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.

Local Cooking Classes

The holiday season took me out of writing commission. That doesn’t mean I wasn’t cooking and eating and enjoying what the local food scene has to offer – quite the opposite! Now I have some catching up to do.

As an end of the year celebration, my workplace organizes an office outing followed by a meal together. As we are an architecture firm, the outing usually involves something design related, such as a studio or house tour. During the planning this year, Scott looked across the table at several of us and said “Since we have so many people who love food, why not do something related”. Someone else then suggested a cooking class. In a subsequent internet search I discovered that La Cucina in Reading Terminal Market offers group cooking classes that they promote as good team building exercises. Perfect. We’d get to select our menu, cook together and then enjoy the meal communally. This activity would not be appropriate for every office’s holiday celebration, but it was a good fit for our group. I think I’ve said this before, most architects I know are good cooks and really enjoy it. A meal is a mini building project involving raw materials, creativity and problem solving.

We have a group with several food restrictions, particularly when it comes to eating animals, fish and animal products. Anna, the owner of La Cucina, was quite accommodating. She allowed us to customize our menu from her various preset options. The fabulous part of being located in the Market, is that she sources all her food right there. We were able to request that as much as possible come from the Fair Food Stand, which sustainably sources all its products. Being that Anna’s family is from Italy, the menu trended heavily towards food from that region. The first course consisted of two crostini’s – one a white bean puree and the other a carmelized onion with fig jam and gorgonzola. One of her pasta offerings was sweet potato ravioli with a sage butter sauce. At Blue Hill Restaurant at Stone Barns Center in November I had eaten the most memorable sweet potato gnocchi; light and airy with what seemed to be almost a filling of sweet potato. Ever since, I have been wanting to make it myself; however my success rate with gnocchi as been about as great as my efforts with homemade pasta. We asked if we might be able to substitute sweet potato gnocchi for the ravioli. Anna thought that would be an even better choice given its simplicity. The entrée was steamed branzino with capers. I love fish but had not heard of this particular fish. It’s the Italian name for what is also known as European seabass. It’s not exactly “local” if it’s the wild variety; although most of this salt water fish for sale is farmed. I am not even sure if it is a sustainable fish to eat based on my quick research on Green Living Ideas’ site that indicated you should stay away from farmed, carnivorous salt-water fish which included branzino on that list Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch’s site didn’t list this particular fish at all. Anna very generously included a second entrée, chicken marsala, which was a good thing given some of our group doesn’t like fish! The dessert was nice and simple – poached pears with marscapone cream.

The organization was straightforward. Anna had us break into groups around the long counter and some off to the side. We paired off depending on what dishes we wanted to help make. Of course I wanted to make gnocchi. I learned I need a food mill or potato ricer for starters – to make the puree from the baked sweet potato to be mixed with the flower. I also learned that sweet potatoes typically make the gnocchi a little denser than the standard baking potato. But most importantly, the big tip is to handle the dough as little as possible to keep the texture from becoming dense and gummy. That part seems like an art – rolling the ropes evenly with as little handling as possible. The end product was delicious, although I will still be searching for the perfect replica of the Blue Hill recipe. Another benefit of the class is that the participants are provided with copies of all the recipes made during the session.

Everyone really seemed to enjoy themselves while cooking as much as eating it afterwards. Of course the imbibing of wine and Root cocktails, munching on the crostini right upon their completion, and ribbing of fellow co-workers cooking techniques all contributed to the festive spirit. It was definitely an end of the year party that will be well remembered.

Post Script: La Cucina offers all sorts of interesting cooking classes like sausage making, knife skills and a traditional chinese feast for chinese new years. They cater to both groups and individuals. Definitely worth checking them out.