Accessorizing. (BLOODY MARYS + BASIC QUICK PICKLES)

I talk about Bloody Marys plenty. I love to drink them, I love to make them. Seems to be the drink that has a preparation most like cooking (and drinking it is alot like eating). And though I am loyal to a sturdy classic drink, I love the bells and whistles that people come up with to adorn a Bloody Mary making it achieve even more than its perfect basic self. Seven kinds of seafood on a stick, gold dusted rim or 30 year old scotch are not necessary to the success of a Bloody Mary, but I wouldn’t turn them down either. The beauty is in the flexibility. It is a kind of very sophisticated open relationship.

It’s not about one particular recipe so much as striking a balance which can be achieved in many ways, adventurous and non. Go ahead! Use fish sauce and hot pepper purees, roasted tomatoes and wine. It just needs to consists of that savory drinkability, slight thickness, peppery bits and stand up to a decent spill of vodka (or whatever spirit one chooses to use). My ideal also provides a slow heat and a briny under-layer. To get it right I usually taste, adjust, taste, adjust, etc. just like cooking. Some batches are better than others and some kill it! Sometimes all the favorite ingredients are on hand and often there is creative substitution. And then there’s mixing drinks with that person who insists on their own carte blanche move (i.e. my friend who always uses dijon mustard). It’s cool, it all works and I’ll drink it to hell. But I’ll always have my own crazy concoction to go home to.

ORI’S BROOKLYN BLOODY MARY MIX

(makes about 10 drinks)

6 cups tomato juice

1/4 cup horseradish

1/4 cup pickled jalapeño juice (or dill pickle juice)

2 tablespoons Pick-a-Peppa sauce

4-5 shakes Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice

juice of one lime

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon celery salt or regular salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

dash cayenne

a few shakes of your favorite hot sauce until desired spicy-ness is reached. (I like Texas Pete)

• Stir all ingredients together in a pitcher.
• Fill a short glass with ice.
• Pour 2 ounces of your favorite vodka (I like Tito’s) and approximately 6-8 ounces of Mix over the ice and stir. Garnish with Spanish olives, pickles* of any sort and/or celery.

* Lately I’ve been making these easy quick pickles as a garnish. They perfect for stirring up a drink but they are also great on sandwiches, in salads, as a side dish, a snack. This is not limited to carrots, celery and string beans. Try with cabbage, radish, cauliflower, peppers, onions or beets, etc.

QUICK PICKLES

2 cups of vegetables (approximately)

1/3 cup vinegar (white, cider, rice or white wine)

1/4 cup water

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon kosher salt

• Peel, slice and prep your vegetables accordingly and place them in a bowl. 
• Put vinegar, water, sugar and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil. Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.
• Pour vinegar mixture over the vegetables and wait 10 minutes. Veg should be submerged in liquid. 
• Let stand in the brine for at least 2 hours or up to 24. When cooled place in the fridge.
• Drain and enjoy within a few days.

Recipes are guidelines not rules!

Everything azul. (BLUEBERRY + BLUE CHEESE TARTINE)

Tartines are a fun thing. A hefty piece of bread with some sort of substantial topping, it takes buttered toast to the next level. I am not sure what defines a tartine exactly. Savory or sweet, any combination of ingredients seems to fit the bill as long as one is spreadable. Also, it is always ‘openfaced’ or else you’d have what we in the biz call a sandwich. Just kidding… everybody calls it a sandwich. Anyway let’s not ruin a damn good snack with labels.

While living in France I put together this not-timid tartine often. The secret was the perfectly correct blue cheese, the name of which has been long forgotten, and a good and bumpy blueberry preserves. The sweet and the salty with the tart and tangy, the jam and the unctuous bite of the cheese is some magic. Since then I chase the dragon, trying out blue cheeses with this naughty little brekkie in mind but had never really hit it until recently.

MG picked up a few cheeses at out favorite neighborhood place and wound up with Azul Penacorada among others. A Spanish cow’s milk cheese, the Penacorada is creamy and rich and not too crumbly. It snaps you back from its deep blue haze with that salty crystalized texture that some cheeses have. Though it’s not French, as soon as I tasted it I said, ‘I’ll be right back’ and ran out for some blueberry preserves. The next morning on the fattest pieces of Amy’s whole wheat pullman toast I put a good layer of the jam, a serious crumble of the blue (you want them to fight for space in your mouth) and that’s it. Tartine for kings and queens.

“Breakfast, then, can be toast. It can be piles of toast, generously buttered, and a bowl of honey or jam, and milk for Mortimer and coffee for you. You can be lavish because the meal is so inexpensive. You can have fun, because there is no trotting around with fried eggs and mussy dishes and grease in the pan and a lingeringly unpleasant smell in the air.”

– M.F.K. Fisher, How to Cook a Wolf

Useful as hell. (VEGETABLE GRILL PAN)

Grilling is the carnivore’s dream. Firing up the backyard bbq is a perfectly acceptable reason to cook up two, three, even four animals at a time. And I am totally down with that. But this post is to champion the underdog: vegetables. In support of vegetables everywhere, it could not be easier to add them to your grilling repertoire than with a good old vegetable grilling pan. Just prep your veggie (or fruit!) selection, drop it into the pan and place over the flame. You can shake it around, you can keep it still, but don’t take it off until charred to your preferred shade of black. I am not one for extraneous gadgets and all-around extra ‘stuff’ but the vegetable grill pan is a real summertime pal.

Zucchini, pineapple, jalapeno and shallots. Just chop into bite sized pieces and toss into the grill pan. When done add basil and lime, s + p.

Blackened Brussels with orange zest vinaigrette.

Experimenting es bueno.

 

 

 

Side dish. (CUCUMBER APPLE SAUTEE with RAMP BUTTER)

MG rides his bike with two saddle bags strapped to each side. When he comes through the door after work and opens them up, an unexpected treat usually comes out. The other day it was a dozen t-shirts, today it was a whole red snapper packed in ice and last week it was a couple of sausages and a nice block of ramp butter from Dickson’s Farmstand. That ramp butter took the prize.

A ramp is a wild baby leek, indigenous to the New York area. Small bulb with a thin leaf stalk, ramps are cute and delicious. Chefs and food writers go hellbent for them during their short appearance in the early spring. A way to prolong their pleasant stay is to blanch them quickly, chop and stir into some softened butter, as the Dickson’s crew did. Store it in the freezer and you can unleash the magic for seasons to come.

MG threw the sausages on the grill and I got to work on a few side dishes with whatever was loitering in the kitchen. There was at least an apple and a cucumber. Though I am not in the habit of cooking cucumbers, I recalled a recipe that comes from Australian superchef Stephanie Alexander in which the cukes are sauted in butter. Having tried it once as written the result was interesting but didn’t really have any pizzaz. I thought that problem could be remedied by adding some more dimension; bright red freckled apple for sweet and sour, ramp butter for its herbaceous onion-likeness to go with the unusual juicy/crisp warm cucumber. It really came together, turning out just perfect to buddy up with grilled food.

CUCUMBER APPLE SAUTEE with RAMP BUTTER

1 crisp red apple such as Fuji or Gala

1 English cucumber

3 tablespoons ramp butter

salt and pepper

• Chop the apple and cucumber.
• Heat the 2 tablespoons of ramp butter in a skillet until foamy.
• Toss in apples and cucumbers and saute vigorously for 7-10 minutes.
• Taste for desired texture.
• Season with salt and pepper. Taste again!
• Spoon remaining ramp butter on top of warm cucumber and apples before serving.

Just taste the soup. (KALE LIME SOUP)

The last post has had me thinking about tasting food at all stages of preparation and all the people I see not doing it. Getting into this habit makes one a better and more confident cook for the long haul. And until you are a salty old chef like my former boss who can cook anything with his eyes closed and a beer in his hand, you should remember to practice it. Sampling and adjusting will keep you in control of what you are creating with an end result of a well-executed dish done thoughtfully.

Recipes are only fighting half of the battle. With so many floating around on TV, the internet and in magazines it is very important to not be overly dependent or trusting of every word. The goal is to develop instincts as you handle food, giving some attention to the words while constantly forming an understanding of what ingredients will do together or how they will react to different treatments, etc. Soon you will know exactly when to add flax seeds and how substitute whole wheat flour all by yourself. The recipes act as loose guidelines, like suggestions, and you can create things in your own style. Power!

Here is a recipe. An easy one. It tells you what to do but it wants to play just a little. It’s a quick, restorative soup that is passable without being properly seasoned but when done right it is completely awesome. Fish sauce, soy and lime season the broth. No one can tell you how you like it. Find the balance. Understand the balance. Enjoy.

KALE LIME SOUP

(serves 4)

1 tablespoon oil

1/2 cup onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 carrot, chopped

1 parsnip, chopped

4 cups veg or chicken stock

1 tablespoon soy sauce or to taste

1 tablespoon fish sauce or to taste

3 cups kale, chopped into one inch pieces

2 tablespoons cilantro, chopped + extra for garnish

2-3 limes

1 jalapeno, thinly sliced

sriracha (optional but strongly recommended)

• Heat the oil in a medium saucepan. Saute the onion until softened. Add garlic, carrot, parsnip and cook 3 minutes more.
• Add stock, boil and reduce heat. Season with soy and fish sauce. Taste it! Adjust.
• Simmer 5-10 minutes. Add kale and cook until all vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Taste them!
• Add 2 tablespoons cilantro at the last minute and squeeze a lime into the soup. Taste it again! Adjust more.
• Cut the other limes into wedges and serve as garnish along with jalapeno slices and extra cilantro and sriracha, if using.