh Lemon Juice

Instructions

1. In a cocktail shaker add the sugar, chunks of cucumber and mint leaves.
2. Using a muddler, or the back of a spoon, mash up the sugar, cucumber and mint leaves until the sugar is completely blended in with the other ingredients.
3. Add in the gin, St. Germain and lemon juice (add as much or as little lemon as you like).
4. Then add in some ice cubes, cover the shaker and shake vigorously.
5. Strain and pour into a glass.
6. Garnish with a lemon twist and a sprig of fresh mint.

The Cuke (from the NY Times)

Adapted from Adam Frank

6 limes, rinsed
1 cup packed mint leaves, no stems, plus 6 sprigs for garnish
3 unwaxed cucumbers
½ cup sugar
2 cups vodka or gin, preferably Hendrick's gin
Sparkling water.

1. Thinly slice 3 limes and place in a pitcher. Juice the rest and add juice to pitcher. Add mint leaves. Slice 2 cucumbers and add, then add sugar. Muddle ingredients. Add vodka or gin. Place in refrigerator to steep 30 minutes or longer.

2. Peel remaining cucumber and cut lengthwise into 6 spears.

3. Fill 6 highball or other large glasses with ice. Strain mixture from pitcher into each. Top with a splash of sparkling water, garnish each glass with a sprig of mint and a cucumber spear, and serve.

Yield: 6 servings

From Small Hand Bartender

Gin Snaggler
Cate Whalen, Pizzaiolo, Oakland, CA

1/4 cup chopped cucumber
1 oz fresh lime juice
3/4 oz 1-to-1 simple syrup
several mint leaves
11/2 oz gin
Prosecco

Muddle cucumber in mixing tin. Add ice and remaining ingredients and shake vigorously. Double-strain into a flute. Top with Prosecco. Garnish with a sprig of mint.


Cricket Club Fizz
Erik Adkins, Heaven's Dog, San Francisco, CA

several slices fresh cucumber (peeled if waxed)
several mint leaves
1 oz fresh lime juice
1/2 oz St. Germain elderflower liqueur
3/4 oz 1-to-1 simple syrup
2 oz gin
1/2 oz egg white
seltzer

Muddle cucumber in a shaking tin until juicy. Add remaining ingredients and shake without ice for several seconds. Add ice and shake vigorously. Double-strain into a fizz glass. Top with seltzer. Garnish with a slice of cucumber threaded with a sprig of mint.

mushroom risotto--first attempt

Having been a while since I made risotto, doing a 1 and 1/2 batch of the recipe turned out to be a bit ambitious, and take much longer than the recipe suggested (even if you 1 1/2 times the cooking time). Nonetheless, it turned out a success.

Important to chop everything ahead of time. For dinner parties, critical that the parsley gets picked ahead of time even if you chop it at the last second. But the onion and the mushrooms should be finished. The garlic should be peeled, even if broken and chopped at the time of the meal.

Some things I discovered. First, the butter in which you cook the onions and mushrooms disappears quite quickly. No reason to be alarmed. Let the onions soften and the mushrooms reduce. Second, have the wine ready at its appropriate stage. Quite important not to burn the garlic. Third, KEEP STIRRING. This labor intensive dish works if one is willing to perpetually keep the rice in contact with the liquid.

Getting the risotto cooked properly is difficult. The best method is to keep tasting it, when the broth you are adding gets low. The grain will go from tough to soft quite quickly. It was still crunchy one minute, then after one more addition of liquid, was appropriately al dente. Get a feel for it. Possibly most importantly, keep some water in the kettle and warm it in the last stages. You may need some additional water (I did), and it won't do to add it cold.

Finally, don't be shy on the salt. I would add a few (start with three) pinches with the butter and cheese and parsley. Then start adding to taste.

mushroom risotto

A basic recipe for mushroom risotto

1 oz (28 g) dried porcini (1 cup)
3 3/4 cups hot water
5 1/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (42 fl oz)
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter
1 small onion, finely chopped (1 cup)
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3/4 lb fresh cremini mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced
1 lb Arborio rice (2 1/3 cups)
2/3 cup dry white wine
1 oz finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1/2 cup)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Special equipment: parchment paper (if reserving some risotto for another recipe)
Garnish: Parmigiano-Reggiano shavings

Soak porcini in 1 1/2 cups hot water in a bowl until softened, about 20 minutes. Lift porcini out, squeezing liquid back into bowl. Rinse to remove any grit and coarsely chop. Pour soaking liquid through a sieve lined with a coffee filter or a dampened paper towel into a 3- to 4-quart saucepan, then add broth, soy sauce, and remaining 21/4 cups water to pan and bring to a simmer.

Meanwhile, heat oil with 1 tablespoon butter in a 4- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until foam subsides, then sauté onion, stirring, until just softened, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and fresh mushrooms and sauté, stirring, until mushrooms are browned and any liquid they give off is evaporated, about 8 minutes. Stir in porcini and cook, stirring, 1 minute, then add rice and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 1 minute.

Stir 1 cup simmering broth into rice and cook, stirring constantly and keeping at a strong simmer, until absorbed. Continue cooking and adding broth, about 1 cup at a time, stirring frequently and letting each addition be absorbed before adding next, until rice is tender and creamy looking but still al dente, 18 to 20 minutes. Thin with some of remaining broth if necessary. (You will have about 1 cup left over.) Remove from heat. Stir in cheese, salt, pepper, and remaining 5 tablespoons butter until butter is melted.

If reserving some risotto to make one of the following recipes, set aside 3 cups and cool to room temperature, then chill, covered with plastic wrap.

Stir parsley into remaining risotto and serve immediately.

Epicurious
Gourmet
April 2005
2005-03-09 11:52:38.0

"add to boiling, salted water"

Most boiling and parboiling of anything (pasta, green beans, etc.) calls for salted or heavily salted water. I have, quite frankly, never bothered to salt water. I am now resolved to do so, but not to overdo it either. The one time in my youth when I did salt water, I ended up with spaghetti that tasted like tire rubber. Let us not repeat.

I am blanching green beans right now for a dinner party for ten. Three pounds of them in two batches. I've trimmed them and added 1/2 to water at a rolling boil. I used 3 pinches of kosher salt. For my purposes, a pinch is the exact measurement of salt that is achieved when I triangulate a portion of salt with my thumb, index, and middle fingers. They cooked for about nine minutes before ready, after which I gave them the cold water shower. The second batch went in with 5 pinches of kosher salt.

I'm probably way underdoing it. Neither seemed particularly salty, but the green beans were very tasty coming out. They are in the fridge right now, awaiting a slivered almond and butter sauteing later on.

Jalapeño jelly

Why not try it myself? Almost every recipe had the same proportions, so here's what I ended up with:

16 green jalapeños. Fairly small to medium size, some with striations. I seeded the jalapeños but left some in the mixture.

Chop jalapeños and throw in a blender. Add
1 cup cider vinegar. Blend thoroughly. Add to big saucepan (my 3 quart cup was barely enough). Add:
1 cup cider vinegar
5 cups sugar (recipe called for 6 cups, I made it 5).

The result was extremely sweet. Quite green. Next time, try blending in all the seeds (Just stem them and throw them in).

Thanksgiving pierogies

Pierogies are not my food. They belong properly east of the Elbe, and have migrated primarily to the colder climes in North America. Because my eventual migration from the Sonoran desert to northern latitudes involved contact with Polish and Ukrainian communities, I became properly introduced to this holiday standby. I'm not entirely certain where this potato dumpling necessarily traces its origin, or if some variety exists in all peasant cuisine where the potato predominates. I do not doubt it. But this is the year we embark on making pierogies a holiday tradition.

Ingredients for filling:
10 red potatoes, peeled
1 big big big white onion (or 2 small ones. Improvise)
about 12 ounces of cheddar, grated (we cut this down based on sight)

Boil potatoes until soft. Chop the onion FINE. Sharp knife please. Saute the onion in butter for about five minutes, until soft and translucent. Mix with potatoes and grated cheese and make a mash. No big lumps, but some texture is nice. Salt and pepper to taste.

Allow the mixture to cool.

linguini with clams

This is one of those potential dinner party standbys.

2 pounds smallneck clams, scrubbed
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/3 cup olive oil
8 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
cracked pepper
red pepper flakes
juice of 1 lemon
handful of parsley

Check clams; throw live ones into a saute pan with the white wine. (I had to add more wine, but I compensated by boiling the wine down to reduce a little more.) Over medium high heat, kill the clams. Begin removing them when they pop open and drop them in a mixing bowl. I found here that you do have to wait for them to really pop open--they will die early but may not necessarily be cooked thoroughly. I found the whole process took about 5-8 minutes.

Strain the sauce through a cheesecloth and fine mesh sieve. I had to do this twice, as the grit is quite fine that comes out of it. Definitely double up the cheese cloth. If you let the broth settle in the pan and poor slowly, much of the silt will settle at the bottom and you can avoid it altogether.

Warm the olive oil. (If you are not using tomatoes, then use 1/2 cup olive oil.) Add the garlic and sautee until golden. If using fresh tomatoes, then add them now and saute for an additional five minutes. (I used fire roasted tomatoes, so I skipped this step). Add the reserved clam broth and lemon juice. Simmer for about four minutes over medium-low heat, until reduced. Add the cracked pepper and red pepper flakes. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning.

Drain pasta and add it to the frying pan. Add the clams in their shells and any juices that may have accumulated. Toss well over low heat for one minute to coat the pasta. Transfer to a bowl and add a handful of Italian parsley. Toss gently.

Thoughts:

The sauce came out powerful. Avoid adding extra wine next time, which I did because I was worried 1/2 cup would not cook the clams properly. control lemon juice. The acid provides a nice balance to the richness of this sauce, but can quickly overpower it.

I must learn more about cooking clams. This sauce really was easy to prepare, but I am so inexperienced with clams that I am not even certain how the perfect clam should taste. At least one recipe claims that once the clams open, they are cooked. However, some of the clams opened but were still a bit gummy and reluctant to leave their shells. This left me to wonder if you have to wait until they completely pop open, rather than just break open by a 1/4 inch or so. A second question is whether to cover the pan with a lid in order to trap the steam. Recipes seem conflicted on this.

Guinness braised short ribs

Ingredients:
1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
1 shallot, finely chopped
6 short ribs (2.18 pounds)
2 pints Guinness
1 cup beef broth
2 carrots
Italian parsley

Finely chop onion and shallot and set aside. Preheat oven to 325.

Generously salt and pepper the short ribs. Heat 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a dutch oven until shimmering. Brown the beef ribs. Most recipes say to flip only once, but I did it twice, to get three sides of the beef browned. It took a total of about six minutes, and would likely have been longer if using more ribs.

I then turned the heat off of the Dutch Oven and removed the beef ribs to a plate. I let the oil cool down for about five minutes while I deglazed the dutch oven with a wooden spoon. Then I dropped in the onions and shallots and stirred vigorously to soak up the oil and fat. They softened in about three minutes, and did not burn. I then added the guinness and the beef broth, and dropped the ribs back in. After bringing the broth to a boil, I dropped it in the oven. They sit in the oven for one and a half hours before any vegetables that one would like go into the broth. It cooks for another half an hour more after that.

The base of this recipe could easily take six more short ribs (four pounds worth). I don't know if changing the amount of beef would change the cooking temperature or anything of the like, but I doubt it. The beef ribs were almost completely submerged in the dutch oven, making me wonder if I could have gotten away with about half the amount of braising liquid. We shall see.

The ratio is my own. Most recipes invert the ratio, making it 2:1 beef broth to beer. But I want this to be different.

A Sour Season

Our holiday cocktail will be the sour. Amaretto and bourbon are the starting points here, but I am hoping to introduce at least a couple of others this time around. Stay tuned.

brussels sprouts

Having long endeavored to get my wife to eat brussels sprouts without success, our meal two weekends ago was a revelation. We visited No. 246 and sat at the "chef's table," which amounts to four stools pulled up to a counter looking across the crowded kitchen. The chefs certainly do serve you, experiment on you, joke with you, and otherwise make you feel like an insider while you watch the merry cacophony of dishwashers, station cooks, sous chef, and executive chef pile about. I thoroughly enjoyed No. 246 and will return, although I will probably insist upon the chef's table yet again. My only complaint was that they fed us too much, a fact they acknowledged frankly, just before continuing to feed us.

But I digress. The point is that they served a beautifully prepared hangar steak along with roasted brussels sprouts. The sprouts were sauteed and then baked, and the chef, when queried, just said "vinegar and oil, that's all it takes." He is a liar, but then again all these chefs are. I missed the preparation somehow, so I could not even report back how long they sauteed, what kind of vinegar they used, or how long they roasted.

So I try it now. Today in fact. I took a couple handfuls of brussels sprouts, washed them, stemmed them, cut an X on the base to facilitate cooking. In the small dutch oven I sauteed them for five minutes in 2 tbsp of butter, then sea salted them and peppered them and stuck them in the oven for fifteen minutes at 350 (preheated, of course).

This approximates Julia Child's preparation method, except that I did not blanch the brussels sprouts first.

The result was passable. The sautee produces chips--leaves of the brussels sprouts that drop off and harden in the oil. More do so during roasting, and I think it worth adding butter during the roasting process, as the butter browns quickly and is absorbed even more quickly. If you pull out the crispy leaves before roasting it, more crispy leaves will form, and they will likely not burn.

Next time we will cut these in half before sauteeing. Otherwise, this is close to being a money dish to go alongside either light or red meat.

Paella

I adapted a New York Times recipe for Paella that worked quite well. I chopped up half a big onion, four garlic cloves, a load of green beans, leftover red pepper, and two Tappy's Heritage tomatoes, after seeding and pulping.

I simmered 4 cups of chicken stock to get it warm (since my stock sits in the freezer, this would have been necessary no matter what.

In the dutch oven, I warmed oil and then sauteed the onion. After five minutes, I added garlic, peppers, and salt and cooked for a couple of minutes before adding 1 Tablespoon of tomato paste and 1 Teaspoon of sweet paprika. After blending, I added the rice and blended it in.

After a couple of minutes of cooking the rice grains, I added the tomatoes, which included the quartered Tappy's heritage and a couple of handfuls of cabernet grape tomatoes. Then cooked for about five minutes.

Time to add stock. I brought it to a boil, dropped it to a simmer, and cooked it for fifteen minutes or so, until the stock had evaporated.

I used jasmine rice, which is what we had. It's a medium grain, so it worked fine.

omelettes rouges

Several of the anaheim peppers have turned orange and now red, and they are quite tasty. Given the abundance of peppers, I thought it time to try out some different omelette filling. So I diced a red anaheim and an amish paste tomato. I used some pecorino romano cheese and parsley to top it, giving the omelette nothing like a rouge appearance. And it was not spectacular, but I can definitely work with diced anaheim, which gives a great crunch and flavor to eggs. Tomato is also underrated. This probably would have done better with a diferent kind of cheese, perhaps a nutty parmesan.

Notes on Cooking: it's been a while (although with the fresh eggs we are getting, more would be better), so I forgive my overcooking of the omelettes. If the pan is too hot, it imparts a rubbery texture.

lemon basil syrup

Tried this for a simple syrup:

3-4 cups basil, packed (not too tightly)
the zest of 4 large lemons
2 cups sugar
2 cups water

I made this some years ago and used it in vodka cocktails--a variation of the collins and a fresh gimlet. I now have two cups to play with.

roasting lamb

I had a partial success, partial failure, with l lamb roasting experiment last night. I started with a 3.5 pound leg of lamb (minus the shoulder, which is the way my market cuts it) and cut out the bone. This produced two separate pieces. Truth be told, I have no idea how to debone a lamb leg. I did my best to locate and sever tendons, and lay it flat. I then rubbed an herb mixture onto the meat--parsley, garlic, rosemary, ginger (all fresh, proportions ala Julia Child). I then rolled it, bound it with butcher's string and stuck it in the fridge for a couple of hours.

That night, I salted and peppered the meat and rubbed it in olive oil. It went on the grill at direct heat, 450, for about ten minutes (flipping once), and then I roasted at indirect heat, 350, for another 30 minutes before checking the temperature. This turned out to be overdone. And the crust to the meat was, frankly, too much for a roast.

It was a disappointment, of course, especially since it was the centerpiece of a four course celebratory meal. But I think in the future I can treat this much the same way I would a hanger steak. Cut the searing to two minutes a side, put it on indirect for fifteen minutes at 300-350 and check the temp. The searing should only serve to squeeze the meat to savor its juices. I am wondering here if it is not possible to slow roast it after a quick sear at an even lower temp (say, 250). I don't know enough about the mechanics of roasting to answer this definitively. Given that the lamb roast is so small (no six pound shoulder this), I ought to be able to treat it differently.

The oxheart pink has arrived

Finally, one of the oxheart pink tomatoes has begun turning, enough so that I could pick it. It is pinkish, much lighter than the Amish Paste. This has been a low yielding plant, but the fruit is big and the squirrels have had their share (sadly).

The word on the gardening street is that oxheart pinks are better for sandwiches, and amish pastes are perfect for sauces. I'm hoping next year to can some marinara sauce for storage, and to get three plants growing sandwich varietals as well.

pork chops with an oregano-sage rub

I tried the following for a rub: coarsely chopped oregano and sage, cracked black/white/green/red pepper, olive oil. I pressed the herbs into the meat and let refrigerate for two hours. Then kosher salt, generously applied before grilling.

The grill was a problem. It took nearly an hour to get it up to temperature and even then the fire was uneven. Ended up doing a double sear with one flip, five minutes total. Heat was then cut down and chops cooked for another two minutes a side. Tented with aluminum foil while the zuchini/squash hybrid (squachini? zuquash?) grilled. Another ten to fifteen minutes.

The meat was pretty much perfect, although a hotter fire at the beginning would have given it a better crust. But sometimes you have to roll with the punches.

New plots

So I have two new nine foot rows. Each is about 1 foot wide and runs a foot deep, although they vary in depth from eight inches to fifteen. I filled each trench with 7 cubic feet of organic garden soil, 2 cubic feet of sorghum moss, 1.5 feet of potting soil and about 1 cubic foot of black kow. All was mixed together, save one foot of potting soil which went on the very top.

I will call them rows A & B, which is left to right facing the street.
Planted August 14, 2011.

Row A: pink beauty radishes; broccoli

Row B: bibb lettuce

Pink beauty Radishes. Ferry Morse
4-7 days to germination
27 days to harvest
1/2 inch planting depth
1 inch spacing

When plants have 3 or 4 leaves, think to one inch apart. For steady crop, sow seeds every 10 days until warm weather and again in fall until 30 days before frost.
"Pink beauty has pink color and smooth texture. It grows large but stays mild and not pithy. The flesh is crisp white and has a unique flavor. If you are looking for a radish to add color to relish trays, Pink Beauty is perfect."

Broccoli (Green Sprouting Calabrese) Ferry Morse (organic seeds)
10-14 days to germination
70-90 days to harvest
1/2 inch planting depth
2 feet plant spacing

I did not follow the instructions, which call for sowing 2-3 seeds together outdoors every 2 feet. Rather, I put them all about a half an inch apart. Thin to 1 plant every 2 feet when 1 nch tall. Keep watered and fertilized. Cut before buds open for best harvest.

Broccoli is a good producer again when planted in summer for fall harvest until frost.


Bibb Letuce. Ferry Morse
7-10 days to germination
57 days to harvest
1/4 inch planting depth
10 inch plant spacing

Thin plants to 10 inches apart when they are 2 inches tall. Harvest entire head at maturity.

"A buterhead variety considered a real delicacy. Easy to grow. The small, somewhat loose head is tender with a distinctive flavor. Early starting is advised to avoid bolting to seed in hot weather. This packet will plant approximately a 70 foot row."

tomato update

The amish paste tomatoes seem to have taken over the first patch. They have produced a good first crop, probably 10-12 tomatoes, and appear to be ready to produce another quite soon. The other two plants appear to be utter failures.

In the planter, the cabernet grape tomatoes are giving us a consistent crop. They have proved quite viney, and have actually nearly taken over the other two plants. The oxheart pinks and tappy's heritage are producing green fruit, but none have turned yet.

pulled pork

Here is a recipe for superb pulled pork. 6.25 boneless boston butt.

night before:

soak wood chips
rub pork with rub, wrap in plastic wrap

day of:

begin big green egg. mix dry chips in with charcoal.
add wet chips.
smoke for three hours, or until temp hits 150 or so.

wrap butt in foil.
cook for another seven hours.
when temp hits 195, pull pork.

sweat pork for three plus hours.

pull pork!

beauty.

Tomato update

The tomato crop has begun coming in in earnest. The taxi tomato plant has produced only two fruits, and is still growing quite slowly. It is rather overshadowed by the amish paste, which has been my powerhouse. I'm now getting five or six amish pastes a week, and it shows no real signs of slowing down. Given that it shares root space with the taxi and golden nuggets(?), It is possible that it is just taking up the soil.

In the planter, the cabernet tomatoes have produced beautifully. The oxhearts and tappy's heritage tomatoes are bearing fruit, but all is green so far.

Query: up until now I have been picking tomatoes off the vine. Should I be cutting the vines to keep juices flowing to them?

Fertilizing the garden

On Sunday, July 24, I fertilized my garden, throwing down black cow on the herbs, the watermelons, and the tomatoes. A handful or two for each, padded right beneath the mulch.

Summer of the Mojito

Just read this blog post on mojitos on Jeffrey Morgenthaler's blog, with a list of dos and donts for those of us who treasure the mojito. Some of the rules seem reasonable, others raise queries. For instance, crushed ice is a must, and I learned this the hard way this last weekend when I used the big cubes in my glass. Will always crush ice from now on. Likewise, the silver rum is a must if mixing with a refined sugar simple syrup. But what of a turbando based alternative? It produces a thicker, richer syrup, and my guess is that it would overpower dark rums. And please, some explanation for why limes ought not to be muddled with the mint and syrup. Does it offend the herbs? Bruise the oils? Some explanation other than "strictly amateur" would be helpful. The gentle muddle seems good advice. My aggressive style of muddling breaks up the limes too much.

It is about time to try a golden pineapple sage turbinado syrup. Mojitos can take one more ingredient, and golden pineapple sage seems a natural fit. Both grassy and sweet, imparting nose and flavor that works well with mint. We will see how it fares. My goal is to have a syrup I can use for whiskey drinks in the Fall as well.

pork tenderloin, simple

This worked out well today for a simple pork tenderloin:

set big green egg for indirect cooking at 350.
Salt and pepper tenderloin. Rub with oil.
Cook at 350 for 35 minutes.

Remove place setter and let grill rise in temperature. (At this point I grilled some squash and zucchini while the pork sat)

Baste tenderloin with some kind of sauce. I used a cherry-balsamic grilling sauce. Return tenderloin to grill and cook each side 2-3 minutes.

Salsa Fresca

Adapted from Rick Bayless's Authentic Mexican:

2 ripe heirloom tomatoes, cored, seeds removed, and diced
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
4 jalapenos, seeded and diced
20 sprigs cilantro, chopped

Mix all these ingredients. Then add:

1 tablespoon of lime juice
salt
1 tablespoon of water

Let stew for half an hour. Enjoy some with chips. Then let refrigerate overnight.

Pelissero Munfrina 2009

Pelissero
Munfrina 2009
Dolcetto D'Alba, DOC
13.5%
$30? Sherlock Wine Merchant

This was a wine of some sophistication and elegance. Good spice, tobacco, and leather notes. Tannins were big, but not overpowering. A reminder of the fact that the $30 price point means something.

Simple Stuffed Jalepeno

The basic trick to stuffing jalapeños is to make the stuffing balance. Everything else is a cakewalk. Here was a recipe that really worked, and was pretty to boot.

For the stuffing:

cream cheese
creamy goat cheese
yellow onion, minced
parsley, finely chopped

The proportions were eyeballed, and it is usually best to start with the onion. Six jalapeños took about a quarter onion.

I cut the stems off the jalapeños, halved them and seeded them. I pulled out the membrane, but these peppers were mild enough that I didn't need to do so. I should try better to gauge heat before I do that in the future.

Then I spooned the mixture into the jalapeños halves, and loaded them onto a foil covered baking tray.

Baked at 350 for 16 minutes, broiled for 4 minutes to brown.

They could have been cooked less. These jalapeños are small, from the garden. They came out soft, and a few of them blew apart. Next time try either no broiling, or broiling for only 2 minutes.

Meat on the Bone, Pampered

I enjoy all the ribs we do, but I still feel like my ribs aren't tender enough. I'm going to try the southern technique of smoking and then sweating them to see if I can't get them real tenda. We'll call this the SSS method: Soaked-Smoked-Sweated

Night before: rub down ribs in my proprietary rub--a rub so delectable that no one knows the recipe. And I mean no one. I have no idea what I put in this rub, except that it has some usual ingredients and some cinnamon in it too. Wrap ribs in plastic wrap and throw in the refrigerator. Soak wood chips for grilling the next day.

[15 hours later]

Get coals going. Add soaked woodchips. Set for indirect heat, drop in the ribs. Temperature starts at 150 and climbs over the next twenty minutes to 210, and stays there for the next 1 hour and twenty minutes. Remove, wrap with foil, return to grill. After another thirty minutes, drop all the dampers. Temp perpetually cools to 150 for the next one hour or so.

Total cooking time: 2.5-3 hours. Temperature is a bell curve from 150 to 210--no higher.

Remove and let sit for fifteen minutes. I also placed the rack on it side to let any excess fat train before I cut off the individual ribs.

Wrapping in foil works, except of course that a lot of liquified fat pools. This isn't a huge deal, but keep in mind which side is down. I put the bone side down, so the meaty portion stayed crispy.

The result was the most tender I've ever had with ribs. I've been overcooking them, no question. This produced a tender result, and one where the meat and the rub can really shine. I refused sauce, which is a big deal for me.

board night oemlettes redux

My omelette-making technique has improved, making this a great standby meal all year. To reiterate, the best pan is one that is hot but not overly so, one where one tablespoon of butter can melt and just begin to bubble and turn golden before you add two lightly beaten eggs. (It doesn't hurt here that we now get fresh eggs from our neighbors. Fresh eggs give a better color and richer flavor than store-bought.) I've taken to using a rubber spatula to hold up the cooked portion while distributing the eggs about the pan. Otherwise, I use a lot of jerking motions to cook the eggs. Once it is virtually cooked through, but a hair runny on top, I flip the mixture. This is the only part of my technique that really needs work. It works about seventy percent of the time, and I'm missing the wrist action that makes this an easy task. Once flipped, I turn the heat off, add the filling, then ease it out of the pan.

Tonight we added one ingredient to the smoked salmon and cream cheese: chopped fresh anaheim peppers, with seeds and membrane removed. The one thing this omelette was always missing was some texture differentiation. This fills it nicely, and adds just a touch of heat to it.

Also, I always top my omelettes with a sprinkle of chopped italian parsley, which is great for both appearance and adding a little herbal flavor.

baking and stuffing jalepenos

A good way to use some of the jalapeños would be to stuff and bake them. I found some good ideas on the Simply Recipes blog. Basically, the question is how to make cream cheese (or any other cheese) interesting. Some mix of herbs, onions, and/or sausage and bacon seems pretty standard.

anaheim fish tacos

I need to begin using jalepenos and anaheims regularly, while I wait for the tomatoes to come in so I can begin the grand salsa experiment. Here's one idea, taken from allrecipes:

Anaheim Fish Tacos:

• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 1 Anaheim chile pepper, chopped
• 1 leek, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 large tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 pounds halibut fillets
• 1 lime
• 12 corn tortillas

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat, and saute the chile, leek, and garlic until tender and lightly browned. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Mix the chicken broth and tomatoes into the skillet, and season with cumin. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Place the halibut into the mixture. Sprinkle with lime juice. Cook 15 to 20 minutes until the halibut is easily flaked with a fork. Wrap in warmed corn tortillas to serve.

The Wise Fool

So-called for its mixture of sage and gin, which I think speaks for itself. With the wife and child gone for a few days, I had to try my hand at inventing a cocktail, and I had to make use of the copious amounts of fresh sage growing in the garden. Since sage and gin are a natural fit, and I've been craving a martini forever, this seems a good mix. Here is the recipe I will try:

10 medium sage leaves

quarter lemon wedge

1 tsp. turbinado sugar

4 ounces gin

3 ounces fresh grapefruit juice

Muddle the sage, lemon, and sugar in a shaker. add gin and grapefruit juice. shake.

It helps to run the final product through a strainer, unless you want bits of sage floating about in the drink.

Garnish with a sage leaf, rubbed or broken to release fragrant oils.

This drink has promise. My first attempt had 3 oz. gin to 3 oz. grapefruit and quarter lemon wedge, but I thought it is too heavy on the citrus. Second had the ratio above, and it was a cleaner drink, and the Ethereal gin I used came through.

I used ruby grapefruits in this (what I had on hand), and they were very tart. The drink does not need to be any sweeter, in fact the citrus is a nice bite. But the sage must come through more.

Future concoctions might include a sage syrup rather than muddled fresh sage. Or perhaps a naked sage and gin martini cocktail with a good, dry vermouth.

Garden Update

Everything in the front is growing beautifully. The jalapenos are coming along, and the anaheims I believe are pretty much ready to go. I have made gifts of them, but have yet to figure out exactly what to do with them. Salsa recipes are definitely in my future. We have already eaten one flavorburst pepper, and the red peppers have already turned green to yellow. Fairly soon we will have a good harvest of peppers.

The cucumbers are off the chain, literally. They come out one and a half inches thick and eight inches long. Bursting with water. Perfectly fresh. They store well, and make nice gifts.

The tomatoes are just coming in. Around July 4, I noticed them beginning to flower more prolifically, and to hint at a change in color. We left for Canada on July 7. When I returned on July 11, they had grown by inches, and in the front planter had begun to fall over. I immediately tied them up with some twine, and eventually dropped two cages in the planter to help hold up the new branches. In the mound (taxi, amish paste, golden nugget?), tomatoes were beginning to turn. The amish paste had produced several tomatoes that were changing from yellow to red, and the taxis are yellow. I picked an amish paste and made a cucumber and tomato sandwich. Highly tasty. I expect the real harvest to begin in a couple of weeks, and hopefully we will see production (like last year) into September.

hanger steak, naked

Well, just about naked. Thin layer of garlic salt, kosher salt, then a thin coat of olive oil. On the grill:

550 grill
1.5 minutes per side sear
4 minutes per side cook at 400, temp fell to 350 by end with dampers near closed.

Result was medium rare, but on the happy rare side. Good crust. When dressing the steak after the fact, this is an easy way to throw a steak on.

Meat on the Bone, Babyback style

For the arrival of the lil' gard'ner's gramma, I prepared babybacks in the following manner:

Remove ribs 30 minutes prior to cooking. Pull membrane.
Kosher salt ribs. Add rub of paprika, nutmeg (pinch) and brown sugar

Fire up to 400. Stir coals.
Add soaked hickory wood chips.
set for indirect, add pan of beer (miller)
two ribs in a rack.
temperature at 200.

Smoke for 2 hours 15 minutes.
(temperature crept up to 250, probably in the last forty five minutes of cooking)
remove ribs, wrap in foil, return to rack, close vents.

Cook for 1 hour 15 minutes. Closed down dampers after 1 hour.

Garden Update

Tomatoes are coming in on the triangle plot, although only on one of the taxi tomato plants. The amish paste plant is flowering. Sweet peppers are coming in already, and the cucumbers are getting defensive. They are on vertical trellises meant for orchids. Oh well.

Photos all by "the lil' gard'ner"

cilantro from seed

The cilantro plants that grew up were clearly late winter season, and they have never produced enough usable plants. After pulling most of the shoots earlier, I have finally pulled the last of them. In replanting, I have decided to go again from seed. Given that I had both a packet of dried coriander seeds and fresh seeds from the cilantro plants, I am trying an experiment. From left to right, I planted seeds a quarter of an inch apart, first half of the row was fresh, second half dry. I added some new soil to cover the seeds, but otherwise am working from the same beds.

late season watermelons

At the insistence of my girls, we are planting watermelons, although they will come a *wee* bit late in the season. Tried one mound, planted six seeds, spaced three inches apart in two rows.

Mixed jungle growth and black kow into the Georgia clay, tried to do equal parts. Also, put down a layer of pure black soil at the top, with some potting soil mixed in, although this was largely by accident, as I had transplanted the mint to a bigger pot and some of the potting soil ended up on the ground and in the hole.

sage limeade

Tried this one out for the crawfish boil today:

2 parts lime juice
1 part golden pineapple sage-mint syrup
water to taste (approximately 6-8 parts?)

Loaded it into the plastic jug w/spout, added ice, letting cool in the fridge.

Something to sip on in between beers and god-knows-what-Jamie-has-in-store-for-us at the all day boil.

Pork Chops with a sage rub

Early herb garden mix:

sage leaves (about eight, many large)
oregano leaves (only a small number)
finely chop fresh herbs, add sea salt and fresh ground pepper and mix in olive oil

dress up the pork chops, about 1 inch thick

grill was weak--550 to start.
Sear for 1.5 minutes each side
put up dampers, cut to 400 degrees
roughly 5 minutes a side.

a third pork chop joined with only salt.

The result: juicy, but medium rather than medium rare. The rub could have been better singed, but was tasty.

Still, I have to say that fresh herbs on a chops rub is not really all that great. Dried herbs seem to do better, sadly--more potency. Perhaps mixing fresh and dried sage would do better?

UPDATE: fresh herb rubs work well if the heat is high enough to start, and if the dampers don't get completely shut down. I clearly need to do a thorough cleaning of the grill.

Summer Sour

Nothing too special, but really enjoyed this on a warmish May night, following the frost. Seriously, it was warmer on Thanksgiving last year than this past weekend. Glorious, I say.

2 1/2 oz. whiskey 2 and a splash, or not...
2 oz. lemon juice
2 oz. pineapple sage-mint syrup

Mint and Pineapple Sage Syrup

Doesn't exactly flow off the tongue. I'm debating how best to do this simple syrup, and I'm settling on the following path:

1 cup turbinado sugar
1 cup water
1/2 cup golden pineapple sage
1/4 cup mint

dissolve sugar into water, remove from heat. drop in herb, mash to release oils, let steep overnight, strain into a mason jar.

I've decided against the 2:1 ratio as I seem to do well with the 1:1. Also, I'm gambling that it will allow the sage to come through better. Also, I'm not boiling the sage, as I doubt the heat will do the herb much good. Rather, I am going for steeping length of time and some simple mashing to release more oils. I was reluctant to add mint to this, as it tends to overpower, but the pineapple sage has not yet given me the yields I need, so for right now it will have to the two.

I have three concerns. First, this is my first turbinado sugar. The dark brown color and rich taste of the syrup threatens to overwhelm my herb component. Second, I was light on the herbs. I would prefer a full cup of sage. That will come. Third, I added the herbs when the mixture was still quite hot. Of course the leaves wilted. But the real question is whether the heat will damage them. Am tempted to try this again with little heat and little dissolve.

I think this will be a good rum and/or bourbon syrup. I'm tempted to try a manhattan variation using a little of this syrup, some Fee Brothers bitters, and lilet. Just a touch!

UPDATE:

Tried this variant on August 1, 2011:

1 cup white sugar
1/2 cup mint
1/2 cup golden pineapple sage

boiled down the sugar, added the herbs and let them cool in the fridge for eight hours before pressing them through a sieve.

The syrup was quite good, although the woodiness of the golden pineapple sage comes through strongly. The result was interesting. This syrup works nicely with whiskey in an old fashioned, where the woodiness contrasts with the oak in a rye and gives it just a hint of herbal freshness. In a mojito, however, the woodiness overpowers the rum.

Metropolitan #5, the remix

So, here is a much better modification of the Metropolitan #5, after several different takes:

2 oz. vodka
1 oz. Pomegranate liqueur
<1 oz. triple sec
1 oz. lime juice
dash Fee Brothers orange bitters

shake with ice. Serve up.

This version does several things better than my first run. First, it balances the sugar, sour, and alcohol much better than my previous version. Second, the lime juice is superior to the lemon juice in bringing out all the flavors in this drink. The bitters are a must, if only because they tie everything together and give the drink a layered complexity. Otherwise, this is just a variation of sex and the city night out kind of stuff.

Kitchen Garden

So, I ripped up another patch of grass and replaced it with a kitchen garden. It is modest for now:

Golden Pineapple Sage
Sicilian Oregano
Basil
Thyme
Sage

In the back--Rosemary and potted mint. I'm debating transplanting the mint to the back planter what happens.

The herbs were all planted a couple of weeks ago--call it April 25. They are growing nicely. I'm debating putting a raised bed back here at some point.

Metropolitan #5

I'm not sure if I live in a suburb or the city, but then again Atlanta is a collection of hills and villages anyway. I live on one of those hills, I suppose. I'm five miles from the metropole, so we'll start there.

I'll call this one a Metropolitan #5.

1 oz. Vodka (SKYY, or smooth as possible)
1 oz. Pomegranate liqueur
1 oz. triple sec (have not yet tried Grand Mariner)
juice of a quarter lemon
dash of Fee Brothers orange bitters

shake, serve up and chilled.

Pomegranate Martini

This sounds stupid, I admit, but I'm trying to develop a good "up" drink with pomegranate liqueur. I've always been a fan of the sweet/tart taste of pomegranates. The Parma liqueur is a little candy-ish, but I am convinced in the right proportions with the right mixers, it could be sublime.

A simple pomegranate tom collins (or parma fizz) is an easy make:

lemon juice
simple syrup (light)
club soda
parma
gin

However, I went for the following martini fizz:

1 oz. Ethereal Gin
1 oz. Parma
1/4 lemon
splash Fee Brothers lemon bitters
club soda

I like it. The lemon bitters give it distinct nose, and the botanical gin gives it lots of flavor. Jan hates the club soda in it, making me wonder if I don't have something here with a different mix. Next time try:

2 oz. ethereal gin
1 oz. parma
lemon twist
lemon bitters

My fear with this drink is that it will taste flat. but I must admit, there is something overly done about the Parma Fizz above. Either the bitters are too much, or Jan is right and the club soda is a mistake.

The Social

Given that all great art is theft, this does not seem such a bad thing. The following is a drink adapted from a drink invented at The Social, a truly fine and underrated restaurant in Atlanta. In actuality, the drink was introduced to me by a fellow east pointer, who adapted it from a drink invented by a bartender at The Social. Derivative drinking at its finest.

muddle sugar and strawberry in a Collins glass. Add basil and muddle. Then quarter a lemon and muddle it as well. Add rum--silver or gold depending on preference. Top with pineapple juice and ice, then a splash of soda.

This is a drink that will layer its flavors. The strawberry pulp and pineapple juice give it a fruit forward sweetness, while the herbal tinge refreshes. All is balanced by the buzz on the tongue, and the rum can really be brought forward by this.

The muddled fruit and herbs last several refills of rum and soda. We tried both a gold and a silver (Mount Gay Barbados Rum).

This is a drink for the garden on a languorus summer evening. As it happens, we mixed these on an unseasonably cool May evening, with temperatures in the fifties and on their way down to the thirties, thanks to a massive storm front that whipped through town last night. If I had a fully stocked bar, I might have fired up a scotch or bourbon drink for such a night, but that would have disappointed our very fine guest who popped by specifically to introduce us to this cocktail. And we are all better for it.

mung dal with sauteed onion and ginger

From my Indian cookbook.

2 1/2 cups yellow mung beans
wash beans four times

prepare spice powder:
heaping 1/2 tsp tumeric
2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne

spread powder over beans
pour 6 cups water over beans
bring to boil (about 15 minutes)
reduce heat, cook uncovered

chop 1 cup cilantro. add when five minutes is left on the lentils.

chop 1/2 onion finely.
mince 2 tablespoons ginger. (Don't skimp on the ginger, it tends to get lost in here)
prepare a tarka powder:
2 tbsp coriander
1 tsp cumin

prepare 3 tbsp oil, 2 tbsp butter over high heat.
Add 2 tsp. cumin seeds when hot, let them sizzle
add onion, cook 1 minute
add ginger, cook 1 minute
add tarka powder, cook 30 seconds

add to mung dal.

correct salt seasoning. cracked pepper optional.

Dressing up burgers

I've never been good at dressing burgers, if only because I simply never make them. But they are one of the perfect bbq choices, especially for ten guests aged 18-20 who need to be fed cheaply, but still leave impressed.

So I bought 4 pounds of ground sirloin, dropped it in a bowl, and started splashing in worcestershire sauce, sprinkling in garlic salt, and finally dropping in freshly chopped parsley until it looked like it absorbed enough. Having eyeballed this, all I can say is that ground beef will take a lot before it impacts the flavor too much.

I formed patties about the size of my two cupped hands, which produced a 6-7 oz. burger. This is perfect size, except I have yet to locate the bun to match.

I dropped some mesquite in the egg and got it up to 600. I basted each burger with olive oil and kosher salt (quite a bit), then seared the meat for 2 minutes on each side, put on the lid and cooked the burgers at 400 for approximately an additional 10 minutes. I cut into a test burger when I thought they were done and found it still raw in the middle, but after leaving it a couple of minutes more, they came off medium, and full of juice. NOTE: clear juice is not necessarily a sign of doneness. The burger I tested I ran a knife into the middle, and out poured clear juice, but the middle was not quite there. I could try the paperclip test next time.

The result was woody on the nose, thanks to the mesquite. It was extremely juicy, but brown all the way through. I'm never a fan of leaving hamburger raw, or even undercooked, so I would rate it as perfect. Any more, though, and it will begin approaching shoeleather. The meat was flavorful, but the worcestershire sauce, garlic, and parsley seemed to balance itself well. It could have taken more of each. Also, the chopped parsley gave the burgers an appealing herbed appearance.

Manhattan, with some spice

How about a Manhattan made with falernum?

Mount Gay Rum

On a whim, I bought this white rum from Barbados. If it was a good choice, I'll know by the end of May. In the mean time, here are cocktails to try.

cocktail blogs

A list of cocktail blogs to check out, updating constantly:

Kaiser Penguin

Cocktail Slut

The Kitchn (direct link to "mix your own cocktails" post)

Oh Gosh (direct link to review of aromatic bitters post)

Benito's Wine Reviews (direct link to review of Fee Brothers bitters)

Spirits Review

Good Spirits News

American Cocktails

Fernet-Branca

First ever tasting of Fernet-Branca.

The nose is herbal, but in a surprisingly refreshing, pepperminty, menthol. The taste is everything they claim--hard to imagine, powerful, like chewing on the root of a dogwood, after eating limestone. Its aroma really makes it for me. The bitter herbs are wonderful, but this is an acquired taste.

The Fernet Alexander is one way to make a special end of the evening drink:

equal parts Fernet-Branca, Cream de Cocao, cream. garnish with nutmeg. This is a chocolate martini for a carnivore. There are endless variations on this.

The Fernet Old Fashioned looks appealing, at least to me:

Front Planter, 2011

April 23 planted, left to right (street facing)

Mortgage Lifters
Golden Nugget
Oxheart Pink

The bees balm is coming in like a weed on the west end, which is fine given that the planter is rich in soil and compost. Let it come.

On April 27, it appears that the mortgage lifters and the golden nugget have either been dug up, or withered. I'll check back in a few weeks.

Front Rows, 2011

My two experimental rows successfully yielded a late fall harvest of carrots, green onions, cilantro, and parsley, all grown from seed. The cilantro and parsley has now gone to seed, so I'm knocking them out this weekend and next, and beginning the planting process. Here is the plan, at present. Row 1 is the main row, Row 2 the second row. House facing, left to right.

Row 1: parsley and cilantro, indeterminate amount. Some late plants came from seed, so I may have a couple of producing plants, and I have one cilantro plant to put in the ground. I'll have to update this at a later time once the row is completely planted. Far right end: jalepenos.

Planted April 23:

Row 2:

Cucumber, Marketmore 76 (8-9 inches long, disease resistant, 66 days to maturity)
Cucumber

Row 3:

Taxi Tomatoes
Amish Paste
Taxi Tomatoes

Tomatoes 2011

So I've planted six tomato plants, all seedlings from the Oakhurst Community Garden. The tomatoes go in the same spots as last year. For soil prep, I added Black Kow to the amended soil, which I mixed with some Georgia Clay. I've done nothing to prepare drainage in the plot, which is clearly an oversight on my part. But I didn't have any last year, and the soil seems to be doing okay. Until I raise beds, I'm not going to give it too much thought.

In the stone planter, street facing and left to right, I planted

Mortgage Lifters
Golden Nuggets
Oxheart Pink

UPDATE: two of three were seemingly ripped out. I believe the plants are now:

Tappy's Heritage
Cabernet
Oxheart Pink

In the Triangle Plot (front of Maia's window), house facing and left to right, I planted

Taxi Tomatoes
Amish Paste
Taxi Tomatoes

UPDATE: the last taxi did not come in. I believe I replaced it with a golden nugget, but am not sure.

Ribeye, perfect timing

These ribeyes were about 1 inch thick, although freezing and thawing shrunk them a bit. Once again, the fear is I overcooked, at 9 minutes.

Grill: 600
1 minute 30 second sear, each side.
after second turn, baste with kickass garlic-parsley oil.
close dampers most of way.
Grill at 400
3 minutes then flip
baste that side with kickass garlic-parsley oil.
Grill at 350
3 more minutes
remove from grill. tent for 10 minutes.

Ribeyes turned out perfect. Medium rare, warm in the middle. 9 minutes is looking good, with maybe a couple more minutes in the event that they are thicker.

beans and rice

looking for a good beans and rice recipe. Vegetable broth will be a biggie, so will need to start making the stock. Should not be a problem. Fresh tomatoes will be coming as well. Peppers from the garden.

Here is a simple recipe that seems to be replicated all over. I will be back with some experiments, plus reports on how to best prepare beans from scratch, which I have had difficulty with in the past.

Humberto Barberis Gran Reserva Malbec, 2006

Ansley Park Kroger
$40 ($25 on sale)
Malbec, 13.8%

Humberto Barberis
Malbec 2006
Gran Reserva
Mendoza Argentina

This was a fruity and rich Malbec. Worked well with a ribeye, as it brought out some of the structure, but in the end it is a Malbec. I would have to have a proper tasting in order to discern whether this was worth the big price tag.

Alexandria Nicole Alderdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008

Cabernet Sauvignon
Ansley Park Kroger
$28

Alexandria Nicole Alderdale Cabernet Sauvignon 2008
Destiny Ridge Vineyards
Horse Heaven Hills

The 2007 was a Double Gold Winner for the Seattle Wine Awards. It promises big fruit, cassis, herbes de Provence, lingering milk chocolate and toffee. Wine Spectator gave it 90 points in its December 15, 2010 issue.

We'll see what the 2008 does.

UPDATE: tasting was brilliant. Big mouthful of fruit on the tongue. Well structured. Nicely balanced. The toffee/milk chocolate finish was very pleasant. This one was a success at our EPGTC tasting.

Clos de l'Eglise Lalande de Pomerol, 2008

Ansley Park Kroger (talk to April)
$25
Merlot 80%, 13% alcohol

The Lalande de Pomerol is an appellation directly north of Pomerol, very much in Pomerol's shadow. It is known as a great value region, and one that adds a rustic touch to its wines. The soil is well-drained gravel.

This wine was a knockout. I find myself gravitating towards the French and Italian styles, increasingly. They are rich and subtle even when big. The EPGTC tasting named this the favorite amongst the wines. It was also the first. But it produced an immediate reaction that made it hard to follow this wine with fruitier, new world varieties.

Kickass Steak Recipe

Michael Lomonaco offers the following recipe for steaks:

1/3 cup olive oil
2 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/4 cup Italian parsley leaves, chopped
3 to 4 sprigs each fresh thyme and rosemary
4 20 oz, bone-in, NY strip steaks, 1 3/4-2 inches thick.
Kosher salt
1/2 lemon

1) combine oil and garlic in small saucepan and warm over low heat for 2 minutes. Cool thoroughly, then add the parsley, thyme and rosemary. Divide the seasoned oil equally between 2 small bowls.

2) brush the steaks with half of the seasoned oil. Let the steaks sit at room temperature for 10 to 20 minutes before grilling.

3) make fire

4) season steaks lightly with pepper and liberally with salt (1/2 teaspoon per steak)

5) sear. don't burn.

6) after turning, brush (don't slather) steaks with marinade in second bowl using a clean brush.

7) remove steaks to platter and tent with foil. Squeeze a little lemon juice over the steaks.

Chili Colorado, Double Recipe

Making chili for the parents, who are both in town tonight.

Design notes: Rick Bayless says that the recipe is a half hour hands on. That cannot be true. I sliced and seeded the chilies on Sunday, cubed the chuck roast on Tuesday, and this was still a good hour or two hands on, especially when one considers the massive clean up. The process, however, was very smooth. First I roasted the chilies, while the kettle was heating. By the time the chilies were done, the kettle was whistling. Covered the chilies and submerged with a plate. Chopped an onion and garlic, added the cumin and oregano to the blender. Took the meat out of the fridge and prepared the dutch oven. Added chilies (we are now at the half hour mark). Added reserve chili water. Blended. Put medium-high heat on the dutch oven. Added meat. Began straining chili puree over a bowl. Alternately pressed chilies while turning meat over and over to brown all pieces. This took about ten minutes--like Bayless wants, although my doubling of the recipe makes this a sloppy adaptation. Added chili, kept heat high for another five minutes. Kept scraping bottom. Made flour roux (2 tbsp for 4 cups of water). Added roux. Brought the mixture to a boil, partially covered. Dropped heat to medium. Started cleaning. Lots of cleaning.

3:45: chili simmering nicely.

Doubling the recipe was quite straightforward, with one exception--more difficult to press the chili puree. It left me paranoid, as usual, that I didn't have enough chili in my chili. It is simmering at present. Gives me time to brood.

Chili ratio: 8 anchos and 8 california chilies. They were large, so I didn't opt for more. Frying them did a number on my throat, I have discovered. Almost feel like wearing a mask when working with them.

4:45: Taste Test: Brilliant, but the chuck is still a tad chewy and the sauce a tad watery. Another hour will likely do it. If the sauce gets too thick, I will cover completely in the dutch oven.

Monster Ribeye

I should have taken a picture. 1.2 pounds boneless, 1 1/2 inches thick. Glorious. The rub I used was quite simple: light coat of garlic salt; cracked pepper mixed with sea salt; olive oil brush. Egg heated up to 700, and I let the grill heat for ten minutes or so. Cooking time:

1 3/8 minutes sear, each side.
Close dampers. Temperature dropped rapidly down under 400.
2 3/4 minutes each side.

Pulled it, cut it down the middle. Rare. Very rare. Cool in the center. Back on the grill for four minutes, dampers open to bring the temp up past 300. Still rare, but fabulous.

This was disappointing from the cooking angle. Last time I cooked ribeyes, I cooked under ten minutes and got medium. Granted, a gasket problem kept my temperature a little higher, but that cannot account for the MASSIVE difference in the end product. I needed probably 400 degrees, four minutes a side.

Next time, play with the dampers. get the temperature up to a respectable number, while keeping the fire down.

By the way, the end product was fantastic. The ribeye was fall apart tender, full of juice. Still on the rare to medium rare side, and the crust was much better than the freshly herbed mess I cooked up last time. I'm becoming a big fan of cracked pepper, and am wondering if that with some sprinkled rosemary and sea salt wouldn't make the best rub.

Pulled Pork

I was tempted to title this post "smoking butt" so the adult had to overrule the teenager in me. I rarely purchase the boston butt, preferring instead to get the whole hog shoulder. When the shoulder is split in half, one gets the butt and the picnic. Most butts are supposed to be 8 pounds, but the one I have is 3.5, suggesting that the Farmer's market is dividing the butts in two.

I've been looking up recipes, so might as well catalog them here. Good instructions on smoking are helpful, although the big green egg instructions are what I have followed in the past. A collection of rub recipes live here.

For the rub, I'm modifying a recipe I found online.

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup paprika
• 3 tablespoons salt
• 2 tablespoons cracked peppercorns
• 2 teaspoons cayenne
• 2 teaspoons dry mustard
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  

The cinnamon is my addition. I've yet to find it in a bbq rub, so it is likely a mistake. It's eastern origins do not make it a likely addition either--I am hardly going native. But it imparts such a distinctive flavor, and in this rub it should sit in conjunction with the heat and the sugar to impart more nose than flavor. We shall see...

I rubbed the butt and wrapped it in plastic and put it in the fridge for two hours. I prepared the grill for indirect cooking, started the coals, and added mesquite wood chunks. (On a side note, I have recently read that mesquite imparts too strong a flavor for smoking meats, so I should probably invest in some hickory.) I put the meat directly on over a drip pan with some water only--I am trying to control all taste variables to see what the rub produces, so no apple juice or beer in the pan.

3.6 pounds, so the butt could be ready in 5 1/2 hours. I'm cooking on the low end of the temperature spectrum, so I'm guessing it will take 6 1/2 hours.

10:45--pork went on. Temperature 100.
11:00--Temperature reached 210.
11:05--Temperature holding at 210.
11:10--Temperature up to 220. Closed dampers a hair more.
1:53--Temperature down to 180. Opened dampers a hair more.
2:15--Temperature holding at 220. Closed dampers a bit.
3:15--Temperature holding at 220.
4:15--Temperature holding at 220. Internal Temperature: 175!!

Pulled it off shortly after 5.

The result was good, but not tender enough. It needed likely one more hour. The next time, I want to try double wrapping it in foil for the last several hours. I have been reluctant to do so, but really do think the result will be superior.

The rub was a hit. And there is much rejoicing.

Perrin Reserve, Cotes du Rhone 2007

Perrin Reserve, Cotes du Rhone 2007
$10
Dekalb Farmer's Market

Having always been a fan of the Rhone wines, especially their peppery layers and hints of flavors that earn tags like "wet earth" and "underbrush," I am always on the lookout for something both affordable and quaffable from the region. This means, of course, picking through bottles from southern Rhone vintages, mixing primarily grenache and syrah grapes. (Apparently in the northern Rhone, of the red grapes, only Syrah is planted.) The southern Rhone is of Mediterranean climate--arid and wind swept, with some worry about cold winds sweeping down the valley. In the past thirty years, the Rhone has become synonymous with "French red wine," (or so they say), and this means a lot of plonk comes out of the region. Of course, plonk is pretty good these days. Just not that interesting.

So I'm not sure where to place this one. It is fruity and light. Cherry blossoms linger on the tongue. This is balanced with white peppercorn, and both flavors fade into a kind of grassy slope. I would give it a strong rating for a $10 wine. I find it more drinkable than fruit forward California wines at the same price point. In fact, I opened a bottle of this after starting with a Hahn Cabernet, which was a typical Hahn offering: flawless; complex; and it cold cocks you. One glass only, please. I could drink the Perrin Reserve all day. While working in the garden. It's a little short up against a steak, but it wasn't completely destroyed by the tri tip roast we made last night.

Rate it: buy again.

brown lentils with cinammon and cumin seeds

This is a warm and fragrant dish, easy to prepare on a Sunday afternoon and will last most of the week for hot lunches. It balances spices and has a mild heat to it. The finish is long and sits on the palate.

For starters:

• wash 2 cups brown lentils, add to 3 quart pot with 5 cups water
• bring to boil, hold for 10-15 minutes
• reduce heat to medium--or whatever will give a rolling simmer--and cook an additional 20-30 minutes, gauging when the lentils are soft and creamy.
• add 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro during last five minutes of cooking
  

For finishers:

• heat 3 tbsp of peanut oil on high heat
• add 2 tsp of cumin seeds, let them sizzle for one minute
• add 1/2 of a large onion (or 1 small one. or whatever)
• drop in 1 tbsp of butter after the onions soften
• sprinkle in 2 tsp of Indian curry powder
• .mix.
• dust with cinnamon, to taste.
• .mix.
• turn off heat

When the lentils are completely ready, mix in the finishing sauce. Let stand at least a few minutes. Then go to flavor country.

VARIATIONS TO TRY: I would like to try this with French green lentils. I have enough to choke a horse in the basement, so can give it a try. French green lentils are supposed to be the best, in terms of keeping their shape and texture throughout cooking.

UPDATE: the cooking times upstairs will produce a softer dish. I am still trying to master texture.

Tri Tip with fresh herbs

My first tri-tip of the grilling season was a mix of thrill and disappointment. While the overall product was quite good, many touches were missing.

Herb rub:

fresh rosemary (handful)
fresh thyme (handful)
cracked fresh pepper
olive oil

First off--too much rosemary and thyme, not enough pepper. Ratio was greatly skewed, and next time I will back off the rosemary and thyme. I prepped the steak by sprinkling it with a thin layer of GARLIC SALT. I followed it with sea salt. This works quite well.

the grill:

550 degrees. 2 minutes per side sear. (4 minutes)

it was on-and-off storming, and this affected my fire. I heated the brick oven up to 550, but put the grill on the pit a little too late. The grill itself wasn't hot enough for the meat, and the sear left something to be desired. On the one hand, the meat squeezed right up and the result was juicy. The crust, however, was weak. The thyme and rosemary remained soft and squishy. I think a hotter oven (600+) with a pre-heated grill will do better. Increasing sear time is more problematic, as the outer layer of skin can dry up, which is NOT the crust we want.

350-400 degrees. direct heat. circa 20 minutes.

I was paranoid about burning the meat, and removed it once to check temperature (at about 14 minutes total time). The internal temperature was about 100, if my weak thermometer is to be believed. I put it back on for another ten minutes, and pulled it even though the thermometer indicated a low temp. The result was medium rare, and more on the rare side of it, so no fears about burning the meat.

I would have preferred to throw on the plate setter and cook the meat on indirect at 400. The weather kept me from doing this.

Cashew Dal

Recipe: French Lentils With Cashews Time: About an hour

2 tablespoons butter or peanut oil

1 large yellow onion, chopped

1 tablespoon curry powder or garam masala

1/4 cup tomato paste

1 cup chopped cashews

1/2 cup dried French green (Le Puy) lentils, washed and picked over

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup yogurt for garnish

1/4 cup chopped parsley for garnish.

1. Put butter in a large pot over medium heat until it is melted and foamy (or shimmering if using oil). Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft and golden, about 5 minutes. Stir in spice blend and keep stirring for a few seconds, until it becomes fragrant. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring frequently, until it darkens, another couple of minutes.

2. Add cashews and stir to coat them in onion mixture. Cook and stir just long enough for them to warm a bit. Add lentils and enough water to cover by about an inch.

3. Bring to a boil, then turn heat down to medium-low so mixture bubbles gently. Cook, stirring until beans are soft, 20 to 30 minutes; add more water as needed to keep everything moist. When lentils are cooked to desired tenderness and mixture has thickened, stir in some salt and pepper, then taste and adjust seasoning. Serve, garnished with a dollop of yogurt and a little parsley.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings.

Steaks, with a (sage) rub

This rub does not excite, but it is workable:

dried thyme (whole)
dried rosemary (whole)
dried sage (powdered)
cracked pepper
coarse sea salt

I'm beginning to think that rubs add texture more than anything else, although the sage came through (bright and sweet) to counteract the thyme and pepper.

BIG GREEN EGG NOTES:

I'm having a gasket issue which I will fix up next weekend, and I think it led to the following problem. I let the grill get very hot. It ran for ten-fifteen minutes at 650 degrees. It allowed me to clean the grill (which really worked), and also put a nice sear on it. But when the grill surface is that hot, and the internal temperature of the egg is sitting at 650, 1.5 minutes on the sear blackens the meat. That wasn't the real rub, however. It was the cooking afterwards (5.5 minutes or so) at a slightly higher heat than normal, thanks to my gasket issues, that cooked the meat too much.

The meat also was allowed to sit for nearly ten minutes, which helped the juices to settle, and I'm sure it cooked during that time as well. I should cut the cooking time down to 4.5 to 5 minutes if the temperature stays up around 500 degrees.

simple dal

Here is a recipe attempted from the Minimalist's old column. The link includes many more good recipes, so is worth reading on its own.

recipe:

Recipe: Lentils With Curried Tarka Time: 45 minutes

1 cup dried brown lentils, washed and picked over

2 1/2 cups water, coconut milk or vegetable stock, more if needed

4 tablespoons butter or vegetable oil

1 cup chopped scallions

1 tablespoon lemon zest

1 tablespoon curry powder

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Chopped fresh cilantro leaves.

1. In a medium saucepan, combine lentils and liquid and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn heat down to medium-low so that mixture bubbles gently, cover partly and cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are just tender, 20 to 30 minutes. Add liquid as necessary to keep them a little soupy.

2. Put butter in a skillet over medium heat until it is melted and foamy (or shimmering if using oil). Add scallions and lemon zest and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and fragrant, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the curry powder and cook and stir for another minute or so. Add a large pinch of salt, some pepper and the cilantro leaves. Cook mixture (the tarka) for just another 30 seconds or so, then turn off heat.

3. When lentils are cooked to desired tenderness, stir scallion mixture into the lentils. Dal should be moist but not soupy; if it is not, add more water and heat through. Taste and adjust seasoning and serve.

Yield: 4 servings.

In this attempt, I doubled the recipe and the cooking time (roughly). I also used 1/2 of a yellow union and some scallions. I added the curry powder late, and more salt. Good result! Lots of dal for the week.

Salmon on the Grill

Simplicity ought to be a virtue in grilling, at least when you want the flavor of the meat and the quality of its preparation to shine. As such, I am experimenting with a very simple method of grilling atlantic salmon fillets. The fillets are huge (two weighing nearly one pound each). They are also, unfortunately, unequally thawed. One is fine; the second is thawed enough to allow me to move forward, I believe.

I am putting them on tinfoil on the grill, and basting them with a lemon-butter-parsley-sea salt sauce. Roughly 1-2 tablespoons butter, quarter wedge of lemon, few sprigs of parsley.

I set up the Big Green Egg for indirect cooking, laid down a sheet of tinfoil, and stuck the salmon fillets on with the grill still heating up. It took approximately 5 minutes to hit 300-350 degrees. I'm having difficulty with heat on my grill right now. It's time for a serious cleaning.

Start cooking time at 6:00. By 6:05, hit 380. Shortly after, 400. Holding steady there. Pulled it off shortly after 6:20. The total cooking time was likely 25 minutes. Big Green Egg recipes said 18 minutes at 450, so we'll see how this stacks up.

UPDATE: the salmon was delicious. Not overcooked, but definitely on the medium side. Could have been a little less done. A nice presentation, too.

Chili Colorado, Second Attempt

6 California Chilies, 4 Ancho Chilies. This time I fried the chilies an appropriate amount (a few seconds per side), and omitted the oil, a mistake I made the first time around. Nice to not smoke the house out on a Sunday afternoon.

Two changes to the recipe. The first has to do with frying, and I'm sure it is no big deal. I fried the meat in the dutch oven in two batches. After I finished the second batch, I cut the flame and pressed the chili puree through a sieve. Once fully pressed, I returned the heat and cooked for five minutes.

The second change was to make a flour roux using about a tablespoon of flour to two cups of water. I ran the water completely out of the sauce last time, but the result was very little chili. I'm hoping to get a slightly thicker sauce this time, so we'll see how the consistency turns out.

The water was added at 3:50 p.m., and the heat kept high while the chili returned to a boil. I started simmering the sauce at 3:55, partially covered. The simmer was at medium low (4 or 5, back and forth). Simmered until 4:55, then added another half teaspoon of salt. Cut heat down to low. Sauce is rich and savory, of medium consistency. Very tasty.

chicken drums on the grill

Ode to the grilling season. My quest ought to be for perfect drums and wings, as a cheap and easy way to feed a dozen if necessary. I'm starting with a basic recipe today--the lemon/garlic/butter sauce.

First, brine chicken. 8 drums, covered with an eyeballed proportion of salt (1 cup per 1 gallon). and some red peppercorns. Brined for about 3 hours.

Basting sauce: 2 tbs butter; 2 garlic cloves; 1/2 meyer lemon. Good.

Pat chicken dry--right onto grill. Kind of seared at high heat, 4 minutes. The grill was not very hot tonight. 30 minutes total at about 350 degrees.

End product was good. Or good enough. They are, after all, drumsticks.

2009 Cotes du Rhone

According to Eric Asimov, the 2009 Cotes du Rhone vintage suffered from too hot a summer and thus too jammy a yield. The wines lack complexity--the earthy, herbal, or smoky character that has often accompanied cotes du rhone over the years.

I reviewed a Farmers' Market cotes du rhone earlier, and was quite surprised to find it fruit forward, but did not find it jammy. It lacked complexity, but for $10 a bottle, is a decently good buy. It had a long finish and nice balance with tannins, and as such I'll keep it on my recommended list. Would love to get some 2008 to compare it with.

Prohibition Cocktails

I've been searching for this, so I was glad to find the NY Times running an article on high-end non-alcoholic cocktails. I have my own "spritzer" soda recipes for the summer, but not much in the way of creative Prohibition Cocktails.

The key appears to be rose water, or hibiscus water, or some other kind of scented/flavored water.

Peirano Estate Petite Sirah

$12, DeKalb Farmer's Market

Peirano Estate Vineyards
Petite Sirah, 2009
Lodi, California

Elegant, kind of like a Humvee in terms of raw power, but not displeasing to the senses. Nothing petite about any petite sirah I've ever had. This one bears repeating, and goes well with steaks, strong fish, sauced meat, and chocolate.

Chili Colorado, First attempt

Followed Rick Bayless's recipe, with a few mistakes/variations/adaptations. For starters,

I heated oil in the dutch oven and used it to sear the chilies. Was not necessary, and smoked fiercely. Will not repeat. ALSO: I have to wonder if fire roasting fresh chilies might not produce a better tasting sauce.The chilies drive the sauce, obviously, and I can't help but think that fresh is better, in order to produce a meatier sauce. However, every recipe I have seen calls for dried, so, more research is in order.

I also roasted the chilies for too long. High heat, and a few seconds a chili is all that is called for. I probably did closer to a minute a side on most.

Once the chilies were soaking in a bowl, I followed the recipe pretty much down to the letter. Browned the beef for ten minutes, pureed the chilies, cumin, garlic, onion, and oregano, strained it, added it to the beef, fried for five minutes more, then added water and cut it down to a simmer. I became obsessively worried about the water content, and so I fried up beef trimmings and added fat. Given that I had to skim fat later, I don't know if this was necessary. I had no problem reducing the sauce, so I will likely omit the next time around.

Simmered for two hours rather than one. Skimmed fat, and am letting it settle now.

The result was delicious. A dark, savory chili, almost brown in complexion and rich in flavor. The chuck was perfect. It veritably dissolved in the mouth. Chunks could have been larger, but I do prefer the smaller morsels. The color changed noticeably during cooking, as the chili slowly reduced. I did add a little more water at one point, but simmered it for 2+ hours, so it mattered little. There was virtually no water left in it. It could have made four very small portions, but was better suited for two, with a little in the way of leftovers.

THOUGHTS: I would like to get the thick sauce that comes with chili colorado at Leruas. I suppose a roux could be concocted, and I wonder about working with my homemade chicken stock rather than water. What I must remember is that the chili sauce I made here is probably the purest form. Cumin, garlic, and onion provide their own thickening agent as well as a nice blend of flavors, but the heart is the chili. My use of chili california and one long, red hot pepper gave this chili its distinctive flavor. It stands beautifully on its own, and if added to some other elegant sides, this could be a dinner party recipe.

Steaks

First steaks of the year. Turned out brilliantly.

2 ribeyes; 1 new york strip, both about 1 inch thick.

Rub (more of a paste):

fresh chopped thyme
fresh chopped rosemary
fresh ground pepper (black, white, green peppercorns)
kosher salt
olive oil

Grilling:

heat grill, rub with olive oil.

650 degrees, sear 1 1/2 minutes per side
close dampers most of the way, cook 3 minutes per side; 350 to 400 degrees
total on clock was 10 minutes.

The result was what I might term medium, or on the medium side of medium rare. Still pink and juicy and warm throughout. The steaks did not curl, but uneven heat meant I had to move the steaks during searing. This slightly marred the grill marks. And I would like a slightly better crust, but I don't want to curl the steak or dry it out by over-searing.

Big green egg notes:
too much charcoal can dampen the fire, especially when it packs on down in small pieces. It took a long time to get the fire heated up.

UPDATE: Tried again one week later. One minute less on grill. Better, actually. Fire hotter, thanks to cleaning of grill.

Camille Cayran, Le Pas de la Beaume, Cotes du Rhone

$10, DeKalb Farmer's Market

Camille Cayran,
Le Pas de la Beaume,
Cotes du Rhone

14% alcohol wine, but not wearing a big hat, if you will. Cherries on the front end, but not particularly sweet. The tannins are supple and round, balancing the fruit well. 75% Grenache, so the fruit is forward, but in a French rather than California way.

Can handle meats to vegetables, strong to light flavors, although I'm not sure it would complement a steak so well.