AteThat: Pickles

Pickles
2 x 17&1/2oz jars
3/4 oz/ 20g fresh dill, stalks removed, broken into sprigs
1lb/450g cucumbers
4 shallots
1pint/570ml good quality with wine vinegar
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp black peppercorns
1oz/25g sea salt

Cut the cucumbers in quarters lengthways, then into 1 inch chunks. Peel the shallots and slice in half through the root, then into three. Place the cucumbers and shallots in layers in a non-metallic colander, sprinkling salt between the layers, making sure they are evenly coated. Place a plate over them with something heavy on top to press out the moisture and leave that way overnight. Put a dish under the colander to catch the drips.
Next day, rinse the veggies under cold running water and spread them out on a cloth to dry. Leave for about an hour. After that pack into hot sterilized jars. Place the vinegar and spices in a pot and bring to a boil, simmer for about 30 seconds then pour the whole lot over the veggies covering them completely. Swivel the jars to express the trapped air, and push the veggies down under the liquid before placing a wax disc on top. Seal tightly with a vinegar proof lid and allow to mellow for 3 months.

As an American living in the UK I miss American pickles more then you could imagine. They just are not the same out here, not even close. I hope these work out. I’m trying them with variations too, like garlic pickles, spicy hot pickles. I won’t know if it’s working until May, so wish me luck, and I’ll post the answer when I finally get to taste them.

AteThat: Steamed Pork Buns Chinese style

Steamed Pork Buns Chinese style
For the Filling:
Olive oil
2x 200g/7oz Pork chops
Salt and pepper
1 tbsp five spice
3 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
1 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced
2 dried chillies, crumbled
1 wineglass of fresh orange juice
6tbsp hoi-sin sauce
1 tbsp sesame oil
1tbsp sweet chilli sauce
optional one handful fresh lime leaves
For the buns:
1x 7g individual sachet of dried yeast
200ml/7oz tepid water
250g/9oz plain flour
100g/ 3&1/2 oz cornflour
1tsp salt
50g/ 1&3/4 oz butter

to serve – soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce

For the filling:
Season the chops with the salt and pepper and five spice and fry in the olive oil till brown and cooked through. Add garlic, ginger and chilli, and continue to fry for a minute, then add the orange juice and let it reduce by half. Empty into a bowl and let it cool. When it’s cool, remove one chop and put everything else into a food processor and pulse till fine. Cut the other chop by hand for texture, add it all to a bowl with the hoi-sin, sesame oil and chili sauce. Mix well.

For the buns:
Put the yeast in a bowl with half the water. In another bowl mix the flour and salt and rub in the butter. When the yeast has bubbled up pour in the rest of the water, add to the flour and butter and mix to form a soft dough. Cover with cling film and leave in a warm place until it doubles in size. Then break into about eight pieces (about the size of a golf ball), and shape into balls. Take each dough ball, and flatten in the palm of your hand and form a cup shape, put a tsp of the pork mixture in the center, and gently wrap the sides of the dough up and around the filling. Pinch it to seal it up. Allow the buns to sit for 5 min, then steam them for 10 min, allow enough room for expansion. If using Lime leaves, line the steamer with them, and place the buns on top.

These were really fun to make, and they were so delicious that the boys were fighting over them. One problem though, it did not mention in the recipe that if you are not using lime leaves, you still need something between the buns and the steamer, otherwise they will stick like cement. I forgot to take pictures, which is too bad because they were so beautiful when the steamer came out of the pot, and because they looked like such a disaster once I scraped them off onto a plate.

I will make them again soon and take pictures then.

It’s Jamie Oliver by the way.

AteThat: Lentil and Black Olive Pate

Lentil and Black Olive Pate
425g/15oz can of lentils, drained
small crushed garlic clove
4 sun-dried tomatoes
120-175g/ 4.5-6oz black olives, pits removed
The juice of half a lemon
Salt and pepper

Put it all in the food processor and puree it.

This came from a vegetarian cookbook called Fast, Fresh and Fabulous. It comes out looking more disgusting then I ever would have imagined. It would be kind to say that it looks like cat food, That said… IT ROCKS! I just wanted to try it because I’m wondering what to make for picnics when it gets warmer. I almost didn’t even taste it, but then when I did I decided that I needed to eat it as my whole lunch (on Oatcakes, they’re like crackers, but oat-y, yum). I’m going to be stocking up on lentils.

Introducing, AteThat: Scones

Hello,

I’m new here. Actually this will be the first time I’ve ever posted to a blog, so wish me luck that I do it right.

I’m an American living in the UK (and yes I guess I am a bit in love with Jamie Oliver, how could I not be?). I’m going to try to make sure I always have all of the necessary conversions and funny names for things, so they could be used in either place. I have a very different style of cooking then cookbad does, I think mostly because it’s so much colder where I am. Right now I am way big into comfort foods.

So here goes…

I made these this morning. Scones are really important over here, they are everywhere and I figured it was about time I learned how to make them. This recipe comes from Nigella Lawson. A little note about her, I recommend that you weigh your flour if at all possible. For some reason I’ve noticed that when I use cup measurements with her recipes they tend to be wildly off, it will still work, but will probably require some adjusting.

Scones
500g/ 1lb 2oz plain flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
4&1/2 tsp cream of tartar
50g/2oz cold unsalted butter, diced
25g/1oz TREX*, in teaspooned lumps (or use another 25g butter)
300ml/10.5floz milk
1 large egg, beaten, for egg wash
75g/3oz of raisins

*TREX is like Crisco from what I understand. It has no hydrogenated oil by the way cookbad, does that make it trans or non-trans?

preheat to 220c/425f
sift together the flour, salt, baking soda and cream of tartar, and rub in the fats till it’s like damp sand. Add the raisins and the milk all at once, mix briefly (briefly), turn out onto a floured surface and knead into a dough. Roll out to a 3cm thickness (but I recommend much thicker then that, you can see in the picture that some of them are much thicker then others), and use a 6&1/2cm round cutter to cut out about 12 scones. You may have to re-roll for the last two or so. Place on a baking try (cookie sheet), brush tops with egg wash and bake for 10 min (a couple of minutes longer if you make them thicker).

Serve with butter and jelly if you are in the states, clotted cream and jam if you are in the UK.

They were so good that I might make them again tomorrow. I think my three year old had four of them, and I have blocked from my memory how many I had.

Bananas in Coffee Bean Syrup

very good with plain yogurt. low fat is fine even thought the recipe suggests whole milk.

recipe #184

This recipe looked really interesting and I had everything required in the house already.

From Food and Wine:
Bananas in Coffee Bean Syrup
* 2 cups water
* 1/2 cup whole espresso beans
* 1/2 cup sugar
* Two 3-inch strips of lemon zest
* One 3-inch cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
* 8 firm, medium bananas
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
* Plain whole-milk yogurt, for serving
1. In a medium saucepan, combine the water with the whole espresso beans and bring to a boil. Simmer the beans over low heat for 20 minutes. Add the sugar, strips of lemon zest and pieces of cinnamon stick and simmer over moderate heat for 5 minutes or until syrupy.
2. Meanwhile, peel the bananas and slice them 1/2 inch thick on the diagonal. In a large, shallow dish, toss the bananas with the lemon juice.
3. Pour the hot espresso syrup over the bananas and let stand until cooled to room temperature, then refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, about 2 hours. Spoon the bananas and coffee bean syrup over the yogurt and serve.

I used agave nectar instead of sugar and added it towards the very end of the time that everything simmered. I also never chilled it, just let it sit overnight in a covered ceramic bowl.

I was a bit confused. I was pretty sure I should strain out the coffee beans, but the photo in Food and Wine looked like they were left in, so I kept them. Not a bad thing, but I ate round them.

All and all it was wonderful. I have never had anything like it although it reminded me of an ideal coffee yogurt. If you have some greener bananas around this is a great thing to do with them.

Cooking Classes at M.I.T.: for free. . . online

I went to graduate school at ITP, which is part of Tisch for Interactive New Media, which basically means I can (could)make computer chips and computers do cool stuff. Since then I have had an attend MIT fantasy because they have the coolest and best media lab. Alas, I cannot code like a ninja, so I'll cook instead.

Anyway.

I can still take some classes there. . . online. . . FOR FREE!

One is about Kitchen Chemistry. It looks like fun.

Here is the link

Crunchy Shrimp Cakes with Cucumber and Peanuts

my new number one thing to do with shrimp

recipe # 180

This little number is from Food and Wine magazine. It is pretty simple, but involves the dreaded food processor which is the single most pain in the ass thing to clean in the kitchen. Whoever invents a self cleaning food processor should win a noble prize or a monument or something.

Crunchy Shrimp Cakes
DRESSING
* 2 tablespoons Asian fish sauce
* 2 tablespoons rice vinegar
* 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
* 1 tablespoon sugar
* 1 garlic clove, minced
SHRIMP CAKES
* 1/4 pound long beans or green beans, thinly sliced crosswise on the diagonal
* 1 pound medium shrimp—shelled, deveined and coarsely chopped
* 1/4 cup unsweetened coconut milk
* 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
* 1 lemongrass stalk, tender white inner bulb only, minced
* 1 red Thai chile, chopped
* 1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce
* 1 teaspoon kosher salt
* 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
FOR SERVING
* 1/2 green mango, peeled and sliced lengthwise into very thin half-moons on a mandoline
* 1 large Kirby cucumber—peeled, seeded and cut into 1/4-inch dice
* 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped roasted peanuts
* 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro
* 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped mint
1. MAKE THE DRESSING: In a small bowl, mix the fish sauce with the rice vinegar, lime juice, sugar and garlic, making sure to dissolve the sugar.
2. MAKE THE SHRIMP CAKES: In a small saucepan of boiling water, cook the beans until bright green, about 2 minutes. Drain and pat dry with paper towels.
3. In a food processor, combine the shrimp with the coconut milk, cilantro, lemongrass, chile, fish sauce and salt and pulse to a chunky consistency. Scrape the mixture into a bowl and stir in the green beans. Form into sixteen 1/4-cup patties.
4. In a large, nonstick skillet, heat the vegetable oil. Add the shrimp cakes and cook over moderately high heat until browned on the bottom, about 2 minutes. Flip and cook over moderate heat until the cakes are browned on the other side and just cooked through, about 3 minutes.
5. TO SERVE: Arrange the mango slices on plates. Set the shrimp cakes on top and sprinkle with the cucumber, peanuts, cilantro and mint. Drizzle the dressing over the shrimp cakes and serve.


Simply delicious. Amazingly tasty. I will make this 100 more times and serve it to anyone who will try it. The mango, the green beans, the mint and fish sauce. This is one of the best things that I have ever made. Ever.

It is not really surprising. The Recipe is by Jean-Georges Vongerichten. He's hot stuff. He has a few more recipes in Food and Wine that also look wonderful.

Red Flannel Salmon Hash

one of the best breakfasts of all time

recipe # 179

Another winner from the Cafe Pongo Cookbook, which is quickly becomeing my favorite breakfast cookbook ever. So far not a single one has disappointed.

Red Flannel Salmon Hash
1 cup of diced potatoes
1 cup of diced sweet potatoes
2 tablespoons of butter (I used olive oil)
1 onion, minced (I used half and onion and 2 shallots)
1 cup minced celery
1 cup peeled and minced carrots
1 cup peeled and minced parsnips
2 tablespoons of fresh thyme
1/2 cup of dry vermouth or white wine (I used tequila)
6-8 oz. cooked salmon skinless
1 1/2 cup cooked peeled and diced beets (I skipped them)

Boil the potatoes and sweet potatoes until al dente. Drain well.
Heat butter (olive oil) in a large saute pan over medium heat. add onions, celery, carrots parsnips, thyme and vermouth (the tequila was a good choice) and saute until tender. Add potatoes and a but more butter/oil if the mixture gets dry. Cook 5 more minutes or so. Remove from heat, crumble in salmon and stir in beets.
When ready to serve crisp in the broiler and serve with 2 poached eggs.

Seriously one of the best breakfasts that I have ever had. Hits all the right notes and and satisfies both the savory and sweet. It i s best to eat it on the day its made. I had this 2 mornings in a row and the second morning was a bit fishy. I think this would be pretty terrific with no fish too.

tastes good and takes a lovely picture too.

This would also be a great camping recipe. We made something like it when we went camping in the fall, but this was better.

AteThat's version of Hash is here.

Pork and Me: The Reunion

reunited and it feels so right

recipe # 178

It was Valentines Day and I really wanted to be with the one I love (and my husband) so I decided to make pork. Sweet, delicious, wonderful pork.

My friend Lara who lives in the UK and I think might be in love with Jamie Oliver sent me this recipe. I think it is one of his, but I'm not sure. I'll get her to confirm or deny:

Tray-Baked Pork Chops w/ herby potatoes, parsnips, pears and minted bread sauce
Serves 4
8 pork chops or 4 double pork chops
1 rosemary garlic and lemon marinade (recipe below)
3 parsnips
3 pears (I used apples)
1.5 lbs potatoes, scrubbed
salt and pepper
minted bread sauce (recipe below)

Marinade pork chops for 1-6 hours. Preheat oven to 425. peel potatoes and parsnips and chop em up. Chop up pear, but core it first. Pour everything in a glass baking dish or other tray, mix everything up so marinade covers potatoes, parsnips and pears and bake everything for 45 minutes to 1 hour depending on the size of the chops.

While chops and vege are cooking make the minted bread sauce and smear it all over the pork.

Rosemary, Garlic and Lemon Marinade
2 good handfuls of fresh rosemary, pounded
6 cloves of garlic, crushed.
10 glugs of olive oil
3 lemons, halved, juiced and skin squashed
fresh ground black pepper

Bread Sauce
3 handfuls of fresh mint
1 handful of chopped bread
extra virgin olive oil
salt and pepper
2 tsp. mustard
red wine vinegar

Finely chop 3 parts mint to 1 part bread and stir in some olive oil until the mixture has loosened. Carefully season, adding the mustard and splashing in some vinegar to taste. The flavor improves over time.

I have a deep love of pork. I also think the pig is a wonderful, cute and smart animal that really shouldn't be eaten, so I have a serious moral dilemma. Last month I swore off pork all together until I could find a place on the left coast that was similar to Flying Pig Farm in upstate NY. Flying Pig is a lovely place. The pigs are beautiful, happy and well taken care of. I know this because I would go and drive by there on a regular basis simply because the pigs looked like they were having such a nice time.

Anyway, last weekend I found some nice loin chops at a farmers market, paid the high price and had them in lieu of lobster for Valentine's Day.

They were pretty tasty. I think I over cooked them when I put them in the broiler to brown them a bit. Besides the dry, the flavor was nice. They also took only about 14 seconds to prepare.

Brownies with Nothing but Goodness

goooood, and not just good for something vegan and wheat free

recipe # 177

I first saw this recipe in the September issue of Food and Wine and at the time cut it out as a novelty. It is from BabyCakes in Manhattan that makes gluten free and vegan cupcakes, scones, cookies and other baked goods.

I tried to find Bob's Red Mill all purpose flour. I went to Whole Foods and everything. Instead I used a mixture of 1 part tapioca flour and 1 part chick pea flour or besan that I had left over from my Indian Cooking days (besan flour makes the best onion rings ever, BTW).

Here is the recipe:
Brownie Bites
* Vegetable oil spray
* 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons Bob's Red Mill gluten-free, all-purpose baking flour
* 1/2 cup sugar
* 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
* 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
* 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
* 1/2 cup applesauce
* 1/4 cup canola oil
* 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup dairy-free mini chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 325°. Spray 2 mini muffin pans with vegetable oil spray. In a bowl, whisk the baking flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt and xanthan gum. In another bowl, whisk the applesauce, oil and vanilla; stir into the dry ingredients. Stir in the chocolate chips. Spoon the batter into the muffin pans, filling them three-quarters full. Bake for 15 minutes, or until set. Let the brownies cool in the pans for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack to cool completely.

I'm not the kind of person who would have a mini muffin tin so I used a regular muffin tin and a few sake cups. Worked just fine. These brownies are good. Very very good. Much better than any packaged add egg and oil box. MUCH better than No Pudge Fudge. These isn't even that much sugar in them. Amazing.

I'm going to make these again this afternoon and try another kind of flour. Maybe soy and brown rice and see how that goes. I'm also going to add walnuts and coconut flakes.