So there would be a photo but we ate them all. Whoops!
Ingredients
3 medium leeks, white and pale green parts only
1 1/5 c. gluten-free flour (we used Cup4Cup)
4 eggs
1 c. milk
1 tsp. salt
1 tbsp. minced fresh or dried parsley
1 tbsp. minced fresh or dried dill
1/2 tsp. turmeric
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. ground pepper
Clean and slice the leeks finely-- I cut them in half lengthwise, then slice them as finely and quickly as I can-- and reserve.
Mix together the rest of the ingredients with a whisk or a fork until well-combined, then fold in the leeks. There should be roughly equal amounts of batter and leeks, and when mixed together, there batter should completely coat the leeks.
Heat oil in a pan or on a griddle until almost smoking and then drop in fritters-- you want to use a significant amount of oil, because these are honestly best fried. Use about 1/4 c. of batter at a time. When one side is browned, flip. Remove to a plate with a paper towel on it and repeat until all the batter is gone.
Yogurt-Dill almost tzatziki sauce
1/2 c. plain yogurt
2 tbs. milk
1 1/2 tbsp. minced fresh dill
1 tsp. crushed garlic
1/2 tsp. salt
Mix everything together. Nom with the fritters.
Wednesday, February 26, 2014
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
Dinner: snapper, brown rice, asparagus, radish
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Dinner tonight (packaged for my brother at work):
wild-caught snapper; brown rice with tomatoes, cumin, and herbs; roast
asparagus with sheep’s milk feta and balsamic vinegar; radishes.
Everything is from within a 100-mile radius of where we live except for the pepper (on the asparagus and snapper) and red pepper flakes (on the snapper). I’m not sure about the tomatoes— they’re the ones we bought off the back of a truck, so who knows.
Everything is from within a 100-mile radius of where we live except for the pepper (on the asparagus and snapper) and red pepper flakes (on the snapper). I’m not sure about the tomatoes— they’re the ones we bought off the back of a truck, so who knows.
No recipes tonight unless I get a request-- everything is fairly simple.
Friday, April 12, 2013
Asparagus, Leek, and Sheep Cheese Risotto
The genesis of this recipe came from this week's farmer's market and Garden Variety Cheese-- we were tasting their samples and the woman working at the booth suggested that we make risotto with one of their cheeses: Hollyhock, which their website describes as "a raw sheep cheese aged for at least 8 months." It melted into the risotto very well, and gave it a pleasantly mild taste.
I've found that while risotto isn't necessarily difficult, it does require a lot of patience. I first learned to make it from my dad, who is in no way Italian-- so if this misses the "traditional" mark, I'm sorry! The leeks I used (thick as my wrist and about four feet tall, including the ends of the leaves) are also his.
1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, washed and sliced finely
1 small onion, diced
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh herbs, minced (I used oregano, thyme, and parsley from our garden)
1/3 c. dry white cooking wine or sherry
2 c. arborio rice
6 c. chicken broth (more might be necessary)
1 lb. skinny asparagus
about 1 c. grated Hollyhock cheese (you can use a similar sheep's milk cheese or parmesan if you can't find this one)
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Prep: clean and half-moon the leeks. The easiest way to do this is cut off the tops and remove the outer layer, then cut in half and rinse under cold water. Dice the onion and mince the garlic and herbs. Snap the bottoms off the asparagus and then cut into one-inch pieces.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat; then, add the leeks, onions, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Cook all until the onions and leeks are limp and translucent.
Add the rice. Stir continuously until the rice is just barely translucent around the outsides of the kernel-- you may need to add a bit more oil. Once the rice is at that stage, add the cooking sherry and stir until it's fully absorbed.
The next step is to add the chicken broth: do so slowly, about half a cup at a time. Each time you add broth, stir until the broth has been absorbed (but not so long that the rice gets dry). This is the part that takes patience, so try not to get frustrated: it'll be worth it, I promise.
Once you have about half a cup of broth left, add the asparagus. You can either add it directly to the risotto or sautee it briefly beforehand in olive oil, salt, and pepper. If you choose to sautee it, don't cook for longer than 3-4 minutes-- it'll finish cooking with the rice, and overcooked asparagus isn't fun for anyone.
After all the broth has been added, turn off the heat and fold in about 3/4 c. of the grated cheese. Garnish with the rest of the cheese and a little more minced herbs, if you have any left.
Serves 4-6 as a main course, or more as an appetizer/side.
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I've found that while risotto isn't necessarily difficult, it does require a lot of patience. I first learned to make it from my dad, who is in no way Italian-- so if this misses the "traditional" mark, I'm sorry! The leeks I used (thick as my wrist and about four feet tall, including the ends of the leaves) are also his.
1 large leek, white and pale green parts only, washed and sliced finely
1 small onion, diced
4-6 cloves of garlic, minced
2 Tbsp. fresh herbs, minced (I used oregano, thyme, and parsley from our garden)
1/3 c. dry white cooking wine or sherry
2 c. arborio rice
6 c. chicken broth (more might be necessary)
1 lb. skinny asparagus
about 1 c. grated Hollyhock cheese (you can use a similar sheep's milk cheese or parmesan if you can't find this one)
2 Tbsp. plus 2 tsp. olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
Prep: clean and half-moon the leeks. The easiest way to do this is cut off the tops and remove the outer layer, then cut in half and rinse under cold water. Dice the onion and mince the garlic and herbs. Snap the bottoms off the asparagus and then cut into one-inch pieces.
Heat olive oil in a large nonstick pan over medium heat; then, add the leeks, onions, garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Cook all until the onions and leeks are limp and translucent.
Add the rice. Stir continuously until the rice is just barely translucent around the outsides of the kernel-- you may need to add a bit more oil. Once the rice is at that stage, add the cooking sherry and stir until it's fully absorbed.
The next step is to add the chicken broth: do so slowly, about half a cup at a time. Each time you add broth, stir until the broth has been absorbed (but not so long that the rice gets dry). This is the part that takes patience, so try not to get frustrated: it'll be worth it, I promise.
Once you have about half a cup of broth left, add the asparagus. You can either add it directly to the risotto or sautee it briefly beforehand in olive oil, salt, and pepper. If you choose to sautee it, don't cook for longer than 3-4 minutes-- it'll finish cooking with the rice, and overcooked asparagus isn't fun for anyone.
After all the broth has been added, turn off the heat and fold in about 3/4 c. of the grated cheese. Garnish with the rest of the cheese and a little more minced herbs, if you have any left.
Serves 4-6 as a main course, or more as an appetizer/side.
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Thursday, April 11, 2013
News and Chili
So hi, it's been a while! It's been nearly a year since I updated this thing-- and every time, I say I'll be better about updating, so really, who knows.
I've started a new job at River Cafe (not the one in New York), so I've been cooking a lot more, overall. Mostly a LOT of sandwiches, because that's primarily what we serve, but also side dishes and breakfast burritos and I've actually learned to be pretty decent at making coffee drinks, which I suppose is a good skill to have, for all that I don't actually like coffee.
I've been experimenting at home with the crock pot more than I used to (which is to say, not at all), so tonight's recipe comes out of that. My sister-in-law is gluten-free, so we've been doing a lot more wheat-free meals; we had this with cornbread made from a Gluten-Free Pantry mix (available here), which is deliciously buttery. I had mine with strawberry jam I canned last summer-- we're just starting to get strawberries here, and I'm looking forward to making another batch of it soon.
Chili
1 can each pinto, black, and kidney beans (you can also cook these yourself from dry beans, but I didn't have time do do so).
2 tbsp. oil
1 small red onion, diced
3-6 minced cloves garlic, depending on how much you like it.
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. ground beef
2 chorizo sausages (about 1 lb. of meat-- I split the casings and just used the meat; you could also slice them once they're cooked)
1 12-oz. can tomatoes (or about 3-5 medium tomatoes, pretty much any variety)
Drain the beans of most of their liquid-- you will want some remaining (about 1/2 c.) In a slow cooker set to low, combine the beans and stir together. Cover and let warm. (You could also do this in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan over low heat.)
Heat the oil in a medium or large saucepan over medium heat; once it's warm, add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions are translucent, then add the ground beef and the chorizo. Break up the meat and cook until it's no longer pink, then add the can of tomatoes. Stir to combine, then add all of the meat/onions/etc. to the slow cooker.
Combine all ingredients and turn the slow-cooker up to high for an hour. Turn to low and let cook for another hour.
Serves 8 (more if you're not super hungry, less if you are!)
I've started a new job at River Cafe (not the one in New York), so I've been cooking a lot more, overall. Mostly a LOT of sandwiches, because that's primarily what we serve, but also side dishes and breakfast burritos and I've actually learned to be pretty decent at making coffee drinks, which I suppose is a good skill to have, for all that I don't actually like coffee.
I've been experimenting at home with the crock pot more than I used to (which is to say, not at all), so tonight's recipe comes out of that. My sister-in-law is gluten-free, so we've been doing a lot more wheat-free meals; we had this with cornbread made from a Gluten-Free Pantry mix (available here), which is deliciously buttery. I had mine with strawberry jam I canned last summer-- we're just starting to get strawberries here, and I'm looking forward to making another batch of it soon.
Chili
1 can each pinto, black, and kidney beans (you can also cook these yourself from dry beans, but I didn't have time do do so).
2 tbsp. oil
1 small red onion, diced
3-6 minced cloves garlic, depending on how much you like it.
1 tsp. red pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1 lb. ground beef
2 chorizo sausages (about 1 lb. of meat-- I split the casings and just used the meat; you could also slice them once they're cooked)
1 12-oz. can tomatoes (or about 3-5 medium tomatoes, pretty much any variety)
Drain the beans of most of their liquid-- you will want some remaining (about 1/2 c.) In a slow cooker set to low, combine the beans and stir together. Cover and let warm. (You could also do this in a dutch oven or heavy-bottomed pan over low heat.)
Heat the oil in a medium or large saucepan over medium heat; once it's warm, add the onion, garlic, red pepper flakes, cumin, and pepper. Cook, stirring frequently until the onions are translucent, then add the ground beef and the chorizo. Break up the meat and cook until it's no longer pink, then add the can of tomatoes. Stir to combine, then add all of the meat/onions/etc. to the slow cooker.
Combine all ingredients and turn the slow-cooker up to high for an hour. Turn to low and let cook for another hour.
Serves 8 (more if you're not super hungry, less if you are!)
Saturday, May 26, 2012
Lemon-Butter Chicken
Okay, so this is really incredibly simple, but it was also tasty and ended up fairly pretty, so have a recipe! This would probably serve at least three, especially if it, you know, went with vegetables of some kind.
2 tsp. olive oil
1 small spring onion (about 1/3 c.), diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 small boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 lemon or 2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. white wine
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 sprig fresh thyme-- leave whole or strip the leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 c. parmesan cheese, depending on how much you like cheese.
Pasta-- I used pappardalle from the Santa Cruz Pasta Factory
In a medium saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are just starting to caramelize, then add the chicken, lemon juice, white wine, butter, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the liquid has cooked down some.
Toss everything together and top with as much cheese as you feel like eating. Enjoy!
2 tsp. olive oil 1 small spring onion (about 1/3 c.), diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 small boneless/skinless chicken thighs, cut into 1/2" pieces
1/2 lemon or 2 tbsp. lemon juice
1/2 c. white wine
2 tbsp. unsalted butter
1 sprig fresh thyme-- leave whole or strip the leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
1/4-1/2 c. parmesan cheese, depending on how much you like cheese.
Pasta-- I used pappardalle from the Santa Cruz Pasta Factory
In a medium saucepan, saute the onions and garlic in the olive oil until the onions are just starting to caramelize, then add the chicken, lemon juice, white wine, butter, salt, pepper, and thyme. Simmer until the chicken is thoroughly cooked and the liquid has cooked down some.
Toss everything together and top with as much cheese as you feel like eating. Enjoy!
Sunday, September 4, 2011
It's been a very long time since I posted here, due to a combination of moving and having not a lot of money to buy fun food with. But now I'm back! I'm living in Willow Glen with my friend Ria (of Wildwood Yarn), and I've finally figured out where the good farmer's market is in this area (Campbell, if you were wondering)!
I've just started a batch of tomato sauce that I'm making with some heirloom tomatoes I picked up for $1/lb (!!!) at the market. I'm really excited about cooking this week, especially since I also got some butter and a WHOLE CHICKEN. Om nom nom.
But before that, raspberry jam!
Sunday, June 12, 2011
Recipe: Nectarine Ice Cream
Nectarine Ice Cream
3/4 c. milk
2/3 c. granulated sugar
pinch salt
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
4 nectarines, peeled and diced
Chop the nectarines in a food processor until mostly smooth but still slightly chunky-- a smoother blend will give you smoother ice cream, but chunks of nectarine are pretty pleasant.
Mix the milk and sugar together until the sugar is mostly dissolved into the milk. Add the salt and the cream and stir until well-blended. Add in the processed nectarines and stir until they're incorporated.
Chill the ice cream in the fridge for at least half an hour or up to overnight, then freeze according to ice cream maker instructions.
You could probably add a few more nectarines, which would give it a stronger fruit flavor without affecting the texture that much.
There would be pictures, but we ate it all.
This is a modified recipe (originally for Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream, which I also made tonight) from the Cuisinart Ice Cream recipe book that came with my ice cream maker.
3/4 c. milk
2/3 c. granulated sugar
pinch salt
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
4 nectarines, peeled and diced
Chop the nectarines in a food processor until mostly smooth but still slightly chunky-- a smoother blend will give you smoother ice cream, but chunks of nectarine are pretty pleasant.
Mix the milk and sugar together until the sugar is mostly dissolved into the milk. Add the salt and the cream and stir until well-blended. Add in the processed nectarines and stir until they're incorporated.
Chill the ice cream in the fridge for at least half an hour or up to overnight, then freeze according to ice cream maker instructions.
You could probably add a few more nectarines, which would give it a stronger fruit flavor without affecting the texture that much.
There would be pictures, but we ate it all.
This is a modified recipe (originally for Fresh Strawberry Ice Cream, which I also made tonight) from the Cuisinart Ice Cream recipe book that came with my ice cream maker.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Anybody want some sausage?
If people want to buy sausages, here's what I've got!
Final tally for this weekend's sausagepalooza:
Apple-Fennel Crepinettes (4 crepinettes/1.5 lbs; $10)
Harissa Sausages (two 1 lb. packages available (5 sausages each); $7/each)
4 C's Sausages (cumin, coriander, caraway, cilantro) (two 0.5 packages available (3 sausages each); $5/each)
4 C's Crepinettes (4 small crepinettes/0.75 lb; $7)
Breakfast Sausages (three 1/3 lb. packages available (5 sausages each); $4/each)
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crepinettes (4 crepinettes/1.25 lbs.; $10)
All are first-come, first-served. I'll be checking comments here and at Facebook. All are vacuum-sealed, except for the breakfast sausages. I can deliver to the Santa Cruz/San Jose area, or people can pick things up here. If you want me to set something aside for you, I'm happy to; it will likely be frozen. At this point, all the sausage is fresh.
Just to be clear: I am not a professional. I do not have a permit; I am doing this for fun. I do my best to keep things safe and clean. The price of the sausages is essentially ingredients and a little time.
Final tally for this weekend's sausagepalooza:
Apple-Fennel Crepinettes (4 crepinettes/1.5 lbs; $10)
Harissa Sausages (two 1 lb. packages available (5 sausages each); $7/each)
4 C's Sausages (cumin, coriander, caraway, cilantro) (two 0.5 packages available (3 sausages each); $5/each)
4 C's Crepinettes (4 small crepinettes/0.75 lb; $7)
Breakfast Sausages (three 1/3 lb. packages available (5 sausages each); $4/each)
Strawberry-Rhubarb Crepinettes (4 crepinettes/1.25 lbs.; $10)
All are first-come, first-served. I'll be checking comments here and at Facebook. All are vacuum-sealed, except for the breakfast sausages. I can deliver to the Santa Cruz/San Jose area, or people can pick things up here. If you want me to set something aside for you, I'm happy to; it will likely be frozen. At this point, all the sausage is fresh.
Just to be clear: I am not a professional. I do not have a permit; I am doing this for fun. I do my best to keep things safe and clean. The price of the sausages is essentially ingredients and a little time.
Apple-Fennel Crepinettes
On Friday, my local market had a sale on bulk meat-- I think we managed to buy nearly 25 pounds of meat for just under $50. I bought about 15 lbs. of pork shoulder to use in making sausages, with the intention of spending all weekend doing so. I haven't gotten hugely far as of yet, but I have made apple-fennel crepinettes and breakfast sausages. Today, I'm planning to make spicy sausages of some sort, as well as something that's more strongly cumin-flavored.Last night's dinner was the apple-fennel crepinettes with farro and a salad, eaten entirely too late at night, because things always take longer than I think they will.
Apple-Fennel Crepinettes
2 3/4 lb. pork shoulder, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/3 lb. pork fat (I used belly)
2 small braeburn apples, peeled and cut into thumbnail-sized pieces
3 very small fennel bulbs (save some fronds for decoration, if desired)
2 tsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp kosher salt
1 large shallot, cut into rings
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar
1/2 tsp. cumin
1/2 tsp. dill
1 sheet caul fat
Meat grinder
8- or 10-ounce ramekin, with straight sides
A note before we begin: it is very important to keep things cold when you're making sausages. Not only do cold ingredients and equipment give the sausage a better texture, you're working with raw meat. I stick my grinder in the freezer before I start anything else.
Chop the fennel into thin rings. Sautee over meduim heat until they are just starting to caramelize; add the apples and cook for another minute.
Remove the apples and fennel from the pan and set aside to cool. Do not clean the pan-- add the shallots, balsamic vinegar, dill, and cumin. Cook over medium heat until the shallots are limp and translucent.
Once the vegetables are cool, combine them with the shoulder, fat, and salt in a gallon-sized plastic bag. You can either mix everything together in a bowl and then transfer them to the bag, or start with everything in the bag, and mix it there, which is what I did.
Put the bag in the freezer for at least an hour, or until it the ingredients are cold through, but not all the way frozen.
While the meat is chilling, soak your caul fat in luke-warm water.
Grind the meat in a meat grinder (I use an attachment for my stand mixer, which works well but isn't ideal). If it's as warm as it was yesterday, set the bowl you're grinding into in ice to keep things chilled as you go. If the meat gets warm while you're grinding, chill it again in the freezer before continuing.
Line the ramekin with caul fat-- you'll want to get as many crepinettes out of the sheet as possible, so start near an edge and work your way in. Place a small piece of fennel frond in the center of the ramekin, then fill to the line with ground meat-- it should be about 1/2 cup, perhaps slightly more. Trim the caul fat around the edges, about half an inch from the top of the ramekin, and fold it over the meat. Be careful with the fat and don't pull it to hard, as it can tear.Flip over the ramekin and tap on the bottom to loosen the crepinette. You should be able to get at least eight crepinettes out of this; I ran out of caul fat before I ran out of meat.
If you don't have a grinder, buy ground pork and chop the apples, fennel, and shallots finely before adding them to the meat.
To cook the crepinettes, I am going to direct you over to El Salchichero, which is where I bought both the belly and the caul fat: cooking directions here! They are genuinely good people, and they carry truly awesome meat. I bought a duck from them last weekend, and it was one of the more delicious things I've eaten recently.A note on caul fat: I am lucky enough to have a butcher who is willing to sell me sheets of caul fat. I know that you can order it online.
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Cheese, part two
When I picked up my cheese to check on it last night, it was... leaking. Uh-oh, I thought, I hope it hasn't turned to mush. Although I had planned to wait until at least the end of February, as it's only been aging about three weeks at this point, I was worried enough to cut it open now.It's an interesting sort of cheese. It's definitely firmer than the cheese I've been making, but it's a bit more like feta than cheddar in texture. In terms of taste-- well, it's interesting. You can tell that someday, it will be a cheddar, but it isn't quite there yet. There is a taste, but it's not hugely strong.
So: notes for next time.
- Make sure to press the cheese with the right amount of weight for the right amount of time.
- Make sure that the cheese is fully dry before you wax it.
- More salt? I think it's not quite salty enough for my tastes.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Unexpected Sausage
As I've mentioned before, I had two goals during the summer of 2010: bread and cheese. I also had a goal for summer 2011: sausage.
In the fall of 2009, just before Halloween, I discovered El Salchichero at the Scotts Valley Farmer's Market. One of the first thing I bought from them was their chestnut crepinettes. They came two to a package, so I cooked them, cut them into quarters, and served them at a Halloween dinner for eight. It was a rather loud night-- we were watching movies, talking about costumes, and answering the door for trick-or-treaters. But as our guests ate, silence fell. Thankfully, it was the good kind of oh-my-god-how-delicious-is-this silence. By the end of the night, we had been converted to the absolutely amazing sausage-making skills of Chris LaVeque, the man who owns and runs El Salchichero.
The sausage stall became a regular stop for me on my farmer's market rounds, especially once they started carrying whole cuts of meat, lard, and, occasionally, rabbits. I was continually amazed by the creativity shown in the week's offerings: they changed with the seasons, using locally-available produce, and were, without fail, the best sausages (and crepinettes!) I've ever tasted.
Then, in July, Chris folded up his farmer's market stall in order to remodel an old t-shirt factory into a butcher's shop. While I tried to make my stock of sausage last, it was too delicious not to eat. I was left in a quandary: did I want to go back to eating grocery store sausage (both New Leaf and Scotts Valley Market make their own), or did I want to start my next summer's goal a little early? In early September, armed with a KitchenAid stand mixer and attachments, I made my first sausage: a fairly simple breakfast sausage.
To be quite honest, it wasn't great. Neither was my next try-- spiced apple sausages. In both cases, the sausages ended up dry and bursting from their casings. Eventually, I picked up a copy of Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie.
Ah, I realised after following their instructions (slightly modified) for Andouille sausage, this is it. I'd finally gotten the proper fat/meat/salt/seasonings ratio. The andouille became a Thanksgiving Day appetizer, and hung around in the freezer long after, becoming breakfast and dinner (I'm fairly sure I have a few links still). It was followed by garlic and herb sausage, mild Italian sausage (Christmas Eve lasagna!), and, most recently, sausage made with ras el hanout.
So, thank you, Chris LaVeque and El Salchichero-- oddly, thank you for closing, however temporarily. I am very happy to have discovered a love of sausage-making. I am also extremely excited about the fact that El Salchichero's new face (local butcher's shop!!) is opening this Friday. I'll see you there.
In the fall of 2009, just before Halloween, I discovered El Salchichero at the Scotts Valley Farmer's Market. One of the first thing I bought from them was their chestnut crepinettes. They came two to a package, so I cooked them, cut them into quarters, and served them at a Halloween dinner for eight. It was a rather loud night-- we were watching movies, talking about costumes, and answering the door for trick-or-treaters. But as our guests ate, silence fell. Thankfully, it was the good kind of oh-my-god-how-delicious-is-this silence. By the end of the night, we had been converted to the absolutely amazing sausage-making skills of Chris LaVeque, the man who owns and runs El Salchichero.
The sausage stall became a regular stop for me on my farmer's market rounds, especially once they started carrying whole cuts of meat, lard, and, occasionally, rabbits. I was continually amazed by the creativity shown in the week's offerings: they changed with the seasons, using locally-available produce, and were, without fail, the best sausages (and crepinettes!) I've ever tasted.
Then, in July, Chris folded up his farmer's market stall in order to remodel an old t-shirt factory into a butcher's shop. While I tried to make my stock of sausage last, it was too delicious not to eat. I was left in a quandary: did I want to go back to eating grocery store sausage (both New Leaf and Scotts Valley Market make their own), or did I want to start my next summer's goal a little early? In early September, armed with a KitchenAid stand mixer and attachments, I made my first sausage: a fairly simple breakfast sausage.
To be quite honest, it wasn't great. Neither was my next try-- spiced apple sausages. In both cases, the sausages ended up dry and bursting from their casings. Eventually, I picked up a copy of Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn's Charcuterie.
Ah, I realised after following their instructions (slightly modified) for Andouille sausage, this is it. I'd finally gotten the proper fat/meat/salt/seasonings ratio. The andouille became a Thanksgiving Day appetizer, and hung around in the freezer long after, becoming breakfast and dinner (I'm fairly sure I have a few links still). It was followed by garlic and herb sausage, mild Italian sausage (Christmas Eve lasagna!), and, most recently, sausage made with ras el hanout.
So, thank you, Chris LaVeque and El Salchichero-- oddly, thank you for closing, however temporarily. I am very happy to have discovered a love of sausage-making. I am also extremely excited about the fact that El Salchichero's new face (local butcher's shop!!) is opening this Friday. I'll see you there.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Lemon-Ginger Sorbet
This is posted by request!
Lemon-Ginger Sorbet
2 c. sugar
3 c. water
juice of 7 lemons (or thereabouts-- enough so that it's as tart as you like it)
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 c. candied ginger
Combine the sugar, water, and honey in a pan over medium heat; cook until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon juice and the candied ginger. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is just bubbling.
Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer and chill the liquid. Reserve the ginger from the strainer and, once cool enough to handle, dice it.
Once the liquid is cool, follow the directions on your ice cream maker. Add the diced ginger just before it is done freezing. Enjoy!
Makes about 1 quart sorbet.
(No pictures, because it will likely be gone before I get it and my camera in the same place at the same time.)
Lemon-Ginger Sorbet
2 c. sugar
3 c. water
juice of 7 lemons (or thereabouts-- enough so that it's as tart as you like it)
1 tbsp. honey
1/4 c. candied ginger
Combine the sugar, water, and honey in a pan over medium heat; cook until the sugar is dissolved. Add the lemon juice and the candied ginger. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is just bubbling.
Pour the mixture through a fine-mesh strainer and chill the liquid. Reserve the ginger from the strainer and, once cool enough to handle, dice it.
Once the liquid is cool, follow the directions on your ice cream maker. Add the diced ginger just before it is done freezing. Enjoy!
Makes about 1 quart sorbet.
(No pictures, because it will likely be gone before I get it and my camera in the same place at the same time.)
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Farmer's Markets in January
What it means to go to the Farmer's Market in January for me: apples, onions, lemons, beets. Lettuce, parsnips, carrots, squash. More goat shoulder (because it's delicious) and fresh squid from the Monterey Bay. There was a lot more available (lots and lots of leafy greens), but I was able to buy everything I wanted-- yay!Oh, and that guy playing the accordion. (There's always some guy playing the accordion-- this one was actually pretty darn good!)
Monday, January 10, 2011
DDC IN THE FUTURE: Adventures in cheese-land
Instead of New Year's resolutions in 2010, I made two summer resolutions: I would learn how to bake bread, and I would learn to make my own cheese. In pursuit of bread, I made a lot of focaccia, soda bread, pizza dough, and biscuits-- nothing I'd really count as a proper loaf (unlike my housemate Brianna, who has become quite adept at the whole bread thing).
Cheese, on the other hand...
I started making cheese in August, almost missing the end of summer. While on vacation up in Oregon, I picked up a ricotta and mozzarella kit from Powell's, put together by the fine people at Urban Cheesecraft. In it were cheese salt, rennet tablets, citric acid, good-quality cheesecloth, and an incredibly adorable (and accurate) thermometer. I quickly set about making mozzarella and ricotta, having a great time doing it-- there have been a few times I've made a "ground-up" pizza, with home-made crust, sauce, and cheese-- but I decided I wanted to go a bit further.
This fall, I started making my own goat cheese. While the results weren't always perfect (the feta that turned out as cream cheese-- delicious cream cheese!-- for example), it's something that I really enjoy being able to do. This winter at a craft fair, I brought home-made goat cheeses as my treat to share. The still-in-waiting scrambled eggs DDC post has goat cheese as an ingredient. I love the flexibility of soft goat cheese, the way they can be sweet (with honey and lavender) or savory (with shallot jam). I will eat it with just about anything.
Making cheese can be amazingly easy: a batch of goat cheese takes me no more than an hour and a half, if I'm focused. Ricotta is even simpler, and the hardest part of mozzarella for me is dealing with the hot curds when you're stretching them.
In mid-December, I moaned about the lack of local cheddar when making shepherd's pie. This, in part, led me to do the totally sane thing: pick up a copy of Home Cheese Making, a SRS cheese mold, and two gallons of Strauss farms whole milk. Twenty-four hours after I started it, I have a pound (or so) of farmhouse cheddar hanging out in my kitchen, developing a hard coating. In a few days, I'm going to cover it with wax, and by the end of February, I'll have my very own, pretty darn local cheese (not counting the cultures, rennet, or cheese salt). I hope it works.
Cheese, on the other hand...
I started making cheese in August, almost missing the end of summer. While on vacation up in Oregon, I picked up a ricotta and mozzarella kit from Powell's, put together by the fine people at Urban Cheesecraft. In it were cheese salt, rennet tablets, citric acid, good-quality cheesecloth, and an incredibly adorable (and accurate) thermometer. I quickly set about making mozzarella and ricotta, having a great time doing it-- there have been a few times I've made a "ground-up" pizza, with home-made crust, sauce, and cheese-- but I decided I wanted to go a bit further.
This fall, I started making my own goat cheese. While the results weren't always perfect (the feta that turned out as cream cheese-- delicious cream cheese!-- for example), it's something that I really enjoy being able to do. This winter at a craft fair, I brought home-made goat cheeses as my treat to share. The still-in-waiting scrambled eggs DDC post has goat cheese as an ingredient. I love the flexibility of soft goat cheese, the way they can be sweet (with honey and lavender) or savory (with shallot jam). I will eat it with just about anything.
Making cheese can be amazingly easy: a batch of goat cheese takes me no more than an hour and a half, if I'm focused. Ricotta is even simpler, and the hardest part of mozzarella for me is dealing with the hot curds when you're stretching them.
In mid-December, I moaned about the lack of local cheddar when making shepherd's pie. This, in part, led me to do the totally sane thing: pick up a copy of Home Cheese Making, a SRS cheese mold, and two gallons of Strauss farms whole milk. Twenty-four hours after I started it, I have a pound (or so) of farmhouse cheddar hanging out in my kitchen, developing a hard coating. In a few days, I'm going to cover it with wax, and by the end of February, I'll have my very own, pretty darn local cheese (not counting the cultures, rennet, or cheese salt). I hope it works.
Sunday, January 9, 2011
DDC, Week Six: Braised Goat Shoulder
Okay, so there's totally a post that should go before this (scrambled eggs with chanterelles, shallots, and goat cheese), but I have to write down this recipe before I forget it. This is heavily based off of this recipe.
2 lb. goat shoulder, bone-in
2-3 tsp. olive oil
4 medium carrots, diced
3 medium parsnips, diced
1 medium cippolini onion, cut into strips
2 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. red wine (I used a 2007 Zinfandel from Heart's Fire Winery; it looks like they're closed now, but it's really kind of amazing.)
4 c. beef broth
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the goat shoulder with the olive oil in a dutch oven. Once the meat is browned on all sides, remove it from the pan. De-glaze the pan with the red wine, then add the vegetables. Cook over medium heat until the onions are just barely soft. Add the meat back to the pan-- nestle it in to the vegetables. Add about 2-3 cups of the beef broth, until it the meat is about 2/3 covered. Make a parchment lid for the dutch oven, and put it in the oven. Cook for two hours.
At the two hour mark, take the dutch oven out of the oven and check to see how much liquid remains-- mine was pretty dry, so I added more beef broth. Baste the meat. Cook for another hour (or until the meat is falling off the bones) at 300 degrees, basting occasionally.
Remove from the oven, let rest in the dutch oven for about 15 minutes. This is not a very pretty meal, but it is a very, very filling one: serves 5 (if they're not very hungry) or fewer.
It tastes almost like the best pot roast I've ever eaten. My temporary-housemate Sydni has been telling me for months that I really ought to cook goat, and was she ever right. I think that this is something I will cook even after the challenge is done-- it's amazing. Pictures will be going up later (ETA: they're up now!)
Goat shoulder: Old Creek Ranch, Cayucos (just barely inside my radius)
Olive oil: Bariani, Sacramento
Carrots: Lakeside Farm, Watsonville
Parsnips: from SV Saturday Farmer's Market-- I don't remember which farm, unfortunately!
Onion: Happy Boy Farms
Garlic: I really don't remember-- I'm fairly sure it was a FM purchase, but I've had it for a while.
Salt: Farmhouse Culture, Santa Cruz
Red Wine: Heart's Fire Winery, Campbell
Beef broth: home-made; beef from TLC ranch w/local vegetables
2 lb. goat shoulder, bone-in
2-3 tsp. olive oil
4 medium carrots, diced
3 medium parsnips, diced
1 medium cippolini onion, cut into strips
2 large cloves garlic, sliced
1 tsp. sea salt
1/2 c. red wine (I used a 2007 Zinfandel from Heart's Fire Winery; it looks like they're closed now, but it's really kind of amazing.)
4 c. beef broth
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Brown the goat shoulder with the olive oil in a dutch oven. Once the meat is browned on all sides, remove it from the pan. De-glaze the pan with the red wine, then add the vegetables. Cook over medium heat until the onions are just barely soft. Add the meat back to the pan-- nestle it in to the vegetables. Add about 2-3 cups of the beef broth, until it the meat is about 2/3 covered. Make a parchment lid for the dutch oven, and put it in the oven. Cook for two hours.
At the two hour mark, take the dutch oven out of the oven and check to see how much liquid remains-- mine was pretty dry, so I added more beef broth. Baste the meat. Cook for another hour (or until the meat is falling off the bones) at 300 degrees, basting occasionally.
Remove from the oven, let rest in the dutch oven for about 15 minutes. This is not a very pretty meal, but it is a very, very filling one: serves 5 (if they're not very hungry) or fewer.
It tastes almost like the best pot roast I've ever eaten. My temporary-housemate Sydni has been telling me for months that I really ought to cook goat, and was she ever right. I think that this is something I will cook even after the challenge is done-- it's amazing. Pictures will be going up later (ETA: they're up now!)
Goat shoulder: Old Creek Ranch, Cayucos (just barely inside my radius)
Olive oil: Bariani, Sacramento
Carrots: Lakeside Farm, Watsonville
Parsnips: from SV Saturday Farmer's Market-- I don't remember which farm, unfortunately!
Onion: Happy Boy Farms
Garlic: I really don't remember-- I'm fairly sure it was a FM purchase, but I've had it for a while.
Salt: Farmhouse Culture, Santa Cruz
Red Wine: Heart's Fire Winery, Campbell
Beef broth: home-made; beef from TLC ranch w/local vegetables
Saturday, January 8, 2011
DDC, Week Five: Scrambled Eggs
Simple one, this time: scrambled eggs with stuff in them. Not really a whole lot to say about this one, aside from the fact that it's my first non-dinner meal.
Eggs: Glaum, Aptos
Butter: Strauss Farms, Petaluma
Rosemary Salt: Eatwell Farms, San Francisco
Goat cheese: homemade, with goat milk from Myenberg, Turlock
Chanterelles: Shopper's Corner (they were marked "local;" it's a grocery store I trust)
Shallots: my father's garden
Thyme: kitchen windowsill
Garlic: from the farmer's market; I don't remember which farm.
This entry is backdated to reflect around when I actually cooked the eggs.
Eggs: Glaum, AptosButter: Strauss Farms, Petaluma
Rosemary Salt: Eatwell Farms, San Francisco
Goat cheese: homemade, with goat milk from Myenberg, Turlock
Chanterelles: Shopper's Corner (they were marked "local;" it's a grocery store I trust)
Shallots: my father's garden
Thyme: kitchen windowsill
Garlic: from the farmer's market; I don't remember which farm.
This entry is backdated to reflect around when I actually cooked the eggs.
Friday, December 31, 2010
DDC, Week Four: Game Hen and Vegetables
Cooking for myself this week-- no siblings, no housemates (although I hope they will help with the leftovers!).One of my co-workers alerted me to a place to get local poultry (yay!), so I decided to see what I could find in stores. While I couldn't find chicken (my original plan), I did find cornish game hens at New Leaf. Because I was cooking for myself, I only had to pick up one-- a good thing, considering that Christmas shopping left me if not broke, then at least depleted in funds. I am incredibly pleased with the way this turned out, though, so I will likely cook it again later in the year.
Game hen: Farm to Family
Butter: Strauss
Parsley: SC Downtown farmer's market (given to me by a friend; I don't know exactly where it came from)
Potatoes, golden beets, chiogga beets, parsnips, carrots: New Leaf (all local farms, but I didn't write down specifically which ones)
Turnips: Happy Boy Farms
Olive oil: Bariani
Salt: Eatwell Farms
Pepper: exception
DDC, Week Three: Shepherd's Pie
Memo to self: don't cook when you're exhausted.This one took way longer than it should have-- both to prep/cook, and to decide on. My younger brother (and housemate) works at New Leaf, which is where I picked up most of the ingredients for this. I wandered around the store one night for about half an hour, trying to figure out what I wanted to make. At the meat department, my choices were fairly limited: the beef was from Humboldt, but everything else was out of state. Humboldt isn't exactly within my 150-mile radius, but it is, at least, in the same half of the state as I am. I'd been wanting to make shepherd's pie for a while, so I decided to go for that-- I picked up potatoes, carrots, parsnips (thank you, New Leaf, for labeling the origins of your produce!) and cheddar cheese, then went home to cook. Overall, it went fine, but I wish I'd had a bit more time to think and plan this one.
...for one thing, if I'd planned, I would have remembered that I actually had some local ground beef in my freezer. So this ended up an imperfect meal, but a tasty one.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Intentions
It seems that the more I cook, the less I blog. In the past few weeks, I've made a lot of food-- cheese twice, Italian sausage, lemon-ginger-honey jelly and persimmon butter, caramels. Unfortunately, I have been without camera and without a lot of time for most of the cooking that I've done, and a lot of it has been done on deadline. When I made caramels, for example, I made the second batch about half an hour before the friend who was picking them up from me arrived.
I have made one more of the Dark Days meals-- shepherd's pie!-- and have plans for my next (game hen and vegetables, om nom nom), but I still need to post about them. Soon, soon, soon.
I have made one more of the Dark Days meals-- shepherd's pie!-- and have plans for my next (game hen and vegetables, om nom nom), but I still need to post about them. Soon, soon, soon.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
DDC Week Two: Spaghetti
Week two!
Nothing too adventurous, yet-- both this week's spaghetti and last week's beef stew are things that I cook regularly, just shifted a bit more locally.
This time around, my exceptions were pepper and parmesan cheese, neither of which I could source locally-- I really, really love parmesan cheese. Other than that:
Pasta: Spaghetti from the Santa Cruz Pasta Factory (note: I'm not sure where they get their flour, but their website says that they source ingredients locally whenever they can)
Sauce: My own, made this summer with tomatoes from Happy Boy Farms and my dad's garden. Two new rules for next summer: I am not allowed to talk myself out of buying flats of tomatoes, and I am not allowed to open my canned sauce until after tomatoes are no longer available at the farmer's markets. Because these were my last jars of home-made organic sauces, and it's only December. Technically, I still have a jar of yellow tomato sauce, but I feel like I should save that for something really special. We'll see.
Meat: ground beef from this place in Cayucas-- I don't remember the name, but will look it up next time I use some. Woo!
Salt: Farmhouse Culture
Olive Oil: Bariani, from Sacramento
Pepper: exception
Parmesan: excepetion
Although this is not the most daring, new, and exciting of meals, my housemates seemed to really enjoy it, at least based on the amount of leftovers!
Dinner didn't happen until quite late tonight, because my friend Laurel and I spent most of the day out shopping. I managed to only buy one thing for myself: a new ice cream maker! My old ice cream maker has been surviving, zombie-like, for the last six months or so-- one of my housemates tried to wash it out, and ended up draining about half of the freezing fluid. So while it could almost freeze everything, it fell just short, leading to oddly-textured ice creams and syrupy sorbets. NO LONGER! I have a new ice-cream maker, and it is shiny and red.
Nothing too adventurous, yet-- both this week's spaghetti and last week's beef stew are things that I cook regularly, just shifted a bit more locally.
This time around, my exceptions were pepper and parmesan cheese, neither of which I could source locally-- I really, really love parmesan cheese. Other than that:
Pasta: Spaghetti from the Santa Cruz Pasta Factory (note: I'm not sure where they get their flour, but their website says that they source ingredients locally whenever they can)Sauce: My own, made this summer with tomatoes from Happy Boy Farms and my dad's garden. Two new rules for next summer: I am not allowed to talk myself out of buying flats of tomatoes, and I am not allowed to open my canned sauce until after tomatoes are no longer available at the farmer's markets. Because these were my last jars of home-made organic sauces, and it's only December. Technically, I still have a jar of yellow tomato sauce, but I feel like I should save that for something really special. We'll see.
Meat: ground beef from this place in Cayucas-- I don't remember the name, but will look it up next time I use some. Woo!
Salt: Farmhouse Culture
Olive Oil: Bariani, from Sacramento
Pepper: exception
Parmesan: excepetion
Although this is not the most daring, new, and exciting of meals, my housemates seemed to really enjoy it, at least based on the amount of leftovers!
Dinner didn't happen until quite late tonight, because my friend Laurel and I spent most of the day out shopping. I managed to only buy one thing for myself: a new ice cream maker! My old ice cream maker has been surviving, zombie-like, for the last six months or so-- one of my housemates tried to wash it out, and ended up draining about half of the freezing fluid. So while it could almost freeze everything, it fell just short, leading to oddly-textured ice creams and syrupy sorbets. NO LONGER! I have a new ice-cream maker, and it is shiny and red.
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