Spice, Seasoning, Etc – Page 9

Persillade

Here’s another common scenario I’ll bet you’ll cop to. There you are in the produce section, and you stop for cilantro. Right next to that is the parsley. You glance at that and then head for the onions…

I mean, what does anybody actually use parsley for, right? Answer: Persillade. Think of it as a variation on pesto, which in fact, it is. There really isn’t “one right way” to make this stuff, so experiment and make yourself and your crew happy.

Build a batch of this and try it on roast chicken, or potatoes, steak, fish, an omelette, pasta; get the idea? Cool, let’s build it.

Handful of fresh Parsley, about a half cup loose packed
2-4 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
2 cloves Garlic
1 small bulb Shallot
Juice of 1/2 to 1 Lemon
Pinch of Sea Salt

Rough chop the parsley, garlic and shallot. Throw them into your food processor or blender.

Pulse sparingly a few times until you’ve got a nice, even mix.

Now turn the machine on and add a steady, thin stream of olive oil while the processor runs until you have a consistency you like.

Transfer the sauce into a glass bowl, then add fresh lemon juice and salt to taste.

Allow the flavor to marry for at least 1/2 hour prior to serving.

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You can store Persillade in the fridge for a day or two, or freeze it if you want some long-term. This is an excellent sauce to do up in ice cube trays and freeze; just pop a cube out when you want a bit for something fun.

Enjoy!

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

You know these guys, right? The little pastel greened husked dudes by the tomatoes that you look at peripherally and pass by without a second thought?

Pass by no more; they are the key to green salsa that is second to none.

Choose tomatillos as you would tomatoes; you want firm ones that give a bit to finger pressure, with no soft spots, discoloration or other lesions.

Bring ’em home and get it on.

8-10 Tomatillos
1/2 medium Sweet Onion
1/2 lightly packed Cup fresh Cilantro
1-2 Hatch or Jalapeño Chiles
1-2 cloves Garlic
Juice of 1 fresh Lime
1/2 teaspoon Agave Nectar
Pinch of Sea Salt

Peel the husks off the Tomatillos and rinse them briefly in cold water. Quarter the onion, peel the garlic, and cut the lime in half.

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Field strip your chiles if you’re cooking for a general audience, or leave ’em be if you like the heat. If I use frozen Hatch chiles, I don’t roast them, but if it’s jalapeños that get the call, into the oven they go.

Halve tomatillos and place cut side down, along with the garlic and chiles, on a baking sheet. Slip that into the oven with broiler on and your rack set so the Tomatillos are about 5″ or 6″ below the element or flame. Roast ’em until the skins are blackened, then remove.

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Toss everybody but the salt into a blender or food processor and blend thoroughly.

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Pour the blend into a non-reactive sauce pan over medium heat.

Add salt to taste.

Allow salsa to simmer until it thickens and reduces slightly. Remove from heat, pour into a glass container and allow to cool completely in refrigerator.

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Will last longer than it will likely survive, AKA 4 or 5 days, refrigerated.

Now, obviously, it’s great on Tex Mex, like the housemade chimichangas this batch graced last night, but don’t stop there; it’s wonderful on pork chops or chicken, roasted potatoes, stuffed peppers, and omelettes, just to name a few. Whip up a batch and see if it ain’t so.

Enjoy!

Brine on, you crazy diamond

We’re enjoying wonderful salmon runs here in the northwest, which is heartening, to say the least. Goes to show that all the fishing restrictions, dam removals and other environmental mitigation steps do seem to have a positive impact.

Since we do get to catch some, it’s a great time to think about preserving for the cold months ahead.

Friends who like to smoke fish and meat asked for my take on brines, so here goes.

Before we tackle brining, we need to chat about salt a bit. Salts now come in many varieties and from many sources. This reinforces the need for a few basic consideration when using it.

The first and foremost variable is weight. Weighing different salts quickly reveals the fact that they differ widely, so using a spoon or cup as a measure can yield very inconsistent results. weighing is what you really want to do to get an accurate ratio, as that is the key to not only brine, but many other recipes using salt. In other words, while tossing in a pinch is fine for every day cooking, if you want consistent, accurate results in recipes and processes that really matter, you measure by weight, (as bakers well know).

Next comes source; fancy salts are great for finishing, but expensive and unnecessary for salt-intensive processes like curing. You’ll also want to avoid table salt which often has iodine and anti-caking agents in it that can discolor or add off-putting flavor notes.

Then there’s crystal size; larger crystals will dissolve faster in water, but take longer to do so when sprinkled on meats, so choose according to your primary need. And yeah, you are gonna end up with a bunch of salts in your pantry and that’s a good thing. As you’ve read here before, I like plain Kosher salt for brining, and I use flaked salt for pickling and corning.

Alright, on to brine!

Your basic brine ratio is 1 cup salt to 1 gallon of water.

Trust me when I tell y’all that, weighed out, that’ll be 10 ounces of salt for each gallon of nice, clean water. If you’re gonna use the kosher salts you’re likely to find at your local store, I’ll save you some time:
Morton Kosher salt = 7 ounces per cup
Diamond Kosher salt = 5 ounces per cup
Anything else you find or use, weigh it out and go from there.

And that is all you need to brine something for smoking, grilling, or barbecuing. Really, just that. Everything else, the sugar and spice and everything nice, is optional. The best southern barbecue I’ve ever had was treated with that basic brine and nothing else. Good meat, the right heat, maybe some smoke, bingo – perfection. That is a classic example of why to brine; it makes for juicy, tender, and flavorful food. Now lets look at some basics for the process itself.

Brining 101 Rules
1. Whatever you’re brining needs to be completely covered.
2. Brine in a non-reactive vessel; glass is always best.
3. Boil your water, add salt, herbs and spices, and allow the salt to dissolve completely.
4. Cool the brine completely before you use it, (don’t cook in the brine).
5. Always brine cold, in the fridge is best, of course.
6. The general timing rule of thumb is 1 hour per pound of product.
7. You don’t need to rinse brined foods unless you did an exceptionally heavy ratio, (Like corned beef, for instance), or if you see an obvious salt residue on your food. The exception to this rule is poultry; for a perfect bird, quickly rinse after brining, then wrap or place in a sealed container, in the fridge, for at least. 12 hours and as long as a day. You’ll be rewarded with glorious crispy skin and melt in your mouth bird.
8. Finally, water is optional; you can brine in any liquid you like, and you should definitely experiment. Just keep in mind that acidic liquids like vinegars or fruit juices can make for mushy flesh; nobody likes that, so plan and execute accordingly, (like much shorter brining time or appropriate ratios of acids to non, for instance).

Now lets cover some more specific brines.

For all of these recipes, the additional ingredients can be tossed right into the boiling water and salt.

Reduce heat to a simmer and allow everything to incorporate for 10 minutes; remove from heat and cool completely prior to brining.

Beef Brine
To the basic brine, add
1 teaspoon whole Pepper Corns
1/2 teaspoon whole Mustard Seed

Pork Brine
To the basic brine, add
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon whole Pepper Corns
1 teaspoon whole Mustard Seed
1/2 teaspoon whole Coriander Seed
1 – 2 cloves Garlic, rough chopped

Poultry Brine
To the basic brine, add
1/2 cup Apple Cider Vinegar
1 teaspoon whole Pepper Corns (Try Tasmanian Pepperberry!)
1/2 teaspoon Mexican Oregano
1/4 teaspoon Sage
1 – 2 cloves Garlic, rough chopped
3 – 4 Juniper berries
1 Bay Leaf, crumbled

Fish Brine
To the basic brine, add
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar
Juice and Zest of 1 Lemon
Juice and Zest of 1 Lime
Juice and Zest of 1 Orange
1/4 Cup fresh Cilantro, rough chopped
1 small Shallot, rough chopped
1 teaspoon whole Pepper Corns (Try Tasmanian Pepperberry!)
3 – 4 Juniper berries
1 Bay Leaf, crushed
Shot of Tabasco

Veggie Brine
To the basic brine, add
2 Tablespoons White Balsamic Vinegar
1 teaspoon whole Pepper corns
Juice and zest of 1/2 Lemon
Shot of Tabasco

So there ya go – Happy brining, and as always, if you’ve got good ones, y’all share!

Gundy’s Rosemary Sauce

Some of y’all are aware, (At least i hope ya are), that I’m the resident cook on The Big Wild radio show. Hosts Gundy and The Greek, and Producer Jon hook up with a steady stream of really fine interviews with outdoor big names every week, followed by my little chunk, know as On The Fire. It’s a gas to do, especially since the gang rarely tells me what I’m doing until seconds before we’re on air, (Seriously! They think its fun, and I do too!).

Well for fans and newcomers alike, you might not know that Gundy is a purty dang good cook himself. We chat off air about ingredients and recipes pretty much every week. The other day, he told me about this one. I asked for permission to share, which Dan generously agreed, so here you go – Like all great culinary surprises, it’s remarkably simple in content, and wonderfully subtle and complex in taste.

A little thing like a different variety of balsamic brings on a whole new character, as will various versions of the sweetener, (Try dark brown sugar, light brown, honey, or agave nectar, for example). Experiment and come up with your personal fave. Our favorite variation so far substituted powdered smoke from Butcher and Packer for the liquid smoke and agave nectar for the sugar, then added the juice of a fresh lemon and a pinch of salt: It’s that kind of wonderful thing to play with.

Gundy himself wrote, “I don’t always make it the same way cuz I don’t have a recipe.” That’s the best kind, far as we’re concerned. Just remember to write it down if you come up with chemistry that really knocks your socks off. Dan uses it for fish, but this rocks on poultry, pork, or roasted veggies: For those, you might want to up the vinegar and smoke ratios a bit.

Gundy’s Rosemary Sauce

1/2 Cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
Capful of Liquid Smoke
Sprig of fresh Rosemary
6 – 10 Montmorency Cherries

Gundy notes that, “I have found that a real good balsamic vinegar is overkill. Regular balsamic from the grocery store is thinner and not a waste of great vinegar.” You can certainly put a touch of a really fine balsamic in with the lighter stuff if you want a more complex flavor note.

If you can’t find the cherries themselves, you could substitute a tablespoon or two of sour cherry juice.

In a sauce pan, bring the vinegar to a rolling boil.

Add the sugar and stir to dissolve.

Stir in the liquid smoke.

Reduce heat to low, toss in the Rosemary and allow to simmer for 7 to 10 minutes. keep a sharp eye on it, as the sauce reduces quickly.

In the last minute of cooking, toss in the cherries and stir to incorporate.

If you try this with Salmon, Dan says The Commandant, (AKA, the lovely Mrs. Gunderson), “likes to have a thin layer of sauce spread over non -skin side of salmon. I throw it on a plank and grill it covered for 10 minutes or so. The sauce permeates the salmon. Don’t use too much or it overwhelms the fish. Just enough to darken the meat a bit. You will have some left over. Throw the twig on top for show.”

Gundy has honored me more than once, saying on the show, “Do what this guy tells you, it’ll be great.”

Back at ya, my friend!

E & M

Plastered Planters

This just absolutely cracked me up! Sister Ann writing for her local paper. You’ll find links to Annie’s blog and Alice’s Log House Plants right here. On the Log House website, you’ll find a list of nurseries that carry Alice’s stuff.

Enjoy!

Lovejoy for Kitsap Sun April 27, 2013

Plant Now For Spirited Summer Drinks

Last month, garden writer Amy Stewart presented gardeners with yet another intriguing book. Author of Wicked Plants (about toxic and psychotropic plants) and The Earth Moved (about worms), Stewart delights in offering new slants on age old topics.

Stewart’s latest effort is The Drunken Botanist: The Plants That Create the World’s Great Drinks. Inspired by such liquid delights as Margaritas and Mint Juleps, she offers stories, garden tips, and 50 recipes for would-be mixologists.

Stewart’s research fascinated Alice Doyle, co-owner of Log House Plants in Cottage Grove, Oregon. Among the Northwest’s premier wholesale plant growers, Log House Plants is famous for pioneering numerous horticulture trends, from informative plant labels to grafted vegetables. Thus, it’s not surprising that Doyle and Stewart teamed up to create a series of Drunken Botanist plant collections.

For example, if you are fond of using simple syrups in mixed drinks, you will want to grow the Mixologist collection. This assortment includes Orange Mint, Lavender Grosso, and Thai Basil, all excellent culinary forms that belong in the kitchen as well as the drinks cupboard. It also contains Agastache Golden Jubilee, a fragrant and flavorful perennial that is extremely attractive to bees and hummingbirds. Experimental cooks will also find plenty of uses for the perfumed foliage of Attar of Rose scented geraniums, and Angelica, a tasty and sweet scented biennial long candied for cake decorations.

Those who prefer whiskey cocktails could plant the Southern Belle Whiskey Garden. This includes the inevitable mint, though in superior form (Mint Kentucky Colonel), as well as German Chamomile, English Thyme, and French Tarragon.

If you like zippier drinks, yours is the Heart of Agave Tequila Garden, featuring savory Grower’s Friend Sage, Jalapeno Peguis Peppers, Golden Midget Watermelons, Margarita Mint, and Arp, a very hardy rosemary.

There’s also an Old Tom Gin Garden, with special forms of borage, basil, and thyme, along with Lemon Cucumbers. This set also includes my favorite Mexican Sour Gherkins, a wiry little scrambler Rachel Ray called the most important new vegetable in decades. These tiny, tart little cucumber relatives are delicious in salads and when pickled, are popular in drinks where you might use pickled onions. They look and taste a bit like watermelon, and are sometimes called watermelon cukes.

But wait, there’s more! The Old Havana Rum Garden celebrates Columbus’ discovery of sugarcane, a tropical grass that is a key ingredient in rum. This combo lets you partner rum with amazingly tangy golden alpine strawberries, lemon grass, lemon verbena, or Cuban Mohito Mint, all of which will earn their way into many a meal.

The Farmers Market Vodka Garden collection pairs cute little Red Currant Tomatoes with Fireball and Cherry Pick Peppers, all excellent varieties. This set also includes Slow Bolting Cilantro, which carries on long after ordinary cilantro has gone to seed, and Redventure Celery, a lovely creature with pinky-red stems that are delightfully crisp.

Even if you don’t imbibe, you can use these ingenious kits to make refreshing shrubs, combining various vinegars, fresh herbs, fruit or vegetables with sparkling water. These classic drinks were enormously popular in pioneer and Victorian times and are enjoying a renaissance in trendy bars today. Instead of a Shirley Temple, try apple cider vinegar, muddled raspberries, lemon balm and tonic. Or mix spicy, non-alcoholic ginger beer with crushed mint, a little jalapeno pepper, and chopped cucumber.

The possibilities are endless and make for splendidly different picnics and potlucks. If your local nursery doesn’t carry Log House Plant collections, check their website for the nearest retailer.

Log House Plants

Retail Outlets

Killer Vaniller

Our good friend Dennis sent us this hot tip on seriously good vanilla:

Eben, I just talked to you about these guys. This is the best vanilla I’ve ever tasted. The “Traditional” from this company is only 10% alcohol, instead of the usual 35% (that is required to call it “pure vanilla extract”.) So, you get more vanilla flavor for the money.

I note that the 15% off is only for orders of $40 and up. Two of the big (glass) bottles (16.7 oz) would get you there. Or 20% off on a half gallon or gallon.

First sale I have seen from them, ever.

Give it a try and let us know what ya think!

You’ll need the coupon codes:
15% OFF Traditional Bottles – Coupon: TRADITIONAL15
20% OFF Traditional Gallons & Half Gallons – Coupon: BULK20
This is a five day sale – four days left as of today, 5/6/13

Find it here!