The journey begins with a fork ...
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The journey begins with a fork ...
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June 2009...
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Pumpkin Seeds....
Pumpkin seeds are also called pepitas, and the little green seed is actually inside of a completely edible white hull. Sometimes you see large, flat white seeds (the brand David comes to mind) and other times you see the green seeds. Some pepitas are elongated, others are more oval, and the inner seed comes in various shades of green. Different pumpkins produce different shapes and sizes. Raw pumpkin seeds can be toasted just like any other nut or seed, and they're delicious just tossed with a little salt after roasting, or toasted with other spices like cumin or chile powder. Sure, you could toast your own pumpkin seeds if you're ambitious. One of my favorite bloggers, Jess Thomson of Hogwash, wrote a post recently about just how to spend an entire evening doing so. (I'm kidding, it only takes a little while and a propensity to get your hands slimy.) Cracking open the white hull to get to the green seed is a little more daunting. I guess I'm lazy and the Trader Joe's down the road a bit carries both raw pepitas (great for my granola) and toasted and salted (great for snacking). ©iStockphoto.com/Liza McCorkle
Apples in advance....
Have you ever wanted to do some kitchen prep early so that you don't have as much to do later? Cutting up apples too early doesn't usually work, as they turn brown when exposed to air. Something about oxidation. Harold McGee's book, On Food and Cooking, has a much loftier explanation if you're interested in the science behind it. I have found that placing the cut apples in a bowl of cold water, spiked with just a touch of lemon juice will work just fine for a few hours (4 hours max.). Any more than that, the apples start to absorb too much water and become waterlogged. A scant 1/2 teaspoon of lemon juice per cup of water is plenty. If you add too much lemon, the apples will either start to break down (especially if you leave them in too long) or take on an acid flavor, not a nice lemon flavor. Once I place my cut apples in the lemon-tinged water, I cover the surface with a piece of parchment to keep the apples submerged, and I place the bowl in the fridge to keep them cold. Once I'm ready to use them in a recipe, I drain them and pat them dry with a paper towel. This little trick also works for pears. Of course, if you're cooking the apples, like in the Spicy Apple Chutney recipe this month, you don't need to worry about your apples turning a little brown, although, I still wouldn't dice them up and leave them on the counter for hours before you make the chutney.
©iStockphoto.com
Life's a bowl of cherries....
Fresh cherries are my favorite fruit to snack on because there is a lot of tactile mouth work involved. I love the just sweet, slightly tart taste and how my tongue turns magenta after a few bites. I curl up on the couch with a big bowl of washed cherries, pick one up by the stem and balance it between my front teeth, closing my lips so just the stem is visible. I yank the stem off and drop it back in the bowl. Gently biting the cherry causes it to burst. My teeth and tongue wiggle out the pit. Gracefully (or not?) I bend over the bowl to spit out the pit. Slowly and softly I chew the sweet, meaty cherry flesh. It's much more interactive than eating, say, a grape or an apple. My cherry eating ritual is like summer: fun, lazy, and way too brief I think, as I stare down at a bowl full of pits and stems. They won't be here long so enjoy them while you can. At the height of the cherry season, most of July, the prices come down and it's the perfect time to stock up on cherries to freeze for those dreary winter days ahead. To freeze cherries, you first need to pit them. Remove the stems, wash the cherries, and pat dry with paper towels. Pull on a pair of plastic kitchen gloves and grab a cherry/olive pitter. Place the stem end of the cherry up, pointing toward the spike of the pitter. I do this in a deep stainless steel bowl, as sometimes the pits like to shoot out and this controls where they land. Cover the pitter with one hand while you firmly squeeze the pitter with the other hand. This prevents cherry juice from splattering on you. If you don’t have a pitter (why not?) you can use a small paring knife, but the cherries become halves instead of whole and it is much more work. Cut a circle all the way around the center of the cherry. It doesn’t matter if you cut stem to end, or around the middle. Twist the cherry and one half will contain the pit and the other will not. Place them in two separate bowls and continue cutting and twisting. Take the bowl of cherry halves with pits and use your fingers or thumb to gently nudge out the pit. Lay the pitted cherries on a small baking sheet that will fit flat in your freezer. I first cover the pan with plastic wrap before spreading out the cherries so that I don't have to wash it later. Place the cherries in the freezer, uncovered, for about an hour or until mostly frozen. Remove the tray from the freezer and drop the cherries into a freezer bag. Squish out all the air and seal. Write the date on the bag and store in the freezer for up to six months. You can eat them frozen for a cool snack or throw a handful in a blender with other ingredients for a smoothie. Thaw them to use in salsas, sauces, and other dishes. The sex appeal of eating them out of hand on a hot July evening can't be beat, but every time I pull a cherry from the freezer in January, I smile, thinking about the simple pleasure I enjoyed for a brief moment last July.
©iStockphoto.com/Ivan Mateev
The Perfect Burger
It's all about the meat. Most burgers are made with ground chuck, but ground sirloin is tasty, too, if it has enough fat. You need at least 15% to 20% fat or you'll end up with a dry burger. Of course, the more fat, the more the burger will shrink on the grill, so make your patties about 25% bigger than your bun size.
The other key to the perfect burger is not overcooking it. The tastiest burgers are cooked to medium (still slightly pink inside). But with all the beef recalls (21 in 2007, according to the New York Times) and scary stories about E. coli, it makes you think twice about not cooking the meat to well done.
You could do what my sister-in-law does. She picks out a sirloin roast from the meat counter and asks her butcher to grind it for her. A combination of sirloin and chuck, both freshly ground by your butcher is, in my opinion, the best of both worlds. You get the nice fat taste from the chuck, and the beefy taste of the sirloin -- and the comfort of knowing the beef won't be recalled.
I normally grill everything over high heat, but with burgers, I tone the fire down a bit. You're not looking for a nice charred exterior, so medium heat is best for retaining the juiciness of burgers. What to do about your red meat eschewing friends? Try a turkey burger. You'll find a great recipe for juicy turkey burgers in my newsletter archives.
©iStockphoto.com/Jack Puccio
Blackening Spice
Paul Prudhomme, possibly the first "celebrity chef," created the famous Blackened Redfish dish, launching the blackening craze in the early 1980's. Instead of resting on his laurels, he now oversees an international spice company, Chef Paul Prudhomme's MAGIC Seasoning Blends®. His K-Paul's restaurant in the heart of the French Quarter still attracts locals and tourists (read long lines during peak hours).
Here is my blackening spice mixture. It has a slight nod to the southwest, with the addition of chile powder and Mexican oregano. To make it even more spicy, cut the paprika back to either 1 or 2 tablespoons.
The key to blackening anything is to use a well seasoned cast iron pan and clarified butter. And of course, the blackening spice.
Chef Gwen's Blackening Spice: 3 tablespoons sweet paprika 1 tablespoon pure mild chile powder 1 tablespoon ground Mexican oregano 1 tablespoon garlic powder 1 tablespoon onion powder 1 teaspoon cayenne 1 teaspoon ground white pepper 1 teaspoon ground black pepper 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Mix all ingredients together in a small bowl. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 6 months.
©iStockphoto.com/Kelly Cline
Toasting Coconut
To toast coconut, heat the oven to 350º F. Spread the coconut in a single layer on a lined baking sheet and place in the oven. Set the timer for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, remove coconut and fluff with a fork. Return to oven and continue to bake until coconut is toasted, stirring every few minutes. It will start to toast quickly toward the end, and it toasts unevenly, making the stirring important.
Don’t do anything else but watch the coconut during the last few minutes of toasting. It will look like coconut confetti, with some pieces really dark, some medium dark and some still light. Toasted coconut will keep several weeks, sealed in an airtight container at room temperature.
©iStockphoto.com
Perfect Pancakes
I just tasted, perhaps, the worst pancakes ever made on this earth. I had to cut them with a knife. Seriously. Not only were they rawhide tough, they had absolutely zero flavor.
I wanted to cry... or at least scream loud enough for the cook in the kitchen to hear me, because making a tender, flavorful pancake is easier than pie (which, frankly is a lot more difficult than flipping out a tasty pancake).
I've made hundreds of pancakes throughout my cooking career. While it is easy to whip up a batch from scratch, there is nothing wrong with using a mix. The mix doesn't make the pancakes tough, the cook does. To avoid passing out steak knives with your pancakes, follow one basic rule.
Mix JUST until moistened...
Pancake batters, like quick breads, turn rock hard when over mixed. It's easy to over mix a pancake or quick bread batter if you aren't organized to begin with. So start with these guidelines:
If I sound a little melodramatic, then I apologize. And I promise never, ever to take you to a certain breakfast place, in a certain town somewhere in the Southwest, where the pancakes are as tough as the neighboring cowboys.
©iStockphoto.com/Elena Elisseeva
Pear Mania
The widely available Bartlett is perfect for eating out of hand. When ripe, it's juicy and sweet. I don't think it holds up as well when cooked as the Anjou (also called D'Anjou), which is also good for eating raw. Bosc, tall and slender, is the prettiest pear for poaching whole. While it can be eaten raw, it stays quite firm even when ripe, and is more tart than the Bartlett and Anjou.
The Comice pear is purportedly the sweetest and juiciest pear. It's large, plump body and lovely green skin with red blushes makes it a favorite pear for stuffing into holiday gift baskets, earning it "The Christmas Pear" title. I'm a sucker for the Seckel pear, a tiny little orb compared to the other varieties. I think it's too firm to eat raw, but I love the spicy sweet flavor, and use it in crisps and tarts.
The Asian pear is round like an apple, and golden like the Bosc. It's crunchy and sweet-tart. Thinly sliced, it's great in salads, especially if the salad is sprinkled with blue cheese. I've brushed rings of Asian pears with a mixture of melted butter, honey and Chinese Five-Spice powder and grilled them. Served with a scoop of Ginger Caramel ice cream (a recipe in The Great Ranch Cookbook), it makes a lovely dessert after an Asian-themed dinner.
Pears are available year-round, but the "season" is late summer through winter. Fall is peak season, when you're likely to find more varieties at the market than just the standard Bartlett. Many of our pears come from the northwest, specifically Oregon and Washington. Pears are picked before ripening, and either ripen in transit, or after you take them home. A pear is ripe when it gives a little when pressed near the stem, and the flesh is fragrant with pear aroma. After ripening, use right away, or place in the refrigerator for a few days.
Roasting Hazelnuts
After reading this, you may ask yourself, why? Why would I go through the hassle of roasting hazelnuts when I can buy them already roasted? It's a good question. Price is one reason, as roasted hazelnuts are almost twice the price of raw nuts, and these aren't cheap nuts to begin with. Freshness is another good reason to roast your own. Who knows when that bag of roasted nuts was in the oven. You can taste the difference between fresh roasted and bagged roasted nuts. To roast hazelnuts, you'll need about an hour. The roasting part is only 18 to 20 minutes. "Skinning" the nuts takes about the same amount of time as it does to roast them. And it's messy. I actually do the skinning outside, creating lots of papery flutters for passing birds. Heat the oven to 350 degrees and spread about a pound of raw hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet in a single layer. Roast the nuts until the skins turn dark brown, and start to crack. The aroma of toasted nuts will fill the air when you open the oven and they are done. It could take 15 to 20 minutes. Check carefully, as they can burn quickly once they begin to turn dark. Remove from the oven and let cool completely. You'll hear lots of crackling. Once cool, wrap a handful of roasted nuts in a clean kitchen towel and rub vigorously. Most, but not all of the skins will rub off. The skins will float and fly everywhere, so do this over a large roasting pan or over a bowl, or as I do, outside on the counter of my built in barbecue grill. There are lots of uses for roasted hazelnuts, including this month's newsletter recipe from The Cool Mountain Cookbook, Hazelnut Spaghetti Squash.
©iStockphoto.com/Anders Aagesen
Turkey Day Tips
Everyone by now has heard or read about the Butterball turkey hotline, a toll free number staffed by Butterball turkey experts, just waiting for the next ridiculous call. Since the early '80's Butterball has staffed their hotline with live people and those folks have dispensed countless hours of advice. And not all questions are ridiculous.
In fact, the questions over the years have helped shape Butterballs' message to home cooks. The number is 1-800-BUTTERBALL -- you'll recognize that there are too many numbers for a 10 digit phone number, but no matter. Just start dialing and it will connect before you get to the last 3 digits (The number is 1-800-288-8372.)
Butterball is part of the National Turkey Federation, along with the other big poultry producers, Foster Farms and Jennie-O, and others. The federation has its own website, which is much deeper than the Butterball site, just because it is more or less a compilation of all the members' sites information. That's not to discredit the Butterball site. It's pretty incredible, and perfect for any questions regarding buying, storing, and cooking turkeys.
As you prepare for Thanksgiving (as well as the December holidays), spend some time at www.eatturkey.com. You'll find a wealth of information from how much turkey to buy for your crowd to some pretty unique recipes, especially for leftovers (Grilled Turkey, Apple and Cheese Sandwiches, for example) as well as very traditional recipes for bread stuffing or cornbread dressing. Happy Thanksgiving.
Fairytale Brownies
If you want to make an impression this holiday season, order a dozen brownies from Fairytale Brownies based in Arizona. (Full disclosure... I know one of the owners, Eileen Spitalny, pictured above in front of a display at the Fairytale Brownie factory).
I send them to my family, to my friends, and my husband sends these all butter, pure Belgian chocolate morsels to his favorite clients. These brownies are not for those watching their calorie and fat intake. One brownie has, well, I'd rather not say how much. Besides, it's really OK to indulge in the best things in life once in a while, and these brownies are simply the best you can buy.
Check out their website, www.brownies.com. All the flavors are wonderful, but the caramel and the pecan brownies are my favorite. Go ahead and indulge.
Carving a Watermelon Basket
If you want to make this basket to use as a fruit bowl, or even to serve the Watermelon Gazpacho, here's how to do it. To get enough watermelon flesh for this month's recipe, watermelon gazpacho, you'll need the larger oblong variety. The cute, round, seedless mini melons won't provide enough flesh. Besides, I don't think the seedless varieties taste as good as the traditional ones, and I've never had one that was completely free of seeds anyway.
Place the watermelon on a clean kitchen towel. If you want, draw a line around the center lengthwise as a guide. Using a utility knife (with a blade at least 6 inches long and 1 to 2 inches wide), and starting in the center of the watermelon, push the knife in at least 3 inches deep at an angle to the line you've draw. Remove the knife and place the tip of the knife at the bottom of the first cut, with the blade facing away from you, like you are cutting the right side of a "V".
Continue cutting "V"'s all around the center of the watermelon until the entire line around the length of the watermelon is covered in "V"'s. You should now be able to pry apart the 2 halves. You may have to use your knife to wedge it open, but you should be able to pull it apart with just a little elbow grease. Cut out chunks of the watermelon and as you get near the rind, you can use a spoon or a melon baller to scrape out the remaining flesh.
If the watermelon bowl is wobbly, slice off a piece on the bottom, so that it sits upright without moving.
©iStockphoto.com/Denise Kappa
2 Things You Might Not Know About Pineapple
David Joachim's Brilliant Food Tips book is full of fascinating tips and tricks. Under the Pineapple entry, David talks about how to buy, store and cut pineapple. He also includes a yummy sounding pineapple and macadamia nut upside-down cake. I found these two things also under the pineapple heading:
I've always bought the gold variety because it's juicier and not quite as acidic.
Oil & Vinegar
Once you get the basic proportions of oil and vinegar down, there isn't a vinaigrette you can't make. The classic French vinaigrette is 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. I like my vinaigrettes with a little more bite, so I use 2 parts oil to 1 part vinegar. I tame the bite with the addition of other flavors.
I almost always include garlic (for flavor) and Dijon mustard (for flavor and to help thicken the vinaigrette) and a sweetener, like sugar, honey or maple syrup (to take the edge off the vinegar).
I always use a blender, first blending all the ingredients but the oil, and then slowly adding the oil while the motor is running. The blender helps keep the vinaigrette from separating.
Here's a little chart to help you create your own special vinaigrette. Choose an oil, a vinegar (or citrus juice) and then any number of the flavors.
To make 3/4 cup (enough to dress a salad for 6, or enough to marinate meat and dress a salad for 2), start with 1/4 cup of vinegar and 1/2 cup of oil. For the flavors, think in terms of less is more. You can always add more.
I typically use a teaspoon of garlic, 1 to 2 to 3 teaspoons of mustard, a pinch of salt and pepper, and a tablespoon of a sweetener. For optional flavors, it depends. I might use a tablespoon of fresh herbs, a 1/4 or more of fruit, and teaspoons or a tablespoon of other flavors.
Trust your tongue. Taste and adjust.
Play around with making your own vinaigrettes, and remember, they aren't just for salads. You can use your vinaigrette as a marinade and a sauce, too.
Here's a recipe for the vinaigrette I used with this month's chipotle glazed salmon:
Spicy Vinaigrette
Makes 3/4 cup
1/4 cup champagne vinegar 1 tablespoon honey 1 tablespoon soy sauce 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 2 teaspoons Sriracha hot sauce 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1/2 cup peanut oil
1. Blend first six ingredients (vinegar through garlic) in a blender until smooth. 2. With motor running, slowly drizzle in oil. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
Fruit and Herb Flavor Combinations
I first tasted a fruit and herb flavor combination in 1998, when pastry chef Stacy McDevitt paired orange and basil in a dessert at Restaurant Hapa in Scottsdale. The talented McDevitts, unfortunately, have long left Arizona, but the memory of that flavor combination has stayed with me. Soon after and to this day, I still see fruit and herb combinations on menus all over the country.
Here are a few of my favorite herb and flavor combinations. You could experiment with your favorite recipes that use these fruits, adding some herbs for a subtle but intriguing punch. The easiest way is just to add some herbs to your batter or if you have a liquid, steep the herbs in the liquid first.
Looking for even more combinations? I would suggest Jerry Traunfeld's two books, The Herbfarm Cookbook and The Herbal Kitchen. Both books have charts with all kinds of herbs and what to pair with them.
Tomatillos
Tomatillos are sometimes called Mexican green tomatoes, even though they aren't really tomatoes at all. They are in the same nightshade family as tomatoes, and gooseberries for that matter, hence the papery covering that must be removed before using. They're sticky, too, after removing the paper husk, but the sticky stuff washes off with cold water.
Many Mexican, Latin, and Southwestern dishes use tomatillos. They can be eaten raw or cooked. Available most of the year in the Southwest and sporadically around the rest of the country. Look in Latin markets if your store doesn't normally stock them.
Salsa Verde (green salsa) often contains tomatillos. Eaten raw, they taste tart and tangy, with a hint of apple and citrus. Cooking tomatillos mellows the tang slightly. You can boil, steam or grill tomatillos.
When buying tomatillos, look for bright green, smooth skins. I peel back the paper husk to check for firmness and color. Store them in the refrigerator in their husks until ready to use. They should keep several days. Remove the husks and wash thoroughly. Now you're ready to chop them raw for a salsa, or cook them whole, as I write about in this month's recipe, Roasted Tomatillo and Jalapeno Sauce.
The recipe comes from Par Fork! and is served on a breakfast egg dish of Huevos Rancheros from a resort in Tucson, but I am using the sauce for my stacked chicken enchiladas.
Chocolate Definitions
All true chocolate contains chocolate liquor, a blend of chocolate solids and cocoa butter. That is why white chocolate really isn't chocolate at all, as it contains no chocolate solids, just cocoa butter, milk, vanilla, and sugar. If it doesn't contain cocoa butter, it isn't even white chocolate, just a white candy. Cacao beans are picked, dried, roasted, and conched (crushed). The mixture is pressed or spun, separating the cocoa solids and the cocoa butter. The two are blended back together to produce chocolate. There are no regulations regarding chocolate labeling, which is why it is confusing, sometimes, to understand the difference between chocolate labeled "Semi-Sweet" and "Bittersweet". Unsweetened chocolate is straight forward, as is milk chocolate, although these days, the high-end chocolatiers are starting to add more chocolate and less milk to their artisan chocolates. In general, the higher the cocoa solids percentage, the deeper, richer the chocolate flavor. Bittersweet should be more chocolaty than semi-sweet, with less sugar, but that isn't always the case, and both can be used interchangeably in recipes. Some of the highest quality chocolates include Callebaut, Valrhona, Guittard, and Scharffen Berger.
The Art of Cooking Shrimp
Lee, my husband's best friend from college, stood over my shoulder and announced, "Don't overcook the shrimp or they'll be rubbery. You don't want rubbery shrimp, do you?" Lee's father owned a seafood packing plant on the coast of Georgia, where occasionally he and Jeff worked during school breaks (for beer money, I'm guessing). It turned out to be the best advice I ever received about cooking shrimp, although it certainly didn't feel like it at the time.
It is just too easy to overcook shrimp because it seems like it should take longer than a few minutes. But it doesn't, no matter how you cook it: poaching, sautéing, or grilling. Here are a few tips I've learned over the years about shrimp cookery.
Muffin Talk
My good friend Letty Flatt, Executive Pastry Chef at Deer Valley Resort, has an adorable husband. His name is Robbie, and he knows when it's time to leave us girls alone. He says, "Oh, it's muffin-talk," and he politely excuses himself from the conversation. We don't always talk shop, but invariably our discussions will include some type of food. It's what we do. It reminds me of the fact that I don't bake. When I get in a pickle about baking, I call Letty, or our mutual friend Susan Prieskorn, my baking instructor from culinary school. They think I should just avoid baking altogether. After baking more than 30 different muffin, quick bread, and scone recipes for my three cookbooks, I have learned a couple things about baking that I'd like to share with you. If you're an experienced baker, don't laugh at these tips, but if you are like me, better with a saucepan than a muffin tin, read on. I hope that there is something here that helps you.
Cleaning Mushrooms
Shiitake
White button mushrooms, and their Italian counterpart, the brown crimini, just need a gentle wipe with the damp towel and they are ready to slice or cook whole. The stem is completely edible, although you may trim it or remove it if you like. With portabellas, in addition to removing the stem, I scrape the dark brown gills out with a spoon. Their gills are especially large, so if dirt is going to get trapped, it will be in the gills. I also remove them because they can turn a white, creamy sauce, like the one in this month's recipe, a dingy brown. For Shiitake mushrooms (my very favorite because of the earthy flavor and meaty texture), after wiping clean, cut the stem out as it is too woody to eat.
Damiana Liqueur
I couldn't put my finger on it, but there was something different about the margaritas in Cabo. They were refreshing, with an almost mint-like after taste. I finally asked the server, who kept my pool-side afternoons delightful by bringing another margarita as soon as I finished one, (hey, they were small!) what was so special about these luscious lime libations.
She told me that the secret ingredient was Damiana liqueur, made from an herb indigenous to the Baja. I found a bottle in a store near our resort. It was in the shape of a pregnant woman (the Incan Goddess of Fertility) because Baja natives believe Damiana is a natural aphrodisiac. A couple margaritas made with Damiana is most definitely an aphrodisiac. I packed a small bottle in my suitcase, just in case I couldn't find it back in the States.
Besides enhancing margaritas, Damiana can be used as any other liqueur. Put it in desert sauces, like caramel sauce or mango sauce, or drizzle it over ice cream. I've even put it in French Toast batter.
I highly recommend going to Cabo to purchase your own bottle, but if that isn't in your travel plans, look for it at large liquor stores. I've found it at A. J.'s Fine Foods here in the valley. If your store doesn't carry it, ask if they can order it for you. Here's a website where I also found it. Internetwines.com
Grilling Fruit
Most fruits can be grilled, although I've not tried grapes or cherries. I have successfully grilled apples, pears, peaches, bananas, and all kinds of citrus. Strawberries are not the best fruit for grilling (they turn mushy). And even though I've tried it, I don't think melons make good grilling fodder.
What makes a good fruit candidate for the grill? A firm fruit first of all. Second, a fruit with low moisture, like apples and pears. Those with lots of water, like melons and berries don't hold up to the high heat of the grill. I prefer to grill fruits that are almost at their peak ripeness. If they're too ripe, they have that moisture problem, and tend to fall apart from the high heat.
Another tip for fruit grilling is to marinate the fruit in some type of sugar syrup (can be honey or brown or white sugar dissolved in fruit juice or water). To the sugar syrup you can add all kinds of flavorings, like the ginger and soy for the pineapple recipe this month.
Herbs are good additions, especially mint. I've also grilled peaches with mesquite honey and sage. Basil makes a nice addition to grilled oranges. Leave the peel on the citrus, and cut into 1/2-inch rounds.
A splash of a liqueur is also a great flavor booster -- just don't add to much or you'll create a flare up on the grill, igniting the alcohol. A tablespoon of rum or liqueur per cup of sugar syrup is plenty.
Grilling fruit doesn't take much time (usually less than 5 to 10 minutes) so the additional sugar helps caramelize the fruit, and the short grilling time means the fruit won't burn.
Next time you fire up the grill for your hamburgers or steaks, try grilling some fruit. Experiment and have fun!
Sugar syrup: 1 cup brown or white sugar 1 cup water Flavorings of your choice (herbs/spices/ginger/liqueur or rum, etc.)
Moroccan Spice Blend
I have lots of little baggies in my refrigerator, with various spice mixtures I've concocted. I write the name and the date on the bag, but most get used before their time is up. They will last about a year in the refrigerator.
When I need something quick to sprinkle on my chicken or pork or shrimp for dinner, I just rummage through the baggies until something grabs me. I turn to this mixture quite often.
It's spicy and slightly sweet, thanks to the brown sugar, which I add to all of my spice mixtures. I like the hint of sweetness, and the sugar helps the crust caramelize when cooking. The addition of cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg add an exotic twist.
This Moroccan mixture is especially good on strong flavored proteins, like salmon, tuna and of course, a Moroccan staple, lamb.
Moroccan Spice Blend Makes 1/3 cup
Whisk all ingredients together in a small bowl. Transfer to a sealable bag and label with the name and date (list ingredients if you want to remember them.) Keeps for about a year in the refrigerator.
Quinoa -- An Ancient Grain?
Tip courtesy of David Joachim's Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks (Rodale, Inc., 2001)
According to David Joachim, quinoa is "actually the fruit of an herb. It resembles tiny, ivory-colored beads. Pronounced 'KEEN-wah,' this ideal staple food is hardy enough to grow in rocky mountain soil, produces its own natural insect repellent, cooks up twice as fast as rice, is high in protein, and has a wonderfully nutty taste."
Even if it is not technically a grain, it is ancient. It was a staple of the ancient Incas of South America, and continues to be an important food through South American. High in protein might be an understatement, as it contains eight essential amino acids, and a 1/2-cup serving provides 10 grams of protein.
Storing & Cleaning Mushrooms
Tip courtesy of David Joachim's Brilliant Food Tips and Cooking Tricks (Rodale, Inc., 2001) Keep mushrooms cool and dry. Refrigerate them in a basket or an open paper bag and avoid cleaning them until you're ready to use them. They should stay fresh for 4 to 5 days.
Trim the stems but avoid washing the mushrooms because they absorb water like a sponge. Instead, wipe them clean with a damp cloth or scrape them gently with a paring knife. If bits of dirt cling stubbornly to the mushrooms, go ahead and rinse them off, but cook them soon after washing, as the water promotes decay.
Grapefruit Bounty
Grapefruit is available year round, thanks to staggered growing seasons among the handful of states that produce it: California, Arizona, Texas, and Florida. Peak season is October through March. I've always thought that the pink and red varieties were sweeter than the pale-fleshed ones, but apparently it isn't true. Ripeness is one of the factors that effect the sweetness. I still prefer the red varieties because of their striking color.
Chock-full of vitamin C, fiber, and among the red varieties, lycopene, an antioxidant also found in tomatoes, grapefruit is one healthy food. I wouldn't recommend the fad grapefruit diet, but incorporating grapefruit as part of your fruit intake is a wise, and flavorful decision.
My favorite grapefruit (forgive me, Arizona), is the Texas Rio Star, which is the most red-fleshed variety available. It is so red, even the normally white pith is tinged pink. Juicy and sweet, this grapefruit beauty perks up all kinds of dishes, from sauces, to vinaigrettes, to desserts. Here is a recipe for a vinaigrette, using the potent zest and freshly squeezed juice of the versatile grapefruit.
I love to toss this vinaigrette with baby greens and top it with grilled shrimp. (You could marinate the shrimp in the vinaigrette for 15 minutes before grilling). Garnish the salad with grapefruit sections and a ripe, sliced avocado. A little goat cheese wouldn't hurt, either.
Grapefruit Champagne Vinaigrette Makes 3/4 cup
Homemade Dippers
It is easy to make your own dippers and chips for your holiday spreads. For this month's Pumpkin Cranberry spread, using a cookie cutter, I simply cut out star-shaped pieces of multigrain bread, lightly brushed them with olive oil, and baked them in a 350 degree oven until crisp, about 10 minutes. Cookie cutters in all shapes and sizes make adorable cut outs. You can make your own chips, too, using tortillas (flour or corn) or pita or flat breads.
For a sweet holiday treat, I cut out rounds of softened flour tortillas, brush them with melted butter, and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Again, just bake in a 350 degree oven until crisp, about 10 minutes. I serve the cinnamon tortilla chips with a seasonally inspired grapefruit and cranberry salsa.
Chef Gwen's Holiday Salsa with Cinnamon Sugar Tostadas
Roasting Peppers
The best way, I think, to roast peppers is directly over fire, either from the outdoor grill, or on my gas stovetop. You can broil peppers to get the charred skin, too. I have a cool pepper roasting grate from The Santa Fe School Of Cooking. It sits atop my gas burner and has room to grill 3 or 4 bell peppers at a time.
Wash your pepper and poke a small slit anywhere on the pepper with the tip of a knife to prevent it from puffing up and bursting. Place the pepper on the grate and turn the heat to medium-high. Using t |
How many pear varieties are you aware of? According to David Joachim, author of
Fresh
mushrooms are like sponges, so I never wash them under water. I take a
damp paper towel and wipe them off. If they are especially dirty, it might take
a couple of paper towels to get them clean.
