blog archive for 2009

So, this was my day today. Started off feeding 500 elementary age kids roasted pumpkin and roasted pumpkinseeds. Next time I volunteer to head up a school committee, someone stop me. While it was gratifying, and even cute at times, to see 7 year-olds try roasted pumpkin, the five-hour experience left me with a splitting headache and the incredible urge to eat a cheeseburger.

Then four hours at the office putting the December issue to bed. “Can’t we come up with a better cover line than “Season’s Greetings?” asks my boss. “Something clever and pithy with ‘cookies’ in it?” Well, I’m not feeling exactly pithy at the moment. Grrrrr. 

On the way home a toothache presented itself (why is it in your 40s all your teeth start falling out, or your fillings I should say). At around 9:00. I summoned the energy to make dinner, which I’m happy to report, is the pay off for anyone laboring through this blog—our Avgolemono soup from the March 2009 issue. Perfect, as I had chicken stock in the fridge, rice in the pantry, and of course I always have eggs and lemons. Comforting and perfect for a cold, rainy evening. Here it is:

Bring 6 cups chicken broth to a simmer and add 1⁄2 cup uncooked rice. Cover and simmer just until rice is done, about 15 minutes. Whisk 3 egg yolks with 3 tablespoons lemon juice. Whisk a ladle of hot soup into egg mixture, then add back to pot. Garnish with parsley and pepper. Great with warm pitas and store-bought hummus. Makes 8 cups.

While I didn’t have hummus or warm pitas, buttered toast filled in nicely. Just enough sustenance to give me the energy to walk the dog (as I’m the only one who does it) before turning in.

The unfortunate thing about my trip to Denver for the annual American Dietetic Association meeting (now called FNCE) was that the aseptic box of  “muscle milk” I was bringing back for my son was confiscated at security (it’s a liquid). The fortunate thing was that my Starbucks lunch box and accompanying adorable kid's cup wasn’t (it had no liquid in it).  The annual gathering of registered dietitians every October  includes plenty of clinically based presentations, but the highlight is, hands down, the expo, which this year included more than 1,800 exhibitors. These include all manner of food products—some good, some bad.  Here’s a few I liked:

Almond Milk—while this is a not a new product, I’ve never paid much attention to it, and I don’t know why because it’s really good. Fortified with calcium, a cup delivers as much calcium as a cup of milk, but a lot more vitamin E. And it’s great for those with lactose intolerance. I found it much better than soy milk, as it had no chalky after taste. Anyone cook with this stuff?

ProBugs Organic Whole Milk Kefir—a new dairy beverage for kids made by Lifeway. With flavors like Sublime Slime Lime and Orange Cherry Crawler, how can kids resist it? Unlike so many of the overly sweetened yogurt products for kids, Probugs is tart and refreshing—like yogurt is supposed to be. It contains probiotics because as their website says “you can never have too many bugs.” The packaging is really inventive—pouches with a resealable straw, and photos of bugs. Genius. I will be looking for these.

Monterey Vitamin D mushrooms—these are fresh natural mushrooms that are exposed to ultraviolet light of some kind to produce vitamin D—like we get from the sun. These are very timely as studies show most of us don’t get enough vitamin D.

My local paper just had an article on the word “foodie,”which apparently sparks significant emotion in some folks. If you’re reading this blog, are you a foodie?

While I’ve never introduced myself to anyone as a foodie, folks who know me will frequently use it to describe someone that is interested in food, and truth is, when someone uses it, I know exactly what they mean. As the Southern food writer John Egerton says, “It’s handy.” And indeed it is. I think for foodies, good food matters. What do you think?

Here's a cool idea I saw on the counter of an antique store I visited the other day. Spoons stuck into a container filled with rice and pasta. Rice would surely work on its own, but the pasta made it look more interesting. This would be a great way to lay out utensils for a buffet instead of putting them in a pile or arranged in a glass, which is what I usually do. I'm going to try it next time I have folks over--probably not with a silver platter, but a pretty bowl.

I brought home some lobsters from our photo shoot on Friday, and as I had three ears of fresh corn, I set my sights on making corn chowder with lobster over the weekend. I found a recipe from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food that I had saved and made it Sunday night. Of course I used the recipe only as a guide and when it was all said and done, I really hadn't followed the recipe at all—just the procedure.

Instead of bacon I started with country ham that a friend of mine cures —  it's good stuff. In the drippings, I sauteed onion and potatoes and added a bit of butter, as the ham didn't have as much fat as bacon. Then I immersed the corn cobs, and the lobster shells and a bit of thyme in the 3 cups of milk — I used 2% instead of whole as that's what I had — and simmered for about 15 minutes to extract all the good corn and lobster flavor. (You can do the same thing with shrimp and shrimp shells.) I added that with the fresh corn to the potato/onion mixture that had a tablespoon of flour mixed in. That was simmered for about 15 minutes until thick and fragrant. In went the chopped lobster meat, the reserved country ham, some parsley and basil, and a handful of slivered greens that were also leftover from photo. A great ending to a fine weekend. Yum. Here's the recipe:

Fresh Corn and Lobster Chowder

4 ounces country ham or bacon

1/2 onion chopped

2 potatoes, peeled and chopped

1 tablespoon butter (depending on the drippings from the ham or bacon)

1 heaping tablespoon flour

3 ears fresh corn

4 cooked lobster tails, or 1 pound shrimp

3 cups 2% milk

Pinch of thyme

Salt and pepper

Chopped fresh parsley

Chopped fresh basil

Handful of chopped greens (such as mustard or collard) or spinach 

1. Place ham or bacon in a Dutch oven or large saucepan. Saute 10 minutes or until ham or bacon is crisp. Remove ham. Add onion and potato to drippings in pan and saute 10 minutes. Add butter; melt. Add flour; cook 5 minutes. 

2. Place corn cobs and lobster shells and thyme in a large skillet. Add milk; bring to a boil and simmer on medium low about 15 minutes.

3. Strain milk into potato onion mixture. Add corn. Simmer 20 minutes until fragrant and creamy. Add reserved ham, lobster meat, parsley, basil and greens Season with salt and pepper.   

Table Outstanding in Field                                                   Jim Denevan

This past Sunday I went to one of the most delightfuldinners of my life. It was put on by a group called Outstanding In The Field. The group’s founder is Jim Denevan, who while workingas a chef back in 1996, started doing farmer dinners at his restaurant toconnect the folks who eat food with the farmers who grow the food.  They were so well received, that a fewyears later he decided to take the dinners out into the field—literally. He hasnow done 163 dinners with the purpose of “re-connecting diners to the land andthe origins of their food, and to honor the local farmers and food artisans whocultivate it.”

Outstanding in the Field's Leah Scape and Jim Denevan. Arugula's Star Farm's Matthew and 

Allison Neal

Our dinner was at a farm just south of Nashville, calledArugula’s Star Farm, in Columbia TN. After drinks (a lovely prosecco tea), anda tour of the farm, we marched down a path by the stream to a long white table-cloth-drapedtable. As we proceeded in, we grabbed a plate from a stack of mismatcheddinnerware, and sat down.

First Course:Late summer tomatoes, rustica bread, Appalachian cheese, basil leaves, olive oil and aged strawberry vinegar, and Relish photographer Mark Boughton

For me, the meal was lovely not because it was set outsideon a farm, or because the food was delicious (I’ve had lots of fabulous meals),or even because the food was local (lots of chefs source local ingredients),but because of the folks I shared it with—a group who not only wanted to bethere, but who love food, appreciate the earth where it comes from, and lovethe community it brings together. The meal was served family-style among the 8people sitting closest to me. As we passed the serving bowls, we talked aboutthe food, our kids, our jobs, the evening, our pasts, and our futures. As thenight wore on, cards and emails were exchanged. Not surprisingly, phones wereused for photos of the food, each other, the hosts, the servers, and the table—butsurprisingly only for the occasional call home.

You can go to their website, http://www.outstandinginthefield.com/about.html,for a schedule of dinners for the rest of the year. However don’t delay, ourswas sold out.

Here’s what we ate, which was prepared by Nashville chefMartha Stamps.

radish skewers

pancetta wrapped pears

hot fish sandwiches

curried lamb pies

marinated grilled chicken thighs, wheatberry salad, hard squash, toasted seeds, smoked pepper harissa, green snap beans and dragon beans

melon, cucumber, arugula, bonnie blue feta, mint and honey

braised beef short rib, shitake mushroom, Cumberland cheeses grits, spicy kale

buttermilk, lemon verbene panna cotta, spicd sugar plums, black walnut cookies. 

Thanks for coming to my tomato blog. This means one of two things--you either have a table full of tomatoes staring at you, or, you're putting off the laundry or your expense report--ha! Either way, you're very smart, because once you have a freezer full of tomatoes or peppers, you'll wonder why you didn't do this years ago. Here we go. 

One of the best reasons for roasting tomatoes or peppers, aside from the great flavor is, it's cheap. The summer may be waning but tomatoes are still bursting out of boxes at the farmers' market, which means you can get them "for a song."  I often ask for “seconds” (imperfect tomatoes) at the farmer' market, which they’ll gladly unload for next to nothing. Tell them that you're "putting them up" and any farmer will understand. These seconds are perfect for roasting and freezing. While there are no hard and fast rule, here's what I find works well. 

Roasting Tomatoes

To roast, cut the tomatoes into slices or wedges. (Keep small cherry tomatoes whole.) Sometimes I seed them, which will dry them out quicker resulting in a shorter cook time, and sometimes I skip seeding them altogether. (With the seeds in, the tomatoes are wetter, and take longer for the juices to evaporate and caramelize.) I toss them with a bit of olive oil, garlic, salt and pepper, and place them on a foil- or parchment-lined baking sheet. Make sure they’re not on top of each other. I usually roast them at 300F if I have at least an hour at home, and at a higher temperature if I want to speed up the cook time. When done, remove them with a spatula and place in a plastic zip-top bag or Tupperware container (I sometimes drizzle them with a tad more olive oil) and refrigerate. This creates a velvety dense-textured tomato, which is great in pasta and on pizza and bruschetta—actually anything really. These “dried” tomatoes are also great to whirl up into a sauce with roasted bell peppers.

Roasting Bell Peppers

To roast bell peppers, cut them in half, place on foil-lined baking sheet. Smash with palm of hand to flatten. This is to create as much surface area as possible. Place under broiler or in a 450F oven. When peppers are blackened—10 minutes under the broiler or 25 minutes at 450F—remove from oven, and gather up in foil making a foil pouch for the peppers to steam in. This loosens their skin, allowing you to peel it off easily. Peel off skin and place peppers in zip-top plastic bag or Tupperware container in fridge or freezer. These are great for making the sauce in the September issue or putting in pasta, pizza, salads or whatever. When I have these on hand, I always know I can whip up something good. Frequently I’ll put them out on a platter with olives, garbanzo beans or humus dip, pita bread, and cheese for a nice antipasto meal. They’re also great in a quesadilla or taco.

Teresa’s Freezer Tomato Sauce

Last year our food stylist, Teresa, decided to follow a recipe for roasting and freezing tomatoes from the Donna Hay food magazine--the Australian Martha Stewart. We loved the recipe and technique and adapted it for Relish. What’s so great about it to me is that, since you’re freezing the tomatoes, it doesn’t require the steps involved with traditional canning—sterilizing and boiling the tomatoes in the jar, and what not.

      First, you roast the tomatoes core side down.

With a paring knife, make an “X” on the bottom of the tomato, then place, core side down and “X” side up on foil or parchment paper. When they’re done they’ll look cooked and some of the tomato skins will start to peel away from the ”X.”

When cool, peel the tomatoes. Here we peeled all the tomatoes at one time and left on pan until we mashed them up in a bowl. When you peel the tomatoes, they will release some of their juice as shown here.

Next, place over a bowl, mash the tomatoes with your hands—we found a knife totally unnecessary and using our hands most therapeutic.

Next, add basil, garlic, vinegar, salt and pepper, and any other seasonings you like. Fresh oregano or rosemary would be swell too.

Place in clean jars—can be any jars—we just love Ball jars and use them for everything. And they come in a petite 8-ounce size, which is all you’ll want for lots of recipes.  Next, freeze. You're done.

Although I didn't personally know Sheila Lukins, I feel like I did, as I have been cooking out of her cookbook, The Silver Palate since 1984, when my parents gave me a copy for college graduation. Sheila Lukins died a couple days ago from brain cancer. I heard it in the morning on NPR. They interviewed Lynne Rossetto Kasper, host of the radio show, The Splendid Table about Sheila and why her book, written with Julee Rosso had been so groundbreaking. Lynne said it was the new Joy of Cooking to a whole generation of cooks who were exploring ethnic foods. Indeed I had many "firsts" through the Silver Palate—my first pesto, my first pizza, and my first chili.

I also had many seconds and thirds and fourths. So many, in fact that that original copy is now in 4 pieces with no binding and I’m onto my second copy. It’s also riddled with notes about bake times, when I served it, who liked it, why it wasn’t good, how I modified it and what it needed more of. I’ve always felt like a cookbook should be a diary of sorts— I love the thought of my kids pulling it out to find a note about the brownies we had on their 4^th birthday. The book isn't without flaws.  The Glazed Lemon Cake has an editor's omission mark through it, and the words "fell, don't make again."  But these are outweighed by notes to the effect of that on the Banana Cake, marked with a "great!" and the Peach Cake, marked with an "excellent!" The chili and molasses cookies and Spicy Tomato Sauce are conspicuously missing, because they're in my “master” recipe folder reserved for regulars. Indeed my kids have grown up on their molasses cookies, and they’re still my gold standard—thin, crisp and chewy with just the right amount of spice.

But as I sit here paging through the book, I'm reminded of how absolutely timeless it is. I happen upon Lentil and Walnut Salad, one I never made, and prop the book open in my cookbook stand.........destined to be a new classic no doubt.  Thank you Sheila--you've provided us with the best legacy possible--a lifetime of delicious memories. You indeed had a silver palate.

Here is the Chicken Marbella recipe, which I came to later in life, but love just as well. It’s possibly the recipe she’s known best for.

Chicken Marbella

This was the first main-course dish to be offered at The Silver Palate shop, in New York City, and the distinctive flavors of the prunes, olives and capers kept it a favorite for years. It's good hot or at room temperature.

1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup pitted prunes
1/2 cup pitted Spanish green olives
1/2 cup capers with a bit of juice
6 dried bay leaves
1 head garlic, peeled and finely pureed
1/4 cup oregano
Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
4 chickens (2 1/2 pounds each), quartered
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley or cilantro, finely chopped

1. In a large bowl, combine olives oil, vinegar, prunes, olives, capers and juice, bay leaves, garlic, oregano, and salt and pepper. Add chicken and stir to coat. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
2. Preheat oven to 350F.
3. Arrange chicken in a single layer in one or two large shallow baking dishes and spoon marinade over top evenly. Sprinkle chicken pieces with brown sugar and pour white wine around them.
4. Bake 1 hour, basting frequently with pan juices. Chicken is done when thigh pieces, pricked with a fork at the thickest part, yield a clear yellow (rather than pink) liquid.
5. With a slotted spoon, transfer chicken, prunes, olives and capers to a serving platter. Moisten with a few spoonfuls of pan juices and sprinkle with parsley. Pour remaining pan juices into a sauce boat.
Note: To serve Chicken Marbella cold, cool to room temperature in the cooking juices before transferring pieces to a serving platter. If the chicken has been covered and refrigerated, reheat it in juices, then allow it to come to room temperture before serving. Spoon some reserved juice over chicken. Serves 10 to 12.

Recipe courtesy of The Silver Palate Cookbook, 25th Anniversary Edition, by Julee Russo and Sheila Lukins (Workman Publishing, March 2007.)