A Good Dish

making food simpler

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

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. 

Spring tulips

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 with shrimp
Bowls by Kevin Caufield

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.

So many possibilities….

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.

Fresh Cranberry Sauce And Cranberry Relish Are A Breeze To Make But Hurry While Cranberries Are In Season

Cranberry relish and cranberry sauce
Porcelain serving dish and spoons
by Ingrid Bathe

Cranberries are a traditional part of a Thanksgiving meal but we eat them all year. I make the usual cooked cranberry sauce and a cranberry relish(uncooked sauce is called relish). I learned to make the uncooked version from my grandmother(1 bag of raw cranberries, 1 whole orange and 1 cup of sugar). She must have found it in her local Michigan newspaper; it turns out to be a widely circulated recipe. The only problem I’ve found is that most cranberry sauce recipes, like hers, are loaded with sugar. 

Buy fresh cranberries now in season
and keep some in your freezer

This year I was determined to find a healthier option so I tried my new favorite sweetener–dates. For the cooked sauce, I simmered chopped dates in apple juice(orange works, too) and added chopped, peeled oranges and raw cranberries with a pinch of cinnamon. It gelled just fine without the sugar and tasted delicious. For the relish(or raw sauce), I simply put pitted dates, a whole de-seeded orange(I used organic because I was using the peel) and raw cranberries in the food processor(high speed blender will work) and pulsed until I had the not quite smooth consistency that I wanted. Worked like a charm!

Chopped dates are a whole food,
adding nutrients and fiber while
sweetening
Chopped oranges add a layer
of texture and flavor

Cooked sauce and raw relish keep quite a long time in the fridge and are delicious in sandwiches, with cooked poultry and meats of all kinds and with cheese. A splash of sherry or Port wine is tasty in the sauce and I think you could embellish easily with raisins, pineapple or persimmon and spices to make a chutney. Both recipes are a breeze to make so prepare multiple batches, give some to friends and stash some away to brighten a dark winter night. 

Cranberries cooking with
dates, juice and oranges
Cooked cranberry sauce

COOKED CRANBERRY SAUCE 

  • 10 Deglet Nor dates, pitted and chopped (If you use Medjool, you’ll need less)
  • 1 cup apple (or orange) juice
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Pinch cinnamon (optional)
  • 1 peeled, seeded and chopped orange (optional)
  • 1 bag (12 oz.) raw cranberries, rinsed 

Put the chopped dates, juice and water in a small to medium saucepan, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Add cinnamon and orange, if using, and cranberries. Simmer until most of the berries have popped, stirring occasionally. Take off heat and let cool. Store in a glass container in the fridge until ready to use. 

Cranberry relish pureed
in the blender

CRANBERRY RELISH 

  • 1 orange, preferably organic, cut in quarters and de-seeded
  • 10 Deglet Nor dates, pitted
  • 1 bag (12 oz.) raw cranberries, rinsed 
  • Put in food processor or blender and pulse until desired consistency. 

Store in a glass container in the fridge. 

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INGRID BATHE pinches porcelain into thin, fragile-looking but sturdy cups, bowls, vases, jars, plates and serving dishes, each with the visible imprint of her touch. She doesn’t hide the seams or fingerprints so you see all the evidence of the process, the making. Bathe uses rare earth oxides in glazes on the interiors to achieve an enticing range of pale blues to purples. There is something wintry, almost icy, and appealing about these cool surfaces – not surprising as she lives in mid-coast Maine. You can find places her work is sold on her website.

Pinched porcelain pots by Ingrid Bathe
Photo courtesy of the artist

 

Serving tray with small bowls/spoons by Ingrid Bathe
Photo courtesy of the artist
Vases by Ingrid Bathe
Photo courtesy of the artist

Grate Fresh Carrots To Make An Easily Variable And Appealing Salad In Autumn And Every Season

Grated carrot salad with orange/cumin dressing
Oval bowl by Sunshine Cobb

I don’t usually make carrot salad when so many late summer/fall vegetables are still at their peak. It is more a middle of the winter, not a green in sight situation that prompts me to get grating carrots. But when life gives you carrots…. I’ll explain. We recently visited friends in mid-coast Maine who have created a huge, lush and productive vegetable garden out of their back lawn – impressive in so many ways. Not only are they growing a wide variety of vegetables themselves with their young children underfoot in the shorter Maine summer but have kept out groundhogs and other critters and had started harvesting veggies in July! We had a good catchup and coffee on their lovely deck admiring the garden and when we left, Demetri gifted us a bag of beautiful, fresh carrots.

Gifted garden carrots
Oval bowl by Sunshine Cobb
A section of Caroline and Demetri’s garden
Beautifully hung garden tools on their garage

Carrots, celery and cabbage are my backup vegetables. They are always available, keep for a long time in the fridge and so versatile for making salads, soups and stir fries. Our gifted carrots were plump and sweet, perfect for eating out of hand or for salad. I grated them along with some fresh ginger for emphasis, added a finely chopped apple and nuts for crunch, parsley (cilantro or mint also delicious) for green, cumin and coriander for depth, lemon juice for acidity, dates and  orange juice for sweetness and finished up with olive oil to bind it all together. The result was fresh, crisp, lively and satisfying, a carrot salad I will be happy to serve and eat in any season. Bonus – Perfect color and sweetness for Halloween and Thanksgiving!

Carrot salad with dates and apples
Red clay bowl by Sunshine Cobb

ALL SEASON CARROT SALAD

Place in a salad bowl:

  • 1 pound raw carrots, grated or finely julienned
  • 1 apple, cored and finely diced
  • 1/4-1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley, cilantro or mint
  • 3-4 Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
  • 1/4-1/3 cup chopped raw or toasted walnuts or pistachios

In a smaller bowl, whisk together:

  • 2 TBs fresh orange juice
  • 2 TBs fresh lemon juice
  • 1-2 inch piece of fresh ginger, grated (a generous TBs)
  • Pinch salt
  • Pinch black pepper
  • 1/2 tsp ground cumin
  • 1/4 tsp ground coriander
  • Pinch cayenne, optional
  • 2 TBs olive oil
Pour dressing over other ingredients, toss and let sit 30 minutes or more before serving.

Keeps well refrigerated for a second serving for up to 3 days. Feeds 4-8

Optional add-ins:

Grated garlic, tahini, honey, pomegranate arils or a chopped pear can replace the apple

 

Montana based artist SUNSHINE COBB makes a wide array of colorful, appealing functional pottery sold on her website, through many galleries and shops and at various ceramic sales. She is the author of two thorough, encouraging books on hand building with clay and offers online and in-person workshops around the country, hand building tools she has developed and a number of generous youtube videos she freely shares. Often stamped, carved, cut, or simply fingerprinted, Sunshine’s work is usually textured in a way that makes you want to touch and pick it up. For many years she sandblasted her glazed ware to create a soft matte surface but recently moved to a new body of work with slips and glazes in a new range of colors. Check out her website and Instagram (and this wonderful interview with Jen Allen)for more information.

Garlic boxes by Sunshine Cobb
Photo courtesy of the artist
Votive candelabra by Sunshine Cobb
Photo courtesy of the artist
Ceramic baskets by Sunshine Cobb
Photo courtesy of the artist

An Un-Hollandaise Sauce For Dipping Spring Vegetables Like Artichokes And Asparagus

Steamed artichoke with vinaigrette dip
Carved porcelain bowl by Janel Jacobson

Now that fresh artichokes are available in grocery stores, you want to make something delicious in which to dip their leaves. A steamed artichoke, a vegetable rich in folate, is a treat with melted butter but is elevated to another state with a scrumptious dip. Hollandaise sauce, a traditional accompaniment to both artichokes and asparagus, has always been too rich for me. Plus, unless I’ve met the chicken whose eggs I’m eating, anything with raw egg in it makes me skittish. 

Growing up, we dipped our artichokes in a homemade mustardy vinaigrette with chopped, hard-boiled eggs.  My mother clipped the recipe from a monthly newsletter 40 or so years ago and still pulls it out every spring to sauce artichokes. When I went to copy down the recipe decades ago, it was already worn and speckled with drops of oil and now my own copy looks much the same. The original recipe in the newsletter came from Paul Steindler, a Czech chef who ran La Popotte restaurant in New York.

For years I made Mom’s recipe just as she had prepared it, but then it occurred to me that a few changes might lighten it up a bit. I swapped in apple cider vinegar for white distilled, replaced the white sugar with date purée and went back to the Dijon mustard that was in the original (not the bright yellow “French’s” hot dog mustard she used in those days). The newsletter recipe called for half a cup of olive oil but that made the vinaigrette too rich for my taste and tolerance. I cut the oil to 2 tablespoons and instead of adding a chopped egg at the end, I added 2 hard boiled eggs and blended them completely to thicken it all into an unctuous and tangy dip, much lighter than the original. For a vegan version, you could try substituting aquafaba or flax slurry for the eggs. If you want it more yellow, add some turmeric. 

After cutting the pointy end with a knife,
trim sharp tips easily with a scissors

We still celebrate spring with artichokes and asparagus dipped in this delicious mustardy vinaigrette only now I feel good about making it. This combination of a vegetable with a protein makes it a meal, especially if you don’t want a heavy supper. If there is any sauce left over, it makes a pretty good dip for carrots or cold leftover asparagus or to enliven plain cooked fish or chicken. You can prepare this vinaigrette ahead, as it will keep in the refrigerator a day or so, and just re-blend it while the artichokes or asparagus are steaming. 

Steamed artichoke with vinaigrette dip
Porcelain bowl by Janel Jacobson

UN-HOLLANDAISE OR HOLLANDAISE-ISH SAUCE

Process until smooth in a blender:

  • 3 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 Tb apple cider, white or white wine vinegar 
  • 2 Tbs Dijon mustard 
  • 1 tsp date purée or syrup (or maple syrup, honey, agave, sugar)
  • 1/2 tsp Worcester sauce 
  • 1-2 Tbs olive oil
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 tsp black pepper
  • Pinch turmeric-optional 

Add and blend until smooth and thickened:

  • 2 hard boiled eggs, peeled

Great as a dip for artichokes (pour right into the center of a cooked and cleaned artichoke or in a small bowl for dipping) or drizzled over steamed asparagus. Store any leftover in the refrigerator for one day. Fills 4 large artichokes.

I originally posted this recipe in the first year of A Good Dish. This is an updated version with new photos to reach all new readers who have subscribed in the last five years and to remind others to make it. Thanks for reading along.

Porcelain butter dish
by Janel Jacobson

Janel Jacobson makes carved and fluted functional porcelain and stoneware pots, paying attention to form, surface and function. Once a student of Marguerite Wildenhain in California, she makes pots and carved wood sculpture in the Sunrise, Minnesota studio she shares with her husband, potter Will Swanson. Jacobson and Swanson will be one stop on the Mother’s Day weekend St Croix Pottery Tour I have longed to attend for many years. Fortunately , there will be an online sale in conjunction with the studio tour this year. Hope to get there in person next year! 

So many buds on this yellow magnolia!

This Celery Salad With Pomegranate Vinaigrette Will Add Crunch, Tang and Variety To Your Winter Salad Rotation

Celery salad with pomegranate vinaigrette
Porcelain bowl by Bryan Hopkins

I try to get some kind of salad on the table at least once a day. While I can happily eat a green salad daily through the warmer months, I don’t always feel like lettuce during winter. Perhaps because lettuces tend to be cooling or because the boxed and bagged supermarket options, or their packaging, don’t always seem appealing, I stick mainly with my favorite carrot, beet, cabbage and fennel salads with arugula making an occasional appearance through the coldest months. Celery as a main ingredient is a fresh addition to the winter salad rotation.

Celery/celery root salad
Porcelain bowl by Bryan Hopkins

Celery remoulade is the classic French preparation of celeriac (aka celery root) as salad but it always has too much mayo to even consider serving it to my mayonnaise-averse family. But julienned celery root adds texture and flavor when combined with sliced celery stalks and really comes alive with a pomegranate molasses (just evaporated pomegranate juice – if you see other ingredients, look for a different brand) vinaigrette. I found the recipe in Cook’s Illustrated and altered it to satisfy myself by eliminating the honey, shallots and frisée, adding a green apple, and making the cheese optional. Choose any nut you like and adjust the proportions to suit yourself. If you don’t have fresh or frozen pomegranate available (I think this year’s window on fresh has closed), use a smaller amount of dried cranberries or cherries – they will be a similar tart/sweet taste that you need here. And if, for some reason, you don’t want to buy pomegranate molasses, you could boil down some pomegranate juice to thicken it and use that – it is essentially the same thing.

Celery root at the supermarket
Pomegranate molasses should be 100% Pomegranate juice

The original recipe calls for shaved Pecorino and that is tasty but if you don’t want to use cheese, and we usually don’t, just leave it out. If you still want more protein involved, add a can of rinsed white beans. This is a really easy, crunchy, flavorful salad with a tangy vinaigrette that offers a welcome change of flavor and texture in mid-winter. It also keeps well for a day in the fridge so you can prepare it once and eat twice.

Celery salad with Pecorino cheese
Porcelain bowl by Bryan Hopkins

CELERY SALAD

Combine in a large bowl:

  • 1 bunch celery, with leaves, sliced thinly (2-3 cups)
  • 1 cup celery root, peeled and julienned
  • 1 tart apple, like Granny Smith, diced
  • 1/2 cup pomegranate arils or dried cranberries, cherries, etc)
  • 1/4 cup shelled pistachios or walnuts
  • A big handful of arugula – optional
  • Shaved Pecorino, Parmesan or Ricotta Salata – optional

In another bowl, whisk:

  • 1 TBs pomegranate molasses
  • 1 TBs lemon juice
  • 1 TBs wine vinegar
  • 1 tsp Dijon mustard – optional
  • 2 TBs olive oil
  • Pinch each of salt and pepper

Pour vinaigrette over celery mixture, toss and serve.

*   *   *

Bryan Hopkins makes both functional and sculptural vessels in porcelain but I would venture that even when physically utilitarian, all of his work is sculptural. Hopkins plays with texture, volume, line, rhythm, pattern and space in order to create works that pull us in, wanting to know more, wanting to touch and turn the pieces in order to understand them. His work is constantly evolving, perhaps a result of his continual experimentation, and always tactilely inviting. Hopkins is a teacher in Buffalo but also teaches via video posts on Instagram, sharing ideas, explaining techniques, promoting less well-known potters and encouraging others, the best kind of teacher. Find his work at hopkinspottery.com where he also shares a terrific pretzel recipe!

Porcelain mug by Bryan Hopkins
Photo courtesy of the artist
Pierced egg cups by Bryan Hopkins
Photo courtesy of the artist
Tumbler set by Bryan Hopkins
Photo courtesy of the artist