Herbal Triptych

Herbal Triptych

Technorati: Food | photos | herbs | blossoms | chives | lavender | thyme

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Steak in Pita

Gyros Are Made, Not Born



Apocryphal isn't the word, but it does seem at least improbable that I would have actually had my first gyro at a taverna in Greece. But I did. It was a bright June day in Athens and I'd arrived the day before having accompanied my family's car on a three day voyage across the Mediterranean.

I met my family in Piraeus when the ship docked and that evening, before we drove to Athens, I had my first calamari -- but that's another story. On this day we'd been to the Acropolis and had stopped for lunch on our way to the National Archaeological Museum. I'd never even heard of a gyro but there was a huge chunk of meat slowly turning on a vertical spit in front of a multi-tiered charcoal grill.

Bear in mind that you should conduct yourself in life as at a feast. ~ Epictetus

The smell was astonishing and impossible to resist. I ordered "that" (pointing) and a glass of retsina. The wine, served in a tumbler, took some getting used to but the gyro tasted as astonishing as it smelled. I ordered another. And the second glass of retsina was better than the first.

I've made gyros before, but this evening I decided to do something different. The plan was to buy a piece of lamb then marinate and grill it. But I couldn't find a suitable piece of lamb, so I got a small sirloin steak and marinated that. It was not a gyro, but I knew it wouldn't be. Marinated or not. beef tastes nothing like lamb. But it was still good and a nice Memorial Day meal.

Marinated Steak Sandwich

2 rounds pita bread
1 lb sirloin
Marinade
1/2 c red wine
2 tbsp olive oil
2 sprigs fresh oregano
2 cloves garlic -- crushed
salt and pepper
Tzaziki
1/2 c sour cream
1/2 c yogurt
1/4 c peeled, seeded, and chopped cucumber
1/4 c chopped red onion
salt and pepper

Mix marinade ingredients together in a zippered plastic bag and marinate steak 24 hours in the refrigerator, turning occasionally.

Mix together tzaziki ingredients.

Cook the steak over a hot grill for 2 to 3 minutes per side depending on thickness of steak. Warn pita in a microwave, wrapped in a paper towel, for 15 seconds. Slice steak very thin across the grain and stuff into pita along with tomato, onion, lettuce, and tzaziki.

Technorati: Food | recipe | sandwich | gyro | marinated steak

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Paper Chef #18

Paper Chef #18



It's time to start nominating ingredients for Paper Chef #18. Paper Chef is a monthly online event inspired by Iron Chef that challenges cooks to create a dish over the weekend using four arbitrary ingredients. Participants suggest possible ingredients and three are randomly chosen from the current nominations and previous, unselected items. The host (moi) specifies a fourth ingredient.

The event is judged by the winner of the previous month's Paper Chef, in this case Haalo of Cook Almost Anything with her Miso Marinated Kangaroo. Last month the ingredients were lavender, chickpeas, miso, and anything raised locally. Eliminating last month's ingredients, we are left with:

Something derived from a goat (meat, milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter, etc)
Rocket (arugula)
Macadamia nuts
Pomegranate molasses
Hot bean paste
Chestnuts
Grits
Ham
Simple syrup
Veal scallopine
Chocolate
Lemon
Pomegranates
Flowers
Cinnamon
Broccoli raab
Lemongrass
Coffee
Ground coriander
A spikey plant like cactus (nopales!) or nettles

Post your ingredient nominations below, check back here Friday afternoon (06/03), and spread the word.

Ingredient update

To learn more about Paper Chef and past winners, click here.

Technorati: Food | recipe | Paper Chef18 | online event

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Asparagus Roundup VI

Asparagus Roundup VI



I haven't made an exact count, but in the past six weeks asparagus lovers all over the world have sent me over 60 recipes ranging from the plain and simple to the rich and complex. Stephen of Stephen Cooks commented that I had, "unleashed the sleeping Asparagus Monster that was apparently lurking just out of sight in the blogosphere." Who knew?

Hosting this event has been a tremendous pleasure, and from the comments of participants they've enjoyed it as well. I hope so because I and everyone who loves asparagus are in their debt. I'll set up a permanent repository for all the links in the next couple of weeks and this time next year we'll have a place to turn when we're feeding our addiction and wondering how to prepare it this time.

This is the final roundup for Asparagus Aspirations. However, if you have a recipe you want to contribute to the Web site after today, please send it my way and I'll add it to the list.

I need to begin this roundup with an apology to Fahara at Souperior who sent in the classic Asparagus with Hollandaise back at the beginning of May. Somehow I failed to include it in the roundup then. Her recipe for Hollandaise made in a blender is so quick and easy you'll be using it on broccoli, and eggs bene, Brussels sprouts, and… Well, you'll use it a lot.

From Tigers and Stawberries, Barbara sent us Penne with Asparagus, Chicken, Brie and Herbs. Her use of brie intrigued me and also hit me with one of those, "Why didn't I think of that?" moments. Barbara reports this recipe was made with the last of the season's asparagus.

One of my friends and fellow cooks, Dorine Houston, from Gather sent me a recipe for Asparagus and Egg Gazpacho. Dorine writes, "This recipe is one I put together from several Spanish asparagus gazpachos to make something I really like. " As she points out, asparagus has been available in Spain far longer than tomatoes and several regions offer variants on this cold soup made with asparagus.

Lindy's blog, Toast, was new to me, but her two asparagus offerings demand that I follow her posts more closely in the future. She made an Asparagus Soup with Custard and, to accompany it, an Asparagus Salad. The islands of custard floating in the soup are flavored with a classic asparagus pairing, Parmigiano.

The ever-dependable Alanna, publisher of A Veggie Venture made Pasta with Shrimp, Asparagus & Sun-Dried Tomato. It's been interesting to watch the recipes evolve over the past six weeks. In the beginning Alanna featured the asparagus (she sautéed it with garlic and anchovies, which she says remains her favorite) but ends up with asparagus in a supporting roll and I've noticed several others following that same path. At first we're just so hungry for the spears we want to get as close to them as possible.

One of the fun things about this event is the way it's inspired participants to play with other's recipes. For example, Sarah at Cucina Bella made an Asparagus Napoleon which prompted me to make Asparagus en Croute, and now Kalyn's Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan inspired Sarah to make her own version featuring fresh herbs.

Sher lives in America's asparagus heartland, California's Central Valley, where she writes What Did You Eat?. California is also one of the two primary rice-growing areas of the country, so perhaps it's not unexpected that Sher would combine asparagus and rice. But she confounds this obvious assumption by offering Wild Rice and Asparagus Salad. I say "confound" because wild rice isn't rice and it isn't grown in California. Nevertheless, the salad looks delicious.

From Der Nederlands came another Asparagus Tart, courtesy of Baking Soda and Bake My Day. Unfortunately I don't read Dutch so I'm not sure what's in it besides asparagus, but it sure does look good.

Kalyn begins her final entry at Kalyn's Kitchen by bragging about what a great cook she is. (Just teasing you, Kalyn.) Actually, she blames it on the planets, but I think she should take full credit for the Sauteed Asparagus with Melted Gorgonzola and Pine Nuts. Although not as common as parmesan, the right blue cheese is also a wonderful complement to asparagus -- and anything with pine nuts in it wins my taste buds.

Ulrike at Küchenlatein has been another frequent contributor to Asparagus Aspirations and she rounds out her contributions with an Asparagus Mousse. I have to admit this was another "slap my forehead" moment. Mousse! Of course! How could I have missed the idea?

A Columbus Foodie sent in Pasta Primavera with Chicken and Asparagus. Becke describes herself as: "… a thirtysomething full-time student who lives a rather idle life. I’m married, no kids, thus lots of time on my hands and lots of disposable income." Frankly, I really didn't need to read that. I think I'll go have a glass of verjus.

Carolyn, who specializes in 18th Century Cuisine, elected to disguise her asparagus as peas -- I don't know why, apparently it was a French thing. But I suspect that within a couple of bites you would figure it out and could then enjoy this unusual dish in its own right. And for dessert, you could then try the Asperges Glacé -- yes, asparagus ice cream, with strawberry coulis, no less!

Wild asparagus. Deep sigh. This is something I've long wanted to try, but alas, I probably never will. But Pille has. Pille, who's Estonian, posts to Nami-Nami from Edinburgh, Scotland. She prepared two batches of wild asparagus. She quickly boiled the first batch and then seasoned it with butter and sea salt. Then she combined it with pasta and garlic for her second recipe.

Erin, with suitable apologies to the Moosewood Restaurant, which supplied the impetus for this dish, came up with Potato, Asparagus and Spicy Sausage Hash. The recipe is posted at Erin's Kitchen and looks really good.

Cream Puffs in Venice has recently become one of my regular stopovers. I stopped by for the photography, but stayed for the food. Ivonne whipped up two pasta dishes: Fusilli with White Asparagus, Brown Butter, Parmesan and Red Pepper Flakes and Fettuccine with Asparagus Ribbons. The fettuccini was the second recipe calling for asparagus ribbons -- I've got to try that.

From Portland, Oregon, home of the apparently omnivorous Michelle (Wouldn't you assume that someone who claim's Je Mange la Ville was omnivorous? Eating towns isn't really vegan, after all.) comes a classic Asparagus Risotto. Although we've received a pair of rice dishes, I think this was the only risotto sent in.

Strata is one of my favorite dishes and Doodles of Peanut Butter Etouffee offered this take on that delightfully eggy comestible: Asparagus, Crab, and Cheese Strata. BTW, Doodles is also hosting the Grill of Your Dreams event this Thursday. Check it out.

This seems like a good place to thank Sweetnicks for maintaining Sticky Date -- the Calendar of Record. She has faithfully posted each Asparagus Roundup as well as keeping folks apprised of Paper Chef and all the other online events in the food blogosphere. I think we all owe a great debt for her efforts. And she cooks like an angel, too! Posted on her home blog, Sweetnicks, she offers Sauteed Garlic Asparagus to go along with grilled chicken.

So that's the end of Asparagus Aspirations. Huge thanks to everyone who participated.

Technorati: Food | recipe | asparagus aspirations | asparagus | online event

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Cinnamon Buns II

Now



It was inevitable. I've known that for quite some time and wasn't particularly avoiding it. I wasn't intimidated by the prospect, but I was waiting for something to come along that said, "Now." This past Wednesday I got that, "now." It was time to make brioche.

I've been recycling old posts from this blog on gather.com. Gather is one of those social networking sites like MySpace, but oriented (at least initially) toward NPR and PBS listeners. Topics run the gamut from politics to religion to my particular interest; food.*

Recently I got a comment on the cinnamon bun recipe I'd posted from a baker who used brioche when making them.

This was the "now" I'd been waiting for. So I started reading up on brioche, and then I made it.

This is one strange dough. After mixing the dough it has the consistency of a gooey batter. It's very nearly pourable. You literally can't handle it and I can't imagine how it was made before the advent of stand mixers -- well actually, I can, and it must have been a terrible mess. I can't imagine how it was made before refrigeration at all. After mixing, the dough has to be refrigerated for two hours before it can be handled, and then it has to be refrigerated again for a recommended six hours before it can be shaped.

The results were outstanding. Soft, light, and slightly chewy, the buns themselves weren't overly sweet. The icing is quite sweet and you may want to use less of it than I've called for below.

Cinnamon Buns

Basic Brioche
(from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum)
Starter:
2 tbsp water (at 70F - 90F)
1 tbsp sugar
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 ea egg

Dough:
1 c + 1 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp yeast
1/2 tsp salt
2 ea eggs, cold
8 tbsp butter, very soft

Filling:
1 c packed brown sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
8 tbsp butter -- very soft

Icing:
4 oz cream cheese, at room temperature
4 tbsp butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 c powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp milk
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Dough:
One day before: By hand, whisk together all starter ingredients until very smooth and to incorporate air -- about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides and clean out whisk as needed. The starter will be the consistency of a thick batter. Cover with plastic and set aside for at least an hour. (For a deeper flavor, refrigerate the starter after the first hour for up to 24 hours before proceeding.)

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and yeast for the dough in a bowl. Whisk in salt (adding the salt after mixing in the yeast prevents it from harming the yeast. Sprinkle flour mixture over starter, cover tightly, and let sit for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. (The starter will bubble up through the flour in places, which is fine.)

Add eggs and mix dough with a stand mixer, using the dough hook, at low speed for about 1 minute until dough is moistened. Increase speed to medium and beat for two minutes then scrape down the sides with an oiled spatula. Continue mixing at medium for five minutes until the dough is smooth and shiny. Note, it will remain soft and very sticky and won't pull away from the bowl.

Add the butter a tablespoon at a time and mix until almost completely incorporated before adding next tablespoon. The dough will still be soft and sticky but **don't add more flour.

Grease a large bowl with cooking spray, then used the oiled spatula to scrape dough in bowl. Spray top of dough lightly with oil and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise until doubled -- 1 1/2 - 2 hours. Refrigerate for 1 hour then gently deflate dough with oiled spatula, recover, and chill for another hour.

Turn dough out onto well-floured board, dust top with flour, and press or roll out into a rectangle about 8" by 12", dusting with additional flour as needed. brush off excess flour and fold dough like a business letter pressing to seal, rotate 90 degrees, press or roll out again and fold again.

Dust dough with flour, wrap loosely in plastic wrap, place in a large zippered bag, and refrigerate for at least 6 hours and up to 2 days. The dough is now ready to be shaped and baked.

Make Rolls:
Mix the filling in a small bowl. Butter an 8" by 13" baking pan.

Roll out dough to 12" by 16" rectangle. Spread with butter called for in the filling leaving one long edge free of butter. Sprinkle sugar cinnamon mixture over butter (keeping the un-buttered edge clear) and then gently spread and press with the back of a spoon. Beginning with the edge opposite the free edge, gently roll into a tube stopping just short of clear edge. Moisten clear edge with water, complete roll, and press gently to seal.

Cut roll in half, then cut each half in half, then cut each quarter in thirds for a total of 12 rolls. Arrange rolls in the baking pan with space between them. Cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise until doubled in size -- about 1 1/2 hours.

Heat oven to 350F. Then bake rolls for 15 to 20 minutes until browned.

Icing:
In a small bowl using an electric mixer, combine cream cheese, butter, milk, vanilla, and lemon juice. Gradually whip in powdered sugar. Spread icing over rolls.

*Check out Gather and if you want to sign up, click here -- I earn points for people I invite that I can use for, say, yet more cookbooks.

Technorati: Food | recipe | bread | breakfast | brioche | cinnamon bun

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Key Lime Mousse

Warp and Weft



A quilt hangs on the wall in my dining room. It's about four feet square and displays a single large white diamond surrounded and filled with small random colored squares of cloth. It isn't a traditional quilt pattern. It doesn't follow the log cabin or bear claw patterns. It isn't a morning star or hens and chicks. It's a simple pattern and yet, to my mind, shows tremendous sophistication.

I've long had a fondness for textiles, but I have very little woven art. Perhaps I'm just too picky. It took almost ten years from the time I decided I wanted a quilt to

Dessert is probably the most important stage of the meal, since it will be the last thing your guests remember before they pass out all over the table. ~ The Anarchist Cookbook

hang on the wall till I found this one in a tiny, crowded craft store in Petersborough, New Hampshire. Indian and oriental rugs particularly call to me, but budgetary constraints have kept me from purchasing the ones that I most wanted.

What fascinates me most about weaving is the way threads, running in only two directions, warp and weft, can be combined to create not only patterns but actual pictures. One of the few woven pieces I have is an image of a shepherd and goats woven by a child in Egypt. It's crude but nevertheless appealing, as a child's crayon picture on a refrigerator can be appealing.

When I cook I also work with warp and weft. I weave threads of flavor together, sometimes in traditional ways and sometimes not. And even when I use a traditional pattern I inevitably add my own interpretation to the tightness of the weave and the shades of the threads.

I needed a summer dessert for a class last week and I decided on a lime mousse -- a traditional pattern for a traditional dessert. But although I looked at many recipes, the one I made had my own touches, my own interpretation of the threads of flavor, of warp and weft.

Key Lime Mousse

2/3 c fresh Key lime juice (16 - 20 Key limes)
3 tbsp warm water
1 pkg unflavoured gelatin
4 ea large eggs -- separated, at room temperature
1 tbsp lime zest
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 c sugar
1 c chilled whipping cream

Sprinkle gelatin over warm water and set aside to soften.

Whisk yolks in a small saucepan to blend. Then whisk in lime juice, 1/2 cup sugar, and lime zest. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens to the consistency of heavy cream. Remove from heat and stir in gelatin and vanilla extract. Set pan in cold water and cool to room temperature, stirring occasionally.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form.

In another large bowl, beat whipping cream until soft peaks form, add remaining 1/4 cup sugar and beat until stiff.

Fold egg whites into whipped cream. In increments of a third, fold lime mixture into whites and cream. You can either divide the mixture into 6 individual serving dishes or leave in the large bowl. Chill until set. Serves 6.

Tip: Use a garlic press to squeeze the juice from the limes.

Technorati: Food | recipe | dessert | mousse | lime

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Artichoke

Thistle While You Work

Technorati: Food | photo | artichoke

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Dale's Minute Steak

What's in a Name?



These days "Kevin" is, if not a common name, not unusual either. But it was unusual when my parents named me that. In fact I only knew of one other "Kevin" until I reached college. So where did my parents get it? From the funny papers.

There was a Prince Valiant-type comic strip in the newspaper named Kevin the Bold and so I was named after a comic strip character. But it gets worse.

What I need is a strong drink and a peer group." ~ Ford Prefect, by way of Douglas Adams

Neither of my parents were, nor are, religious so when they got married rather than have the wedding in a church (and deal with their respective parents arguing about which church) they got married in a restaurant. Dad was working there helping a friend of their's get it ready to open while Mom finished getting her Bachelors degree. So the night before the place opened they got married there.

They told the owner they were going to name their first son after him but he objected. He was Italian and his name was Josephe Daole and he said neither Josophe nor Daole went well with Weeks. He had a point, there. So instead my parents gave me the middle name of "Dale," which happened to be the name of the new restaurant: Dale's Cellar. Consequently I'm also named after a restaurant.

Joe Dale created a steak sauce for the restaurant and alse called the sauce Dale's. I forget who bought rights to the sauce, but it can now be found all over the country. It's good stuff with a strong soy component.

I don’t ordinarily put steak sauce on good steak because it tends to hide rather than highlight the flavor of the beef, but I have no qualms about putting steak sauce on minute steaks or ground beef and the following is a case in point.

Dale's Minute Steaks

2 ea 6 oz minute steaks or hamburger patties
1/2 lb mushrooms -- sliced
1/2 ea onion -- sliced 1/4" thick
2 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp Dale's Steak Sauce
pepper to taste

Season minute steaks or patties with black pepper.

Heat oil in a large, covered skillet over medium-high heat. Add mushrooms and onions and cook until mushrooms are browned. Remove to a plate. Add a bit more oil if needed and brown minute steaks on both sides. Return mushrooms and onions to skillet, add steak sauce, reduce heat to low, and cover. Cook covered for about 4 minutes until steak is completely done. Serves 2.

Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | beef | hamburger | minute steak

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Asparagus Roundup V

Asparagus Roundup V



The asparagus season is pretty much over with here in Knoxville. Growers are letting the plants mature to store up energy for next year's crop. Once the mature spears start dying off the grower will cut them down and heavily mulch the beds to keep the crowns happy until next year.

Recipe submissions have also slacked off, I suspect as much because the participants are reaching the end of their creative cycle as the asparagus has. Neverthless, the fat lady ain't sung yet and so I do have more recipes to post.

Andrew, the delightfully British proprietor of several related blogs including spittoonextra, rolled out a bit of puff pastry and created a simple and classical tart using mascarpone, parmesan, and parma ham. As the Brits say, "Brilliant!"

One of the things I wanted to do here was encourage experimentation. Not only by trying other's recipes, but also in creating your own. Inevitably there were bound to be failures and it's not surprising that the most prolific contributor, Alanna of Veggie Ventures, had one. It was a good idea, well worth trying, but her Asparagus with Pimenton simply didn't work. The Spanish paprika was just too overpowering. Kudos to her for sending it in anyway -- now we all know not to try it.

Ulrike of Küchenlatein, another frequent contributor, offered something completely different -- Asparagus Ham Muffins. They'd probably be good for breakfast or lunch, but my first thought was they'd make a perfect afternoon snack. Substantial enough to tide you over until dinner time, but not so heavy as to make you lethargic. At any rate, I need to check my references to find the American equivalent of type 405 flour.

Pasta was the order of the day last week in Laura Rebecca's Kitchen. Laura, another newish blogger, combined fresh asparagus with farfalle to create Farfalle with Asparagus, Sugar Snap Peas, Prosciutto, and Parmesan. She had the good sense to avoid a heavy sauce with this light combination and dressed the pasta simply using olive oil.

Apparently I was on the same wavelength as Andrew last week because I also used puff pastry in an asparagus dish. In my case I chose frozen pastry shells (good old Pepperidge Farms) and created a cream sauce and added cooked crab and asparagus to it to produce Crab and Asparagus Puffs. It was good, not great, but satisfying and made a very handsome presentation -- or would have if I'd used claw meat.

If you have a recipe to contribute, it's not too late.

Technorati: Food | recipe | asparagus aspirations | asparagus | online event

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Orange-Marinated Game Hens

Not Your Average Phoenix



In October of 1949 a fire swept through a farm in northeastern Connecticut and from the ashes rose -- a little-bitty chicken. Specifically, a rock Cornish game hen. The story begins back in the old country and involves religious persecution, a Spanish dictator, ocean crossings, and overcoming poverty to achieve wealth... But I'm not going in to that here.

The relevant part of the story is that Alphonsine "Therese" Makowsky (known to her family as "Te") and her husband Jacques owned 200 acres they named Idle Wild Farms. On the farm they raised and sold African guinea hens. The fire destroyed the flock but not Mrs. Makowsky's chicken raising ambitions.

In order to temporarily meet

It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it. ~ Julia Childs

orders Makowsky cross bred Cornish game cocks with several other breeds (including the White Plymouth Rock hen and a Malayan fighting cock) to eventually produce a small juicy bird with a high percentage of white meat -- perfect as an elegant single serving. Although the cross-breed was intended to be a stop-gap measure until she could reestablish the guinea hen flock, it turned out to be popular with her customers, including chefs in New York City at restaurants like the 21 Club. So much for guinea hens.

Personally I find a whole hen is too large for a single serving, but half a hen (which may actually be a cock, they're just all called hens) still makes an elegant presentation as well as a great meal -- much superior to most commercial chicken. Here's one of my favorite recipes:

Orange-marinated Game Hens

2 ea Cornish game hens -- cut in half
2 c orange juice
1/4 c soy sauce
1/4 c sherry
3 tbsp toasted sesame oil
1/2 ea lemon -- juiced
2 cloves garlic -- crushed
1 inch fresh ginger -- grated
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 ea green onions -- cut into 1" lengths

Mix all ingredients except hens and green onions in a small siace pan. Bring to a boil, then set aside and cool to room temperature. Chill marinade in the refrigerator then pour into a large zippered plastic bag. Add hens and onions and refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours, turning occasionally to distribute marinade.

Heat oven to 425F.

Just before cooking, strain the marinade through cheesecloth and return to the stove. Cook over medium high heat until reduced by two-thirds.

Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil and arrange hen halves on sheet. Brush with reduced marinade. Bake in center of oven for 30 to 40 minutes (brushing with marinade every 10 minutes) until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thigh registers 160F. Remove from oven, tent with foil, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.

Serve hens on rice and drizzle with reduced marinade. Serves 4.

Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | poultry | cornish game hen

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Crab and Asparagus Puffs

Who Nose?



It's odd to find that you've gone your entire life without knowing something that it seems should be common knowledge -- and, in fact, is for many, just not you. My most recent revelation was that eating beets causes some people's urine to turn red. I've eaten beets my entire life and I'm quite fond of them but their effect on my urine is zilch. Apparently, though, the effect is quite noticeable in some and can lead to a degree of consternation in some circumstances.

Imagine going to the bathroom and discovering your urine is red -- and having no idea why. Imagine a young mother discovering her child's urine is red. Would you imagine the cause was a vegetable

Are you casting asparagus on my cooking? ~ Curly Howard

you'd never had before and had first eaten several hours ago? Not me, I'd be checking myself into the emergency room. Hopefully most emergency room physicians are at least cognizant of beeturia.

I learned just a few years ago that asparagus also has an effect on some people's urine. As with beets, I'm unaffected, but many people are. In the case of asparagus the effect olfactory rather than visual, and apparently not only the effect is selective, but the ability to detect it is as well. In other words, not everyone can smell the effects.

So having learned about beets and asparagus, I now wonder what other things there may be that some take for granted and others don't even know exist. Is there, perhaps, a color no one has thought to mention to me?

Crab and Asparagus in Puff Pastry

1 c cooked crab -- picked over
3 spears asparagus -- woody ends trimmed and cut into 1" pieces
2 ea puff pastry shells
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 c shrimp shells
1 ea small shallot -- sliced
1/4 c white wine
2 tbsp brandy
1/2 c heavy cream
salt to taste
pinch of cayenne

Cook pastry shells according to package directions.

Cook asparagus pieces until tender. Shock in cold water to stop cooking.

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp shells and cook, stirring occasionally, until shells turn pink and opaque. Add shallots and cook another minute. Add wine and heat until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat, add brandy, and flambé*. Cook, swirling, until flames die out. Add cream, salt, and cayenne and reduce by half. Strain sauce through a sieve and return to heat. Add crab and asparagus and heat thoroughly.

Spoon into shells and serve. Serves 2.

*You typically flambé something for presentation purposes but in this case I flame the brandy to cook off the alcohol quickly with minimal loss of the body of the brandy to evaporation as it would be if simply cooked down. Also, the flaming slightly roasts the shrimp shells.

Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | asparagus | crab | asparagus aspirations | online event

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A Matter of Choice

A Matter of Choice

Aside from the occasional photo

of spring flowers, I avoid posting anything here that isn't food-related. This is a cooking blog, not a political platform. But however dedicated and focused I remain on my topic, it's irrelevant if people can't -- or won't read it.

There are lots of reasons for not reading Seriously Good: you don't like my recipes; you don't like my writing style; you think my occasional attempts at humor are lame. These reasons are all a matter of choice on your part. You have the opportunity to read this or not. Sadly, that opportunity may not last.

The companies that own and manage the Internet infrastructure are attempting to persuade congress to give them greater control over what is and isn't available to Internet users. This isn't the argument they're making, but it will be a consequence.

It may seem fair to you that if, indeed, these companies own and maintain the infrastructure they should be able to do as they wish with their investment. But having a few major companies control the flow of information is a bad idea. We see the results of such control quite vividly with network television, radio, music, movies, newspapers, and even cable. The argument that all of these outlets are "competing" is specious. All too often the same company that makes the movie, also prints the newspaper review, plays the soundtrack on it's radio stations, and broadcasts the film on its cable network.

Competition can only occur on a level playing field and the goal with this legislation is too make the field anything but level. Please, contact your congress-critter and tell them you oppose this legislation. You can learn more about it here: Save the Internet Coalition.

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Asparagus Roundup IV

Asparagus Roundup IV



Today marks the end of Week 4 of Asparagus Aspirations and so far I've had almost 50 submissions sent in. As you might expect, there are some near-duplications. For instance, grilled asparagus is justly popular. But even then there are variations and you may find that one suits your grilling style better than another.

I received more recipes in this past week making use of locally-grown asparagus. Although not a strict Eat Local event, I did want to encourage people to find and use local asparagus sources and this is the time when asparagus is in season (early middle, or late) over the largest area. So what were people fixing last week?

First in on Monday was Catherine of Albion Cooks. Catherine is another of those ex-pats from Britain who settled in California. You'd think they'd be more at home in Seattle, but maybe that's the point. She made a walnut vinaigrette and served the asparagus with lentils.

Kalyn is back with s another recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen. I mentioned the popularity of grilled asparagus and that's what Kalyn fixed, but she combied it with another popular asparagus combination, parmesan cheese, to create Grilled Asparagus with Parmesan. Simple and obviously delicious.

Ulrike also returns with her third recipe and the second one using white asparagus. This time her post on Küchenlatein was Asparagus with light orange mustard sauce, egg and arugula, which appears wonderfully decadent. I found myself tempted to lick my screen.

My neighbor, The Unemployed Cook, finally sent me a submission. Marianne has a new blog based here in Knoxville and she and I have very similar culinary styles. At any rate, I was wondering if I was going to have to do an asparagus soufflé myself, but she saved me the trouble with these beautiful puffs.

Alanna's note on this recipe said, "Local, finally!" You've got to read her post at Veggie Venture for Lemon Lovers' Roasted Asparagus -- it will have you wishing you were an asparagus spear. Fair warning to the prudish, she mentions "licking" several times.

From Tigers and Strawberries, Barbara sends two recipes also using local asparagus. The first is for Thai Spicy Chicken, Basil and Asparagus and the second is Penne with Chicken, Asparagus and Creamy Pesto. Thanks to her CSA farmers she actually had fresh, locally grown basil to make the pesto. Some people just live right.

I occasionally cruise by Helen's Beyond Salmon but it's never been one of my regular stops. I may have to rectify that oversight. She sent in a stunning salad made with Grilled Asparagus, Tomato, and Feta. Helen also provided a link to a post on How to Cook Asparagus.

I'm not giving out prizes, but if I were this entry would certainly win one -- and maybe two. Meeta is also in Germany and her blog is What's for Lunch Honey?. Perhaps the question is rhetorical, but I can tell you that what I want for lunch is her Dessert with a Twist. She combines asparagus, strawberries, and orange with ginger, black pepper, and mint. Check it out!

Stephen Cooks in Maine -- or should that be Stephen cooks in Maine? At any rate, Stephen is one of my favorite cooks and sent in a recipe for Asparagus Rice (Asuparagasu Gohan), which is a Japanese recipe that he adapted. He also provided a second recipe from his archives, Grilled Asparagus à la Sutherland, which I was glad to see because I apparently missed it when he first posted it.

From Weekly Dish comes Pasta Primavera. This is one of America's most popular pasta dishes and apparently there's a story behind it that I'm not going to go looking for just now. Suffice to say that the Culinary Bookworm's inclusion of fresh local asparagus is very much in tune with the dishes history.

Our poor friends in the Antipodes are having to suffer through our celebration of spring asparagus and make do with asparagus that's been shipped some distance, or with their memories of their last spring. Caroline of Bibliocook lives in New Zealand and has been rereading her posts from last October to assuage her hunger for fresh asparagus. She sent us this one detailing Roasted Asparagus dressed with parmesan and butter.

I like music. And I like cats. So why didn't I know about Music and Cats? At least now I do, and thanks to Kimberly I now have a recipe for Asparagus and Lemon Soup. She was also kind enough to send in a recipe for Asparagus and Leek Frittata, so I suppose I'll forgive her for hiding from me.

This week I was inspired by a recipe submitted two weeks ago by Sarah at Cucina Bella. And made Asparagus en Croute using phyllo dough, prosciutto, bleu cheese, and garlic/paprika mayonnaise. They were so good I ate two of them.

If you have a recipe to contribute you can learn more here.

Technorati: Food | recipe | asparagus | asparagus aspirations | online event

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Buttermilk Cinnamon Scones

Casting Scones



English food has a terrible reputation, and perhaps at one time it was deserved. But even then the food had its glories. Or, if "glories" is too strong a word, then it certainly had its genuine successes.

The ones that occur to me are more low cuisine than haut cuisine, but nevertheless properly made fish and chips is hard to beat with its crisp batter coating delicate cod. And whomever it was that came up with the idea of sprinkling malt vinegar on it should have been knighted.

Never work before breakfast; if you have to work before breakfast, eat your breakfast first. ~ Josh Billings

I've long had a love affair with Cornish pasties. As I recall, I was so taken with the first one I ate that I ate two more in rapid succession. A pastie and a pint is one of the best meals in the world.

Then there are sausage rolls. Marvelously greasy things that probably shorten your life by a week for every one eaten -- but worth it.

If I seem focused on pub fare, it's because I was dirt poor when I was there and couldn't afford anything else. But I didn't feel deprived, I enjoyed everything I ate. Including the scones I had at the one fancy tea I enjoyed. The strawberry jam that was more strawberry than jam and the double cream were memorable, but as a Southerner it was the scones that captured my attention. They were heavier than the biscuits I'd grown up eating, but they were also much richer.

This morning as I drank my coffee I got a powerful urge for a scone. And as I pondered a bit, I decided my urge was specifically for a cinnamon scone. So I made a batch.

Buttermilk Cinnamon Scones with Raisins

2 c all purpose flour
1/4 c sugar
1 c buttermilk
1 tbsp baking powder
3 tbsp butter -- melted
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c raisins
1/2 c packed brown sugar
1/4 c flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 tbsp butter -- cold, cut into 1/4" cubes

Heat oven to 425F.

In a food processor, pulse together flour, brown sugar, and butter until it resembles a coarse meal.

Place flour, salt, and baking powder in a bowl and whisk together. Stir in raisins. Add buttermilk and melted butter and mix together with a fork. You may need to add a bit more buttermilk -- about a tablespoon -- to get it all to come together. But be careful not to make the dough too wet.

Turn dough out on a generously floured board and knead lightly about 1/2 dozen times. Pat dough out into an 7" x 9" square. Sprinkle half of the rectangle with the cinnamon mixture leaving edges bare. Fold uncovered half over and press edges to seal. Pat out into 7" x 9" rectangle again, fold again, and pat out again.

Cut into 6 cakes and arrange on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake in center of oven for 12 to 15 minutes until browned. Serve warm.

Note: Handle dough gently to avoid too much gluten formation.

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Paper Chef #17

And the winner is...



We had six entries in this Paper Chef. That's not too bad considering it all happened at the last minute, including the change of venue from Tomatilla! to Seriously Good. Anne at Anne's Food agreed to judge the entries. Keep this event in mind for next month. I'll start collecting ingredient nominations on Tuesday, May 30. And the event will take place the weekend of June 3 and 4.

The ingredients this month were miso, lavender, chickpeas, and something local (in support of the Eat Local Challenge). This wasn't an easy combination to work with -- believe me.

The first entry was from Rachael at Fresh Catering. She sent in Miso Socca with Vegetables Provencal. In case you didn't know (I didn't), socca are crepes made with garbanzo flour. She mixed miso into the crepe mix and lavender from her yard met the last two requirements.

From Australia, Haalo sent in Miso marinated Kangaroo with Japanese Falafel served with lavender infused dipping sauce. Given that Cook Almost Anything Once is published Down-Under you might think the kangaroo was her local ingredient. Nope, she says the lavender is her local ingredient.

Emma of The Laughing Gastronome lives next door to Haalo. At least in global terms -- she's in New Zealand. Was already soaking garbanzo beans for antepasto when she learned the ingredients for this challenge. So instead of turing left she turned right (or whatever the culinary equivalent of a directional change is) and produced Lavender/Miso Marinated Chickpeas with Local Spring Onions.

Gabriella, who writes My Life as a Reluctant Housewife, is apparently fairly new to blogging but clearly has the required enthusiasm. She asked when the deadline was at 5:18pm on Monday and submitted her entry, Cod with Lavender Miso Sauce and Chickpea Asian Salad, at 4:16am the next morning. Now that's enthusiasm!

Belly Timber, the online presence of the inimitable duo of Mrs. D and Chopper, once again went over the top by preparing four tapas: Spicy Empanadas, Spicy Paper Chef Clams, Chickpea and Fermented Tofu Fritters, and Chickpea and Baby Turnip Spread. I'm thinking that in future events we'll make them each tie one arm behind their backs just to make things fair.

The final entry was another Aussie, Two-Minute Noodle Cook, who created, "… a dish which brings together Japanese and French flavours in an unconventional combination of contrasting creamy aniseed flavoured soup and crispy chickpea crepe with a subtle hint of miso." In the note to me Chef TMNC says the Red Lentil Soup and Chickpea Crepe is, "A visual design experiment more than anything else." You've got to see it to believe it.

Anne judged the entries based on cleverness, tastiness, and looks and said that although she isn't a fan of "ANY" of the ingredients in this round she's dying to taste the winning submission: Miso marinated Kangaroo with Japanese Falafel by Haalo! The runner-up was Belly Timber's four tapas.

A big thanks to Anne for taking time from her impending move to judge these entries and to all of those who participated. Mark your calendar now for next months Paper Chef.

Technorati: Food | recipe | Paper Chef17 | online event | eat local

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Asparagus Strudel

Placing Blame



This is Sarah's fault. Back in the second week of Asparagus Aspirations Sarah at Cucina Bella posted a recipe for asparagus and ham Napoleons. I'd been thinking about doing something with phyllo (I can't remember what) and had recently bought a package. Sarah got me thinking about using it with asparagus.

But other's share Sarah's guilt. Asparagus wrapped in prosciutto or Serrano is a common side dish. Last week Pascal offered Asparagus au Gratin using prosciutto and Cooking Debauchery sent in Karaj-Wrapped Grilled Asparagus.

I happen to particularly like blue cheese with asparagus, so having put all these ideas together I came up with a recipe for Asparagus en Croute.

The crisp pastry crackles pleasantly as you bite into it, followed by the pasta-like toothiness of the asparagus and the slightly chewy prosciutto. Texturally, it's a delightful mouthful. As for flavors, the asparagus asserts itself immediately, followed by the salty pork notes of the ham and, lurking in the background, the pungent tang of blue cheese. Butter from the phyllo swirls through the flavor complex behaving much like the countless streams that flow through a river delta.

Asparagus in Phyllo
1/2 lb asparagus — trimmed of woody ends
4 oz sliced prosciutto — cut into narrow strips
4 oz blue cheese* — crumbled
8 sheets phyllo dough
2 1/2 tbsp butter — melted

Cook asparagus until almost done. Chill.

Heat oven to 350F.

Layer 6 sheets of phyllo, brushing each with melted butter. Cut sheets in half, crosswise. Place 1/2 of asparagus in the center of each half. Sprinkle each with 1/2 of ham strips and 1/2 of cheese.

Fold edge of phyllo over asparagus so that the asparagus is just covered. Fold ends toward center. Fold package over lengthwise.

The final result should be around 5 inches long and 3 inches wide.

Bake in center of oven for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown. Top with a dollop of roasted garlic and paprika mayonnaise. Serves 2.

*I used Bleu d'Auvergne, but most any excellent blue would work.

Garlic/Paprika Mayonnaise is best when made from scratch. But if you don't want to take time to make mayonnaise, roast half a dozen large garlic cloves in a skillet, then mince very finely. Add garlic, 1/2 teaspoon of Spanish paprika, and 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice to 1/2 cup of store-bought mayonnaise and mix thoroughly.

Technorati: Food | recipe | side dish | asparagus | asparagus aspirations | online event

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A Light Lunch

A Light Lunch



As the host of Paper Chef, I can't participate in the contest. However, there's no reason I can't join in the challenge and do a dish. Paper Chef has been my favorite online event since Owen started it and although winning is fun, trying to come up with a dish is even more so. This time it was a doozy.

I don't know what problems others had, but the farmers' market was open for the first time this year on Saturday and the only things for sale -- besides vegetable starts -- was lettuce and eggs. I bought both with no idea of what I was going to do. Then I spent Saturday and Sunday pondering on it. The eggs proved beyond my creative talents and so, by default,

Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables. They probably get jet-lagged, just like people. ~ Elizabeth Berry

I ended up making a salad. It turned out pretty damned good.

I tossed the lettuce with fresh lavender from the pot on my porch, chickpeas, and some cooked baby shrimp. Then I made a dressing by mixing about a tablespoon of miso with sesame oil, white wine vinegar, and a bit of sugar.

Each ingredient in the salad (except the shrimp, which had almost no flavor at all) was clearly defined and for the most part they worked together well. The lavender wasn't a great match with the miso, but it wasn't wrong either. All in all, it made a nice light lunch. And it sure was good to taste really fresh lettuce again.

Technorati: Food | recipe | salad | paper chef17 | online event

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Asparagus Roundup III

Asparagus Roundup III



I'm starting to have second thoughts about this Asparagus Aspirations thing. The asparagus recipes continue to roll in making it harder and harder to decide which to try next. If I'd given just a little forethought to it, I would have realized that effectively solving the problem of finding a new asparagus recipe would create the new problem of figuring out which asparagus recipe. Another example of the Law of Unintended Consequences.

Last Monday brought a bunch of new recipes starting with Julie, who publishes Kitchenography. This is also the first time she's participated in an online food event and she got off on the right foot with a beautiful plate of Asparagus Fried in Pastella Batter.

Next came a hilarious post from s'kat and the food entitled, "The Asparagus Stalks at Midnight." I didn't know whether to be appalled that anyone would think to describe a noise as "green" or intrigued by the Black Sesame Asparagus. Ah well, S'kat does have a certain tendency toward unexpected adjectives.

Gabriella has recently begun a blog named My Life as a Reluctant Housewife. She offers three recipes, all very simple, but intended for non-cooks to be able to easily prepare for Mother's day. As a mother of twin (male) toddlers, I suspect she's dreaming of a nice holiday. I hope her husband reads her blog.

At his local famers' market, Brandon of Brandon Eats found "an entire stall of verdant, pencil-thin, picked-that-morning fresh asparagus." This is as close to heaven as you can get short of growing your own asparagus and Brandon had the good sense to keep it simple and just roast it.

From Home Recipes, Pascal offers Asparagus au Gratin. He combines two popular complements to asparagus -- Parmigiano and Prosciutto -- to create an easy but richly-flavored side dish. You can taste it just looking at the picture.

"Indian-Chinese stir-fry." Kind of evocative, eh? Imagined ingredients and flavors start tumbling head-over-heels through your mind, don't they? Think lamb, asparagus, mint, cardomom, and coriander. Then log on to Tigers & Strawberries to read about Barbara's creation: Meena's Stir Fried Asparagus and Lamb.

Tana apparently knows every farmer within 150 miles of her. In fact, she calls her blog Small Farms. Living in California, this gives her ready access not only to asparagus, but to lots of other goodies that just make me envious. Her contribution to this little enterprise included fava beans and pea shoots. Hell, I'd be happy if I could just find fresh peas. Check out Pea Shoots, Asparagus, & Fava Bean Salad with Pecorino.

Although this is an asparagus event, the recipe from Cooking Debauchery has left me with a strong hankering to try karaj, which I learned is a smoked pork loin. I should have passed a rule that said recipes like Karaj Wrapped Grilled Asparagus aren't permitted unless I'm sent a taste.

As she promised, Alanna of Kitchen Parade is back this week with another recipe. This time she's made an Asparagus Custard Tart that features fresh tarragon and gruyere -- a great flavor combination.

Ulrike has also returned with a recipe in Küchenlatein using raw white asparagus (something that's become much easier to find here in the US) in a salad with Parma ham. The salad is dressed with crème fraîche and tarragon and garnished with balsamico and pine nuts.

Although I couldn't confirm it, my guess is Rayma and her blog, Culinary Gems, are from India. I base this supposition on the ingredients in her Asparagus Dal. Of course, the dal itself is rather a give-away. For an exotic take on asparagus you need look no further than here.

Are French children required to take photography classes in school? I ask this because Ô Délice, like every other French food blog I've seen, has stunning pictures. In this case the photo is of Pesto d'Asperges Vertes (Asparagus Pesto) and a large appetizing spoonful rests appealingly on a slice of baguette.

My contribution this week is Cold Asparagus Soup made with buttermilk. It's a great way to make use of those woody ends you trim from asparagus because they're too tough and stringy to eat.

If you have a recipe to contribute you can learn more here.

Technorati: Food | recipe | asparagus aspirations | asparagus | online event | eat local challenge

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Muffaletta

Interesting



I'd never been in a sex shop before. It was… interesting. The fur-covered handcuffs were interesting. The leather collars were interesting. The costumes were interesting, And the, well… It was all, uhmm, interesting. According to Susanne and Judith, who had insisted that Michael and I accompany them into the store, we men were blushing like adolescents caught with a Playboy. The ladies, on the other hand, were merely fascinated.

It was about 11:00 o'clock on a bright, clear October morning -- neither cold nor warm. The streets were wet from rain the night before, and still strewn with trash. Halloween was coming up and although

There is an art to the business of making sandwiches which is given to few ever to find the time to explore in depth. It is simple task but the opportunities for satisfaction are many and profound… ~ Douglas Adams

that holiday isn't quite the bacchanalia of Mardi Gras, New Orleans still takes it seriously -- in a manner of speaking. We were wandering the streets of the French quarter on our way to Jackson Square. The four of us had a culinary goal and it wasn't the Café Du Monde and beignets.

On this morning the four of us had our sights set on the Central Street Grocery and muffalettas. This is an extraordinary sandwich that, while not as famous outside of New Orleans as the po' boy, holds a place of honor within the city. Surprisingly, the muffaletta's origins are Italian, Sicilian specifically. According to gumbopages.com, "the muffuletta sandwich was invented by Signor Lupo Salvadore, who opened the now-famous little Italian market called Central Grocery on Decatur Street in the French Quarter in 1906 and created the muffuletta sandwich, named for a favored customer…"

The sandwich is distinguished by the generous use of an olive salad and is served on round loaf of bread. It's delicious, different, interesting.

Muffaletta

1 loaf bread (see below)
1 c olive mix (see below)
1/4 lb sliced ham
1/4 lb sliced mortadella
1/4 lb sliced Genoa salami
1/4 lb sliced provolone
1/4 lb sliced mozzarella

Cut bread in half horizontally. Spread half with olive mix then layer on meats and cheeses. Cover with top. (Note: Ideally the sandwich should be made an hour or more in advance and then tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to enable juices to soak bread.) Slice into quarters and serve.

Olive Mix

1 1/2 c pimento-stuffed olives
1/2 c pitted Kalamata olives
1/2 c giardiniera (Italian pickled vegetables)
1/4 c pepperoncini
1/4 c pickled onions
1 tbsp capers
1 clove garlic, large – minced
1 tbsp fresh oregano
1/4 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp lemon juice
1/4 c olive oil

Drain all ingredients. Place all ingredients in a food processor and pulse until coarsely chopped. Refrigerate overnight.

Mixture will keep for several months sealed in a glass jar in the refrigerator.

Muffaletta Bread
(adapted from CD Kitchen)

4 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 c water
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp rapid-rise yeast

Using the dough hook, combine 4 cups flour, water, salt, sugar, olive oil, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer -- scraping down sides as needed -- at low speed until blended. Add additional flour if needed, but dough should be a bit sticky. Increase speed to medium and knead for eight minutes.

Turn dough out onto lightly floured board and form into a ball.

Clean and dry mixing bowl and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Place dough in bowl, seam-side down, and spray top lightly with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Turn dough out onto the floured board and knead for 2 minutes. Divide in two, and form into balls. Let dough rest for 15 minutes then flatten out into discs 7 - 8 inches in diameter. Place each disc on a baking sheet, dock with a fork, and cover with plastic sprayed with oil. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Bake each loaf for 20 to 25 minutes until well-browned. Cool completely before slicing.

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Asparagus Soup al Freddo

Kitchen Magic



Sympathetic magic is not about making someone feel sorry for you. It's a magic that relies on two magical laws: The Law of Similarity and the Law of Contagion. Voodoo dolls are probably the most obvious version of sympathetic magic the small figurine is similar to the person to be affected and the use of something such as a lock of hair or nail clippings make use of contagion -- something once connected remains connected.

So what does this have to do with cooking? In this case it explains why asparagus was considered an aphrodisiac. There's the obvious similarity between an asparagus spear and certain male anatomical features, but I wonder if, beyond that, the speed with which asparagus grows isn't also a factor?

Under ideal circumstances

a spear can grow 10 to 12 inches in a 24 hour period. And six to eight inches isn't uncommon. Asparagus is also prolific during the height of its growing season with each crown putting up three to six spears at a time.

To grow asparagus you typically buy crowns, which are bundles of roots about a year old. These are planted in a shallow trench five to six inches deep with good drainage. If I remember correctly from my boyhood, my father plowed two furrows. I'd guess they were about 12 or 14 inches deep and about 30 feet long. These were then filled with rotten hay or straw and covered with a layer of dirt. The crowns, bare roots, were placed every 12 inches or so and then covered with more dirt and a top layer of mulch.

Until recently experts recommended skipping the harvest at the end of the first year, but some now encourage it saying it will promote more spear growth in later years.

An asparagus bed will produce for anywhere from 10 to 20 years, with each crown producing about 1/2 pound of spears per season, with minimal care. Allow the spears to mature at the end of the season -- to feed the next year's growth -- and when they die back but them down and mulch. That's about all it takes.

Female plants produce fatter, more flavorful spears, but fewer of them and spread seeds that germinate as weeds. Male plants produce skinnier spears but more of them and so a number of all-male hybrids have been developed.

Male or female, the bottom of the spears tend to be woody. You can cut off the ends, but the better technique is to bend the spears and they'll break precisely at the edible point. But **don't throw away the bottoms. Collect them in a plastic freezer bag until you have a pound or a pound and a half and then make soup.

Cold Asparagus Soup

1 1/2 lb asparagus woody ends
4 c chicken stock
1 ea sm onion -- peeled and quartered
1 lb asparagus spears without woody ends -- cut into 1" pieces
2 md leeks, white part only -- chopped
2 tbsp butter
1/2 ea lemon -- juiced
2 tbsp minced summer savory
1 c cultured buttermilk
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
salt to taste

Put woody ends and onion quarters in a soup pot with chicken stock and bring to a vigorous simmer. Cook for one hour. Discard solids.

Melt butter over medium heat, add leeks, and sauté until translucent.

Return soup base to stove over medium heat, add leeks, and bring to simmer. Add remaining asparagus and cook until just done -- about 5 minutes. Remove from heat and add savory, pepper, and salt. Allow to cool. Puree soup in a blender, food processor or with an immersion blender. Add buttermilk, taste, and adjust seasonings.

Refrigerate for about four hours before serving. Serves six.

Technorati: Food | recipe | asparagus aspirations | asparagus | soups & stews | asparagus soup

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Sausage Ragu

Gustatory Goodness



It's the fennel seed that makes it. Italian sausage, that is. Fennel provides the single most distinctive flavor in Italian sausage and it's often described as anise-like. Perhaps so, but I don't taste that component. The vegetable tastes like anise, but to me the seeds have a sharp, prickly flavor with slight sour notes and a hint of musk. In pork sausage it brings out the sweetness inherent in the meat and the addition of red pepper works as a complement to the sweet.

A few years back I ran across

a recipe for sausage ragu that used Italian sausage.and fell in love with it. And what's not to like? Sausage, onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes are simmered slowly until the whole house smells like a villa on a hillside in Tuscany. You can almost see a gray-haired woman, gnocchi-shaped, and dressed in a shapeless black dress standing in the kitchen over a steaming pot.

Sausage Ragu

1 lb Italian sausage -- cut into 3/8" rounds
2 tbsp olive oil
1/2 ea lg green bell pepper -- cut into 1" square pieces
1/2 ea red bell pepper (or any ripe bell) -- cut into 1" square pieces
1/2 ea lg yellow onion -- cut into 1" square pieces
3 cloves garlic -- chopped
1 can diced tomatoes, 15oz
1 c red wine
chicken stock
1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary
2 tbsp minced fresh oregano
1 ea bay leaf
salt

In a large pot, brown sausage in olive oil over medium high heat. Remove sausage from pot with a slotted spoon, reduce heat to medium, add onion, and cook, stirring occasionally, for about three minutes. Add bell peppers and continue cooking for five minutes. Add garlic and cook one minute more until you can smell garlic.

Add wine, deglaze pot, and simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Return sausage to pot, add tomatoes with juice, herbs, and enough chicken stock to just barely come up to top of meat. Add about 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Partially cover pot, reduce heat to medium low, and simmer gently for about an hour.

Serve on pasta or polenta. Serves 4.

Technorati: Food | recipe | main dish | sausage | soups & stews | Italian

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Paper Chef #17

And the ingredients are…



As a former software developer, writer, speaker, and editor of several programming magazines I have applied my considerable skills to develop an ingenious (and proprietary) algorithm for randomly choosing ingredients along with a device specifically for implementing the algorithm (see photo).

The three ingredients, chosen at random are:

Chickpeas
Lavender
Miso

And in support of the Eat Local Challenge, the fourth ingredient is "something local." Use an ingredient, any ingredient, produced within 100 or so miles of your home.

I had hoped to persuade Noodle Cook, as the winner of the last Paper Chef, to judge this one but I haven't heard back so I'm going to stick my neck out and judge this one myself, then we can hopefully go back to having the previous winner as judge.

The technorati tag for this event is:
<a href="http://technorati.com/tag/online+event" rel="tag">online event</a>

Update: Anne of Anne's Food has volunteered to act as co-judge. Bribes should be sent to her.

Technorati: Food | recipe | online event | Paper Chef 17 | Eat Local

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Italian Sausage

Starting from Scratch

char·cu·te·rie -- Pronunciation: (")shär-"kü-t&-'rE
Function: noun
Etymology: French, literally, pork-butcher's shop, from Middle French chaircuiterie, from chaircutier pork butcher, from chair cuite cooked meat
: a delicatessen specializing in dressed meats and meat dishes; also : the products sold in such a shop.

I've declared this my Year of the Sausage. I've long had an urge to make sausage and this seemed like a good time to pursue it further. Consequently, when I got an urge a few weeks ago to make a sausage ragu I had to start by making the sausage.

I've long since lost the original recipe and so I've no idea where it came from, but it called for Italian sausage. So step one was to get Bruce Aidell's Complete Sausage Book. I have another book with sausage recipes (The Sausage-Making Cookbook by Jerry Predika) that I bought a few years ago, but it didn't get me very far. The biggest problem with it is it doesn't emphasize the importance of fat. It turns out commercial sausage contains anywhere from 30 to 50 percent fat and quality artisanal sausage is somewhere between 15 and 25 percent fat. But if you buy even a fatty cut of meat like pork butt you probably don't have more than 10 to 15 percent fat because meat is trimmed so closely these days.

Fat not only provides flavor and that of-so-essential mouth feel, but it's required to produce a moist sausage.

Experiment: It's the difference between delicious and dull... ~ Elizabeth Schneider

My first efforts at sausage had too little fat and I ended up with a dry, almost sandy texture -- because, remember, you need to cook pork to at least 150F and that temperature will cook out most of the liquid in ground meat.

In addition to Aidell's book, I ordered the sausage funnel attachments for my Kitchen Aid and sausage casings.

Casings come in a variety of types, sizes, and materials ranging from lamb intestines, which are used to make small breakfast-type sausages, to muslin, which is used to create some dried sausages. For the Italian sausage I ordered 50 feet of medium hog casings. These are pig intestines used to make sausages 1 to 1 1/2 inches in diameter. That was far more pig guts than I needed for a single batch of sausage, but it's sort of an all-purpose size and suitable for both fresh and smoked sausages and they'll keep a long time. (They come packed in salt.)

Italian Sausage

2 lb pork butt
1/2 lb pork fat
2 tbsp pickling salt
2 tbsp fennel seed
1 1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/8 tsp caraway seed
4 oz red wine

Cut meat and fat into 1" cubes and place in freezer until semi-frozen.

Soak about 5 feet of medium (32mm - 35mm) hog casing in water for an hour, replacing water at least once. Rinse thoroughly inside and out. Return to bowl with water.

Grind meat using 3/16" plate. Add spice mixture and wine to meat and knead and squeeze to mix thoroughly. Pinch off a bit, fry it, and taste to adjust seasonings.

Attach small funnel to grinder attachment on Kitchen Aid. With a little bit of water in the casings, slide onto the funnel until about three inches remains. Tie a knot in the end. Turn on the KA and begin feeding sausage mixture through attachment, gradually filling casing, but being careful not to pack too tightly.

Once casing is filled -- but before cutting off excess -- start at the tied end and every five inches pinch the casing to form a sausage and twist a couple of turns to seal off. Continue working back toward open end and when last sausage is made twist end and trim.

The books say to If you can get someone to help you stuff the casings, do so -- the job is best done with four hands. Also note that I only stuffed half the sausage into casings. I frequently use Italian sausage in recipes where I end up discarding the casing.

Technorati: Food | recipe | sausage | italian sausage | pork

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Paper Chef #17

Paper Chef #17



In response to an e-mail query, Owen, the founder and guiding light of Paper Chef is still, "…so completely swamped it isn't funny" -- meaning there would be no Paper Chef this month either. Foolishly, I volunteered to manage it for a while.

I'm going to stick with the original schedule, which means there's not much time. If you're unfamiliar with the event check out Paper Chef FAQ, details, past winners, newbies, etc..

Fortunately, I have the list of nominated but un-used ingredients from previous events and, as in the past, new nominations can be made here. Three ingredients will be chosen at random from the final list and I will name a fourth ingredient when I post the final list around noon EST on Friday(05/05). Because this is kind of last-minute, we'll extend the deadline for submissions through Tuesday(05/08) at 10:00am.

Here's the current list of nominated ingredients:

Something derived from a goat (meat, milk, cheese, yoghurt, butter, etc)
Rocket (arugula)
Macadamia nuts
Pomegranate molasses
Hot bean paste
Chestnuts
Grits
Ham
Miso
Simple syrup
Veal scallopine
Chocolate
Lemons
Pomegranates
Flowers
Cinnamon
Lavender
Broccoli raab
Lemongrass
Coffee
Ground coriander
A spikey plant like cactus (nopales!) or nettles

According to the guidelines, older ingredients fall off the list, but I wasn't about to go back through all the old Paper Chefs and figure out what was an "older ingredient," so I randomly eliminated six items from the list as well as the ingredients that were used in the last event.

So. Let's see if we can get The Paper Chef going again. Post your ingredient nominations below, check back here Friday afternoon (05/05), and spread the word.

Technorati: Food | online event | Paper Chef17

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Asparagus Roundup II

Asparagus Roundup II



It seems as though I just posted the first batch of asparagus recipes and it's already time for the second -- but that's asparagus for you. You can almost see the stuff grow before your eyes. It's a remarkably fast growing plant. (Details on Asparagus Aspirations)


Asparagi con Pomodori Secchi e Pinoli! It lilts off your tongue like a breath of wind across an Italian hillside. Ahh. The Italian is so much more pleasant than Asapargus with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Pine Nuts. But in either language, Ilva's contribution in Lucullian Delights is memorable.

Sarah's tag line at Cucina Bella is "Celebrating Everyday Food for Everyday People," but one has to question her sincerity. Her asparagus dish is an extraordinary savory Napoleon made of Phyllo dough, ham, mushrooms, cheese, and asparagus. Maybe she eats like that everyday, but most people don't.

The Germans are well-known for their love of asparagus, although as Ulrike notes, they tend to prefer white asparagus. Nevertheless, Küchenlatein contravenes convention with this gorgeous Asparagus and Cheese Tart posted using green asparagus. Beautifully I might add.

The irrepressible Kalyn, hostess of Kalyn's Kitchen, has been spreading the word about Asparagus Aspirations all over the 'Net. She also found time steam a batch for herself and dress it in a Basil Vinaigrette. The herb lady strikes again!

Alanna, too, has been harvesting asparagus postings and sending them my way. What's more, she tells me she already has a backlog of her own recipes to publish in A Veggie Venture. Her first installment is Asparagus Sautéed with Anchovies & Garlic -- one of my all-time favorite ways of cooking vegetables, but one I'd never thought to apply to asparagus. As Alanna says, "This is a complete keeper."

My response to Joe's entry from Foodie was, "I'm jealous!" After all, he'd combined fresh asparagus and soft-shell crabs. I haven't had a soft-shell since I lived in DC. It's just not fair. Then again, I haven’t had a Dungeness crab since I lived in CA, which isn't fair either. Sigh.

When I read, "It's Spring, Dammit" I was shocked. We all know what a sweet, quiet, and gentle soul Cookiecrumb is and to see such forcefulness in a recipe title… Why it quite gave me the vapors -- or whatever it is men get. Nevertheless, that's the title of her delightfully sunny, Asparagus on Toast found at I'm Mad and I Eat.

Also from Italy comes an Asparagus Quiche from Piperita at The Kitchen Pantry. She uses ricotta, which I suspect gives it a light and airy texture. But obviously I'll have to try it to find out.

My contribution to this week's recipes is something I first had at the Asparagus Festival in Stockton, California -- Fried Asparagus. Sprinkled with grated Parmigiano, it's an addictive spring treat.

Technorati: Food | recipe | asparagus aspirations | asparagus

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