The Posts I Cook From: 2011

About 20 years ago I had a friend in England who I wrote letters to.  Every time one of us wrote a letter we began with a paragraph apologizing for taking so long to write.  Until one day we decided that was a colossal waste of our time.  We knew that both of us were busy, or just lazy, and there would be lapses in our correspondence, so we could just assume the apology was not necessary, and implied.  I have been busy in the kitchen since I last wrote.  I am also happily writing as I have a new freelance food writing assignment.  I will tell you more about it later, for now I am a little afraid of jinxing it.  So just know I have news to come in the next few months, and I promise some blog posts.

Last year I did an end of year round up of The Posts I Cook From: 2010, in order to declare this a blog tradition here is the one for 2011.  These are the recipes that I pull out my computer to make, where I actually follow my recipe.  The times that I do not wing it in the kitchen.

Red Cabbage Salad with Carrot Ginger Dressing

This dressing served with shredded red cabbage has become a staple in my house since I first made it last winter.  Not just a recipe I prepare because my CSA gifts me with cabbage and carrots, as I find myself intentionally buying red cabbage to make this salad on a regular basis.  Even Sebastian, my 9 year old, will eat it on occasion.  When he does he never fails to point out that really, he does not like raw cabbage.  I think the more of it he eats, the less he should be making that claim.

Par Boiled Brown Rice

I have referred to this post and the steps for par boiling brown rice on numerous occasions since posting it here.  However for complete truth in posting I found Saveur's perfectly cooked brown rice instructions and my loyalty has now shifted.  However I am including it here because I did cook from this post in 2011, and this was a great way for me to show you this other method.

Sour Cream Spelt Waffles

These are my favorite waffles, they are the easiest to make because the egg whites are not whipped, and  they are rich and delicious.  Ever time I make them Julian gets mad that once again I have not made Sugar Waffles, and then he sits down and eats a whole pile of them.  Many nights when I cannot think of something to make for dinner these waffles end up being served, and nobody complains.  (All right Julian complains, but there is no way I am making a yeast waffle that has to rise for over an hour and is studded with sugar for dinner.

Baked Apple Puff

I don't really cook from this post, Lewis does.  However this is still a family favorite.  Although everyone but Lewis prefers it without the apples, just plain with fresh lemon juice squeezed over the top.  Mornings where Lewis is particularly hungry he makes one plain and one with apples, then he is guaranteed more then his fair share of the apple one.

Browned Butter Blueberry Muffins

These muffins are now my go to blueberry muffin recipe.  The ones I make when I pick far to many berries at the U-pick farm, or I just have a craving.  They are balanced and sweet enough with a rich nutty flavor from the browned butter.

Armenian Lamb Sausage Pasta

This will always be my favorite pasta sauce, better then any I have had in a restaurant.  Now I finally have the recipe written down so maybe someone else in my family could make it some time, it is easy enough.

Whole Grain Popovers with Strawberry Butter

Popovers are one of the breakfasts that my children cheer about every time I serve it.  Having the post to cook from means I have all my notes and adjustments easily available.  The amazing thing is how little butter is in them, just enough to grease the tins.

Eggs Benedict With Whole Egg Hollandaise

For the times I really crave eggs benedict this is my go to recipe.  The whole egg hollandaise is just as rich and creamy as the egg yolk only version, but this way I don't have to worry about using up the egg whites (or should I say wasting).

Sour Cherry Raspberry Lime Jam

This is one of my children's top jam flavors of 2011.  One I will be putting up multiple batches of every summer to make them happy.  This recipe also ensures their happy cooperation in mom's sour cherry picking insanity.

Sour Cherry Petit Petit Jam

One person I gave a jar of this jam to said she and her parter almost came to blows over the last spoonful.  Deep, rich, cherry flavor to spread on toast or warm up and drizzle over ice cream or cheesecake.

Baked Tomatoes with Cheese

I love this recipe enough that in the last month I tried to recreate it with frozen tomatoes.  I would not recommend trying them that way.  Instead you should bookmark the recipe for the height of tomato season.

Green Tomato Beef Stew with Jamaican Spices

I cannot wait for green tomatoes to appear on my plants so I can make this again!  A use for green tomatoes that is not just because I am desperate to use them up, but instead one I am looking forward to eating.

Steakhouse Style Sear Roasted Strip Steak

Ever since trying this technique for making steak I have not bothered with any others.  In my house we share one small steak for dinner, so this makes the most of it.  Evert time I have made it, no matter how distracted I am, the result is perfect.

Tuscan Cannellini Beans with Sage and Onion

I made this dish again at Thanksgiving and everyone agreed they were a welcome addition.  Okay, my nieces may not have agreed.  But then again my brother made them pasta with nothing on it to eat for dinner that night while everyone else feasted.  So that may be a sign that this dish is full of flavor and satisfying.

Chocolate Marmalade Sandwich Cookies

I made these cookies again as soon as the first batch was eaten.  The second time I used David Lebovitz's chocolate tempering instructions and I was successful.  I also made the cookies by rolling out the dough and cutting them out with a square cutter.  I found this much easier and the cookies were just as good.  I would have taken new photos of them, if they weren't eaten so fast.

Green Tomato Beef Stew with Jamaican Spices

I spent last week in New York City moving my father out of his apartment.  The week was supposed to end with the sale of his apartment and him moving to Vermont to live in a retirement home.  I spent a week sorting through vast piles of books covered in dust, throwing out clothing that was not even good enough to be used as a rag, and throwing away mattress after mattress.  A the end of the week the apartment was miraculously empty, most of the clothing we were keeping was being shipped to Vermont, and the closing on the apartment did not happen.  So when he flew here to Burlington it was not to move in to a retirement community, instead he has been staying with a really good friend of mine who lives 15 miles away.  Every day when she drives in to work she has been dropping him off at my house for "daddy daycare".  Then she comes to my house after work and we all have dinner before they drive back to Jericho.  However guests for dinner every night does not mean I stay away from experiments in the kitchen, instead there are more tasters for new dishes.

At this time of the year I look at the green tomatoes on the vines thinking about ways to use them.  I could just can several batches of green tomato salsa and be done, but I enjoy the challenge of discovering how different flavors can be used.  One friend stays away from most green tomato recipes, saying they all smack of end of the garden desperation.  However I think green tomatoes have a role in the kitchen, one that works to highlight and balance their flavor instead of using them in an attempt to mask their presence and use them up.  Used correctly they are as much end of the garden desperation as rhubarb recipes are end of the winter desperation for something, anything, fresh. (I am not saying there are no desperation recipes for both vegetables).

When I first went in the kitchen I was planning on doing a stew with the last of the rhubarb that would be a riff on Molly Stevens' Pot Roasted Brisket with Rhubarb and Honey from All About Braising.  As I rubbed the beef with freshly ground allspice, coriander, pepper and salt I realized I could substitute green tomatoes for the rhubarb as an early fall substitution.  I used maple syrup instead of honey and added garlic and fresh thyme as my usual alterations to the regular recipe.  I replaced the golden raisins with dried apricots because they were the only dried fruit I had.  Now dried Califonia apricots will be my go-to in this recipe, any other dried fruit will be a substitution, because their tangy, sour, sweetness added just the right note.

This stew was enjoyed by all 6 people at the dinner table, from age 6 to 81.  My children even clamored over how good it was.  All the flavors came together as a cohesive whole, not a touch of end of the garden desperation, instead a new use for a unique vegetable.  It was tasty enough I think I won't wait to the end of the season to make it next year, instead I will pick some green tomatoes in the late spring.

Everyone was eating the stew so fast I couldn't get a good photo!

Green Tomato Beef Stew with Jamaican Spices
Serves 6
Serve this stew with mashed potatoes.  The amount of meat in this dish was enough to serve 6 with plenty of mashed potatoes and carrots on the side.  I prefer to serve a modest amount of meat but you can easily increase the amount of meat to suit your preferences.

1/2 tsp whole coriander seeds

1/4 tsp black peppercorns

1/8+ tsp allspice berries

1/2 tsp kosher salt or other coarse salt

1 1/4 lbs beef stew meat (you can change the quantity as you like, if you go up to 2 lbs I would double everything else)

2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

2 small onions or 1 medium one Chop the onion into 1/2 inch pieces or slice thinly (I did a mix because slicing was easier and both were fine in the final dish.  Next time I will slice all of them).

2 large garlic cloves or 3 to 4 small ones chopped finely

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 - 2 Tbsp minced fresh ginger (I used about 1 Tbsp)

1/3 cup California Dried Apricots, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces (sorry, the California ones really are that much better!)
1 cup riesling or other favorite white wine
1 cup water
1 lb green tomatoes, cored and chopped into 1/2 to 1 inch pieces (do not peel)
1 bay leaf, preferably fresh
1 small bunch of thyme with the leaves stripped off (about 1/2 tsp leaves)
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup (I used Grade B)

Grind the coriander, peppercorns, allspice, and salt in a coffee grinder until finely ground.  You will have to stop and shake the spices down in the grinder a few times because this is a minimal amount.  Dry the stew meat with paper towels before rubbing the spice mixture on the meat.  Set aside while you prep the other ingredients.

In a medium sized dutch oven or heavy lidded pot heat the oil over medium high heat and add then onions.  Cook the onions, stirring frequently until they are softened and starting to caramelize (while they were cooking I prepped the ginger, apricots and tomatoes).  Add the garlic, salt and pepper, ginger and chopped apricots.  Saute for about one minute until the ginger is fragrant.

Remove the onions and other aromatics from the pan and return to medium high heat.  There should still be a thin layer of oil in the bottom of the pan, if it is not enough to keep the meat from sticking add a little more oil and then brown the meat in small batches on all sides.  As the meat is browned add it to the onions.

Once all the meat is browned set the meat and aromatics aside and add the white wine to the pan.  Cook over high heat for about 5 minutes until the volume is decreased by three quarters, while it is cooking scrape the sides to remove all the flavorful caramelized drippings from the beef and aromatics..  Once the wine is reduced add the water,green tomatoes, bay leaf, thyme leaves, and 1 Tbsp maple syrup.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil for a minute or 2 before adding the meat and onion mixture back to the pan.

Reduce the heat to the lowest setting and cook, covered, at a slow simmer until the meat is tender and the green tomatoes have mostly slumped into the sauce, (about 1 1/2 to 2 hours).   After about 5 minutes check the stew to make sure the stew is simmering quietly.  If it is too vigorous use a heat tamer under the pan.

Once the meat is tender remove the lid, increase the heat to medium high and reduce the sauce (however I suggest you do not go to check email while reducing the sauce.  If you do not listen and become distracted you may need to add some water to the pan because you reduced it too much).

Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles

As a child we used to get green tomato pickles from Williams Chicken near my Grandmothers. They would be floating in a large plastic tub of brine and they were sour and delicious. My brother was mildly addicted to them. Even though I understand his obsession with them, I still do not fully understand the night he created, "Green tomato stuffed hamburgers". Let me just suggest you never attempt to make them and leave it at that. Although I have to admit the vegetable soup with the egg poached in it he made another time was worse, maybe it was the addition of the melted stinky cheese.

Several years ago I consulted the Ball Blue Book and tried to make green tomato pickles. Some folks liked them, but for me it did not match my memory of pickled green tomatoes. This summer when I was making lacto fermented pickles I realized the pickled green tomatoes we all loved where lacto fermented, not vinegar, salt and water. The folks from Flack Family Farm told me to use the same procedure I would use for any vegetable. Then they thanked me for giving them an idea for using their green tomatoes.

The good news is this method of pickling couldn't be easier, no boiling water bath canner, no hot brine. Plus lacto fermented foods are super foods, in modest quantities anyway. They improve vitamin absorption and correct the environment of your digestive system. The down side is after 3-4 days at room temperature they have to be stored in the fridge. The basic procedure comes from the Nourishing Traditions cookbook. Although there is no recipe for green tomato pickles in the book. It is better to make the pickles with homemade whey as they are lower in salt and it works more consistently. Whey is really simple to make using full fat yogurt that active yogurt cultures. The only downside to making it with whey is you have to plan ahead, and have yogurt in the house.

Lacto Fermented Green Tomato Pickles

For 1 quart (make as many or as few as you wish to store)

1 wide mouth quart preserving jar

enough green tomatoes to fill the jar to 1 inch below the lid (only use tomatoes that are totally green, the ones that made you crazy at the start of the summer)

1 dill head or 1 fresh dill sprig or 2 Tbsp dried dill or dill seed)

1 hot pepper with the stem pulled off (optional)

1 large or 2 medium or 3 small cloves of garlic

1 Tbsp canning and pickling salt

4 Tbsp homemade whey (or substitute an additional Tbsp of canning and pickling salt)

water

Wash the tomatoes and remove their stems and place in the clean wide mouth jar to 1 inch below the rim. Add the garlic and hot pepper between the tomatoes and add the salt and whey, if using. Fill the jars with water to 1 inch below the rim and screw on the lids. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days (3 days when kept at 72°) before placing on the top shelf of your fridge. They can be eaten after the 3 - 4 days but are better after a month of storage. It's normal if the brine is fizzy or there is white foam floating on the top. If the pickles go bad the smell will be completely off and you won't want to eat them.

As a full disclosure thing, the green tomatoes in the photo are not fermented yet. When done they will be more of an olive green color. I just wanted to post this while there were still green tomatoes for people to use.