Julia and Jalepenos

Yesterday was Julia Child's birthday, it would have been her 97th. Bon Appetit challenged their readers to host a dinner party in her honor, cooking things from her books - and even included several recipes in their August issue. I was excited to try some of her recipes, especially after my recent movie viewing inspiration/obsession, but found myself completely alone for dinner last night, so that just wouldn't do. I couldn't justify eating a whole chicken, and side dish, salad, bread and dessert all alone while toasting the queen of dinner parties. So I did the next best thing and made a cake, Julia's cake, Reine de Saba.

But that was after I tackled some jalapenos.

R1 and I were planning to have a canning party to make delicious candied jalapenos, but alas, the jalapeno crop this year is just not very good. My parents planted a whole row of plants for me, and when I harvested, I got just about a quart and a half. Even the farm markets seem to be curiously absent of my favorite green pepper. So while our party plans were foiled (at least for now - perhaps we can locate some more peppers somewhere), I decided to try and candy can what few I had.

My mouth was watering as I sliced a bowlful of the crispy, dragon green peppers, but I just wasn't sure how they were going to turn out. The solution to fill the jars with was 3 parts sugar and 1 part vinegar brought to a syrupy boil. Boiling vinegar is fast becoming one of the pungent smells that I rather love, due to all the pickling canning I've been doing lately. After the syrup cooled in a pool on my stove, I tasted it, and concurred with myself that they indeed were going to taste somewhat like the peppers I had purchased, and have purchased for others, from West Allis Cheese and Sausage Shop which sells at the Milwaukee Public Market. They are so addicting and delicious, and you can add them to just about anything if you love spicy food. I think they are especially good on sandwiches and with eggs.

I was a little disappointed that even though I packed my jars as tightly as I could, the peppers shrunk down so much after their 10 minute hot water bath that jars only appeared 2/3 full. This morning, however, I gently turned them onto their sides and let the syrup make its way around and they did seem to appear a little more full. The proof will most definitely come in the tasting, which I think I'll make myself wait a couple of weeks for. Unless I happen to find more peppers, then I'll have to crack one open right away to make sure the recipe is sound.

Julia's cake was beautiful. Like I've said before, I'm a batter eater - so I knew this was going to be good before it even hit the oven. It had two of my favorite chocolate companions in it too: ground almonds and rum. I really kind of detest rum, even after keeping an open mind and trying it again after watching something on Puerto Rican rums and the whole distillation process... but still, unless it is baked up in some kind of chocolate, I really can do without it. The other exciting thing is that the only leavening in the cake comes from the eggs, not a pinch of baking soda or powder.

It was baked until slightly underdone in a petite 8 inch cake pan - which I love, because it instantly looks so very 50's. And just a hint of frosting, since I think it's going to have a pudding like interior. But since I was dining alone (and really, I have other desserts that I'm still working on eating - like the Pastel Helado that is still taking up residence in my fridge...) I saved it for tonight without even tasting the finished product. Oh, I stood by with my knife ready, but since I'm the only daily dessert eater in my house, I thought I had better wait.

So this evening after I make Julia's chicken, ratatouille, a salad and loaf of bread, I'll finally cut into it and take another picture. I'm very excited to try these recipes, all of which are posted at Bon Appetit, and hopefully the light will be good in the kitchen so I can get some nice photos of my efforts. And I'm even more excited to finally enter the world of Julia Child because really, I don't know what was taking me so long.

Obsessing over Lunch

So last night I saw Julie & Julia... Ordinarily, I don't easily hop on the bandwagon of blockbuster Hollywood movies (that aren't in the Marvel or DC Comics world, anyway...but that's another post). I certainly didn't rush off to see No Reservations, I can tell you that. I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I wasn't expecting to love this movie. I can also tell you I wasn't anticipating inspiration, and definitely not Obsession, but that IS what happened.

The movie ended around 10, and my boys were both asleep when I got home. Had I been even the slightest bit hungry, I would have joyfully cooked up something to eat - but I just wasn't. I had to settle for knitting my new mitered mitten pattern from the Loop class on Wednesday, and was content to drift off to a slumber that included dreams of drinking many martinis thanks to all the imbibing going on in the movie.

This morning, however, I knew that for lunch I had no leftovers, and was going to have to make something. I haven't poached an egg in a while, and moviegoing did pique my appetite for them. Yes, yes, I know hardly a day is going by when I don't mention Marisa at foodinjars, and today is no exception since when I printed out her dilly bean recipe, she prefaced by saying that "lightly steamed green beans dressed with salt, pepper and butter, scrambled eggs and a sliced tomato" was one of her favorite suppers. I picked a nice big handful of fresh beans from my own garden behind the garage yesterday, and also had a nice ripe tomato from my father-in-law. So, poaching an egg it was instead of scrambling.

Thanks to Julia inspiration, I used maybe a whole 1/2 T. of butter on the green beans, but then couldn't quite make myself 2 eggs, so I did one egg, and one egg white. But don't you know poached egg yolks are The King of the egg world? WHY did I talk myself out of the cholesterol? After I stabbed that baby with a couple of green beans, I would have taken a bath in the yolk if it were at all possible. I guess that's what is nice about not making something for awhile: you get to appreciate it all over again.

True to my Latin love, I had to add avocado and much hot sauce - Cholula is my preferred hot sauce.

I'd dare you not to lick your plate - especially when omitting bread from this meal...

Poaching

Poaching eggs really is insanely easy. I follow the Cook's Illustrated approach which is this: Fill an 8 or 10 inch nonstick skillet almost to the top with water and bring to a boil. Then add 1 t. salt and 2 T. white vinegar. Crack your eggs into little cups, one egg per cup, and ease them into the water. Immediately cover and remove from heat. Poach for exactly 4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and pat dry with a paper towel or regular lint free towels. And then eat those babies straight away.

Beautiful, cavernous egg center: Where have you been all my life? This actually is a different shot than the one above, the egg so nice I shot it twice...

Prior to this recipe, I did have trouble poaching eggs. The closest to perfection I came was following a Saveur recipe for Eggs Hussar, in which you used a tremendous amount of vinegar, causing your eggs to be unbelievably beautiful and cloud like - if not a tad on the vinegary side. While I love vinegar, this didn't bother me, but may have bothered some recipes not friends with such a strong flavor as vinegar. The link for the related recipe at Saveur is here. I promise you unbelievable amazement when you pluck these puffs of egg out of their bath, but stick with the tried and true less vinegar approach above if you have an aversion to vinegared eggs...

I must admit, that I have not read Julia Child's cookbooks. I'm not sure how she poached her eggs. I will thank Julie Powell and Nora Ephron or doing a wonderful job convincing me to click over to Amazon to find out what I've been missing out on. And many happy winter months, I predict, will be spent getting to know her recipes. For now, I'll be content to have a listen to the soundtrack I just downloaded...and planning a Julia's birthday meal on the 15th, like Bon Appetit suggested in their magazine this month.

All things green for the beginning of August...

I was out of town for a week, and got to spend some time at my parent's house about 3 hours west of here. They pared down the garden this year, but I was still amazed at the quantity and size of the plants... I originally was only going to take the jalapenos and green beans, jalapenos for a candied jalapeno project that R1 and I are going to tackle, and green beans for dilly beans thanks to Marisa at Food in Jars. But of course the call of the wild was overwhelming, and when I had picked the beans clean, I grabbed a bunch of green peppers and an armful of carrots. Then I couldn't stop, and also took some onions. But my car had only limited space, since I made no effort to pack lightly for a week long stay...so I had to curb my enthusiasm.

As you may have already surmised, I do run greatly in the vein of obsessions. Notably this year, I've been obsessed with mangoes, knitting, tart cherries and canning in general. I forgot how amazing it is to preserve food in jars. Already, my basement storage of preserved food is nearing its capacity, and more room will need to be made. When I planted some green beans that a neighbor had given me in spring, I immediately thought of dilly beans. The first and last time I had one was with Gina (of Square Pie fame: http://thesquarepie.com/) and I forget who gave them to her. Of course, after discovering foodinjars.com, I knew I had to try the spicy variety she showcased there.

It's surprisingly easy to can in hot water baths, i.e, pickling and jamming. I always thought that I never had the time, but I guess you make the time for the things obsessions are made of. I hardly have any time left over to think now with the knitting and the flickr and then this canning. At least I am being as productive as I can, for the shortening of summer days begins to remind me now that winter is a long and lonely time for the stay at home types. (Truth be told though, I'm never really lonely, and there is ALWAYS something that has to be made: a bed, a cake, you know.)

cayenne spiced dilly beans, courtesy of Marissa at foodinjars.com

When I returned to Milwaukee, I had a scorched yard and lots of basil to contend with: so the first of the pesto preserve was on. Monday, I made the first batch. I like to freeze it in little scoops on wax paper and then transfer to deep frozen storage. Mine stayed nice and green thanks to Michael Chiarello. He recommends blanching the basil, plunging it into the ice bath, then drying it well before proceeding. But I can't be bothered with that - I skipped right to his trick of adding a pinch of ascorbic acid, and it stayed bright green even after its preliminary freeze.

Of course there is no way to make a ton of pesto and not have some for dinner. This was the fastest tastiest way: a Martha Stewart recipe. First, boil a waxy potato or two cut into 1 inch chunks for 2 minutes. Then add pasta and green beans and continue cooking until pasta is done, about 10 additional minutes for the fusilli I used above. Then simply drain and toss with a little pesto. You may think I was going to be in a marathon the next day what with the potatoes, pasta AND bread all on my plate at one time...but sometimes a huge helping of carbohydrates is just what the doctors order.

All of this just since Monday! And tonight is my much anticipated knitting class on mitered mittens. I've been psyched for weeks thinking of the mittens I will make for everyone. On my week gone, I purposefully left all knitting at home so I could rest my carpal tunneled arms, but have still managed to almost finish another hat since I got home as well. Like I said, they don't call them Obsessions for nothing.

Orange Blueberry Muffins

I really haven't made many quick breads lately due to Summer, I think. But when I made these yesterday, I remember how much I missed them.

Really, it was due to soon going out of town, and having a basket of blueberries to use that caused me to make these. And R1 was coming for lunch...enough reason for me to turn on my oven...

I think I had clipped this recipe out of a Florida's Natural Orange Juice ad in the Sunday paper more than 3 years ago, always figuring I'd try it, but never really setting out to do so. What a shame! So delicious, and not too overwhelmingly orangy - although I don't mind that. Easily enough, I think you could lemonize the recipe if so desired. Originally it was a loaf pan recipe, but I prefer 12 of something to one... That and I have instant portion control, which when it comes to quick bread, sometimes I need.

So here it is: but I added coarse sanding sugar to the tops before I baked, you could also use turbinado sugar or probably even plain sugar (maybe even mixed with a bit of cinnamon if you love that).

Orange Blueberry Muffins

• 1/2 c. orange juice
• 1 c. blueberries
• 2 T. ap flour
• 1 3/4 c. ap flour
• 1/4 c. cornmeal (I like coarse here)
• 1 1/2 t. baking powder
• 1/2 t. baking soda
• 1/2 t. salt (omit if using salted butter)
• 6 T. room temp butter
• 3/4 c. sugar
• 1 egg
• 2 t. orange peel, grated

Preheat oven to 350.

Line muffin tins with papers. Toss blueberries with 2 T. flour to coat them and prevent them from sinking in your batter. Sift together: 1 3/4 c. flour, cornmeal, powder, soda and salt in a medium bowl

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar on high for 3 minutes until light and fluffy. I really do set a timer here. Add egg and beat well, then beat in orange juice and peel. Add flour mixture and beat on low until well mixed, but don't overbeat. Stir in blueberries.

Portion into muffin tin, and sprinkle with coarse sugar.

Bake for 25 minutes or so for 12 muffins. If you must make a loaf, butter and flour your loaf pan well, then bake it for 55-65 minutes. In both cases, test with a pick to make sure they are done.

If it is not nearly 100 degrees where you live, and is a very pleasant and manageable mid 70's like it's been here the past few days, give quick breads a try in the summer - or earmark it for a few years until you rediscover it and wish you made it earlier. If you're like me, you'll have to give away some, but that only can add to your popularity! If not, you could always hoard them in the freezer.

On a non-food note: Why am I obsessed with this chair from B&B Italia?

http://www.bebitalia.com/beb-italia/sofas-and-armchairs/serie-up-2000_1_648_1_1.html#BEBITALIA/SOFASANDARMCHAIRS/SERIEUP2000_1_648_1_1

I can envision myself sitting in this thing for hours, even though it is completely unlike anything I would ever buy... It's reminiscent of a lady in a stripy swimsuit, who wouldn't want that in their living room?

The Beginning of Cherry Cordial

Come Christmas, I may have a pretty nice drink to give away: I tried this easy peasy recipe for Cherry Cordial. I've never made a drink before, though I remember jotting down a recipe for dandelion wine more than 10 years ago, but the cherry obsession that I found myself with called for the trying.

This recipe calls for 1 lb of tart cherries and 500ml of vodka (about 3 cups). Ever since I read Alton Brown's books, I must confess that I really prefer to weigh everything. It's a pity more recipes don't include the weights, I think things seems a bit more accurate that way. I'm very glad the digital scale I bought also weighs liquids in oz. and ml.

Seeing as I had just over 2 lbs of cherries to do something with today, I used a half pound to make another half batch of cherry cordial (rationalized not due to my excessive drinking, but the hopes that this would be so wonderful, I'd wish I'd made more to give away...) and then I canned the rest whole, pits still in, in 3 little pints.

I found how to do this on another good resource site for home canning: the National Center for Home Food Preservation or http://www.uga.edu/nchfp/. I was happy that I could minimize my work for the day by leaving the pits in. I rather like spitting out (and finding a place to spit out) the cherry pits...and it helps to keep track of how many I've eaten. I used my Mom's recipe for extra light syrup, however, which is 1 c. sugar to 1 quart of water. After all, I didn't really want too sweet cherries.

They looked so nice coming out of the hot water bath. I already fantasize about next February cracking one open and devouring them, remembering instantly the many hundreds I've devoured this July.

Next summer, I think I'll have to do this again. It's been a great week deciding what to do with cherry madness. And I'm so lucky to have the access to delectable fruit!