Mutant Produce

Being a big fan of of that epic tome How Are You Peeling? by Saxton Freymann and Joost Elffers, I am always on the lookout for fruits and vegetables that look like something more than what they are. While I don't spend hours scouring the produce bins at the local markets or have produce guys on my payroll to bring me likely subjects from Korean markets (a la the authors of Play With Your Food), I do take the time to purchase any mutants that cross my path and make sure that they are photographed before being consumed. I must say that it is undeniably painful to cut into a bell pepper with a profile not unlike that of the late great Bob Hope.

So, here for your viewing amusement and pleasure, is my menagerie of anthropomorphic veggies-

Two views of the "Bob Hope" bell pepper
June 2007 

Cactus caterpillar
Zion National Park, 2005

Siamese cukes
Found California Ave Farmers' Market, July 2013

Little Persimmon Face
Portrait by The Picky Eater

Mr. Potato Nose
Thanksgiving mashed potatoes, 2009

Two & three legged carrots
Procured California Ave. Farmers' Market, June 2013

A Carnivore's Delight: Grill-Braised Short Ribs

For your reading (and eating) pleasure, a guest post from my partner-in-cookery....

Looking good enough to eat!

As The Picky Eater's Daddy, it is my place to encourage the carnivore in us, even if vegetables do occasionally pass my lips.  As such, I am particularly keen on short ribs, which have risen from relative obscurity as restaurants have discovered that they can take what used to be trash meat and present it as a $28 entrée in many of the restaurants around here.  This same thing happened to Osso Bucco in the 1990’s and flank steak in the 1960’s.

I do enjoy beef short ribs, however, and the restaurant versions are usually very good.  This is due, I think, to their initially roasting the ribs (and perhaps the veggies) in a hot convection oven to really get them very well browned, then using very rich red wine with many added spices, with significant reduction of the braising liquid for service.  At home I have never been too happy with the usual oven versions.

The usual short rib recipe is to brown the ribs in a casserole (I use cast iron) on the stove top, brown some onions, carrots and the like on the stove top, then pour in the red wine and stock and braise in the oven.  This process does take ~3 hrs total, and, in the summer tends to heat up the house (no air conditioning in the homestead) and makes the place smell like braised beef for a couple of days (not such a bad thing, perhaps).

I have converted a roast pork recipe (a variation on Mark Bittman’s Pernil) and a roast turkey breast for the grill to be able to reasonably cook these during the summer.  I took it on myself to try the same thing with short ribs.  The impetus for this was a recent America’s Test Kitchen (Cook’s Country) recipe for grill-braised pork, where pork shoulder “steaks” were grilled first, then braised on the grill in a BBQ sauce concoction, then grilled briefly at the end of the cooking to put on a bit of glaze.  It occurred to me that the same treatment could be used for short ribs.  There is little about this on the web, a couple of recipes using stout or beer, but no traditional red-wine based braise that I could find quickly, but there are some precedents, see for example sausage maker Bruce Aidel's Fine Cooking Magazine article on Barbeque-Braising.

The key to these recipes is that the grill does a much better (and less messy) job of browning the meat than frying in oil on the stove top.  This is probably due to the moisture in the meat being quickly evaporated on the grill, allowing higher surface temperatures on the meat, resulting in better browning.  Additionally, some added flavor is likely imparted to the meat during this grilling.

As browned vegetables are usually used in the braising, I also grilled these after the meat, again generating better flavor in the vegetables (onions, carrots, chili, and celery) than is easily accomplished on the stove.

To get more flavor in the meat, it is marinated in a mixture of red wine and spices, in fact in the same braising liquid that is to be used later.  This helps flavor the meat and also combines with the meat juices during the browning on the grill.  I don’t think the exact measures of the following ingredients are very important, in fact, none of this was measured at the time, so use your best judgment.  Be a bit careful with the salt, however, as eventually the reduced braising liquid will be used for the sauce, and much of the salt will remain in this concentrated liquid.

I balked at the initial price of $6/lb for the short ribs at one mid-range market, but found them in a local Chinese grocery for $4/lb.  God knows what Whole Foods charges.
Thus we have:

Grill-Braised Short Ribs

5-8 lbs beef short ribs as desired
1 disposable aluminum roasting pan, to fit ribs and veggies snugly in a single layer
1 bottle red wine, something robust, I used a cheap (but drinkable) zin-cab-syrah blend out of a box (Target Vintner’s Blend, 2011 as if it really matters)
1 large onion, sliced or quartered
2 large carrots, cut in half the long way
2 large celery stalks, cut in 6” lengths
1 mild chili pepper, such as poblano, seeded and cut in two lengthwise
2+ cloves garlic
2+ tsp black pepper
1 Tb salt
1+ tsp garlic powder
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp dried basil
1 tsp oregano
1 tsp chili powder or cayenne or both, as desired

Put the ribs and all of the spices in either a large heavy plastic bag or container, and add enough red wine to just cover the meat and massage briefly to mix.  Let sit in the refrigerator as convenient, say 3-6 hrs.

I use a large covered charcoal grill, so light up a chimney of charcoal, or run a propane grill relatively high until ready for action.   Place the coals on one side of the grill to leave room for the braising off direct heat. Remove the meat from the marinade and start to grill, letting each side (or, well, most of the sides) brown very well, a few minutes per side depending on the heat level.  No reason to hurry here.  Occasional fat flare-ups seem to enhance the flavor. While doing this, transfer all of the marinade to the disposable pan and start to heat it on the grill towards boiling.

When finished grilling the meat, transfer the meat to the pan in a single layer, and grill the vegetables over the coals until also quite browned, a few minutes per side.  Add the vegetables to the pan and make sure the liquid comes up at least 2/3 of the way over the meat, as the liquid will cook down some during the braising.  If more liquid is needed, add more red wine or chicken stock (never water).

Place the pan over the hottest part of the grill and heat until boiling, then either turn down the grill or move the pan off direct heat.  Cover the pan with heavy aluminum foil to reasonably seal the pan.  The heat should be regulated to have the liquid bubbling slowly, for about 2-2.5 hrs.  You can peek after an hour or so to make sure the liquid has not evaporated.  If so, turn down the heat some or add some additional wine or stock.  Once you think it is going well, leave it alone with the cover closed.  With a charcoal grill, the heat will naturally reduce over time, which is not really a problem with this sort of recipe.  The picture shows the ribs at the end of the 2.5 hr braising.  This is what you are looking for.

When done, transfer the ribs to another covered pan and strain and de-fat the braising liquid into a sauce pan.  Reduce the liquid by around half, tasting for salt, which can be added at this point if necessary.  This liquid should be strong and very flavorful.   Serve the ribs with some reduced sauce, perhaps over garlic mashed potatoes or polenta.  A young syrah is a good match for this sort of thing, but pretty much any good, rich red wine will do.  You went to all this trouble to cook the meat; have something worth drinking.  I had a 2009 Provenance Cabernet Franc, which was very nice, thank you.

I simultaneously cooked a ~2” thick boneless chuck the same way, which turned out pretty well, but without the maximum flavor of the short ribs.

Summer's Bounty: Fruit (& Vegetable) Desserts

We were gifted last week with the bounty from a friend's garden. Happily, it sent me into a frenzy of recipe experimentation, with some nods & some nays (mostly nods). As the intelligent individual that I am, it only makes sense to me to start with dessert. Here's what we've got to work with- strawberries, rhubarb, peaches and zucchini. And here's what we got-
Strawberry Cake
(adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
A Martha Stewart recipe via Smitten Kitchen which I "improved" with the addition of some almond extract and ground toasted almonds that I had laying around (festering as the Daddy would say.) They added a pleasing texture and taste complexity to the cake. I found the strawberries on top to be visually unappealing, but the baking melted them into a jammy consistency which was a quite nice finale for the top of the cake. I am tempted to try it with blueberries, which might look a little more attractive after baking.This is one of those desserts that is good for breakfast, lunch, or dinner- if you have any left.

6 Tb butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pie plate

1 1/2 c  all-purpose flour 

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp table salt

1 c plus 2 Tb granulated sugar

1/2 t almond extract

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 egg

1/2 c milk

1 c ground toasted almonds

1 lb. strawberries, hulled and halved

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Butter and flour a  9- or 10-inch springform or cake pan.

Whisk the flour, baking powder and salt together in a small bowl. In a larger bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. (The butter & sugar may get stuck repeatedly on the sides of your bowl. If this occurs- it's very annoying! - move on to adding the egg mixture, and beat until fluffy then.) Mix in the egg, almond extract, and vanilla, beat well. Add the dry mixture alternately with the milk, mixing until just smooth. Fold in the ground almonds.

Pour the batter into the prepared springform pan. Arrange the strawberries, cut side down, on top of batter, as closely as possible in a single layer. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the berries.

Bake the cake for 10 minutes then reduce oven temperature to 325°F and bake the cake until it is golden brown and a tester comes out free of wet batter, about 50 minutes to 60 minutes. (Gooey strawberries on the tester are a given.) If the cake hasn't browned much on top but is baked through, brown it under the broiler, watching like a hawk to make sure that it doesn't burn!

Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes on a rack. Unlatch the sides of the springform pan and unmold the cake. Cool completely on the rack, then use a cake spatula to loosen it from the pan bottom and slide onto a serving plate. Cut into wedges to serve. Serves 6-8.

Stewed Rhubarb & Berries

Trust me, for better or worse,
I don't look like her!

(adapted from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten- she uses a combination of strawberries & raspberries; I went for 100% strawberries and skipped the addition of Grand Marnier.)

This is an Ina Garten recipe.  I have scrupulously ignored her cookbooks, which I realize are idolized by millions of fans, for two silly reasons- one, when I was in the hospital after surgery in 2006 the old lady who was my roommate told me that I looked like her; and two, because her recipes always looked too simple! But, as a novice rhubarb cooker, in this case simplicity was a good idea. I love the contrast between the citrus and berry flavors, but I'm not quite sure what happened to the rhubarb. I enjoyed this for breakfast topped with a spoonful of labneh, thickened yogurt cheese.

2 lbs fresh rhubarb, cut into 3/4" pieces
1 c sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2/3 c water
2 pints strawberries, hulled and cut in thick slices
1/3 c freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons)
1/3 c freshly squeezed orange juice (2 oranges)

Put the rhubarb in a 2 quart saucepan, along with the salt, sugar, and the 2/3 cup water. bring to a boil over high heat, then lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the rhubarb is tender and starts to fall apart. Remove from the heat and stir in the strawberries and citrus juices. Serve warm or cold with some sort of white dairy accompaniment (yogurt, whipped cream, ice cream, etc.)

My rhubarb was a little green- but it tastes better than it looks.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake (adapted from the King Arthur's Flour.com recipe)
Our number one zucchini cake is the Zucchini Orange Cake with a fresh oj glaze, but I was in the mood for chocolate...... Using cocoa instead of bar chocolate means that the chocolate flavor here is not as intense as in my brownies, chocolate chunk cookies, etc, so I recommend a higher proportion of nuts and chocolate chips to guarantee lots of melted chocolate and crunchy nut goodness in every bite!

1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) butter, plus more to grease your pans
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup sour cream, buttermilk, or yogurt (I used nonfat Greek yogurt)
2 1/2 cups flour, plus a little more for dusitng the pans
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 teaspoons espresso powder, optional but it deepens the chocolate flavor (you can use finely ground coffee beans)
3 cups shredded zucchini
1 to 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 to 1 1/2 cups chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Generously butter and flour either a 9" x 13" pan, two 9" round cake pans or three 8"x4" loaf pans.

Cocoa can be lumpy,
so it's a good idea to take the time to sift the dry ingredients.

In a medium size bowl sift together the flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

In a large mixing bowl, use a mixer to beat the butter, oil, and sugar, until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla, ground coffee, and the eggs (one at a time).

Stir in the sour cream, buttermilk, or yogurt alternately with the flour mixture. (I did this part by hand.)
Fold in the zucchini, nuts, and chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan(s). if using more than one pan, fill them about 2/3 - 3/4 full.

Bake the cake for 30 to 35 minutes, for a rectangular pan, 45-50 minutes (at least) for loaf pans; until the top springs back lightly when touched, and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out coated with crumbs, not gooey batter. Because of the varying dampness of the zucchini, be patient and bake the cakes until they are absolutely done (but not overbaked.) Mine took 75 minutes(!) in loaf pans.

Let the cakes cool in the pans on a rack for 10 minutes, and then turn out of the pans onto the rack to  cool completely.

Roasted Peaches with Amaretti Crumble 

(adapted from a recipe by Cindy Mushet in Bon Appetit, August 2009) I have wanted to try a recipe like this for decades. I seemed to recall seeing it in one of the Marcella Hazan tomes, but a cursory search was unsuccessful, so I resorted to you-know-where.

These got mixed reviews. While quick and easy to throw together, they seemed a little blah, striking too few flavor notes and had a low crumble to fruit ratio for my in-house unbiased taste tester. (Not the Picky Eater, but sometimes just as picky.) I liked them with my new favorite dairy product, (again) full-fat labneh, but decided that they really did need a third contrasting dairy flavor, albeit nothing too sweet. In my researches, I discovered that David Lebovitz has a recipe for Peach & Amaretti Crisp both on Epicurious.com and in his cookbook Ready for Dessert, which I will try as soon as some dessert storage opens up and we each lose five pounds.

 

6 amaretti cookies (Italian macaroons)
3 Tb whole almonds
2 Tb unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 Tb sugar
4 Tb chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus more to butter the baking dish
3 firm but ripe large peaches, rinsed, wiped clean of fuzz, halved, pitted (make sure they are a freestone variety- no one tells you that!)
Vanilla ice cream or another white dairy accompaniment (see Rhubarb above)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter 11x7x2-inch glass baking dish. Combine the cookies, almonds, flour, and sugar in a food processor. Using on/off turns, process until the cookies and almonds are coarsely chopped. Add  the chilled butter to processor. Using on/off turns, process the topping mixture until moist clumps form.

You could just stop here and snack on the topping.

My grandmother's (vintage) melon baller.

Use a melon baller to gently deepen and enlarge the pit cavity in each peach half. Place them, cut side up, in the prepared dish. Push a generous amount of the topping into the pit cavity of each peach half. Spread more over the surface (about 2 generous tablespoons for each), mounding the topping and pressing lightly to adhere it to the surface of the peach, leaving a 1/4-inch plain border.

Bake the peaches until tender when pierced with knife and the topping is golden brown, about 35 minutes. Cool slightly. Serve with scoop of vanilla ice cream or dairy accompaniment of choice alongside.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Favorite Cookbooks (In no particular order)

Blogger's note: Recommended recipes will be added as they are approved in our test kitchen.

Nature by Alain Ducasse

Why?  Beautiful, fresh, Mediterranean recipes, mostly vegetable based.  Slightly more intricate and fancy French than most of my other favorites.  Also a fan of the interspersed ingredient format—the colors are beautiful, and the ingredient list in the recipe saves you from constantly having to look up the amounts of things.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Summer Vegetable Gratin with Basil, Pan-Fried Chanterelles with Almonds and Lemon, Socca with Nicoise Style Vegetables

Japanese Farm Food, by Nancy Singleton Hachisu

Why? “Naneth (the Picky Eater's obscure term of affection for her mother), this book is awesome!  I want to eat the whole vegetable section”
There’s also a chart that explains what Japanese cooking methods can use for what vegetables, so if you have something lying around and don’t know what to do with it—look there.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Salt-massaged Cucumber with Miso and Sesame, Spinach with Walnuts and Miso, Simmered Kabocha and Kombu, Sake-braised Shimeji Mushrooms (and the rest of the vegetable section).  White Peach Ice Cream brings back memories of Rome.

Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison, AKA The Bible, AKA Awesome

Why?  Do I really need to explain this one?  It has everything.  Everything works, and is wonderful, unlike another “Everyone/thing” book I could name……

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Provencal Winter Squash Gratin, Sauteed Mushrooms with Spinach and Pepper, Chard Stems with Saffron and Tomato, Winter Greens with Fennel and Mushrooms

The Art of Simple Food  by Alice Waters

Why?  The ULTIMATE first cookbook.  Beautiful, simple, classic, everything I miss about cooking at home when stuck in the produce black hole that is Pittsburgh.  Read this cookbook, don’t just flip through it.  You can learn so much.

The Picky Eater’s Picks: Ratatouille of Grilled Vegetables, Wilted Chard with Onion, Green Pea and Asparagus Ragout, Angel Food Cake

The Picky Eater's Restaurant Picks: An Occasional Feature

The Happy Eater lifts a celebratory grapefruit spritzer.

No doubt about it, the Picky Eater has a penchant for Michelin starred restaurants. But, of course, only those which meet her personal specifications- vegetarian, preferably locally sourced ingredients, with food so good that it's worth starving all day to save calories for dessert. Her latest find, her mother must admit, is a gem- Sons & Daughters, located in San Francisco just a few blocks toward Nob Hill from Union Square.

You are served a set seven course tasting menu with thoughtful vegetarian alternatives for non-carnivores. Wine pairings are suggested for each course, and the Daddy & I shared one. He was so enamored of the Easton 2010 'Monarch Mine Vineyard' Cabernet Franc that we were served with our lamb that he has a friend who is heading to the Sierra foothills picking up a case for us.

The restaurant's produce comes from their Los Gatos garden which, in addition to fruits, herbs, and vegetables, includes an orchard, snail farm (?), chicken coop and beehive. The back side of the menu lists ingredients from the garden that you might be eating that night.

Menu annotated by Ellin

Here's what the Picky Eater has to say about Sons & Daughters herself:

The food: Dishes are works of art.  Interesting, unusual combinations, but everything tastes pure and just divine. Not as "out there" as Manresa but good use of acid, dairy, farm produce.
The decor: I love the space-- small, but uncluttered, and it feels comfortable.  The last time we went there it was abosolutely beautiful with the May evening sun coming in the windows.
The wait staff: Staff is helpful but not... impersonal, the way they kind of were at Manresa.

I find her assessment pretty much right on. I love the aesthetics- from the gray (my new favorite color) tablecloths to the mismatched handcrafted serving vessels to the series of homemade mini-breads- buckwheat toast, pretzel rolls, sourdough- that are brought between courses. Every dish is like a little (and truth be told they are little, this is not a restaurant for hearty eaters) surprise; a combination of tastes, textures, and visuals that I never would have come up with in a million years. I have eaten in quite a few restaurants that aspire (and fall short) of accomplishing this, but Sons & Daughters hits the mark with ease. But, don't take my word for it. Feast your eyes on these glorious Picky Eater photos and click over to Open Table to make a reservation!

Buttermilk chip amuse-guele with trout roe

Roasted baby beets (loved the accompanying
fried onions & pickled mustard seeds)

Sea urchin, Delta asparagus  & smoked bread (veggie version sans sea urchin)

Gnocchi & morels with pea tendrils

Lamb shoulder, seared artichoke & fava beans

Dessert #2- Geranium ice cream with huckleberries & white chocolate mousse.

The Picky Eater's dad says that I must mention what all this sensory delight will set you back- $98. per person, and $68. per wine pairing. Don't gasp! The way we look at it, we would rather eat one meal at Sons & Daughters than five at (y)our local chain restaurant., and that is how we do business- cooking and eating at home and springing for fabulous meals when we travel or for special occasions. It was big foodie news recently, when Sons & Daughters has chosen to reduce their tariff from $114 in line with their reduced food costs.

Sons & Daughters

708 Bush St  San Francisco, CA 94108

(415) 391-8311
http://www.sonsanddaughterssf.com/