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Classic Cocktail Sauce Or What To Cook When Moving And Cleaning Out Your Fridge And Freezer!

May 29, 2023 Leave a Comment

Classic homemade cocktail sauce
with wild Gulf shrimp
Porcelain bowls by Kevin Caufield

Seasons come and seasons go. That is the rhythm of the year. For me, opposite of most people, the hardest transition is spring. I love the coziness of winter, the fresh, crisp, sometimes bracing cold air, baking bread, steaming bowls of soup and the openness of the sky with no leafy canopy of leaves to obscure it. Don’t get me wrong—spring is beautiful with all the verdant greens and continual parade of colorful blossoms and flowers. I just know the heat and humidity that is lurking ahead.

And what to cook and eat in spring is less clear. Of course, fiddleheads and asparagus and soon strawberries will be abundant. This year is a little more complicated as we are packing to make our 10th move in three years and there hasn’t been a lot of time to browse cookbooks or flip through recipe files. Mostly I am trying to use up the contents of our current freezer and fridge as much as possible so we have a little less to move. It is a good practice to add to your spring clean anyway, as food wasn’t meant to be stored in there for years!

A good fresh horseradish
makes a big difference in flavor

Add your favorite hot sauce to
spice things up

This week as I fill and weave amongst the moving boxes, bins and IKEA bags, we will be eating pasta with pesto, both the regular basil as well as a tub fennel pesto I unearthed at the bottom the freezer. I will simmer sliced carrots and celery, perhaps with some mushrooms, onions and leftover rice, in the defrosted jars of chicken stock, topped off with the remaining half bag of frozen peas. The frozen berries and bananas will get blended with the yogurt and kefir left in the fridge for breakfast smoothies. Finally, the pound of wild gulf shrimp I stashed away when it was on sale will get boiled and chilled for a giant, old school shrimp cocktail. I gave up jarred cocktail sauce long ago because of all the added sugar, often high fructose corn syrup, and because I can make it exactly the way we like it, full of fresh horseradish and lemon juice. Many of you probably make your own already. If you like it spicy, as we do, add hot sauce or tabasco. Whip some up (takes only a few minutes) and serve with shrimp, lobster, oysters or even crudités for the gorgeous week ahead. Then enjoy your tidy freezer and have a happy Memorial Day.

CLASSIC COCKTAIL SAUCE

Stir together just to blend:

1/2 cup ketchup
2-3 TBs prepared white horseradish, to taste
1-2 TBs fresh lemon juice, to taste
1/4-1/2 tsp hot sauce, sriracha or Tabasco
2 dashes Worcestershire sauce

Chill and serve. Keeps up to one week refrigerated.

KEVIN CAUFIELD make traditional pottery, including for restaurants, in St Paul, Minnesota. I won these two lovely little bowls submitting a cornbread recipe to the Northern Clay Center Chili Cook Off. His work is available at Northern Clay Center.

Red Chicken Posole, Spicy Mexican Soup With Vegetables And Hominy (Posole), Makes A Delicious and Complete Meal

April 8, 2023

Prepared posole soup
Bowls by Hunter Saxton

Posole, a spicy Mexican soup made with the alkalinized corn of the same name (also known as hominy), is one of my favorite soups. It is flavorful, spicy to your preference, full of chewy corn and vegetables and can be garnished individually by each eater. Winter may be officially over but there will be plenty of chilly evenings when a bowl of posole will be a welcome meal. A friend told me her husband made a similar spicy Mexican chicken soup but with matzo balls this week. Please report in if you try a variation!

I received the recently published Rancho Gordo book on Pozole (the Mexican spelling) as a holiday gift and have been trying out some of the many recipes. I prefer the chicken rather than the pork-based broth, which always seems too meaty and fatty for my taste, but some of you may love the richer version. The recipe I landed on is a combination of several of the chicken versions from the book and my old recipe (with cumin and oregano) plus a little whir of the stick blender to thicken the soup.

Toast seeded and stemmed (guajillo and ancho) chilies
briefly in a dry, hot pan

You can buy prepared canned hominy/posole although it is truly better to cook the dried kernels yourself for both flavor and texture and to have the cooking liquid to add to your soup. But if you don’t have the time (you do have to soak and cook a few hours) or inclination, buy canned. Just make sure you rinse well to get rid of the salty packing liquid. This canned posole/hominy will be a bit softer and milder than if you cook it yourself but in such flavorful soup, you can get away with it. Some sources for dry, besides Rancho Gordo, are Los Chileros (organic) and Anson Mills (not nixtamalized) and for prepared, options include Goya, Natural Value (organic), La Preferida and Juanita’s. Order Rancho Gordo and Anson Mills online while the others are available in urban grocery or health food stores.

To cook dry posole/hominy, first soak it overnight. Then cover with 1-2” of water or broth, bring to a boil, lower to a simmer and cook 2-2 1/2 hours, partially covered. To add more flavor, cook with a chili pepper or two, some oregano and a few smashed cloves of garlic. Simmer until tender and blossomed (most kernels should “flower” when cooked) and add salt to taste. I think cooked posole kernels with butter and a little salt make a delicious side dish when you want a different starch for a change, comforting like buttered pasta.

Simmer soaked posole
with garlic, oregano and chilies

I posted a posole recipe the first year I started this blog. I think that recipe (made using leftover Thanksgiving turkey) still holds its own but the posole I have been making recently doesn’t use tomatoes or chili powder. Rather, it gets its flavor from toasted, soaked and puréed chili peppers. You can use boxed stock if you don’t have homemade or time to make stock but, as with the actual posole/hominy, homemade will be tastier and you’ll have cooked chicken to add to the soup. You could even use vegetable stock, leave out the chicken and add a wider variety of vegetables(think chayote, beans, even potatoes) if you wanted a vegetarian version. The amounts of seasonings are adjustable according to your preferences. Each eater can get creative here with which garnishes they choose to add. Put out bowls of chopped cilantro (since not everyone loves it), chopped or sliced avocado, chopped onions, thinly sliced raw cabbage or lettuce, oregano, sliced radishes, finely diced jalapeños or Serrano (more heat) peppers, cut fresh limes and tortilla chips to crumble in. Delicious, flavorful and fun!

RED (CHICKEN) POSOLE

5 dried chilies, ancho, guajillo or a combination
6 large garlic cloves, 3 smashed, 3 minced
2 TBs vegetable oil, preferably olive or avocado
1 large onion, chopped
2 fresh green chilies, finely chopped (poblano or jalapeño for mild, Serrano for spicy)
1 TBs ground cumin
1 TBs dry oregano
5-6 cups prepared hominy/posole plus 2 cups cooking water
8 cups chicken broth
2 tsps salt
1 tsp ground black pepper
3 carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
3 stalks celery, thinly sliced
2 cups shredded cooked chicken

Garnishes:

Big handful cilantro, stems and leaves chopped separately
Dried oregano
Finely sliced raw cabbage or lettuce
Sliced radishes
Unsalted tortilla chips
Chopped onion
Sliced or diced avocado
Sliced or diced jalapeño
Fresh lime wedges

Slice open dried chilies and remove stem, pith and seeds.

Soak cleaned chilies in what water 10-15 minutes or until soft.

Purée soaked chilies in blender with 3 cloves garlic, smashed, and about one cup soaking water, or however much needed to blend smoothly. Set aside.

Heat oil and sauté chopped onion over medium heat until translucent.

Add minced garlic and green chilies, cumin and oregano and sauté one minute longer.

Add prepared hominy, cooking water(or plain if you used canned posole) and broth.

Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer.

Add salt, black pepper and vegetables (including cilantro stems) and cook 10 minutes longer.

Add shredded chicken and continue cooking 5-10 minutes until simmering. Taste for salt and spiciness and adjust accordingly.

Ladle into bowls and let everyone garnish their own posole.

Serves 8-12. Prepared soup will keep in the refrigerator 3-4 days and 2-3 months in the freezer.

I wish I could tell you more about the work of Hunter Saxton but I can’t find him, just his Instagram account. I bought these pieces a couple of years ago from Kansas City Urban Potters. If you find him, please let me know. These bowls/cups are a pleasure to use!

When You Run Out Of Ideas For Cooking Beans, You Can Fall Back On This Tasty Chickpea and Vegetable Curry

March 8, 2023

Curried chickpeas and vegetables in a
soda fired earthenware ramen bowl
by Justin Rothshank

When it gets to this time of late winter, I have made all my favorite bean recipes (baked beans, mushrooms and beans, black beans and rice, red bean and turkey chili) so many times that we are longing for a different flavor. Then I remember curry and our tastebuds are satisfied for a few days. Curried red lentil soup and Jane Brody’s simple curried lentils are two easy recipes I rely on but my winter curry of choice is made with chickpeas and lots of vegetables.

Get all your ingredients prepped and ready
(your mise en place)
and cooking will be both easier and calmer

Right now, when most fresh local veggies are still not available, I use a combination of winter farmers market storage vegetables (carrots, onions, potatoes, squash) and grocery store staples (cauliflower, celery, frozen peas, bagged arugula or baby kale and cilantro). Adding cubes of potato and/or winter squash makes this a heartier stew but I don’t always want it so starchy so they are optional. My husband doesn’t like coconut but I can get away with some coconut milk in a curry since the spices are so flavorful that he doesn’t notice. You could use just broth and settle for a thinner consistency or add some cream. And if you do make it thinner and purée a bit (use an immersion blender for 15-30 seconds or take out a cupful and purée in a blender and add back in), you could serve the leftovers as soup.

Different brands and colors of chili paste
Use the one you like

Add greens in the final minutes of cooking
so they stay green

Which curry seasoning you choose is a bit flexible. I use Madras curry supplemented with Thai red or green chili paste but Jamaican or any other yellow curry powder will work. If you want a milder flavor, leave out the chili paste and cayenne, double the amount of curry powder and perhaps use some lemongrass to enhance the complexity. We love this curry with basmati or Japanese rice (or papadem crackers) but if you add enough vegetables, you won’t even miss the rice.

CURRIED CHICK PEAS

2 TBs neutral oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped
6-8 cloves garlic, minced
2 TBs minced or grated fresh ginger
2 tsp yellow curry powder
1 tsp turmeric powder or 2 tsps fresh turmeric, grated
1 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp cayenne
4 oz jar or tin of red or green curry paste
1 can coconut milk (regular or light) plus one canful water
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth or chickpea cooking water
5 cups cooked chick peas (or 3 cans)
1 cauliflower, cut in small florets
2-3 carrots, in half moons or chopped
1 parsnip, diced (optional)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cooked sweet potato, diced (optional)
A couple of handful of arugula or baby kale
1-2 heaping TBs Major Grey’s chutney (optional but delicious)
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro, stems and leaves chopped separately (or parsley)

Heat a stockpot and add the oil. Add and sauté the chopped onion until translucent and then add the celery, jalapeño, garlic, ginger and spices. Sauté another minute or two and then add the liquids. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Simmer 10-15 minutes until the flavors have blended and stir in the chili paste. Add the cooked chickpeas, cauliflower, carrots and parsnip, if using, and cook 10-12 minutes until just tender. Taste for spiciness and adjust to your preference, adding hot sauce, cayenne or chili flakes as you choose. Add in the peas, greens, if using, chopped cilantro stems and chutney. Cook 1-2 minutes more until greens are wilted and remove from heat. Serve plain or over rice topped with chopped cilantro and lime wedges to squeeze.

Serves approximately 8 and keeps well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days.

JUSTIN ROTHSHANK makes different lines of pottery including collaborations with his family members and other artists, political pottery and soda fired earthenware. He is best known for his poppy decals but uses many others and sometimes, as in the bowl above, leaves off the decals. His pieces are sometime whimsical and sometimes serious but always delightful. He lives in Indiana but is currently teaching at Penland. You can find his work at his web shop.

Salad plates with decals by Justin Rothshank
Photo courtesy of the artist

RBG tribute mug by Justin Rothshank
Photo courtesy of the artist

Earthenware vases by Justin Rothshank
Photo courtesy of the artist

Try Adding Sautéed Fennel For Variety In Your Winter Vegetable Rotation

January 26, 2023

Simple sautéed fennel
Earthenware bowl by Lisa Orr

I am always trying to incorporate more vegetables into our meals but never as much as in the dark days of January. Winter food tends to be starch and protein heavy—think potatoes, stews, roasts and gooey pastas. Adding vegetables can lighten these dishes or, at least, create some balance. Root vegetables are the most commonly available in winter but cabbages, kale, collards and mustard greens are abundant, even sweeter in cold weather. One of my favorites is fennel, sometimes mistakenly called anise because of its similar, but milder, flavor, delicious both raw and cooked.

Fennel appears in our Northeast farmers markets in spring, summer and fall but keeps well in storage and is available year round in grocery stores. It can stay crisp for weeks in the refrigerator. It makes a terrific salad when no good lettuces are available and, if you are lucky enough to get a bulb with lots of fronds, it makes a delicious, lemony pesto. Lots of wintery recipes call for braising or roasting fennel. Okay fine, but I think the best (and easiest) way to prepare it is simply sautéed. It can be as basic as oil (or butter) and sliced fennel bulbs, seasoned with a little salt and pepper. You can fancy it up with browned onions, minced garlic, lemons, apples or radicchio, kale or cabbage finished with a splash of sherry, brandy or balsamic vinegar and a sprinkle of your favorite herb.

Fennel sautéed with just
oil, salt and pepper

Sautéed fennel is a wonderful side dish. It will keep a couple of days in the fridge so make a big batch and save yourself some cooking time. For those put off by the licorice flavor of raw fennel, it disappears almost completely when sautéed. So start your year off eating more vegetables, including some not in your regular rotation, like sautéed fennel!

SAUTÉED FENNEL

Wash and cut one to two bulbs of fennel in half lengthwise and slice thinly.

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive, avocado or grapeseed oil in a large skillet and add the sliced fennel. Sauté until beginning to brown, adding a splash of water, if necessary to prevent sticking and burning.

When browned to your liking, turn off heat and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

(Alternatively, start with sliced onions and add fennel when onions begin to brown).

LISA ORR makes playful, colorful earthenware pots (and street address numbers) which pay homage to lively Mexican pottery. She enhances her wheel-thrown and mold cast pieces with sprigging (applied raised decoration), slip trailing, carving and glaze painting. The resulting pieces are a celebration by themselves! Her work can be found at on etsy, at Schaller Gallery, Clay Akar, Dallas Pottery Invitational and Artstream Nomadic Gallery, among other outlets.

5 Ordinary Ingredients Will Make Many People Happy When You Bake These Buttercrunch Bars

December 17, 2022

Buttercrunch bars
Stoneware plate by Mike Helke

This is the time of year I usually bake a lot of cookies. Nothing too fancy because even simple cookie recipes can be delicious and friends and neighbors are always delighted to receive them. Although I can’t eat them anymore because sugar inflames my joints, I enjoy the pleasure these sweet treats bring others. A vivid childhood memory is of the annual tin of cookies gifted to my parents from a caterer, Ingrid Slattberg, who had immigrated from Sweden and made delectable baked goods. Each tin contained 7 or 8 types of cookies including melt-in-your-mouth shortbread rimmed with colorful sprinkles, vanilla/chocolate swirled sables and everyone’s favorite—rolled lacy tuiles with a dab of light green frosting at each end. Ingrid shared her recipes but my recreations have never tasted quite as good as hers were in my memory.

I lay the pecans in a single layer
but you could use more

Boil the sugar and butter to create
the buttercrunch layer

You can smooth the chocolate on top
or leave the melted chips showing

I have participated in cookie swaps (you bake a dozen cookies for each participant and go home with many varieties), mailed cookies, baked and bagged cookies for school bake sales, served platters of them at holiday gatherings and sent dozens to office parties. Along with the requisite envelope of cash, I annually gifted cookies to our building superintendents. The most recent super started to ask me every year around Thanksgiving, when he would be getting his annual “brownies.” They weren’t actually brownies at all but buttercrunch bars, also known as turtle bars, and I’ve never met anyone who didn’t enjoy them. I think I found the recipe on a package of Land O’ Lakes butter as a teenager and have been making them ever since. An older friend (who was an excellent baker) once sent me a Maida Heatter brownie recipe with a note that said “Make these and give them away immediately!” They were that scrumptious. My advice is the same in this instance.

Buttercrunch packed and ready
to give or mail

The recipe is a simple three step crust (flour, sugar, butter), filling (nuts covered with melted butter and sugar) and topping (chocolate chips that melt onto the hot filling topped crust). I increased the amount of filling and topping to make it more generous and added the amount of chocolate. Be careful not to cut the squares too large because this is a rich bar. No wonder it was promoted by a butter company! You can, and should, make a double recipe.

BUTTERCRUNCH BARS

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Butter a 9 x 13 baking dish (I use a Pyrex).

Crust:

2 cups flour (all purpose is standard you could use pastry or white whole wheat or a blend)
1/2 cup butter
1 cup (packed) brown sugar

Mix until crumbly and pat down in prepared baking dish.

Cover the crust with a layer of pecans (or walnuts-more economical).

Set aside.

In a small saucepan combine:

1 cup butter
3/4 cup (packed)brown sugar

Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until boiling.

Boil one minute.

Pour over reserved nuts/crust.

Bake 20-22 minutes until bubbling.

Take out of the oven and sprinkle immediately with 2-3 cups semi-sweet (or whatever type you prefer-milk, bittersweet, etc.)chocolate chips

Smooth with a knife or spatula or leave chips as they fall.

Cool a few minutes and cut with a sharp knife, taking care not to mush the bars.

Chill until chocolate is firm and finish cutting into squares.

Store cooled bars in layers on waxed or parchment paper in covered tins or other lidded containers.

Store up to one week(if you can resist eating them) or they can be frozen for a couple of months. The amount of bars will depend on the size you cut them.

MIKE HELKE makes pots that are simultaneously fun and serious. He continuously challenges the traditional shapes of teapot, plate, pitcher, even bowls, cutting, moving and adding elements into reinventions we have to wrap our heads around. They are still recognizable as teapots, plates, pitchers and bowls but presented in new ways. The pieces are clever, appealing and useful! You can find Mike’s work in shops and galleries and at his website.