Apple Cornbread Mushroom Stuffing with Bacon

This year I attended a potluck Thanksgiving. When asked what I wanted to bring, I knew it had to have apples in it. The friends with whom I was staying during my transition back to Berkeley, have a very abundant apple tree in their back yard. We had pots full of recently picked apples. I decided to make an apple cornbread dressing. with ingredients like grains, nuts, meat, vegetables, fruit and herbs, stuffing can be a whole meal by itself.

I went to the internet to get a general idea of ingredients, proportions and steps in stuffing recipes. I noticed a quite a few called for eggs. I guess they help hold the ingredients all together like a soufflé, but that wasn’t the consistency I was looking for.

I decided to use boxed cornbread to cut down on time and because I’ve never been that happy with my homemade cornbread as it always tends to be too dry and somewhat flavorless. I’ve always liked Jiffy box cornbread for the end product and its simplicity, but when I looked at the ingredients this time, I was discouraged. Lots of chemical ingredients I couldn’t pronounce (breaking 2 of Michael Pollen’s food rules) and it has lard in it. I wonder how many vegetarians know that. I was making a portion of the batch for vegetarians so that wouldn’t work out. I decided to give Trader Joe’s cornbread mix a try – it still had unrecognizable ingredients, but not as many, and it is vegetarian. However it turned out way too moist and sweet for a savory, stuffing dish. I ended up drying out the cubes in the oven. Next time I will make my own, dry cornbread!

Cornbread tends to be pretty crumbly, so in order to have some shape in the dish, I included French bread that I got from nearby Acme bakery.

For more inspiration I went to one of the local produce markets, Monterey Market. After being in Philadelphia for four years, I was blown away at how much locally grown produce is available this time of year and how cheap it was. 3 bunches of celery for $1 and organic, spinach for $.69/lb! I like how the market labels every product with its origin, including the state. I was lured by all the varieties of mushrooms and decided to include wild chantrelles from Oregon in my dish.

Here’s a recipe based on what I made (not totally exact as I didn’t take measurements). It serves about 12 – 16 as a side dish

1 box of baked cornbread for an 8x8 pan – cut into cubes and dried out

1 baguette – cut into cubes and dried out.

1.5 onions diced

3 –4 stalks of celery diced

olive oil or butter (or both)

1/2 lb to 3/4 bacon – chopped

1 lb of mushrooms, roughly chopped

white wine to taste

3 to 4 apples – peeled, cored and chopped

1/2 c toasted, slivered almonds

vegetable broth (about 2 cups, but use your discretion, depending on how moist you want your stuffing)

chopped herbs – sage, thyme, parsley

salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 375. Fry the bacon until cooked. Drain on paper towels and save some of the lard for use later. In a separate pan, sauté the onions in some butter or olive oil until soft, add the celery and apples until soft. Then add the mushrooms, which cook quickly, some white wine floor flavoring, the sage and thyme, and more butter or oil if needed. Cook down until the mushrooms are starting to get soft and tender. In a big pot, put in some of the lard (optional for more flavor) and heat until liquefied. Then add the rest of the cooked ingredients and bacon. Stir in all the bread cubes and mix. Add vegetable broth to moisten the mixture – should be moist but not liquidy. Then add the toasted almonds and chopped parsley. Add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a glass or ceramic baking dish and bake until crispy – about 30 minutes.

The bacon and lard can be omitted if you want to make a vegetarian option.

The next morning we scrambled some of the leftover stuffing into eggs for breakfast. I guess that’s like adding the eggs I saw in some of the recipes online that I initially was dubious about!

Turkey Drive

The weekend before Thanksgiving, Robert’s men’s group, EBNOM, (The East Bay Nation of Men) held their annual turkey drive at the Neighborhood House of North Richmond. For 20 years they have been organizing this volunteer effort where they raise money and labor to provide Thanksgiving dinners for families in need. The locations of the drive vary with last two being held at the senior center. For as little as $15 they are able to provide dinner for a family of four. This is due in large part to the connections to food vendors that several of the organizers have. Given the current economic climate, this year I have been looking more actively for ways to help out my community, so I eagerly agreed to donate money and time.

We arrived before 8am in the morning and I was tasked with coordinating the effort to divide the fresh produce equally for 500 families. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many potatoes and yams in one place! There were 25 boxes of sweet potatoes and 70 – 50lb bags of potatoes! I was glad to see that they were giving away some fresh produce rather than all boxed and canned goods. There was also some fresh broccoli and onions, just not enough for all 500 bags. It definitely seemed like a daunting task – to evenly divide so much food – but we were armed with a room full of willing participants and quickly got an informal assembly line going.

Often around this time of year, the discussion about the difference between sweet potatoes and yams comes up – as it did for us. Varying explanations are offered, with most thinking the color is what differentiates them. However, according to the North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission what we call yams, orange sweet potatoes, are actually just a different variety of sweet potato. Apparently there are several hundred types of sweet potatoes! Technically, a true yam is rough and scaly and typically imported from the Carribean. We started using the term yam in order to differentiate the orange ones grown in the south.*

In the large hall there were cans of cranberries, corn and green beans, boxes of stuffing of stuffing, and bags of fresh Acme bread. The turkeys were a little late in arriving because one of the men had truck troubles - he eventually found another working truck. It was quite impressive seeing the full truck back in with the delivery of 500 turkeys. Before giving out the meals around 10am, the volunteers and staff gathered in one large circle to give thanks; for the donations, for the organizing help and for all the good things and people in our lives.

It was a very orderly affair – the people in line were patient and the volunteers organized. As not all of the families spoke English, interpreters were available to help out. Lots of enthusiastic kids were both picking up meals and helping give out the items. People signed up in advance for a free meal; however there was still enough for others who hadn’t pre-registered after those with tickets picked up their meals. We were done just before noon. Seeing all the happy faces and meeting so many enthusiastic people made me feel like I was gaining more than I was giving. I definitely plan to participate next year.

* This discussion is reminiscent of how we came to call bison “buffalo” since they looked liked similar creatures to the ones the settlers had in Europe – but once it was discovered that they are very different and new term, bison, was needed – but by then the word buffalo stuck and we still use the term interchangeably in North America.

Fried Green Tomatoes

No produce item says summer to me more than tomatoes. The other day I was picking some in my friend, Sam’s, backyard garden where I noticed an abundance of green tomatoes. I collected a dozen or so of the unripened tomatoes to take home with me to make fried green tomatoes. They are so quick and simple to make with many variations on how to make them. I personally really like using corn meal that I mix with a variety of seasonings, usually including something spicy, like cayenne. This time I used garlic powder, hot paprika (great for adding color as you can be generous with the portion without burning your mouth off), and a mixed seasoning that Sam got my in New Orleans called “Slap Ya Mama”. It’s a mix of cayenne, salt and black pepper. I sliced the tomatoes, dredged them in a beaten egg, and then the corn meal with the spices. They were fried in a thin coating of peanut oil. Alternatively you can bake them to make it less caloric, but I have always preferred them fried. You could also use olive oil, but I like how you can cook at a higher heat with the peanut oil. It lets you flash fry them so they brown without becoming too soft. They only take a minute or two each side to get browned and crispy.

I served them with some local goat cheese with herbs spread across the top. The creaminess of the goat cheese is offset nicely by the heat and tanginess of tomatoes. Their sourness reminds me of tomatillos. Sam tells me that they don’t hold their shape when fried, but I am tempted to still try and create a Mexican twist on the southern fried green tomato. My meal also included diced watermelon with mint and a cold beer from the Philadelphia Brewing Company while the next day I had the fried tomatoes with some watermelon gazpacho. "Tomatoes Two Ways" – a popular trend on Top Chef – serving one item multiple ways. Both meals were refreshing and simple – particularly good for the extra hot summer we have been experiencing.

Watermelon Gazpacho

Gazpacho is one of those dishes that I haven’t quite acquired the taste for but believe I should as it typically uses such fresh, healthy ingredients. So occasionally I try it to see if my palette has changed. Recently my mother and I ate at Silk City Diner which I heard about from a friend in California! She saw it featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives on the Food Network. As it was a hot day and we were sitting outside on the festive patio, I was inspired to try their watermelon gazpacho. Yum! What I don’t normally enjoy about traditional gazpacho is the acidity and the feeling that I am eating watered down tomato sauce. The sweetness from the melon balanced out any acidity. The soup was thick and smooth with chunks of crab meat providing some additional texture and brininess. The following weekend at the farmer’s market, they were carrying striking, yellow and orange striped heirloom tomatoes and seedless watermelon, so I decided to attempt to make the soup for myself and friends coming to dinner that night. Also available that day were cucumbers and red peppers – some of the other typical gazpacho ingredients.

A quick internet search produced a myriad of recipes. How do I chose???? I started with an image search since I knew what I wanted it to look like. Finally I started with a recipe from chef Tyler Florence, in part because he called for some heat using chiles. I made some changes in the herbs and base ingredients, like using mint as the herb and lime in place of vinegar since I thought it would go well with the sweetness of the melon. Here’s my revised version.

1 large heriloom tomato, diced and seeded (most recipes suggest seeding, not sure it’s necessary).

1/2 jalepeno

1/2 red pepper, diced

2 cups of diced watermelon

juice from 1/2 a lime

1/4 olive oil

2 tablespoons minced red onion

1/2 cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced

2 tablespoons chopped mint

salt and peper to taste

1/4 crumbled feta

In a food processer, puree all ingredients together except 1/2 the watermelon, 1/2 the mint and the feta. After pureeing add in remaining watermelon cubes and serve topped with the rest of the mint and crumbled feta. This recipe comes out thick and creamy because the oil acts like an emulsifier. The watermelon cubes add texture while the saltiness from the cheese plays well against the sweet melon.

My dinner guests were Michael and his friend, Javier, who was visiting from Barcelona. I was a little nervous serving a variation on gazpacho to a Spaniard, but the recipe was a hit with both. Javier had never had a watermelon gazpacho before and Michael declared it was the best gazpacho he’s ever tried. Perhaps next time I will attempt to make a traditional gazpacho – you never know what you might like, especially when using the freshest ingredients.

Cherry Vanilla Ice Cream and the Ingenious Cherry Pitter

Last month, the cherries were alluring and abundant at the farmer’s market. While I like eating them fresh, the heat wave this summer and a childhood memory inspired the idea of making cherry vanilla ice cream, a favorite flavor of my mother’s. Preferring the “weird” choices, like rum raison, pralines and cream and cherry vanilla, worked in her favor with young kids. There was always ice cream left for her to eat. Maybe now that I am adult, I could appreciate the subtlety of cherry vanilla ice cream. Besides, I was planning a summer solstice locavore party and it seemed like an appropriate menu item since most of the ingredients could be sourced locally.

The first challenge was finding an ice cream maker. Growing up, I remember the crank kind in the big wood barrel that you would fill with salt and ice. It took a long time and was a lot of work, but my siblings and I never seemed to mind with the reward of fresh ice cream at the end. We usually made ice cream using the fruit that we picked that day. I was looking for the less labor-intensive machine – the electric style one. Back in Berkeley, I borrowed one from a friend on several occasions. It was fraught with its own inconsistencies, ie my friend told me that I have to run it inside the freezer to keep the filling cold enough, but it made better ice cream than any store bought I’d eaten. My mother indicated that she had one, but she’d never used it. I brought it home only to find out that the machine wouldn’t turn on, so that went to the appliance recycling yard. My mother bought a replacement, this time a 2 quart capacity Cuisinart machine that was on sale at William Sonoma. I made sure, first thing this time, that the machine worked. I didn’t want to end up with a bunch of ingredients and no working machine on the day of the party.

The next step was tracking down a cherry pitter. Several years ago, a friend was in Wisconsin on work related trip. She returned to work with several pounds of sour cherries and a story about an awesome cherry pitter she bought. I asked to borrow it for this effort. From past experience, I know that most cherry pitters are challenging to work with; it’s tiring on the hand or the cherries are too big or the pit doesn’t come all the way out. This particular pitter works like a hole punch. It comes with a plunger that is attached to a mason jar lid (you provide your own jar, which keeps down shipping costs). The cherry is placed between the plunger and whole in the lid and then you push down on the plunger and without much effort at all you have a perfectly pitted cherry, often with the stem still intact. Amazing. One could easily pit pounds of cherries without tiring. It’s worth the investment. A similar one can be found at Amazon.

Not having made cherry vanilla ice cream before, I needed to find a recipe. Searching on the internet, I was surprised at how many obviously bad recipes I was finding – why would you make cherry ice cream with maraschino cherries or cherry juice??? I found a simple cherry recipe on at 101 Cookbooks*. It calls for whole milk and heavy cream, but what I liked most was that it uses honey – which meant I could sweeten the ice cream with a local, raw honey. The only ingredient it didn’t include was vanilla, so I found a vanilla ice cream recipe* by Alton Brown that uses whole vanilla bean and substituted this in place of the liquor from the first recipe. My mother swears by making a custard with eggs for ice cream recipes. Neither of these two recipes included eggs and I was trying to keep it simple, so I opted out on the eggs. I did discover that the difference between vanilla ice cream and French vanilla is that the latter uses eggs. I was able to order whole milk and double cream from local farms through Mugshots. Differing cream types (light cream, heavy cream, double cream), identify the amount of fat content. Double cream contains a minimum of 48% milk fat.

While the recipe was really simple, I was met with disaster the first go around. Having worked with finicky ice cream machines before, I was worried about this. The recipe is really simple and requires only that you heat the milk(1 cup), cream(2 cups) and honey (3/8c) until it starts to simmer. Then you add in the pitted and quartered cherries (1 lb) and the vanilla bean(scrapings from one bean and the empty pod), chill the liquid in the fridge for at least a couple of hours and then pour it into the pre-frozen container in the machine. It should only take 20 minutes to turn into a frozen, thickened consistency. Well, it never did thicken and we had cherry milkshakes instead of ice cream. I think most people didn’t mind, but I was disappointed.

Determined to figure out what went wrong, I did some research. A friend thought it might not be a highly rated machine, so I went to the reviews online to find out that it was one of the best. The reviews were helpful though as a few people had a similar experience as I did with others proffering advice. The biggest take away was that I could figure out was that the custard was not chilled enough in advance. Some suggested chilling in the freezer rather than the refrigerator. The one thing I don’t understand about the ice cream maker design is why it has a big opening in the top that is not sealable if it is so important for the liquid to be extremely cold. It just seems like a big hole for the heat to rush into, particularly in the warm months when most ice cream is made and consumed. All machines I saw had this feature, so there must be a reason but I haven’t figured it out.

With the extra remaining ingredients and more fresh cherries, I gave it a second try. This time I put the custard in the freezer for a couple of hours to chill. I also set the cold bowl over the hole to seal it up after pouring in the ingredients. Previously I increased the recipe amount by 1.5 times as I was making some for a large group and the machine claims it would make up to 2 quarts. This time I decided to do the recipe amount of 1 quart. The purpose of the ice cream maker is to whip air into the mixture, so having room for increased volume is important. This is the difference between American ice cream and gelato, which is much denser and requires a different machine. Well these 3 changes did the trick and in less than 20 minutes of machine turning I had perfect cherry vanilla ice cream that I enjoyed with friends. Given this success, I am sure I will be inspired to make more ice cream this summer so I have borrowed my mother’s machine for a little while longer.

*Notes: I made a few changes from the original recipes which are reflected in the ingredients above. One is cooking the vanilla pod along with the scrapings in the liquid for a more intense vanilla flavor. Pull the empty pod out before chilling. Another is increasing the honey quantity by 1.5 times. The honey which is more mellow than regular cane sugar, keeps the dessert from becoming cloyingly sweet, even with this little extra. I also upped the quantity of cherries to one pound.

Strawberries and Rhubarb

My strawberry season started off at Strawberry Harvest Festival hosted by POP (Philadelphia Orchard Project) whose mission is to plant orchards in the city of Philadelphia that grow healthy food, green spaces and community food security. The celebratory event was held on the grounds of the Woodford Mansion in Fairmount Park where there is the Strawberry Mansion Children’s Orchard. In addition to a bbq and lots of fresh strawberries, they served fresh strawberry juice and strawberry crumble. Part of the event included a volunteer effort to plant 36 fruit trees in the field in front of the mansion. Much of what we planted was “pawpaw” trees. I’d never heard of that fruit before moving back to the area. Apparently it is native to the area and can be used in any recipe that calls for a bananas. The flesh is yellow and sweet and a bit challenging to eat as there are so many large black seeds. Once they come into season this year, I’ll have to see what inspiration I can cook up with the fruit.

Part of the day included a volunteer effort to plant 36 fruit trees in the field in front of the mansion. Much of what we planted was “pawpaw” trees. I’d never heard of that fruit before moving back to the area. Apparently it is native to the area and can be used in any recipe that calls for a bananas. The flesh is yellow and sweet and a bit challenging to eat as there are so many large black seeds. Once they come into season this year, I’ll have to see what inspiration I can cook up with the fruit.

The farmer’s markets are up in full swing, including our single farmer stand in Manayunk. When it first kicked in last month there was an abundance of rhubarb and strawberries. Beyond strawberry rhubarb pie, I’ve not had much idea of what do with rhubarb. I remembered that I had saved an article from many years back on savory ways to serve rhubarb which I dug up for inspiration. One of the recipes, simple lemony rhubarb sauce, is a dish that was recommended with white fish and was definitely simple to make. All it involved was dicing up a pound of rhubarb and cooking it down over the stove with 1/3 a cup of sugar into a sauce consistency which takes about 15 minutes. At the end you add juice from half a lemon. Rhubarb is known to be tangy, but it didn’t require much sugar to make it palatable, particularly for a savory dish.

I served the sauce with some tilapia that I baked in foil with some olive oil, salt, parsley, pepper, sliced onion and diced asparagus, also fresh from the farmer’s market. The meal also included red quinoa and a salad with sliced strawberries and toasted pecans. All in all a light, fresh meal to initiate the beginning of the abundant summer growing season.

A friend who suggested serving the sauce over yogurt mentioned that her father would make rhubarb daquiris. As I enjoy experimenting with cocktails, I mixed up a strawberry rhubarb daquiri that was made with rum and included fresh mint. The rhubarb added a refreshing acidity similar to using fresh squeezed lime that I so enjoy in my drinks.

Some great alternatives to the traditional strawberry rhubarb pie!

Talula’s Table for Twelve

Talula’s Table in Kennett Square had grown to mythic proportion in my mind as one of the ultimate farm to table experiences. I first heard about the restaurant from a friend in California when I moved to the area in 2006. If it’s getting written up on the other side of the country, there must be something notable about the place. Perhaps it’s the fact that you have to make a reservation a year in advance precisely at 7am in the morning when they first start taking calls. The demand is due both to the quality of the food but also because they only serve 12 people a night. In fact, you have to reserve the entire restaurant and plan on bringing 8 to 12 people willing to spend $100 on a meal. By day the restaurant is a store where they sell prepared foods and run their catering business. At night, the diners sit at a long farm table set up in the middle of the store.

I never seem to have the wear-with-all to plan that far in advance, but Jenn and Scott did. Jenn had first tried a year ago in January on Scott’s birthday not realizing that you have to call at 7am to secure the reservation. So Scott decided to try as a surprise on Jenn’s birthday. Unbeknownst to Scott, Jenn turned the alarm off because she wanted to sleep in on her birthday. At 7:30am, Scott awoke and stumbled down the stairs to make the call only to find out it was already reserved, however they had a cancellation for the night before. That’s how I found myself lucky enough to be dining at Talula’s this May along with 9 other of Jenn and Scott’s food loving friends.

Kennett Square is in the heart of Chester County home to many small farms most notably mushroom farms. The town is the home to annual mushroom festival that I attended last September. There is an abundance of fresh produce grown nearby for Talula’s to integrate into their menu and they do it so tastefully. The restaurant was started by a couple who owned and operated another restaurant in Philadelphia but decided for a quieter place, closer to the food source. Just weeks before we were to eat there, Sam, another friend to be dining with us, passed me a Philadelphia article about how the couple had broken up, but that the wife’s friends and colleagues had rallied to help her maintain the restaurant. The new chef de cuisine had already been working with them. LeBan’s review of the new operations indicated that it had changed, but that it was still remarkable. Whew.

Dinner service starts at 7. It’s a BYO establishment but they give you wine recommendations with the various courses on the menu that they send out a week in advance. I thought that was really smart. We started with champagne and passed hors d’oeuvres, each a small bite of heaven. I noticed we all struggled with eating the goat cheese and sun dried tomato tartlet without dropping crumbs all over the floor as the crust was so wonderfully buttery.

We then sat down to an eight course extravaganza. At the beginning of each course, the dish is explained to the diner and questions may be asked. We learned that the pickled wild ramps served with the lamb are basically foraged onion grass. As it the time of year when the produce is really starting to flourish we were treated to late spring’s abundance throughout each course; asparagus, rhubarb, pea shoots were just a few. I was glad to see we had a dish with mushrooms as well. Two of my personal highlights bookended the meal – starting with the asparagus soup with a crab tortellini and finishing with a puff pastry lavender ice cream sandwich bite over a rhubarb puree. The duck plate was memorable for its texture and flavor. I still haven’t come to terms with my love of foie gras. The delightful, creamy mouthful was served over a thin crisp. Talula’s food is memorable both for the flavor and its artful plating. Each dish looked like a work of art. They manage to put just enough to fill you mouth with flavor but not have you too stuffed so you are not enjoying the food by the end. I was pleasantly surprised by the use herbs and seasoning that managed to stand out and be noticed, like the nutmeg in the tartlet or the mint in the pea sauce that complimented the scallops. I am starting to learn how to use less in a dish to really profile flavors. This meal was an inspiration for that effort.

The meal did not end with the dessert dish listed on the menu. It was followed by a tray of homemade truffles – in both dark and milk chocolate – some sprinkled with salt, some filled with caramel and some filled with a raspberry banana tasting filling. Even the bill came in a lovely basket with a take away bag of tea and biscotti. At home, nibbling on the tea-dipped biscotti whose flavor was so unusual, it took me a while to identify that it was lavender.

Even the service was stellar, friendly, informative and unobtrusive. The evening really did feel like a dinner at a friend’s house without the host having to run around but instead gets to enjoy the company and food. Talula’s is definitely recommended if you are the kind of person who can plan a year in advance – or at least score an invitation from a friend who does!

Scrapple

Even though I grew up in this area and relocated back to the area over 3 years ago, I still had never tried scrapple, one of the notable foods of the Philadelphia region. Perhaps knowing that it is typically made from any variation of pig parts kept me at bay. Although from what I understood, it is much like Spam, which I always liked fried crispy and in a sandwich like a blt. So why wouldn’t I enjoy scrapple?

MidAtlantic Tap Room has many variations of scrapple on their menu – traditional pork, crab and vegetarian. Apparently what makes “scrapple’ scrapple is the cornmeal and onion base. So I decided it was high time I tried it. I started out tame by ordering the vegetarian option which is made with mushrooms and other vegetables. What’s not to like about cornmeal and vegetables. Through Mugshots buying club you can order the traditional variety that comes from Green Meadow Farms. Well, if I am going to try scrapple at least I know that they are sourcing the meat sustainably. Besides, isn’t it more sustainable to eat all of the pig?

The order comes in a brick-like block, again much like Spam, so why not start by preparing it in the same way – sliced thin and fried crispy. As it is typically eaten at breakfast, I decided to make my own variation on huevos rancheros since I had some leftover tomatillo salsa. The salsa is incredibly easy to make. In a food processor, blend about 12 oz of tomatillos, a small bunch of cilantro, 2 garlic heads, 1 jalepeno and some salt. I typically include an avocado for some additional body, but that’s optional. Over a warmed tortilla, I spread some of Bobbi’s black bean hummus and then placed the fried egg and fried scrapple with the salsa on top. While I found it easier to eat like a taco than with a fork and knife, the flavors and textures - spicy and soft and crunchy – were complimentary all in one bite. I would definitely eat that scrapple again.

Last year Reading Terminal Market hosted Scrapplefest to “Celebrate all things scrapple”. If they hold another one this year, I’ll be sure to check it out. You can listen to a report on the festival and scrapple experts on this episode of Chef’s Table. The vegan scrapple, Vrapple, won second prize.

My next challenge is to make a vegetarian variation of scrapple. Most of the ones I found use some sort of soy product, including Vrapple. But I really want to make it all vegetable and non-soy based, similar to the one at MidAtalantic. If anyone has a good recipe, let me know!

Sauerkraut and Reuben Sandwiches

When I was growing up, my mom would cook whatever we requested for dinner on our birthdays. My top two choices were always her quiche lorraine and her Reuben sandwiches. To this day, I would still say her Reuben sandwiches are the best I’ve eaten and I have eaten quite a few over the years.

My top two complaints of those that I have tried and not liked are too much meat and not being grilled. Sometimes they are piled so high with meat that you can’t get your mouth over them. What makes a Reuben sandwich so great are all the other ingredients. They should to be given equal mouth space per bite to really appreciate the blend of all the flavors. How can one make a Reuben and not grill it? The bread becomes crusty and the cheese melts and the ingredients warm throughout.

My mom always made the sandwiches in a waffle iron (with the flat plate inset) with rye bread, swiss cheese and pastrami, but her two unique touches where how she prepared the sauerkraut and her special sauce. I recently asked her to share her two secrets. She would rinse the store bought sauerkraut (refrigerated bag type, not in a can) in cold water and then cook it a long time over low heat with caraway seed to make the sour flavor more mellow. Her special sauce was merely Heinz chili sauce mixed with Hellman’s mayonnaise. Sort of like Russian dressing, but the chili sauce gave it a little more of a kick.

Wanting to put a spin on the traditional Reuben and make my own creation from local ingredients, I ordered what I could through Mughsot’s local buying club. This included the raw fermented sauerkraut from Wills Valley and the ham and swiss cheese from Meadow Run Farm. Raw sauerkraut is one of those super foods that combines a highly nutritious vegetable, cabbage (yes, more cabbage) with a very healthy process (fermenting). The raw stuff is good for improving digestion, killing bad bacteria and boosting your immune system. Most supermarket sauerkrauts are pasteurized which kills much of the health benefits, so you might have to scour the shops for your raw options.

While I really like rye bread, I decided to use the all-purpose bread that I usually have at home which is a wheatless multi-grain bread that I get from Trader Joes. It’s high in protein and fiber and has a hearty texture. For my version of the special sauce I mixed Hellman’s mayonnaise with some harissa (spicy chili) sauce that I picked up in at a middle eastern specialty store. Harissa is one of my go-to condiments when I want to make certain dishes spicy. It’s particularly tasty on eggs. Wanting to the minimize the calorie count where possible, I used spray oil on both sides of the bread and pan rather than pouring oil into the pan.

I don’t have a waffle iron, but I do have a cast iron, enameled grill pan which is one of my favorite cooking wares. I cook / grill vegetables (particularly good for zucchini and eggplant), meats and make all sorts of pressed sandwiches in it. Having a heavy lid, helps cook the items quicker and gives those textured grill marks. The particular one I have is from Mario Batali’s line and not too expensive ($80) as compared to some of the Le Crueset items – then again, it’s probably made in China and not France.

I spread the sauce mixture on one side of the bread and then layer equal parts sauerkraut, ham and swiss cheese on top. I find it important to put the sauerkraut over the sauce so that it mixes down with it when heated. I also don’t use that much meat or cheese, for purposes of moderation and because I have found it more appealing as an overall flavor profile. Then I grill until the cheese is melted and it’s brown on both sides. Perfection! It also goes great with Philly Fresh spicy pickles.

Philly Fresh Pickles

They’re back! After of a hiatus of what seemed an eternity (and was probably more like nine months), Philly Fresh Pickles are being made under new ownership of Weaver’s Way. These are the best pickles I have ever eaten – spicy and crunchy.

I first heard about them at the interview for my current job. Mentioning that I was planning on checking out the Reading Terminal Market, Scott immediately advised me to try the spicy pickles sold at the Fair Food Stand. On his recommendation and the rave review from the cashier at the farm stand, I bought 6 jars to take back with me to California. My checked baggage was so heavy I had to pay the additional weight fee at the airport. But it was worth it as they did not disappoint. I kept a few jars for myself and share the rest with other sour cucumber loving friends.

I was so saddened to hear about the sudden, tragic deaths of the original owners of S&C(Stan and Christine). With the future of Philly Fresh pickles being unknown, I knew I better stock up. I had been eating the pickles at an average rate of 2 jars per month. Now I would have to seriously curb my consumption. My tiny, under-counter refrigerator has little to no room for stocking, but I do have a chest freezer in my basement. No one selling the pickles at Mugshots seemed to know whether they would freeze well or not. I had no choice but to try. When my friend, Sam, came over and went to the freezer to get an item, she came back laughing hysterically at the drawer full of pickles, just pickles. However, they do not freeze well. They retain their spiciness but lose all crunch. It is very unappealing to bite into a limp cucumber. Luckily, just as I was about to run out of my stash, Weaver’s Way Co-op started selling the pickles. They believed enough in the product to purchase the recipe and start marketing the pickles themselves. At first, while they were perfecting the recipe, they were only available from Weaver’s Way as discounted trials. Now they are back on the shelves and order forms at Mugshots. They still come in two varieties mild and spicy. The spicy are made with habanero peppers that gives them an incredible kick, while not suitable for everyone (some have been know to cough and choke on tasting these), they are favorites of friends loving spicy food.

Once done eating the pickles, I save the pickle juice for a variety of other dishes, most frequently salad dressing. I mix 2 parts of pickle juice to 1 part mayonnaise. That dressing works especially well on sliced cabbage for coleslaw, but dresses up green salads wonderfully as well. Many people have asked how to make that dressing when it is served to them. Another idea, I have but haven’t yet tried is to poach fish in it. Since the juice has dill weed, mustard seed, onion and garlic in it, all sound like a good compliment to fish.

After the liquid and pickles are gone, the sturdy plastic jars make great storage containers for bulk dry items!

These are a great local find!

Colcannon + Bubble and Squeak

Cabbage is one of my favorite vegetables, particularly due to its crunchy texture and versatility. It can be eaten raw in slaws and salads, steamed, added to stir fry and soups, or fermented in sauerkraut and kim chee. It was an added bonus to discover in The 150 Healthiest Foods on Earth that it is a super star vegetable in terms of nutritional value (calcium, potassium, vitamin C and beta-carotene to name a few), cancer fighting properties (particularly for breast cancer) and low calories (one of the lowest of any food).

Cabbage and potatoes. Potatoes and cabbage. Having an abundance of these two vegetables that are so plentiful during the winter months, I looked to my Irish heritage for inspiration on preparing these ingredients commonly used in that country’s cuisine. Colcannon is a traditional Irish dish made from cabbage and mashed potatoes. According to my Irish friends, it is traditionally served around Halloween with a ring in the dish to predict which surprise recipient would be getting married next. I find this dish to be a satisfying comfort food, particularly on these cold, winter nights.

Ingredients

3 lbs of potatoes (Yukon gold or russets)

3 lbs of shredded cabbage (kale or brussel sprouts can be used as an alternative)

1 tsp of cumin seeds

2 – 3 tbs butter (more or less per your preference)

1/2 c. milk (I made it with 1 c. and I think that was too much) – just enough to moisten the mashed potatoes

salt and pepper to taste

chopped Italian parsley and chives

Quarter the potatoes and boil. Drain and peel the skins off the potatoes. Add butter in pieces in a bowl and set aside. Steam the cabbage with cumin and salt. Steaming, as opposed to boiling, keeps the dish from becoming water logged and helps preserve the flavor of the vegetable. Cumin is not traditional in this dish, but I wanted to add something to spice up the dish. Cabbage is often cooked with caraway seed. As I didn’t have caraway, cumin was a good alternative. Mash the potatoes with the butter and salt. Slowly add milk until smooth in texture. Add the cooked cabbage, chives, salt, and pepper. Any onion type can be used in place of the chives. If using white onions or leeks, be sure to sauté before adding to the mix. Chives or scallions are good for their color. Sprinkle the chopped parsley over the dish before serving. I topped this dish with smoked, pork sausage sourced from Meadow Run Farm that I pan fried.

I had quite a bit of leftovers. My first thought was to make them into patties and bake them. Some call this “Bubble and Squeak”, a traditional English dish. Although when I looked it up, there were many variations from patties to stews with the only common denominator being potatoes and cabbage. To the leftover potato and cabbage mixture, I added some crispy bacon bits (Mugshots carries the best locally farmed bacon), diced jalepeno for kick, and cheddar cheese made from raw milk (figuring this was still in keeping the Irish flavor of the dish). But when I tried to bake the patties, they just melted on the pan. The same thing happened when I fried them. Probably there was too much milk and / or cheese in the mix to hold up to the heat. As I still had more leftovers, my next inspiration was to use it as a stuffing. I had some local Portobello mushrooms that I sprayed with olive oil, filled with the potato cabbage mixture and broiled for about 15 minutes until the mushroom was tender and the topping crispy. Success! It went down very well with some local Yuengling Lager from America’s oldest brewery.

Chorizo Potato Tacos + Slaw

We were slammed with a wonderful snowstorm today. This storm (24” and counting) and the one in December (22”) have delivered the most snow in my 3 years being back. I guess the Farmer’s Almanac was right! The snow recalls childhood memories of sledding, hot chocolate and most especially shoveling (argh!) and cinnamon toast (yum!). Most of all it brings home that we are in the midst of winter.

Winter local eating options in Philadelphia are more limited from those in northern California, but I see that as a positive, creative challenge. Lots of cabbage, cauliflower and root vegetables are available right now. The cabbage I ordered recently from Mugshots’ Buying Club was bigger than a basketball! Soups are a logical option and very satisfying. I have been cooking all sorts of soups and will be sure to post some, but my recent satisfying dish was a chorizo potato taco that I made from a recipe of Rick Balyess’ “Mexico One Plate At a Time”. I’ve made it before, but only just realized how well suited it is for winter cooking. The main ingredients are potatoes, onions and chorizo (a spicy, pork based mexican type sausage) – all available locally sourced right now.

The tacos are super quick to make (less than 30 minutes) and the tomatillo avocado salsa is a great compliment. The chorizo I order comes from Meadow Run Farm. It is hands down the best chorizo I’ve ever had. The important thing to know is that you need to use uncooked chorizo for this dish so that it all mixes together. Think spicy corned beef hash served in a warm corn blanket. For those of you who don’t eat red meat, you could also use a spicy turkey sausage.

As I had a basketball sized cabbage head, I thought it would be good to make some coleslaw to compliment the dish. In January I was back in Napa and ate at a superb southern comfort food place, BarbersQ, that a local suggested trying instead of Thomas Keller’s Ad Hoc as the service is less aloof and the prices are better. All their meat is sustainably sourced – we ate their southern fried chicken with a hot chili vinegar and Memphis style ribs with vinegar bbq sauce. The food was amazing, but the biggest hit of the whole meal was the coleslaw. Robert and I both agreed it was the best we’ve eaten. I would have sworn it had green apple in it, and was surprised to find otherwise when I inquired about the ingredients. For the dressing they use cider vinegar (which probably gave the apple flavor I was tasting), lemon juice, mayonnaise, and sugar in the dressing. They toss red and green cabbage in the dressing to order which keeps fresh and crisp. So I tried my own creation of this recipe to go with the tacos. I didn’t have red cabbage, but added cilantro for additional color and flavor. At first I forgot to add the sugar and it was super tangy – definitely needs the sugar.

I had leftovers for days, which was a treat as it was always as good as the first day! The tacos are even better when topped with fresh avocado slices.

Here’s my condensed version of the recipe:

Taco Ingredients

12 oz of chorizo (fresh, removed from casing)

12oz of diced, peeled potatoes (about 2 cups). Yukon gold or baking are the best choice.

1 small onion

fresh corn tortillas (the ones from Trader Joe’s are great – no preservatives – corn, lime and water only).

Salt to taste

Salsa Verde (see below)

Sautee the chorizo and onions together until onions are soft and chorizo is cooked through. Meanwhile boil the diced potato in salted water until soft. Drain the potatoes and add to the cooked meat and onion. Sautee until the potatoes are crispy and then start mashing with the back of a wooden spoon until all mixed together, being sure to scrape the crisp parts from the bottom of the pan into the mix. Add salt to taste. Warm the fresh tortillas. I like to do this right over the flame on my gas burner. They get a nice char to them (don’t worry they won’t go up in flames unless you leave them a long time). Fill the taco with the meat filling and top with the salsa, fresh avocado slices and cilantro sprigs.

Salsa Verde

Rick Bayless has an accompanying recipe for a similar salsa, but I like to use the one from a cooking class I took in Oaxaca. It’s so easy and it saves for a while. It’s great topping for all sorts of food – rice and beans, fish, even roasted vegetables. As none of the ingredients are locally grown or seasonal right now, I usually source them from the asian/latin produce stand in the Ardmore farmer’s market during the winter.

1 jalepeno (include the seeds, use less of the pepper if you want it less spicy)

10 tomatillos, husk removed.

1 medium, peeled garlic clove

1/2 c fresh cilantro, including stems

I slice onion

Salt to taste

1 large avocado

Place everything in a blender or food processor and puree.