Easy Zucchini Salad

This salad is delicious and takes 5 minutes to make. I got the idea reading a menu for restaurant week from Lupa Restaurant in New York City, http://www.luparestaurant.com/home.cfm Take a baby zucchini and slice into ribbons on a Benriner, http://benriner.com/ This is one of my favorite kitchen tools. It is how I get paper thin slices in a moment. and how my food takes on a professional quality. It is an easy to clean inexpensive version of the french mandoline.
Lay the slices over a plate of arugula. Then slice some good aged Pecorino also on the Benriner, over the zucchini. Dress with good extra virgin olive oil and a sprinkle of lemon juice. Finally grind a little black pepper over all and dot with Maldon Salt, http://www.maldonsalt.co.uk/. Maldon salt is chunky so just a little is all you want. It gives you a big salt bite but does not permeate the whole dish. Eat immediately before it melts for the best result.

Cooking Made Easy # 1

There is a trick to cooking easily and quickly. Make something, eat some, keep a bit for later, use it in something else. This saves time. It also saves all the little leftovers but because it becomes something else it is not leftovers and it is not boring. The trick is to learn what combinations you like and to be creative with what's in your frig. I am an old fashioned home cook and I have other things to do than cook all the time so I cook sequentially. What I mean about that is that on day one I might make a vegetable. Day two I might roast a chicken. Now on day three that vegetable I made becomes a side to the chicken and I might just cook a little rice. Learning to cook this way means you never become a slave to the kitchen for a whole day but there is always something around. Sometimes I do my cooking while I am having my breakfast..I find I have a lot of energy in the morning so doing a quick simple vegetable or making a quick marinade is not much extra effort and is a good type of multitasking. Breakfast time is a good time to make a little salad dressing..If I do it then I will have dressing for the week and salad making becomes less laborious.

Everything in Moderation: Three Tasty Omelettes

I hate diets..but I want to be svelte. So I have a compromise that may also work for you..Use the best ingredients you can find and use the caloric stuff in moderation.

To make an omelette I now use one yolk to two whites. Whip that up with a dollop of water and a pinch of salt and pepper..Melt a bit of butter in your pan..low heat to melt then raise to moderate..Add eggs, swirl to cover. add ingredients and roll out of pan tilting while holding the handle up onto a plate..rolling as you go with a silicone spatula. A portion of your butter remains in the pan. Pictures are of

Stracchino, (mild fresh cheese) Herb and Tomato..Use just a tablespoon or so of cheese (make your own substitutions) and spread out. It will be about 100 calories of cheese but adds real flavor.

Penzeys Spices Sunny Paris Seasoning, Finochiella,  White Mustache Savory Shallot Yogurt, Asparagus
Note the tiny bits of meat. small dollops of yogurt. 2 or three asparagus cut and microwaved with a spoon of water for a minute. Sunny Paris is a wonderful spice you can keep in your spice cabinet for delicious omelettes. If you haven't White Mustache yogurt you can simply add minced shallot to a good flavored yogurt..Yes I use full fat yogurt..just small amounts..It tastes better and is actually better than no fat..long story..

 Finally a Proscuitto Cheese Asparagus Version..I use Proscuitto because it is so thin yet adds flavor without being a diet breaker. You can use an ounce or less of any cheese. And you can choose any vegetable and quickly cook it ahead. I also love adding Marjoram or chives or parsley or any other herb.

The idea behind all of these is more veggies less cheese and meat ..but cheese and meat for flavor in morsel like portions. Consult  nutritiondata.self.com

to get the calorie and nutrition data on an ounce of cheese or meat..an absolute must is a good digital scale..mine is by Escali and weighs in grams and ounces and pounds. Once you get used to it you will be well on your way to understanding how to eat as you like and stay at the weight you like using good sense in your portion controlling.

The Perfect Egg White Omelette Basic Procedure

Here is my recipe for making a fluffy egg white omelette.

The idea is you that whip the egg whites at room temperature until they form soft peaks and then cook them in a pan adding the filling at the end.

Here is how it is done.

Separate 3 egg whites from the yolks and reserve the yolks for something else.  Allow the egg whites to come to room temperature so they will expand when whipped. If you haven't much time,  place the eggs in a cup of very warm water for a few minutes before cracking them.

Add a pinch of salt, and with a hand held electric mixer, whip them til foamy or to soft peaks, How whipped you make them depends on how fluffy you want your omelette. Make sure that you have no liquid on the bottom of the bowl underneath, it needs to be uniformly whipped to achieve a fluffy result.
Note: if you whipped the whites  and then waited awhile  liquid will accumulate at the bottom and you will need to momentarily whip them in again before proceeding.

Preheat med-high a small 8 or 9 inch cast iron or teflon pan with a small amount of butter or oil

Add the eggs and quickly smooth with a rubber spatula so it is relatively even. Try not to push the whites against the sides when you do this.

Then cook for 2-4 minutes at medium to medium high and then lower the temperature. At this point you can cover the pan or not. If you cover it you should remove the cover and let it dry out a bit more at the end.

One the eggs are cooked thru you can lift them out of the pan with a flexible metal spatula carefully lift it out onto a plate, then fill it and carefully fold. If you are not putting in a lot of filling you might also fill it before removing the omelette from the pan.

For sweet fillings I like fruit or jam and maybe some soft white cheese. After I fold the omelette using a fork I drizzle it with a little honey or agave syrup and sprinkle it with a few nuts.

Claudia Roden's Almond and Orange Cake

This cake is a wonder! 

It starts by boiling two oranges for two hours then grinding them up and adding almond flour eggs and sugar. I first read about it on Catherine Bedson's blog from Australia http://www.farmhousehome.com.au/2012/08/orange-and-almond-cake.html 

I found that that the original recipe appears in a classic book on Middle Eastern Food written by the renowned author and cultural historian, Claudia Roden.

I bought the book online; "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" Knopf 1968  and I highly recommend it to those who are interested in cooking authentic food that has been passed down through the centuries by generations of dedicated cooks. Reading Claudia Roden on food and culture  is a joyful experience!

Below see a link to a fascinating interview of  Ms. Roden by the Guardian:

 http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2012/mar/18/claudia-roden-spanish-food-interview

There are a number of other Sephardic Jewish Cakes in her book all are gluten free or nearly and easily adapted.  These were devised for Passover using almond meal instead of flour. I am anxious to try them as they are all  likely to be both easy and delicious.

Here is Claudia Roden's original recipe for Orange and Almond Cake  from "A Book of Middle Eastern Food" Knopf 1968

2 Large Oranges
6 Eggs
1 1/2 Cups Ground Almonds
1 cup Sugar
1 Teaspoon Baking Powder
Butter and Flour for Cake Pan

Wash and boil the oranges (unpeeled) in a little water for nearly 2 hours (or for 1/2 hour in a pressure cooker).
Let them cool, then cut them open and remove the pips.

Turn the oranges into a pulp by rubbing them through a strainer or putting them in an electric blender.

Beat the eggs in a large bowl. Add the other ingredients, mix thouroughly, and pour into a buttered and floured cake pan with a removable base if possible.

Bake in a preheated moderately hot oven (400 degrees) for about 60 minutes. Have a look at it after 1 hour-this type of cake will not go any flatter if the oven door is opened. If it is still very wet, leave it in the oven for a little longer. Cool in the pan before turning out. This is a very moist cake.

Cooks notes:
I use juice oranges and scrub the wax off in hot water using a plastic scrubber to make sure I do not ingest the wax. As suggested in Catherine Bedson's blog I cook the oranges when it is convenient..even a few days ahead. This makes it a very easy cake to make. Catherine uses caster sugar instead of regular sugar. I see no difference having made this both ways. I grind the oranges in a miniprep, (not available in 1968 when the original recipe was published). I substitute either sugar or rice flour for the regular flour used to butter and flour the pan. I remind you to always have all of your ingredients at room temperature before beginning. If you want the cake to be not too moist I suggest that the color be a dark golden brown when it is done. It does not do well sitting in a humid house as it tends to take in the surrounding moisture..although you can pop it into the oven at a low temp, (200-250) to dry it out again.

Two Very Different Versions of Corn Pancakes

I love the kind of cooking that barely needs measurements. I also love corn. Here are two examples of how easy good cooking can be. The first recipe is a family recipe of India Clark's..my son Max's girlfriend..yet another food obsessed member of my growing clan..Her family makes this with their leftover corn. The recipe uses fresh corn on the cob and eggs. The fat and or flavors vary at will. The  second pancake is made of cornmeal and rice flour. Both recipes are easy to make, delicious and gluten free.

  

Fresh Corn on the Cob Pancakes

Chopped Onions or Shallots to Taste
Fresh Sweet Corn on the Cob or Frozen Kernels thawed roughly one to one egg
Herbs
eggs
salt and pepper

1. Saute onions or shallots in butter or oil or rendered bacon fat and set aside in a bowl to cool

2. Cut the cooked corn off the cob into the bowl— 1-2 ears should be enough for 1-2 people 

3. Chop fresh herbs and add to the mixture. Chives, parsley, sage, basil, tarragon, thyme, sorrel, chervil and lemon balm all go well with corn. Make your own creation.

4. Add egg and mix in there should be enough liquid to rise close to the level of the corn..about one egg per ear of corn

5. Add salt and pepper to taste

6. Spoon onto a hot skillet with fat, use the back of your spoon to flatten them a bit..make smallish cakes so they are not too big to easily flip. Turn as  the bottoms begins to brown.

7. Enjoy as is, or with your favorite hot sauce, ketchup, syrup, sour cream.... whatever strikes your fancy and matches the accompaniments

Note: it might be worth trying a sweet version. Try adding a bit of sugar, vanilla and nutmeg with a little orange zest. if you do this and it works well let me know!

Corn Meal and Rice Pancakes

 

 

 3/4 Cup Corn Meal or Corn Flour

1/2 cup Brown or White Rice Flour

1/2 Teaspoon Baking Powder

1//4 Teaspoon Baking Soda

1/2-2/3 Cup Boiling Water

1/2 Cup Buttermilk or to Taste

1 Egg

1 Tablespoon Melted Butter

Pinch of Salt

1 Teaspoon of Sugar

Measure the corn meal or corn flour into a bowl.  

Stir in boiling water and wait 5 minutes for the meal to expand and soften.

Alternate mixing in rice flour, salt buttermilk and sugar. Mix in  the egg and the melted butter. Add the baking powder and baking soda last mixing in well. The type of pancake you get will depend on the thickness of the batter. If you want thick and fluffy your mix should be fairly thick if you want thin and crispy it should be more liquid. Adjust the buttermilk accordingly. 

Melt the butter or oil or bacon fat in a non-stick pan..just a little will do as you don't want greasy pancakes..Then over medium to medium high heat cook on one side til bubbles form and it looks to be drying out a bit..then flip and brown on the other side. I like to make one first to test the heat before I pour them in quantity.

Serve with real maple syrup that has been warmed.

Note: I like fruit in my cakes. I use berries or peaches or apples depending on the time of year. I found an ice cream scoop works well for a measurer and I can add the fruit to it just before it goes into the pan. You can make the fruit to order this also allows you to custom order the cakes for a crowd.  

 

Sorrel Sorrel Wonderful Sorrel!

 

An Omelette, Plus a Plethora of  Ways to Use Sorrel

Sorrel grows like a weed and looks a bit like one. It has an intoxicating sour flavor that is a joy to cook with.The first time I grew it on my terrace it overgrew all its planter neighbors. This year it has it's own pot and so far I have cut it down twice. I don't let it flower as I believe it takes vigor from the plant and eventually just stops producing. If you have no outdoor space, you may find it in your local farmer's market but if you have any outdoor space it is well worth growing. It puts up with part shade locations beautifully and zips up your cooking.

I use Sorrel in a variety of ways.

Removing  tough stems I julienne it, and sprinkle it over my salad greens (Stack the leafs together, then roll them up and cut strips by cutting across the roll) 

I melt it in butter and freeze it for later. It is wonderful with fresh or frozen peas. The french make pea soup with sorrel using fresh peas, butter, cream, a bit of broth and sorrel.

I cut it up and melt it in butter and add a dash of heavy cream  at the end, to make a wonderful fast sauce for Salmon ..I think this would be nice with a poached chicken breast as well.. but use your imagination it is a versatile herb.

Here are some more ideas I found on the internet using sorrel.

http://chocolateandzucchini.com/archives/2011/04/50_things_to_do_with_fresh_sorrel.php


This morning I made a Sorrel Omelette. Using the recipe from www.academiabarilla.com  which is an excellent source for recipes, I adjusted the amounts so I had just one omelette.


http://www.academiabarilla.com/italian-recipes/search-recipes/omelette-with-spring-onions-common-wood.aspx

For one serving I chopped a tablespoon or so of onion, cut up some sorrel..removing the big stems and melted butter, 2 teaspoons or so in a pan. I waited til it started to get color and added the sorrel and onion cooking til the sorrel melts and the onion begins to color.

I then added one beaten jumbo size mixed with a bit of salt and pepper. Swirled the egg to cover the bottom of the pan. It was done in 60 seconds or so.


Then I just rolled it up out of the pan onto the plate and I had a spectacular omelette for one. In less than 5 minutes!

Cooked Corn Meal Cake

Cooked Corn Meal Cake

320g Fine stone ground cornmeal, I like Anson Mills www.ansonmills.com
250 g Superfine sugar or caster sugar
400ml Whole milk
150 ml Sweet butter
3 Large eggs
Zest from one orange
2 Tablespoons dry sherry, the better the sherry the better the taste
1 Teaspoon vanilla
1 Tablespoon baking powder
extra butter and cornmeal for preparing the pan

All ingredients should be at room temperature before you begin. Set them out on the counter for at least a half hour before proceeding.

Preheat the oven to 355 degrees

Using a paper towel butter the inside of a tube pan..preferably with a lift our center. Then carefully dust all surfaces with cornmeal so that there is a light dust overall. The original recipe calls for a 23cm pan approx 9.5 inches..I found it too big and as a result my cake is not as tall as I would like.
I would try an 8 or even 7 inch angel cake pan with removable bottom.

Using a heavy pot or casserole heat the milk, over low/medium heat and slowly add the cornmeal a little at a time making sure it is whisked into the milk before adding more..wash down grains that attach to the side of the pot and make sure you get into the corners where the cornmeal can fall and start to cook and burn. Add meal and sugar slowly and continue to stir.  Make sure you beat out any lumps going one direction and another if necessary. Add the butter as you go as well as the three flavorings. When the mixture becomes thickened like good porridge, give a few more stirs then turn out into a large bowl and stir a bit.

Leave any bits that stick to the bottom as you do not want the hard cooked corn goo. Leave it in the bowl and wait for it to cool to warm not hot. Then add the egg yolks and beat.

Finally whip egg whites until they have soft peaks. Take a cup or so of the corn sponge and lightly fold into the whites. It should not be completely blended in.

Stir the baking powder into the corn mixture and finally lightly fold in the egg whites so they are almost but not quite well mixed in.

Immediately pour into the pan and bake 40-45 minutes or until a toothpick plunged into it comes out clean.

Set on a rack and after you see the cake has shrunk from the pan you can lift it out by the bottom piece and let it continue to cool on a rack. When it is thoroughly cool gently with a fine knife remove the bottom of the pan from the cake. 

This gluten free cake is fragrant, soft and makes nice crumbs. Serve with juicy fruit ,plums, pitted cherries, berries or peaches. Next time I am thinking to split it  and fill the layer with custard. You can top it with a bit of ice cream or whipped cream. You can change the flavorings..a standard nutmeg vanilla mace addition might be fun..Use your imagination!



Cooking Notes on Cooked Corn Meal Cake

I always think that the gluten free cakes and breads I have had are really not very appetizing. Without gluten it is hard to make cake and bread that have a nice texture. Also for some reason most gf cakes and breads are filled with strange ingredients trying to emulate wheat flour. My sense is we need to try to find breads or cakes that already exist so that they are good.

I have been considering corn meal to make a cake..It was already in my mind to try to lighten it texturize it and flavor it. Cooking the meal would make a sponge..adding whipped egg whites would further lighten it.

I started to look up recipes on the internet that use corn meal for making a cake. Naturally most had a bit or a lot of wheat flour..But after some time I came upon this recipe:

http://technicolorkitcheninenglish.blogspot.com/2007/03/cooked-cornmeal-cake.html

It is essentially a cooked cornmeal with sugar and milk to which eggs, oil, baking powder etc are added. While I did not make it exactly I did think it would work out fine.

Then I noticed a link on that recipe back to an earlier version..it is in Portuguese..I think.. and is a little different

http://pecadodagula.blogspot.com/2006/11/bolo-de-fub-cozido.html

Then I noticed another picture of another cake..this one has butter not oil and whips the whites of the eggs separately folding them in at the end..Better, I thought..

http://pecadodagula.blogspot.com/2012/03/bolo-de-fuba-cozido-da-vovo-estela.html

Finally I had been reading the recipe on the Anson Mills site, which while it is very complex and has wheat flour had a nice idea for flavoring

http://ansonmills.com/recipes/504
 I loved sound of sherry, orange and vanilla

My recipe above is a combination of my experiences with cakes and the recipes of others before me.
Thanks to all for the help!!

My Son Max

Everyone, this is Max. Max, this is Everyone

I’d like to introduce a fresh face to The Meat Market: Max Gitlen, our new butcher! Born and raised in Albany, Max grew up traveling between New York City, Upstate New York, and The Berkshires (he learned to ski at Butternut when he was three), soaking up the food-centricity of our region, and watching his mother craft a vegetable garden out of a vacant lot near their home. Though he studied architecture in school (Brown University) and toured as a DJ post graduation, he found he couldn’t stop thinking about the potentials of food. Putting aside the beats, Max began working at a Boston-based non-profit called The Food Project, one of the first organizations in the country that sought to unite youth of all stripes through the fun, frustrating business of farming. Seeking to spread the value of local farming even further, Max helped to set up a program that would match low income families’ food stamps at farmers’ markets. He noticed that despite a growing interest in sustainable food practice among his peers, there weren’t nearly enough people willing to get their hands dirty with the nitty gritty of sustainable food production. So, Max set out to get his hands dirty.
It was around this time that his father began raising sheep on a refurbished farm in Greenwich, NY, and Max was inspired; since most of the people he knew that were actively involved in food production were farming vegetables, he decided to focus on animals. As he put it, “if I’m part of a commune some day, someone’s going to have to bring the steaks.” He spent three months apprenticing at Formaggio’s Kitchen in Boston, learning the ins-and-outs of charcuterie production, then moved to New York and spent nine months with Liz Clark at Bubby’s, breaking down whole steer and pigs, before heading back to Rhode Island to work at Farmstead. The more he cut, the more he realized how all his interests seemed to funnel: from biology to architecture to environmental sustainability, all were aligned under the knife.

In many ways our shop espouses the very values he aspires to as a butcher. As he sees it, the key to sustainable meat production is local sourcing of whole animals, and the only way to do that viably is to have a solid business foundation that can take advantage of the whole animal; we agree, hence our extensive charcuterie program and fantastic cafe. As we talked, he noted how rare this type of business was, particularly outside a major city, and how tricky a business like this can be. He sees our business as an opportunity not only to provide a great product but to further the aspirations of local food, to provide the highest quality food to all people, to keep the lines visible between producer and customer, and to build a community that can thrive on these principles.

We here at The Meat Market are very excited to have him as part of the team, and he can’t wait to work with us, and with you, to make the shop better and better. “I’m excited about learning with our customers. We’re all in this together, we’re on the same team. I want the customer to go home with what they want, and I want to hear what works for them, what doesn’t, and how to make the experience better for everyone. It’s a collaboration between both sides of the counter, and it takes trust on both sides. I want to keep on learning, keep on experimenting, and bringing all that knowledge to the community.” Hear hear, Max, and welcome aboard!

FYI Max Gitlen is my Son! More on the Meat Market @ www.themeatmarketgb.com

Beet Borscht

One of my favorite memories from childhood was going to to Lindy's with my dad. The restaurant was large and noisy, the walls were covered with photos of movie stars. Waiters were rushing about and there was a feeling of being at an enormous party. I remember sitting up particularly straight so I could see everything that was going on.
The foods were familiar, Jewish and delicious.
They had an enormous menu. I remember ordering beet borscht and a wonderful apple pancake.

My grandmother had always made the classic Russian cabbage and meat borscht. But prior to this I had only had beet borscht from a jar we bought at the grocery store.  Beet borscht at Lindy's  came not only the standard sour cream but also, with a hot boiled potato! I had never seen it this way and when I put a bit of the hot potato into the soup it was nothing short of miraculous!


I am including  a link  here to a description of the venerable Lindy's that  I visited so long ago with my dad.

http://nyapril1946.blogspot.com/2010/09/lindys-already-legendary-in-1946.html

Beet Borscht

3 large boiling beets
cover with water
Sour Salt, (dried citric acid, available at gourmet stores) or lemon juice
Salt
Potato
Sour Cream
Dill


Wash and scrub beets. Cover beets with water. Add salt and boil. Remove the beets and slip the skins off in cold water. Grate the beets, either a food processor or a medium sized hole of a box grater will do..Rubber gloves will be handy here.
Put the grated beet back into the cooking water. Starting with 1 teaspoon of sour salt or a tablespoon or two of lemon juice and then add some granulated sugar  stirring and adding a little at a time alternating sour salt and sugar if necessary, until you have a tart but not too tart sweet sour taste. Add a little salt if necessary. Chill well and serve with a large dollop of sour cream and a hot boiled potato with a bit of chopped dill
Note: sugar can be replaced with agave syrup or stevia and there is  very good fat free sour cream which I use.

Quick Summer Lobster Salad

My simple summer cottage has the smallest stove on the planet.

 So I thought I would use the local takeouts to help me in my quest for easy and good food. Also..as often is the case.. I am on a diet so I am eating strategically today.

Tonight I am seeing a movie and lecture so I needed to figure out how I could eat early as my diet demands. My solution is to eat breakfast a little late and then skip lunch but have Linner..is that a word??

 Last night's dinner was a lobster and some corn..The local fish market The ClamMan http://www.clamman.com/
very nice people.. steamed me a lobster. Not knowing how much I could eat, I ordered a pound and a half. But I could only finish the claws and legs. So I saved the tail and all those tiny legs for today.

I went online and found a recipe for that cold leftover lobster,  lovely lobster salad. Here is the basic recipe:

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tarragon-Lobster-Salad-105219

I chose it because I love tarragon with lobster and had brought some out from my tiny city herb garden. If you don't have lobster you could easily substitute shrimp or scallops or take it in another direction completely and used chicken or turkey. You might try basil instead of tarragon.

I did not follow the recipe to the letter; rather I picked the lobster meat reserving it in a small bowl..then with a mini food processor I chopped my tarragon and after did my shallots. I eyeballed how much mayo, lemon juice and pepper and mixed it with the shallots and tarragon and added the  lobster. The picture shows some baby red oak leaf lettuce I got in the city and small yellow tomatoes..I wasn't really keen on the tomatoes you might be but if not  I encourage you to try other garnishes..I could imagine a bit of crumbled bacon or maybe some very sweet melon. Cooking is like that! Experiment! Wing it!

How to make Schmaltz-Rendered Chicken Fat

Rendered Chicken Fat or Schmaltz

This recipe is for making a traditional ingredient of Jewish cooking. It is the eastern european version of lard. Used in seasoning, old timers also spread it on bread.

Remove excess fat from uncooked chicken. If you are preparing chickens you can remove this and store in the freezer until you have a small tupper ware full. It's best to rinse and then dry the fat before freezing.
When you're ready to make your rendered fat, dice it small. Place the pieces into a frying pan with a diced small yellow onion over low heat. Occasionally stir, keep it low so you do not burn it. When onions and fat are browned nicely..not burnt..strain the liquified fat so that the "gribbins" are separated from the fat. Put the fat into a tupperware container and refrigerate for later use or freeze. Real officianados love nibbling on the gribenes. One of my favorite gifts from my son Max is Michale Ruhlman's book, The Book of Schmaltz, love song to a forgotten fat. It is filled with wonderful stories and recipes

Nanny Pearl's Roast Chicken with Pan Gravy

I have been making roast chicken for over 45 years. It has a wonderful crisp skin and is simple to make. The basis for its spice rub is  schmaltz..rendered chicken fat with onions. The schmalz recipe is accessible via the link above and I've posted it separately.

I'm including information you may not see in all recipes, things like how to buy a good chicken. Please don't buy any old supermarket chicken. They are filled with antibiotics and grown in horrid conditions. Aside from how inhumane that is, chickens grown like that taste terrible.  Buy an organic free range chicken. If you can buy it from the farmer who grew it that's best. If not buy it where they sell pasture raised, antibiotic free.

Clean the chicken. Wash in cool water. Dry thoroughly inside and out with an old clean kitchen towel. In order to proceed it cannot be slimy wet. One trick is to put it on a rack uncovered in the refrigerator for a few hours. It will lose any hint of water on its skin and be ready for seasoning. The picture below showin pin feathers remaining on the bird. These can be fluffed upward with the hand and then with a lit wooden match burnt off. Use a needle nose pliers or tweezer to remove the remaining quills you might find around the openings of the bird or on legs or wings.

Once you've cleaned it to your satisfaction check for excessive amounts of fat at the openings and grasping firmly pull away from the bird. Save the fat for making schmaltz. You can accumulate this fat in your freezer and then make the schmaltz and freeze it for when you need it.

This is the basic recipe for Nanny Pearl's spice rub :

One or two tablespoons schmaltz
one tablespoon or less kosher salt
a large garlic clove pressed thru a garlic press
paprika..maybe two or more teaspoons
fresh ground pepper..to taste
two teaspoons flour..or substitute flour for gluten-free results
mix all together with a tiny bit of warm water..1/2 teaspoon or so

When the chicken is dry as you can make it, rub it all over with the rub. I keep surgical gloves around for this but otherwize expect your hands to be a bit garlicy for a few hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place the seasoned chicken on a rack, in a pan. If you don't have a roasting pan or a rack placing it into a pre-heated cast iron skillet will also do..breast side up

Cook roughly an hour and a half..testing
to test there are a few ways to test for doneness
press the drumsticks with fingers..are they soft and yielding? Wiggle drumsticks in joints..they should move fairly freely without much resistance. With a pairing knife make a slit where the drumstick meets the body and open and press enough to see if the juices look very bloody or red or clear..a little pink at the joint is desireable..lots of red is not. If you want to be really accurate, you can use a digital meat thermometer. My Son Max who is a butcher prefers his chicken breasts cooked to 145 degrees and the legs to 160.

Cooking Notes:
I prefer some pink left in the joints of the bird. See the photo at the beginning to see the color at the joint of the leg..you could let it cook just slightly more but if you do the breast will likely be dry.

These days I spatchcock and cook the bird in a cast iron skillet.  Spatchcocking is removing the backbone and flattening the bird. It cooks faster that way and more evenly.  To spatchcock the bird. Hold it on a board with its tail on the board and backbone facing you. With a sharp strong knife cut on either side of the backbone and carefully remove it. Turn the chicken breast side up onto the board and press down firmly on the breasts to flatten it. Then season and arrange backbone side down in a pan and continue to cook.

To Make Pan Gravy

Remove the chicken from the pan. Scrape as much of the crusty stuff off the rack and into the pan as you can. Remove most of the grease careful to leave the drippings.
While the pan is warm or room temperature add liquid maybe a cup or so. The liquid can be water, broth or wine/vermouth..white is best or white vermouth if no wine is available or any combination of the above. Using a whisk scratch up the bottom of the pan into the liquid. Gradually strain 2 Tablespoons of flour (I have used rice flour or gluten-free substitutes and it works fine) into the gravy, (use Cup4Cup by Tom Keller or other good gf flour, if you are gluten free). Bean based flour makes bean tasting gravy. A little at a time mix it into the liquid quickly so no lumps occur..then slowly heat to a boil until the desired consistency is reached. If there are resulting lumps you can always strain it out at the end. If you think you need more liquid just whisk it in as you go. I have at times enriched this gravy with boiled liver, neck meat and heart..chopped.

Cooking Notes:
I like to take the liver, heart, neck etc and cover in water adding a cut up carrot, small onion and piece of celery. Cook low heat, skim the scum. Strain and use this as your liquid in the gravy. You can still start it by adding a little wine. 

Listen to Heritage Radio Network

Heritage Radio Network is the source on up to date food and drink. Started by Patrick Martins the founder of Slow Food USA, (which world wide was started in Italy, my favorite place) The station is an online station with a searchable archive of shows/interviews with the most currently important cookers, brewers, food writers, cheese mongers etc. in America. It operates out of two shipping containers in the back yard of Roberta's, a legendary Brooklyn restaurant. I think you are going to love this.

http://www.HeritageRadioNetwork.com/

http://twitter.com/#!/Heritage_Radio

https://www.facebook.com/HeritageRadioNetwork

Grits; With Many Thanks to Miss Edna Lewis and Mr. Scott Peacock

About a month ago, I took a far too brief trip down South for the very first time. I traveled to South Carolina and Georgia. I was after a pair of rare John Vesey chairs that I did not win at auction, darn! Someone else also spotted them!  So I spent the rest of that weekend exploring Southern architecture,  Southern culture and of course the distinctive cuisine.

 Eating gluten-free I am particularly interested in the many other grains that have no gluten.  Southern cooking utilizes both corn and rice and buckwheat. Grits are served all over the South and with just about everything. Down South for three days they were served to me three times. 

For those of you who swear that grits taste akin to cardboard mush, I can attest to having eaten grits that tasted like that. It was not until I was having a late lunch at the bar of a Savannah Georgia restaurant; Vic's on the River,  that I had my first taste of sublime sweet creamy grits. Served as the base of "Wild Georgia Shrimp over Stone-Ground Grits with Tasso Gravy". It was a revelation!  You can make the same dish if you  buy their cookbook. It is published by Billy Bob's, Inc in Savanah and can be purchased by writing to vicsontheriver@aol.com or calling 912-721-1000.

Grits come in different versions; White, Yellow or Mixed. They come regular, instant, quick or Stone-Ground. Here are a couple of resources for great grains and grits;

No discussion of sources would be complete without pointing you in the direction of Anson Mills; a stone-ground producer with a national following. Here is the URL where you can order online some of their renowned artisanal products; http://www.ansonmills.com/

The city of Columbia SC has a great food reputation; Here is the URL for their slow food site which has links many interesting producers from whom you can order quite an array of tasty southern treats. http://www.slowfoodcolumbia.org/

Currently I am working my way through the 2 pound bag of yellow/white grits I purchased down south from Palmetto Farms ; whose URL is http://palmettofarms.com/

Logan Turnpike Mills

1-800-84 Grits

706-745-5735

http://www.loganturnpikemill.com/

J.T. Pollard Milling Company

334-588-3391

My son Max, who takes his food very seriously says my grits are wonderful.

My method for cooking the grits is taken from the wonderful book of southern cooking called; The Gift of Southern Cooking by Edna Lewis and Scott Peacock.  Miss. Lewis, was the doyenne of Southern Cooking.  Mr. Peacock; many decades her junior, met Miss. Lewis  in 1988, while he was the executive chef at the Georgia Governor's Mansion.  They collaborated on her fourth book, became the close friends, colleagues and eventually housemates as Mr. Peacock lived with and tended to Ms. Lewis in the last six years of her life. Miss. Lewis passed away in 2006. To read more about Miss Lewis and also Mr. Peacock, here is her obituary from The New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/14/national/14lewis.html?pagewanted=all

Here is their recipe for making basic grits.

Old-Fashioned Creamy Grits

Makes enough for 4-6

2 Cups water, or more

2 Cups milk, or more

1 Cup stone-ground or regular, (note: I am using stone ground)

Kosher salt

1/4 Cup heavy cream

2 Tablespoons unsalted butter

Heat the 2 cups of water and milk in a heavy-bottomed saucepan until just simmering. While the milk is heating, put the grits in a large mixing bowl and cover with cool water.. (If you are using regular girts, skip this step.) Stir the grits assertively so that the chaff floats to the top. Skim the surface carefully, and remove the chaff. Drain the grits in a fine strainer, and stir them into the simmering water and milk. Cook, stirring often, until the grits are tender to the bite and have thickened to the consistency of thick oatmeal. Regular grits are done in about 20 minutes, but stone-ground require an hour or a little more to cook, and you will have to add additional milk and water as needed. As the grits thicken, stir them more often to keep them from sticking and scorching. Season the grits generously with salt, and stir in the cream and butter. Remove from heat, and let rest covered, until serving. Serve hot. 

Note: Leftover grits can be reheated over low heat, stirring in a little hot milk or boiling water as needed to thin.

Mr. Peacock serves grits for breakfast with bacon and eggs or for supper with roast chicken braised lamb or veal shanks or braised beef short ribs or salmon croquettes.

Blogger's note: Grits are simply a soft mush of rich sweet corn. Thus it can be used as you wish and doctored as you wish. I do need to quote Miss. Lewis from her book in response to all the additions people were making to grits, she said; "People should really leave grits alone" In fact these grits are dynamite alone. 

But, being hungry for even more the what ifs start up in my mind. What if I used them to make something like a souffle or a custard or pancakes? Or what if I made them spicy or cheesy? Use your imagination but first..Just eat them plain, because plain may indeed be the best way to enjoy them.  I find these grits keep well in tupperware for at least a week in the refrigerator.

Sunday Lunch with Max

Tuna Salad, Homemade Mayonnaise and Asparagus with Ramps

Today's Sunday Lunch with the Executive Chef; better known as my son Max.
Max started cooking with me when he was a little boy as did his sister Laurel. Now each is an accomplished cook and all grown up and sometimes they cook for me!

So Sunday, Max was our guest chef. Our lunch wass made from what was found in the frig.

Lunch consisted of a tuna salad made with homemade mayonnaise and fresh herbs from the terrace along with asparagus with ramps, parmesan and balsamic vinegar. Max had real bread with his and I had a gluten free Challah from Udi's..it tasted like Challah but the structure was not anything to write home about, still as a gluten free substitute it was fine.

Home made Mayonnaise
ingredients:
1 egg yolk
lemon juice..or vinegar..according to taste..somewhere between 1/2 Tablespoon and half a lemon's worth
1 teaspoon poupon mustard
big pinch salt
2-3 Tablespoons of Canola Oil
Up to 1/4 Cup Fragrant Olive Oil

Method #1 Handwhisked
Whisk together yolk, juice, salt and mustard
Continue whisking adding canola oil by dripping slowly 2-3 Tablespoons in all..the trick is that at the beginning you must add the oil in tiny amounts and emulsify entirely before adding more. Eventually you will be able to add the oil in a steady stream but go slowly or it will never come together. Finally add olive oil; as much as 1/4 cup in a steady stream. You must decide how firm or loose you wish the mayonnaise to be, which will be determined by how much oil is added.

Method #2 Using an Immersion Blender
Place yolk and salt and vinegar/lemon juice and mustard into a ball jar
Gently pour over this all the oil
Placing the immersion blender at the bottom of the jar start it up and it will do all the work for you. Max says it takes 5 minutes and the blender creates a vortex. I have yet to buy one so I am taking his word for it.

Tuna Salad with Herbs

Drain a can of tuna. I like to buy line caught tuna which often comes from the Pacific North West. This is because it is very good quality and likely small fish which are lower in heavy metals than big ones.
Mash it with a fork. Dice some celery. Add chopped chives, chopped parsley and mix with the mayo.

Serve on lettuce or on toast or with a baguette. I used Udi's challah. I also heated a gluten free baguette from Schar; a european company. It did not come out right when I cooked it 5 minutes at 400 as instructed. It turned out a lot better when I left it in the cooling oven for a half hour. So I assume if I left it 10 minutes it might have been fine. It is a little scary that it has a shelf life months long.The texture was great considering that it is made gluten free, although it was  not yeasty like a real bagguette. I can't wait til some local bakery makes fresh gluten free breads. I hear that Le Pain Quotidien is experimenting!

Now for the Asparagus

Asparagus with Ramps

Toss cut up asparagus into a cast iron pan..or another good pan with a Tablespoon or so of good olive oil and the white bulb parts of the ramps. Once they are nicely cooked but still a bit too al dente add the leaf portions of the ramps and toss some more. Dress with a good aged balsamic vinegar and a bit of grated parmesan.

Easy Pecan Meringues

My travels for  a long weekend to South Carolina and Georgia have been inspiring me to try some Southern specialties.
This is probably the easiest meringue recipe I have ever come upon. It takes 6 minutes plus baking time and it's foolproof.
From: Savannah Style; A cookbook by the junior league of Savannah

White Clouds
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Beat egg whites until stiff. Add remaining ingredients. Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheet covered with oiled parchment paper. Bake in a 275 degree oven for 40 to 60 minutes.
Yield 3 dozen
Blogger's note: either my oven is too hot or the meringues brown because of the pecans. What they lack in whiteness they more than make up for in taste and texture. I took them out at 45 minutes. Also; the addition of all the ingredients at once collapsed the whipped meringues somewhat. Not to worry; they still come out fine.
Recipes with only a few ingredients rely heavily on the quality of those ingredients. Always look for the freshest plumpest nuts. Old nuts become rancid..the oils go bad. You can smell the difference. Put nuts into the freezer if you are not going to use them shortly. Always use the best extracts. Often I buy them when I spy them in specialty stores or on trips. A good brand of vanilla is Nielsen-Massey Vanillas. If I am going through West Stockbridge Massachusetts, I always make a stop at Charles H. Baldwin and Sons for extracts tel. 413-232-7785 1 Center Street P.O. Box 372 West Stockbridge Mass. The nuts I used were bought fresh in a quart bag at Hites Barbeque West Columbia South Carolina.

Great Gluten Free Chocolate Cookies for Passover or Anytime

This recipe was originally published by New York Magazine. They are easy to make and delicious.

Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

• 16 Comments Add Yours

• By Robin Raisfeld & Rob Patronite 
• Published Apr 13, 2008

Illustrations by John Burgoyne (Photo: Kang Kim)

The annual Passover abstention from flour need not be so abstemious, as François Payard demonstrates in this recipe for chewy, gooey chocolate-walnut cookies. Egg whites add a meringuey quality, but fudginess prevails in these jumbo-size beauties, available at Payard’s Upper East Side pâtisserie and featured in his new book, Chocolate Epiphany (Clarkson Potter; $35).

François Payard’s Flourless Chocolate-Walnut Cookies

2 3/4 cups walnut halves
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 9 minutes, until they are golden and fragrant. (1) Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large-rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. (2) In a large bowl, whisk (or combine in an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or once you change the speed to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen). (3) Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Slide the parchment paper (with the cookies) onto 2 wire racks. Let cookies cool completely, and store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.