A Toast Of Scallops

This is for you ,Eunice

A good friend of the family loved scallops. She ordered them at almost every restaurant we went to , and there were a lot of places we dined at . It was her signature dish. Scallops are a wonderful and varied dish that even novice home chefs can make. They can be dressed up for a holiday meal or served just with butter and a vegetable on the side. If you haven't discovered them , now is the time to do so.

The scallop itself is one of the more  complicated bivalves. However it is relatively simple dish to prepare.The  first step is selecting them. The most common kind of scallops is dry packed or diver caught. You can buy deep sea or bay scallops, the last is smaller and noticeably sweeter in taste. whatever kind you buy, look at the flesh. It should be a uniform pearly white, with firm slightly moist flesh, They shouldn't be completely dry or dripping with moisture. Avoid ones that look mangled or shredded. These have been manhandled and also indicate a lack of freshness.Never get frozen scallops. These are tasteless and way too chewy.Most home chefs buy about one and a half pounds for four people. If you're planning a party, divide the amount of guests by four and then times the 1.5 to get the exact amount for entertaining. Prepping them is a snap. Just rinse under cold water. Rip off the side muscle with your thumb and forefinger. It's no big deal if they can't come off. You can eat these little meat flaps  as well.

One of the best known scallop dishes is Coquilles Saint Jacques.This is a creamy custard like dish that features the seafood poached first  and is usually served in ramekins.It is an elegant dish to be served at candlelit . You can also pan sear them, which is popular in restaurants these days. Melt a little butter or olive oil in a frying pan. Sear on both sides just enough to give them a golden crust. To get an extra crispy crust  make sure they are completely dry (pat them several times with paper towels before cooking). Salt them at the very last moment. Grilling is the same method. Scallops can also be poached. Use a court bouillion which is a mix of a bouquet garni, or mix of herbs and a mirepoix of carrots, celery , onions and leeks..You can serve this with a side of rice or buttered pasta for a basic yet surprisingly classy dish.For a heartier dish , try them with corn in a thick chowder.It also has the tang of bacon too for a dash of smokiness.Serve them with pasta and peas and a sprinkling of bread crumbs.An Oriental spin would be scallops with orange and snow peas.

Our friend loved scallops so much, that they were a big part of her life. They are a treat to the palate, a true gift from the sea. discover them and how good they are.

Gourmet Cooking Made Practical

Usually if a well known chef writes a cookbook, it is written in terms that only other chefs know. Home chefs are left woefully in the dark, looking at on line dictionary or asking around as to what the methods mean or where to acquire rare and expensive ingredients. Not so with the newest cookbook from Chef Gabrielle Hamilton. Anyone can read these recipes, even the greenest of novice home chefs.

 She was featured in the new Cookbook section in yesterday's New York Times Dining section. Dining regular Julia Moskin contributed this piece which is an interview ,review and recipe all rolled into one article. Chef Hamilton's new cookbook Prune, named after her East Village restaurant and it reflects her refreshing rule breaking attitude towards cooking and fancy food. She is a rebel of sorts, serving canned sardines on Triscuits  on her first menu at her East Village bistro.This is not your typical, food snooty kind of cook. The recipes are easily replicable.She doesn;t talk down to those who don't have a culinary education or are new to the cooking scene. The steps are easy to follow even if they are broken down to almost simplicity . Cooking and baking this way ensures the perfect dish. There are also recommendations about using already prepared food like Thomas' English muffins,,Grape Nuts and  -gasp - PAM Cooking Spray (although this is not a new approach. Chefs Sandra Lee and Jamie Oliver have been suggesting this for a decade and a half)

Another first is that Chef Hamilton is opiniated , putting her  edicts and opinions in the book. There is one trope about  never using balsamic vinegar ,or why candied lemons should be served ice cold with chilled peppermint patties.. Those mysteries orders, aside, the recipes are tasty and perfect for any home chef to try. Ms. Moskin includes a recipe  which is salt packed cold roast beef with bread crumb salsa. This is a roasted piece of beef tenderloin caked in regular Kosher salt. The description is just as delicious as the dish itself. Chef Hamilton suggests piling on the salt so it looks like a cast on a broken leg. As for the breadcrumb salsa, drain them in coffee filters. Really???!!!Also parsleys aren't just added, they're roughed up. I love the way she describes the oil in the pan , beautiful, veinous, and streaking. Her recipes are really a joy to read ,possessing a brio that even the most flamboyant chefs in the business do not have.

Chef Hamilton is a breath of fresh air in the cooking world. Her recipes are simple yet delicious. Her words are just as tasty and filling as the dishes from the new book honoring Prune, her restaurant.

Doughnuts, Circles Of Sweetness

Doughnuts are the ultimate comfort food.One and a cup of coffee are a worker's best friends after a mind dazing day.They've kept our servicemen alert and the broken hearted happy for years with all have our favorites from cakey baked kind to the yeasty fried kind. Ligaya Mishin wrote about and had the lucky job of tasting doughnuts( a surprising seventy-seven!!!) in today's New York Times Dining section. Doughnuts are one of the oldest pastries mankind has, being first made 8,000 years ago.Archeaologists have found fossilized ring cakes during various digs.New York City had it's first doughnut or as it was known then olykoek sold by Anna Joralemon in 1673 from a shop located on lower Broadway.Doughnuts were given to our doughboys a century ago during World War One.the doughnut has had several reincarnations over the last few years.The recipe has omitted butter and eggs for vegans, compromising it's fluffy texture.Some are now baked as opposed to fried.A few Manhattan shops will make them fresh so doughnut connoisseurs can enjoy them red hot ,while other serve doughnuts with syringes as a DIY jelly doughnut for customers.This last, made by St. Balmain gives doughnut lovers the choice of cream, jam or chocolate.Flavors are changing too.Some do serve cinnamon.Others are experimenting with everything from sriracha to Thai basil and coconut milk.Fillings for jellies aren't just raspberry jam anymore either.Some are filled with real fruit preserves along with Meyer lemon. Ms Mishin sampled some of these along with others from well known bakeries and upstarts.East Harlem's Dough Loco are lopsided and mishapened (imagine Salvador Dali baking them)'yet they have the truest taste and texture.One has a Los colored bright orange icing, giving the doughnut the look of a bagel with the works.The icing is really. blood orange and it has a nice tartness that counterbalances the pastry's sweetness.Carvin"s Bakery has the most unusual flavors with peanut butter and cream cheese along crumbled Oreos and even bacon bits! she also went international , trying the Greek loukoumades and the Korean ho-dduk which is more a pocket filled with liquified brown sugar.Ms. Mishan also includes a doughnut recipe for home bakers.It's adopted from Du Jour"s bakery recipe and is the most traditional.The dough should be made in a standard mixer with a dough hook.They are yeast based so expect the finished product to be fluffy.Adding to that are six eggs and these will give the interiors a rich yellow coloring The doughnuts are then fried in vegetable oil and then rolled in granulated sugar.You can even fry the holes too.These would make great snacks for the kids.nIf you want, sift in some cinnamon to create the ones you buy at farm stands or at farmers markets. Doughnuts are the eternal comfort food. A chewy, yeasty one is better than any box ox chocolates or cup of chai tea. Enjoy one with a strong cu p of Joe to appreciate their goodness and flavor.

ReCaps - The Perfect Lids For Perfect Repurposing

Recaps are a great new invention by Karen Rzpecki . These lids turn the average mason jar into a versatile container,making them great for holding everything. Tea lovers can have their tea in them. Crafters can use them to hold yarn  and glitter. Below is Foodie Pantry interview with their creator,

1)      Again let me thank you for the recaps. I can’t wait to use them. How did you come up with the idea? What was your inspiration?  My herb garden, which led me to homemade salad dressing which I always make in Mason jars.  The lid & ring were a pain and I wanted a cap I could shake, pour & store from!

2)      How are they better than normal; Mason jar lids?  Versatility.  You can shake protein drinks & smoothies, pour maple syrup, honey and snacks & store pantry & craft items.

3)      Are they effective in keep dry ingredients like flour corn meal and sugar moisture free?  Yes, while it isn’t a vacuum pack (doesn’t remove the air that is already in the jar) it does prevent moisture and air from getting in.  And they don’t rust like the lids that come with Mason jars.

4)      How can people repurpose their Mason jars and Recaps?  Wow, so many ways.  Hobbyists use them for paint, yarn, buttons, beads, bolts.  Foodies use them for pantry items, fermenting and even baking. 

5)      The holidays are coming up, any ideas for holiday gift jars? Have you thought about making gift kits that would include holiday stickers, ribbon and gift cards? Yes & Yes!  We are promoting a gift-a-day in November and some of the ideas are for coffee lovers, teachers, college students, bird lovers and more.  We will be showing what goes into the gift and the approximate cost so that people can pull the items together and give really great, thoughtful gifts.  We have ready-made gift sets available but find that most of our fans like to make their own. We now have gift tags available for this as well.

6)      What do you like to do with your mason jars?  I have a reCAP jar full of water with me at all times.

7)      Any other future inventions in the works? What about a Recap with a straw for us ice tea drinkers?  We have the FLIP cap coming out in March.  This cap allows people to snatch out bigger items such as pickles and it has a removable screen that is great for flour, sugar, grated cheese and loose tea.  Our site now has other accessory recommendations like straws and koozies.  While we don’t make these, they are nice add on’s that can be found at masonjars.com.

 

 

A Hot Meal On A November Night

The colder weather is here and that means ending the day with a hot , satisfying meal.Nothing beats a well balanced dinner after a busy school or work day. The best part , it really doesn,t  take much to  create a tasty warm dish. You can whip up something without a lot of effort.

One of the easiest and always best loved is spaghetti. It doesn't require a lot of work, just boiling your favorite pasta and serving it with either a jarred or homemade sauce. Many home chefs may turn their noses at this first. However if you've just come in from a hectic eight hour work day or a day at home where you've done nothing but clean , then jarred sauce is OK.it may not be as delicious or as healthy as a home made sauce but it'll do the trick in a pinch. You can also use that sauce you made during the summer when your garden produced bumper crops of tomatoesAnother idea is cutting up tomatoes ,blending them with oil and oregano,  and then pouring them over the pasta. The pasta's heat will semi cook them for a kind of al fresco sauce.Rice is another quick and hot dish to make and it's receptive to the addition of leftovers. Top plain white rice with leftover chili or wild rice with leftover turkey and gravy.Open up a few different cans of beans and mix in with any kind of the grain for a hearty side.

Nothing beats coming home to a hot juicy steak. One of the best  varieties are T bone and Porterhouse. These can be easily sautéed , either after being rubbed with olive oil or butter. You can add either sea salt and fresh ground pepper or jazz it up with garlic. It can even be made glam with an simple anchovy sauce/ This is Piedmontese sauce and it's a simple blend  of anchovy paste, a mix of olive oil and butter along with a garlic clove. Serve this with French or Italian  bread to sop up the sauce. Sauteed chicken breasts are also a good choice  for dinner.. You can serve it with a franchese sauce, an easy marriage of a roux ( flour and butter cooked together) with heavy cream and lemon juice added. A nice side is microwave steamed broccoli or a packaged veggies. For these saute  with herbed butter and almonds for added dash.This can be also served with rice, or if you're too tired, Rice Roni. Consider making this when you're too tired to deal with more elaborate sides. Also think a quick tomato or broccoli salad to compliment the chicken.

A hot hearty meal is the best way to end a busy day and welcome a calming night. Treat yourself and your family to something steamy yet simple. It's easy and that's what you want.

Celebrating With Prayers And Food

Today is just an important holiday as yesterday's Halloween.It is known as Dia del Muerta, a day when ancestors and their memories are honored not only with prayers but with food.These delicacies and lovingly made dishes are eaten by living family members.It is a day devoted not just to memories but to family recipes. The holiday is between Halloween and November 2nd.It is solely a Mexican holiday with its roots to indigenous practices, primarily an Aztec festival in honor of the goddess Mictecacihuatl.She ruled over the afterlife and guarded bones.It is meshed with All Saints and All Souls Days, tow holy days firmly observed in the Spanish cultures.Families leave offerings such as sugar skulls and flowers along with specific dishes.These along with the skulls are placed on an altar, constructed especially for the day.Tamales are one of the dishes ,made either savory or sweet.These can either have chicken in a green spicy sauce, like a salsa verde or a pineapple cinnamon jellies.There is also pan de muertos, bones of the dead , which is kind of similar to the Italian osse de more.These are breads baked in the shape of bones and dusted with sugar.There are also pumpkin and amaranth seeds are also ,offered as snacks for the returning spirits.The spirits need spirits themselves , and there is pulque, a liquor made from agave left for them to imbibe. For the living there are the tamales, bread and sugared skulls to share .However other recipes also shine.You can try turkey tamales with a mole Negro or black sauce.The last is made with a variety of chiles, nuts and even bread crumbs. Along with tomatoes and tomatillos.Goat is popular throughout Mexico and it is featured in one Dia de lost Muertos recipe, chile with a chile marinade,It can be made barbacoa style, barbecued in a pit, dug especially for it.The meat is soaked in adobos, a spicy chile infused marinaded and then roasted for six to seven hours..Rice ia always an important part of any Mexican meal and one infused with garlic and onions is served.Fritters drizzled with molasses and Chihuahua cheese are one of the interesting snacks served.Salsa is a must and it is created with a bro chilis and tomatillos.Some families also serve Mexican hot chocolate, zinged and zipped with a healthy sprinkling of cinnamon. Dias Del Los Muertos is a time for remembrance but also for food.Tastes and flavors are a big part of life, carried well to the afterlife.Salty and sweet, fiery and mild, they all go with us.

Trick Or Treat Halloween Facts And Fun

Today is the ultimate candy day.By now millions of kids in the US alone have garnered, their fair share of Twix, KitKats ,Smarties and anything else totally not nutritious.It's a fun day of celebrating since Irish and Scottish immigrants first came here bringing the traditions of Samahain or All Hallow's Night with them. Not surprisingly this is also a money making holiday for candy companies.Michael Moss did comparative article in Wednesday's New York Times Dining section. He found out that candy sales last Halloween hit a whopping 217 million up 2 per cent from the previous year( in all fairness, that was when Superstorm Sandy hit and people were more worried about survival than Mars Bars)However due to a summer time increase this year, coco lovers eased upon their addiction.The reason for the increase? Cocoa butter.This is the fat of the pod that gives chocolate it's rich,satisfying taste,Food chemists have tried subbing in other cheaper oils bit to no avail.Chocolate is what it is because of that cocoa butter.Still we crave it thanks to our love of it.We also love the variety of those Halloweens treat bags too.Most candy companies now sell two or three different kinds so they can push lesser like types on consumers.This is not a new marketing ploy.Kellogg's was doing its early as 1941" variety mini cereal box packs.A variety also tricks our brains into wanting us to eat more.We feel the need to sample and try everything, Eating one kind will also make us feel fuller quicker.thanks tour brain acclimating to just the one taste and texture.A variety pack of two or three different kinds turns our brain into race car veering left and right ,leavings with a still hungry feeling. Of course there is an antidote to this: an old fashioned candy recipe.Today's New York Times Weekend section,Friday File, compiled by Mary Jo Murphy printed out snippets from past Halloween reports.Mostly it was all apple bobbing whether the get together was from the 1890s or 1920s.However there was the Halloween party report from a century ago that offered a recipe .It called for fresh coconut straight from, well the coconut and then toasted in an oven.. boil a cup of molasses with brown or white sugar, along with a teaspoon of vinegar (I'd recommend the apple cider kind) and a tablespoon of butter.It is ready when it hits the hard candy stage(dribble a few drops In cold water.It should be hard and crackly), add the coconut, stir well and then pour into a buttered pan.Let the candy get hard and the break into bite sized pieces.Actually you can sub in any kind of nuts, for the coconut to create brittle.If you want to add a modern spin, dip the pieces into dark chocolate.If you feel the coconut brittle is too sweet, then add a scant tablespoon of sea salt to add some zing and dash. store in a covered tin. Halloween is nothing but fun treats.Enjoy it it wisely, don't go wild.Enjoy that candy wisely.