Snow Cooking

While trapped in the snow we decided to venture into the warm kitchen.  We saw a recipe by Annie Wayte for a Guinea Fowl Potpie.  We had almost nothing from the recipe with the exception of a guinea fowl.  That is the kind of kitchen we have!  So we improvised.  Our pie is simply guinea, onions, mushrooms, and a bit of bacon.

It turned out quite yummy.

Then we decided to make a cake.  We had a couple of white sweet potatoes that we had lying around from Christmas. They were actually lying UNDER as we moved a paper bag over them, and discovered them after we needed the bag!

We baked them at 400 for about 35 minutes until they were mashable and then set out to make our favorite sweet potato cake, only in the white version.

For Christmas we got several bottles of libations from Art in the Age, including a sweet potato vodka, so we gave out yellow raisins a soak.  We also had half a bag of self-rising flour, so we used that. 

White Sweet Potato Cake

2 cups self-rising flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup mashed white sweet potatoes
2 beaten eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
3/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon Art in the Age Sweet Potato Vodka (optional)
1 cup yellow raisins, dredged boldly

Soak your raisins for about 30 minutes in a tablespoon of liquor, if desired.

 In a large bowl, whisk the flour, sugar, and spice together to blend

In a smaller bowl, mix the sweet potatoes, eggs, oil, and milk. I may look a bit lumpy and curdled, but that is the way it should look.

Add the sweet potato mixture to the dry ingredients and blend well.

Fold in the dredged fruit.

Pour into prepared Lucinda’s Wood Cake Box.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours.

Being snowbound wasn't too bad.

Holiday Food Recap

 

Yes, it was a pink disco ball Christmas tree. Even I was shocked! But there you have it.

There was a lot of holiday cooking. There was even more holiday dish washing. I did not keep an accurate count, but I believe I washed every dish in the house at least 4 times...and I have a lot of dishes. My favorite, mismatched Le Creuset pan was often washed 4 time a day itself! I washed so many dishes, I didn't always take the requisit photos, but here goes.

There was fruitcake and...

and more fruitcake.

 

 

Beer bread and honey butter.

A turkey smoked in the Ugly Drum Smoker we built this summer.

One of my favorite gifts from last year was a subscription to Julibox. Frankly, we have had more fun with the Julibox than one can imagine. We are always finding new cool spirits to try. Of course, it takes me a while to try them as I must have the box sent to another state because, West Virginia wants to protect me from mail order booze, though I can have OxyContin sent to my door, but I digress...

One of my fave drinks was Laird's Applejack and proseco. So when I got big bottle of applejack, I planned ahead. I had a tray of apples I couldn't get around to eating or cooking, so I juiced them and made big ol' ice cubes out of them. The apple juice ice cubes made these Cocktails At The Burn Pit, cool and fruity!

There was a standing rib roast with Yorkshire Pudding. Now I love shopping at discount, dollar store kind of places. Truth is, most of the time one would be hard pressed to find anything worth a dollar, which is why one must be persistent. I popped into one looking for nothing in particular, always on the lookout for cooking gear. I looked down and saw a pair of popover pans. They listed for $28 a piece, but were marked a mere $5. Score!

 

I made a Christmas Tree Pavlova.

Tired of leftovers, I made mozzarella-stuffed meatballs and spaghetti and some bread.

My friend, Catherine, sent me a huge bag of Black Twig Apples, that went into a pie.

 

Holiday food means a trip to the big box store. I know that Chefy types will be appalled, but I love to buy a huge bag of peeled garlic cloves. Truth be told, if you are not running a restaurant, there is no need for a huge bag of peeled garlic. But here in the woods, keeping fresh garlic is often a bit hard. So I plan for a garlic rub on the rib roast, 40 clove chicken, meat sauce, and on and on. Then, I confit the remaining cloves and freeze little containers of soft, oily garlic. When I need a spread for bread, or garlic in a stew, I just pull out a little frozen cube, and I am good to go.

 

All the unused citrus was turned into Marmelade. I made a mixed citrus with lemons, limes, oranges, and three different grapefruits. I used a fine chop on the mixed peel. I had two huge pomelos that made a pomelo mamelade. The fruit was very pink and the peel was a bright green, so it made a very preppy marmelade.

 

For the pomelo, I left the peel in very long, thin strips. I think the long strips make for an elegant marmelade.

The new year meant collards,

 

black-eyed peas,

 

And a lovely pig-head cornbread.

Only 350-some days till Christmas. I'm off to the kitchen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christmas Tree Pavlova

Our individual Christmas Eve Pavlova's.

 

A Spirit of Place -- The Ethicurean

 Over at Cookbook Of The Day we decided that The Ethicurean Cookbook was our favorite cookbook of the year, maybe of the coming year, too!  We just love it.  The Ethicurean was voted one of the ten best destination restaurants in England.

Recently, Cereal magazine and Freunde von Freunde published an interview with The Ethicurean's Jack Adair Bevan and a series of glorious photos.  Both the interview and the photos are by Robbie Lawrence. The photos are food porn of the highest order.  These are just a few.  Needless to say, we want to live there.

Do read the full interview and check out both sites to see all the photos.

Cereal.

Freunde von Freunde.

Faux Risotto

I love breakfast, provided it is served at 4 pm.  Not eating in the morning and then working through till the late afternoon, is not a good thing.   The other day, I got home late in the afternoon.  I was not up for cooking and it was one of those days where there was nothing in the house.

In the refrigerator, I had bits of this and that and dragged it out.   The was about a cup of cooked rice from Sunday's chicken and rice.  The was a small container of cooked squash leftover from the gigantic pot of squash that hadn't fit into freezer bags.  There was a thumb-sized piece of grana padano.  All together, I thought, it bore a striking resemblance to a risotto.

I mixed the rice and the squash and cooked it till it was steamy.  Then I finished it like a risotto, adding a dollop of half-and-half and a bit of grated cheese.  I had a sliver of cheese left that I grated on top.

It looked like risotto.  It tasted like risotto.  It took about 5 minutes.  I would be willing to bet that there are only a handful of discerning diners who would have known he difference.  I am thinking of trying it out on a larger scale.

Kimchi

I decided to make kimchi.  The Korean condiment is everywhere, so I thought why not.  I was bolstered by a recipe I read in Edward Lee's Smoke and Pickles.  Lee is a New Yorker of Korean descent who has become one of the South's leading culinary lights.  He does a uniquely American blend of Southern cooking with Korean influence.  So I was drawn to a recipe he had in the book for a kimchi made of Brussels sprouts and green tomatoes. 

In my pursuit of kimchi, I read at least 1000 recipes and no two were alike!  I ordered several forms of gochujang a Korean spice necessary for kimchi; both flake and paste form.  I bought the expensive Red Boat fish sauce, favored by hipsters. 

I didn't have sweet, sticky, whatever rice flour.  Several recipes said substitute regular flour, but some folks said it made the kimchi "floury", and some recipes said make your own rice porridge with regular rice, and still others said don't bother, so I didn't.   One recipe said add an apple, and I liked that idea. I had a small wedge of cabbage, so I added that.

Teddy helped with the Brussels sprouts.  Generally, one does not have to worry about cats and cole vegetables, but for some reason, Teddy loves them.  This summer I left a bowl of coleslaw on the counter, never thinking I should quickly sequester it away.  I walked back in to find Teddy on the counter in the slaw.  Trick was standing on her hind legs begging Teddy.  He took a big mouthful and dropped it to the floor, where he and Trick happily devoured everything but a single shred of onion.  So I should have known cutting Brussels spouts would cause a commotion.

I added the green tomatoes and the bit of cabbage.  Mixed it all together and let it sit.  To keep the kimchi submerged in the jar, I filled a Ziplock bag with water and used it as the weight.  Then I let the jar sit.  Of course, every recipe gave different directions for how long to let it ferment and long to leave it in the fridge and how long before you should eat it.   Mine sat out about 36 hours and has been in the fridge for several days.  We are thinking that Friday we will break out the jar and taste test.  We will not be leaving on the counter!

When the humidity is 85%

Picnic inside!

 

Charcoal Biscuits

 There was a lot of interest in our charcoal biscuits, from yesterday's post.

Activated charcoal has been a food additive since the 19th century.  It's original use was as a medicinal aid for stomach disorders.   A bit of charcoal powder was taken with water.  As one might guess, this was not terribly palatable and the powder was later added to biscuits or cookies  Think of them as big, black Prilosec cookies.   Even now, activated charcoal is used as a poison control when one's stomach is pumped.  What a lovely image for preparing crackers.

The biscuits or cookies as we call them, were quite popular in England and are thougtht to have originated with John Longman Bragg. A professional baker, J.L. Bragg, added the popular, but messy charcoal powder to cookies and a new industry was born.  The cookies took off and soon they found their way to Harrod's and other fine grocery stores.  In addition, they were sold at chemist shops and advertised in such august publications as the British Medical Journal.

 The biscuits fell out of favor in recent years and for a short time J.L. Bragg discontinued them, causing such an uproar that they were quickly re-introduced with fancy packaging.  Today J.L Bragg is the only United Kingdom company licensed to make medicinal charcoal products but don't let that stop you from venturing out.

In 1910, C.L. Russell's book on confectionery included the following recipe.

Charcoal  Biscuits

8 lbs. of flour
1½ lbs. of butter
1¼ lbs. of sugar
¾ lbs. of charcoal
½ pint of eggs
Milk as required

Rub the butter very finely into the flour, make a bay, add sugar and eggs, and whip up by the fingers to a thick cream, draw in the flour, into which you have previously mixed the charcoal, and make to a nice biscuit dough. Roll out fairly thin, cut out to any desired shape, wash with water, and bake in a good sound oven, taking care to see that they are thoroughly well done. 

In order to make charcoal crackers you need the charcoal which is easily available online.  Now would be a good time to tell you the downside of cooking with charcoal as an ingredient.   If you want to know what it is like, I suggest you don your favorite white shirt and venture out to the grill.    Dive down into your bag of charcoal as if there is a $20 gold piece at the bottom of the bag. When you don't find it and the dust makes you sneeze, be sure and cover your mouth.  Then swat at the mosquito on your arm.  then scratch your ear.  Now take a look in the mirror and imagine your counters and mixer and sink and floor all dusted in black.  

Every time I have ordered charcoal it has come nicely measured in a paper bag.   It is much easier to work with in a glass container.  The transfer of from the bag to the glass, is well, just take my word for it and do it OUTSIDE.  Make sure that you counters are clear and uncluttered as you want to touch as few thing as possible.  I find that it is best to go ahead and lay down some plastic wrap on your work area.   Plastic wrap is also important in making the crackers.  One can mix the dough, then form it into logs, freeze and slice or one can roll out the dough and cut it.  The best way to roll it is between two sheets of plastic wrap.  It is really no more messy than making a red velvet cake and turning everything crimson.  But it is messy so be forewarned.

The cracker recipe is beyond easy.

Charcoal Crackers

1 stick butter
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup activated charcoal powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 water as needed

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a stand mixer, cream the butter until fluffy.  Add the flour, charcoal, and salt.  Mix until a crumbly.  Add water and mix till dough comes together.  

Dump the dough on a sheet of plastic wrap.  Form into a log, wrapping it in the plastic wrap.  Freeze for at least 30 minutes.  Remove the log and slice the dough into thin rounds.   Place the rounds on a cookie sheet lined with parchment or a Silpat.  Dock the crackers with a fork and bake for 20 minutes.  

As an alternative, wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.  Roll the dough between sheets of plastic wrap and cup with cookie cutter.   If you want flat, uniform crackers, try this. After you have placed the cookies on the lined cookie sheet, top them with a second sheet of parchment or another Silpat.  Weigh them down with an identical cookie sheet and bake.  The weight of the second cookie sheet keeps them flat.

Not the best picture, but you can see the cracker on the left was sliced and docked.   The one on the right was cut and baked weighted down.  It is simply a matter of how you want them to look.

The charcoal gives the crackers a bit of grittiness.  There is no strong taste, which makes them a nice compliment to cheese.  I especially like them with a soft blue like Cambozola.

 One of my favorite dishes for charcoal is simple cornbread.  Adding a tablespoon or so of charcoal creates a black cornbread.   I cut out rounds of the cornbread and use it to top a plain potato soup or chicken hash.  The contrast of color is striking.  

Don't forget Fido.  Charcoal is a great additive for homemade dog biscuits.   

So go forth and be adventurous.

Since Noah Never Showed Up...

 

Some of us were not the least bit distracted by the flood.  Trick felt the best way to deal with it (or any disaster, big or small) is to curl up in soft spot, cover your eyes and drift into dreamland.

I kept looking at the yard/pond.  So I headed into the kitchen.

First, threw together some cider dough and baked a nice boule.

 I found some artisanal cheese in the fridge, but only had saltines, so I threw together some charcoal crackers.

Next, I made 4 jars of Plum Amagnac  jam.  Warm plum  jam, warm cider bread. Not bad.

Then I made meatballs in a thick red wine sauce. 


By 9:30 after washing a ton of dishes, I was ready to curl up in a soft spot, put my hand over my eyes and drift into dreamland.

The New Kroger

We all know that woman who cannot bear to pass up a shoe store without stopping.  I admit that I am the proud owner of over 40 pairs of Converse Chucks.   I am the woman who never met a grocery store she didn't want to visit.

Several years ago Wegman's opened a store in Virginia in what was a gigantic open field.  I arranged to spend the night at my friend Ann's who lived just a short drive from that field, to go to the Wegman's opening.  I wanted to leave the house at 7:30 A.M.   Ann, not believing in the power of the grocery store, thought that was stupid.  At about 10:00 A.M. we headed off to the Wegman's.   About three miles from the new Wegman's, traffic stopped.  Literally stopped.   By 11:00 we had made it to the parking lot.  There one would simply wait until a car pulled out and then park there, no matter where "there' was.  The gigantic field is now a bustling metropolis.

That is a long story to tell you that Kroger just bought Harris Teeter.   Harris Teeter is a good old Southern grocery.  That meant that one could go into almost any Harris Teeter and find Tab and Durkee's mayo.  There is no Tab at my Kroger, though they do occasionally have Duke's mayo.   Oh well.

Chicken Fried Steak

 It snowed all weekend.  If it had been 5 degrees colder there would be enormous drifts of snow.  Our temperature hovered at 35, however, so the lovely large flakes the floated by the window, hit the warm, soggy ground, creating a muddy mess.

It was a great Sunday to sit around, watch television and cook comfort food.

In the "great minds think alike" vein, when I turned on my computer this morning, my first e-mail was from Saveur touting the joys of chicken fried steak.  Their chicken fried steak looked like this. 

 Not bad.  Mine, however, went the for the double comfort of fluffy mashed potatoes and a sausage gravy.

Sorry we missed you!

Lemon Drop Hot Sauce

This year in the garden,  we grew a hot pepper called a lemon drop pepper.  The plant originated in Peru and bears a Scoville rating of 15,000-30,000, making it pretty hot.   It grew in abundance on short, bushy stalks and true to its name, it does have a pronounced lemony hit.

It seemed to be the perfect pepper for a sauce, so I gathered a basket and stet out to make a hot sauce.   I ground the peppers with salt to make a fermentable mash.  Then, I got called to D.C.  What's a girl to do?
I  loaded up my fermenting mash and brought it along.   Now, it is altogether possible that I could have let my pepper mash ferment while I was gone, but I didn't want to come home to a growing blob.  In D. C., I partook of a ritual that in unknown here in rolling hills of West Virginia; I went grocery shopping at drug store.   I got a quart of vinegar at the CVS and began the second fermenting phase of hot sauce making -- adding the vinegar.

I packed up my now, still fermenting, vinegary hot sauce and headed home, frankly quite worried that if the car were to wreck, my mangled body would be bathed in hot lemon drop pepper sauce!  We survived the trip and the sauce was strained and bottled.

Most recipes call for the fermented peppers to be discarded after the straining, but I just couldn't bear to toss out that lemony mass of ground peppers.  I tucked them in a nice jar, covered them with olive oil and stored them in the refrigerator.  The ground pepper have been a delight.  They get tossed into soups and stews, spicy marinades and even vinaigrettes.  But really, a little dabble do ya, as the mash is hot.

If you are looking for a hot pepper to sow this spring, I highly recommend the Lemon Drop.

Fancy Food

We spent the early part of this week at the Fancy Food Show in D.C.  Acres and acres of new and familiar products.  My friend, Anne, and I make this a yearly ritual.  This year there was a lot of dried okra -- a great way to eat okra without the slime.  There were also many bottled shrubs, fruit drinks with a kick of vinegar which I usually have to make by hand, so it was nice to see them already bottled for me.

There were several folks in attendance who we have written about at Cookbook Of The Day.

Jeni, from Jeni's Splendid Ice Cram was there with splendid ice cream.   We just love ice cream books almost as much as we like ice cream and Jeni's is a favorite.   Check out our review of her book here.  To find out what makes Jeni really special, take a look at this video of Jeni describing her ice cream.  Anyone who is inspired to make ice cream by reading Edna St. Vincent Millay is someone we want to party with.




  

Another favorite book of ours is Wild Table.  Connie Green and Sarah Scott introduced a new line of foraged products including a great fennel pollen.  Their elderberry shrub was a prize winner.  Check out their products and foraged items at Wine Forest.

The guys at Brooklyn Brew Shop were busy making beer.  I made beer in a D.C. apartment, once.  It took up most of the kitchen and all of the linen closet.  Brooklyn Brew Shop shrunk the process down into a gallon fermenter and the rest...as they say, is history.   So grab a kit and brew beer in your Airstream if need be.

And their shirts were cool, too.


Ah, so much food, so little time.   I am spending the next few days soothing my blistered feet!

My Own Personal...

Harry Lowe and I have this game. It is a kind of "fantasy football" for people who don't give a crap about professional sports. Ours is a kind of "Fantasy Household Staff." We list the staff we would most like to have. Harry Lowe and I agree that, if money were no object, we would have drivers. Someone to sit and wait till we wanted to go somewhere. Then we could sit in the back, sip coffee, listen to tunes, nap, and arrive at our destination without ever once looking for parking.

My friend, Ann, wants a cook, like Oprah. Well, not "Oprah" to actually cook, but a cook/nutritionist who would make tasty snack and meals so Ann would eat properly.

Maids often come up on this list, as do gardeners, handymen, and caretakers.

Recently, I saw a headline that stated:

Daniel Boulud's Personal Forager Gets Cookbook Deal.

A personal forger! Who knew. Now everybody wants one. Clearly it won't be long till the poor people will have nothing to eat as marauding Yankee foragers descent on the South and take all our ramps, kudzu flowers, morels and god know what else.

Tama Matsuoka, Boulud's personal forager, and his chef de cuisine Eddy Leroux are preparing a book tentatively and appropriately entitled: Foraged Flavor.


Now the whole roster on my Fantasy Household Staff list has to change to add in my personal forager. The upstairs maid will have to go.