Spring Reawakenings

 If it's Spring it means cleaning time. That means getting into those dusty and cob webbed corners. It's amazing what could be found there. It's usually a long forgotten treasure that can be reused or repurposed.

That's what happened to me today when I decided to clean in the crevices by my stove. I stored a slew of pans there, from cupcake to pizza. I also found some interesting things, I've forgotten about.

One is the broiler plate. form my Mom's original stove that we replaced four years ago,

I don't think this can fit into my new oven but I do have another use for it. It can be used to grill veggies , especially corn and even meats on the outdoor grill. Veggies like asparagus and eggplant slices usually fall through the grill plate's wide opening.This makes cooking them impossible. Using this will make grilling any kind of veggie  a snap.

Another treasure I unearthed is my madeleine pan.

I have never made them and now am looking into a vegan recipe.The recipe usually requires two large eggs, which I can use Vegg baking substitute for this and a whole stick of butter. I may just experiment and try I Can't Believe It's Not Butter which gives a nice buttery flavor. The other flavors come from the addition of vanilla and lemon zest.Madeleines are a labor intensive with halving the dry ingredients and adding them to the wet ingredients after careful stirring. Then there's chilling the batter for an hour before baking. The result is worth it howevermm

You never know what you'll unearth during Spring cleaning. Some items may be useful, some may be repurposed.  They 're all treasures and should be tried out. Some good stuff may come out of it.

The Plank Pizza Company Beer Parlor

 Sometimes the best restaurants are  right in your backyard. This was the case with The Plank Company Beer Parlor in Saddle Brook, New Jersey. Who knew a place this good  - and hip existed in the suburbs?

I decided to give this place a shot after hearing so much about it. Yes it is a beer parlor, done in the hip unfinished style seen in Hoboken's or Manhattan's West Village beer parlors or gardens however it also offers it's signature plank pizza served on a plank.

This was a tasty , super cheesy bite with a very thin crust. The sauce was excellent and there was a lot of it. as opposed to the sometimes skimpy dollops some pizzerias put on their pies.The pizza  is a long oval and cut into easy to handle slices.  There are all sorts of toppings from what I had The Red, which is a traditional pizza to The Chopped Salad which is pick any of The Plank Pizza Company or PPC's different salads. on a sour dough crust. There is even one called the Sunday Dinner which is meat loaf and mashed potatoes with gravy and mozzarella cheese. I do want to try the Click Click Bangkok which is spicy marinated chicken with peanut and Sriracha sauces . The dough is also topped with cucumbers, scallions bean sprouts and chopped peanuts.

There are also appetizers like the avocado egg rolls and tacos like carne asada ones which has tender bits of steak , guacamole and diced onions. This is a must order for steak and taco lovers. PPC also has soups, and even desserts. Yet this is a beer company and with that there are several different kinds, local sourced from nearby microbreweries ( Hackensack Beer anyone???) along with ales from all over the country.

You first taste the brew and then if you want it , the waiter brings a growler or jug of it. You can take this home and bring it back to be refilled with any beer or even  cider of choice. Stout and IPA lovers will appreciate the beer parlor's wide array of various brews.

If you're in Saddle Brook then stop at The Plank Pizza Company Beer Parlor. It's a great place for food and drink. Come for pizza  stay for the beer along with the appetizers , soups salads and desserts.

The Plank Pizza Company Beer Parlor is located at 383 Market Street, Building D, Saddle Brook, New Jersey 07663. They're right behind the BP Gas Station.PPC also does delivery and take out. Their number is 201-843-2426  and are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week.

Taco Bell Chili

 Surprisingly enough Taco Bell doesn't make chili. It makes everything else Mexican, from chalupas  to burritos to tacos. For some reason chili has always been off the menu. This is odd because they probably could come up with a delicious one. However the average home chef can, using their sauce packets and the usual ingredients and come up with a tasty variation.

This was something I wanted to try. I have tons of Taco Bell sauce packets in my house , thanks to a tendre for their burritos. I used my Mom's chili recipe, and tweaked it. 

I used ten  packets of the mild hot sauce packets along with kidney beans and tomato sauce.

These actually gives the chili a spicy flavor but not overwhelming Ten packets work, You could try less or more. You can also try their extra hot or Diablo strength if you want a two or three alarm chili.

Then there was the usual Morningstar Farm soy beef crumbles

Water, olive oil and a tiny drop of maple syrup were added. I usually use honey but found that maple syrup also works if added in a tiny  amount (think one drop).

Cumin, onion and garlic powders are the spices used. A good dash of each  flavors the chili.

I decided that the kidney beans and crumbles weren't enough so I also added some red beans for more protein and to fill it out.

Everything was cooked in the crockpot on high for two hours. The end result was a flavorful chili, one of the best I've made.I am definitely making all future chilis with the  hot sauce packets from Taco Bell. 

Taco Bell could probably make a great chili but they don't  - and should. we can using their sauce packets to create a tasty variation that's rich in flavor. Use those leftover sauce packets and make it today for a yummy version on this Mexican classic!!!

Ham Off The Table

 Ham is always the traditional Easter main course yet ir doesn't have to be. There are a variety of different main courses that can work just as well.  They can be poultry or seafood - just something different to change up the holiday.

Capon or turkey can easily work for a holiday dinner. Both go well with that Spring staple asparagus. Capon is slightly different than chicken.It's actually a castrated male that's been fed a diet usually of milk and porridge. The meat are full breasted and tender with a richer taste than either turkey or chicken. Treat it the same as  a turkey, with rubbing the skin with a mix of butter, sea salt and freshly ground pepper.You could also add garlic and lemon too for more flavor. Turkey is also good if you want a traditional meal , complete with stuffing. Keep in mind that this is not Thanksgiving so keep the sides light. Again, think about asparagus and green beans instead of yams and mashed potatoes. The gravy could be an au jus one  with being made with turkey necks and wings , onions carrots and celery,. Garlic flavors it but it can be omitted so you taste more  of the turkey . Cornstarch is added just to thicken it a little. If you want to cook something smaller consider Cornish hens. They are delicious and easy to make, having very tender meat. They can be rubbed with just olive oil and herbs for crisp skin and roasted in a 450 degree Farenheit oven for an hour.

Can you have seafood for your Easter dinner? Yes! If the weather is warm, then think about grilled shrimp over a fluffy pilaf. For something entirely different try a Brazilian moqueca that the New York Times featured in their Wednesday Food section. This is a fish stew rife with shrimp and cod. Tomatoes and bell peppers give it more color and flavor as does coconut milk and chili peppers like the ultra fiery Scotch Bonnet. This Brazilian gem does require dende oil which can be bought at any West African or Caribbean market. For a truly lush dish, think lobster tails. This is a great Spring dish , especially served with a  champagne vinaigrette salad full with grape tomatoes, artichoke hearts , cauliflower and broccoli. You could also serve lobster claws with them too,although they can be messy to eat. Salmon is another great choice for a light Easter dinner. Think of serving it with garlic butter to enhance its's delicate flavor. You can serve it with  crispy roasted potatoes and asparagus , flavored with more garlic butter sauce.

Ham doens;t have to be served every Easter. Mix it up this year with poultry or seafood.  It's a fun way to celebrate the holiday.

Those Smoking Hams

 One of the joys of any Easter dinner is a smoked ham. The flavor is a perfect blend of earthy and sweet, a great foil for asparagus. Surprisingly you can make it at home.

Steven Raichlen, grill master extrordinaire and host of the very popular PBS show Project Fire wrote this article and how to in yesterday's New York Times Food section. Keep in mind if you do want to do this, you have a short window of time because curing does take six days and Easter is only ten days away. You could do this for small family gathering later on in the season. The method is for a wet cure  not a dry cure one. Dry cured hams are rubbed with salts and left to dry for several months , resulting in a tight satiny texture and complex flavor associated with prosciutto and the Spanish jamon serrano, the last costing up to $1000. Wet cured ham, soaks in a mix of water,  salt, and sodium nitrate. The last you can buy on line from the Sausage Maker or Hoosier Hill Farm. Then there's the equipment,  Use either a stockpot , bucket or even a three gallon resealable plastic bag. There's also a marinade injector which gets all the meat cured and juicy. Then there's the actual smoking You can use a kettle style grill or charcoal burning one with a lid. The wood chips are what make the flavor. Chef Raichlen recommends using apple or hickory.

What about the cut used? A shoulder ham is recommended simply because it's small and can accommodate a smaller gathering of people. This is the easiest to smoke and cure in a week . You can also do this to a pork loin (which Chef Raichlen offers a recipe for , complete with a cognac orange glaze). As for the brine he adds a spice bundle of cloves, allspice berries,bay leaves, lemon zest strips and whole black peppercorns. The actual brine is made from water, Morton Kosher salt, honey , dark brown sugar and Prague powder #1 , the sodium nitrate needed. The brine is first made and then the spice bundle is added. As this is all boiling , the ham is prepared ,its' exterior scored with a sharp knife. The ham is placed with the brine in the roasting pot.It's also injected with it and then placed in the fridge for at least three days. The meat will take on a pinkish hue after three days of brining and being injected. It's now ready to be smoked. Set the grill temp at 250 degrees Farenheit, and put it on indirect heat. Put the ham on the grate fat side up and cook until it's handsomely brown and cooked through. It'll take seven hours. Keep adding wood chips to produce a steady stream of steam. evenly rotate the meat so it's nicely browned all over. drape it loosely with foil if it's browning too much.

Home cured ham for Easter is a real treat. Any ambitious home chef can cook this and have a memorable holiday meal. It's a delicious treat perfect for the season.

The Heart Of Puerto Rican Cooking

 Puerto Rican cooking is island cooking, It's a mix of European and indigenous ingredients, blended together to form a unique cuisine. Most of all it's home cooking - the comforting hug needed during hard times and hurricanes, holiday and happy times.

Von Diaz,food professor. author of several cookbooks and articles seen in Bon Appetit, Eater and Epicurious magazines wrote this interesting article along with recipes in today's New York Times Food section.  She is Puerto Rican herself, however being raised in the States, namely Atlanta Georgia, but her heart and cooking belong to this complex tropical island. Its' cooking is a blend of Taino, the original culture of the island along with African and Spanish. Even modern American cooking has lent a hand - thanks to the introduction of canned food. There is also a nouvelle cuisine vibe with pastellos de guyaba, a mix of cheese queso en hoja and guava paste.Of course the backbone of Puerto Rican cooking is sofrito, a cooked mix of garlic , onions and peppers and spiked with culantro - cilantro's cousin. This is in many dishes. such as arroz mamposteao, a rice dish also made with beans and veggie or chicken broth.  Sofrito is in other dishes too, like sancocho, a stew that combines, beef, pork and chicken with the indigenous roots  like white yautia and yucca.

Of course the highlight of any Puerto Rican holiday dinner is pernil.This is a pork shoulder marinated in garlic, citrus and herbs and then roasted for an hour in a 400 degree Farenheit oven . The marinade is a flavorful combo of sour orange juice, garlic cloves, and oregano. (Professor DIaz also offers a tip for cleaning the roast pan too because the skin will stick). Another delicious main course is pescado frito, fried snapper. Again, the marinade is the same as the pernil, except with the addition of sazon - a mix of coriander,garlic cumin and annatto - seeds from the achiote tree. This gives color and flavor to the fish which is cut in three places, better for the marinade to soak in. It's then fried, whole, head an tail in vegetable oil. The fried fish is served with lime. What can end all these dishes? Those pastillos de guyaba, easily made with puff pastry dough. Farmer's cheese can be used in place  of fresco en hoja.  They should be left to cool because the guava gets molten hot and will badly burn your mouth.) Once cool, sprinkle confectioner's sugar over them  and store in an airtight container. Stale ones can be refreshed in a 350 degree Fareneheit oven for five minutes before eating.

Puerto Rican cooking is rich and complex. It's a mix of all sorts of flavors , indigenous, Spanish and African.  This is a perfect blend of deliciousness, pride and history.

Mini D'Ouevres

 Making and serving hors d'ouevres may be a bit too much especially before a dinner or Sunday lunch. However shrink them down a few sizes and you have a fun change that everyone will like. Mini d'ouevres can be as simple or as complicated as you want.

Creating these little bites is easy, especially nowadays. I've recently discovered Keebler''s Club minis. These are fun little crackers with the original's big buttery taste. Imagine pairing them with any filling, from egg salad to cheese. I thought of Miyoko's Vegan Road House Spread a sharp vegan cheddar.

 

It's a fun way to intro soup or a chicken with any kind of veggies dinner. They're sooooo tiny!!!!! Yet they were a snap to make and fun to eat.

You can get creative with any kind of mini d'ouevres. Try making mini meatballs to be dipped into warmed tomato sauce. Another fun bite is Lilliputian pizzas made with slices of Italian bread topped with sauce and cheese. Both of these would be perfect before pasta aglia olio or cavatelli with broccoli. 

If you just want to only serve mini appetizers or apps, then think about cutting up Eggo waffles and putting half a chicken nugget on them. Serve with a drop of maple syrup. Another hearty one is stuffed baby bellas heaped with crumbled sausage bread crumbs and Parmesan. A more elegant bite is shrimp on polenta rounds or  smoked salmon on mini Triscuits.

Mini d'ouevres is a fun way to start a meal. Think tiny for a tasty bite. They may be little but they're packed with big punch of flavor.