A New Orleans Vacation – Lots of Food, Not Enough Pictures

It’s been a long time everyone! After a nearly 3 week hiatus, I am back from vacation and promise to try real hard to get back to posting regularly. It was my first real vacation in several years, and it was absolutely amazing! I spent 3 days in New Orleans and about 2.5 days in San Antonio (after the flying time). Most of our time in San Antonio was spent recovering from New  Orleans – where we ate too much, drank (nearly) too much, and slept too little.

Royal Street, New Orleans is home to many amazing street performance troupes, like this one and their 3 dogs. It was busy, but not nearly as ridiculous as Bourbon Street.

This was my first trip since starting Cork and Spoon with Ruth, and I have to admit, I am not that great about remembering to take pictures of all of the amazing food and drink I consume, but I did get a few, so I thought I would reward our awesome readers with what I did get.

It’s no secret New Orleans is known worldwide for its food, and it even shows up in its architecture! This awesome fence shows up both in the Garden District and, here, in the French Quarter.

Tom and I checked in to our hotel in New Orleans around 11:30 am and immediately headed out to begin our vacation. It was about a half mile walk to the French Quarter from where we were staying so we wandered down to Decatur Street, right off of the water. After some ooo-ing and awww-ing over the sites,  we decided to stop at New Orleans’ landmark Cafe Maspero for our first drink and a bite to eat. 

Cafe Maspero on the corner of Decatur Street and Toulouse Street. I was too hungry and overwhelmed to remember to get pictures of the food – sorry!!

At Cafe Maspero, I ordered a glass of red wine, nothing fancy, and Tom and I split their fried seafood platter with shrimp, catfish, oysters, and calamari. While the whole platter was pretty good, the two of us were practically fighting over the catfish, which would end up being the best I would have while in New Orleans. The meal also came with a side salad, which, by itself, was nothing remarkable, but it came with the best blue cheese dressing I have ever tasted. Made in house using a Greek recipe, the dressing was so good I went back on Saturday and just ordered a small house salad so I could have some of the blue cheese dressing. 

After wandering around for several more hours, Tom and I headed back to the hotel for a nap, stopping along the way at another bar, whose name escapes me, for another drink (come on, it was New Orleans after all!). I decided to try a locally brewed beer by the Abita company called AndyGator. I mean, how could I turn down a beer named after gators? So I asked Tom to order me one while I dashed to the bathroom. When I got back, in my spot was the largest beer I had ever seen. Tom had ordered me a stein of beer instead of a traditional pint glass and it took me a while to finish it. Mostly I think he was just looking forward to laughing while I drank from the enormous glass. The beer ended up being pretty easy to finish. It was full of flavor, but not too heavy or filling.

Before this vacation, I am ashamed to admit I had never had crawfish, which happened to be in season while we were in New Orleans. So, when we were struck by the delicious smell of the crawfish boil coming out of the French Market Restaurant and Bar later Friday evening, we knew we were going to have to split an order. After Tom showed me how to eat the little buggers (“break their backs and rip their bodies in half” – eating crawfish is a violent process), I scarfed down more than half the boat. Even though I loved the boil seasoning, I did notice a slightly dirty flavor under the sweetness of the meat, which Tom told me was likely the result of the crawfish not being rinsed well before cooking. Learning about new foods is definitely one of the best parts of a vacation.

Of course I had to play with my food first Crawfish battle to the death….

The highlight of my day Friday was my 3 hour tour of Lafayette Cemetery No. 1 and the Garden District. I used the Free Tours by Foot company for my tour and great enjoyed the experience. The guide did an amazing job of explaining  burial styles and traditions in New Orleans and showing us amazing examples of different tombs, like the society tombs. I also loved ogling the huge ornate homes in the garden district and learning about their history, although I felt that the tour did focus a bit heavily on showing the homes of various celebrities, such as John Goodman and Sandra Bullock.

Society Tomb of the Jefferson Fire Company No. 22

A beautiful example of Italianate architecture in the Garden District.

A tree covered in beads along the most popular Mardi Gras parade route in the Garden District.

It wasn’t until Saturday that I had the chance to go to the New Orleans institution, Café du Monde. The French Market coffee stand, operating since 1862, is infamous for its beignets, or 2-bite squares of fried dough similar to donuts, and coffee, which are all it serves. After standing in line for about 20 minutes, I finally made it up to the takeout window where I got one order of beignets and their coffee with chicory. Chicory was first added to coffee by the French during their civil war, allowing the short coffee supply to last longer while adding depth and robust flavor to the brew. The beignets, covered in what must have been a half cup of powdered sugar, were great, although not much different than any other fried pastry I’d had. It was the black coffee with chicory that really made the wait worth it.

I definitely enjoyed a ton of great food while in New Orleans, and this post barely skims the surface of it. I won’t promise that I’ll do better documenting my culinary explorations during my next vacation, but whatever I do capture, I’ll be sure to share with you. Until then, here’s one final photo of the French Quarter!

Chocolate Cherry Kiss Martini – A Valentine’s Day Cocktail

As you saw in Monday’s post, chocolate and cherries create a beloved classic combination of flavors, especially at Valentine’s Day.  (That’s tomorrow, by the way).  What is more awesome than chocolate covered cherries? Okay, maybe chocolate covered strawberries, but today is Humpday and that usually means Happy Hour here at Cork and Spoon.  Not a problem, seeing as I love to make fun cocktails and I have been DYING to try out chocolate vodka!  Why you may ask. Well,  I find it a perfect,  lower calorie option for chocolicious flavor  in place of a cream based chocolate liqueur.  Enter this beautiful, ruby red gem, which is a delightful blend of chocolate vodka, black cherry juice, and the delicious fizz of dry sparkling wine. It even looks like Valentine’s Day! I think it will be perfect whether you are celebrating tomorrow’s holiday with a candle lit dinner or with an ex’s effigy burning!

Chocolate Cherry Kiss Martini

serves one 7 ounce martini or two 3.5 ounce martinis

Ingredients

• 1.5 ounces chocolate vodka + 1 teaspoon
• 1 ounce black cherry juice
• 1.5 ounces sparkling wine or enough to top off (use Proseco if you prefer sweeter cocktails)
• 1 ounce dark chocolate
• ice cubes
• frozen black cherries (optional)

Directions

1. Place dark chocolate on a small, evenly surfaced plate with 1 teaspoon of chocolate vodka. Heat in microwave at 50% power for 20 second intervals until chocolate is melted. Stir to create an even and smooth chocolate sauce.
2. Take a martini glass and hold it at an angle. Dip edge into chocolate sauce and slowly twist glass until entire rim is coated in chocolate.  
3. If using frozen cherries, place one in each glass.  Set glasses in refrigerator until cocktail is ready.
4.  Add ice to your cocktail shaker and pour in the remaining chocolate vodka and black cherry juice. Close shaker and give it a shake until surface is chilled.  Pour into martini glass(es).
5. Top off each martini glass with the sparkling wine.
6. Toast to love…or to shooting Cupid in his bare behind. 

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Molten Lava Lovers Cake – A Perfect Valentine’s Day Dessert

Quick, what’s the difference between a Lava Cake, a Molten cake, and a Pudding Cake? 15 seconds, go! What, not ready for a quiz today? Eh, it’s okay. It is Friday after all.  I’ll go ahead and give you the answers…or what my answers are.  There is no difference between a Lava or Molten Cake.  Sometimes you may see the names combined as Molten Lava cake.  They are typically chocolate cakes, to include white chocolate,  with a liquidy, runny or oozing center that pours out like lava from a volcano when you dig in. Pudding Cakes are different and come and two forms: a pudding centered cake or a pudding bottom cake.  Unlike Lava/Molten cakes, they do not have a center that pours or oozes out.   Pudding  Cakes have jiggly insides or bottoms; they’re a little more solidified. Think  Jell-O Pudding cup topped by or enclosed by cake. Non chocolate “lava” cakes are often really pudding cakes.

Now for those of you who have been following Emilie and me for awhile, you may remember my little obsession with Archer brand frozen lava cakes last June during my residence course out at Patuxent River Naval Air Station.  Those little babies were just too easy to heat up and devour during late night brief
building and exam studying.  I think I may have practiced several presentations with my mouth full of lava cake lol.  Anyway, ever since last summer, I’ve been dying to try and make my own.

Emilie’s and my “New Year” dinner was the perfect opportunity.  After all, we were going for a  let’s go a bit budget crazy decadent.  As you saw, we made a pretty fancy feast…one I think would be a great menu should you and your Valentine decide to stay in next Thursday.  That is what Shawn and I do. We make a lovely dinner together, set a nice table, and get all pretty for each other.  I always like those Valentine’s Days better than when we make reservations out.

S0, you already have our crab souffle and endive salad recipes. Now here is your dessert!  I definitely recommend making the entire recipe rather than halving it just because it is hard to divide three eggs and the results just don’t come out quite the same (still yummy, though!).  Keep the extra cakes you don’t eat in the fridge unbaked and covered for up to a week.

Dark Chocolate Molten Lava Cake

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter + 1 tablespoon for custard cups
• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder
• 1/4 cup all purpose flour + 1 tablespoon for custard cups
• 6 ounces dark or bittersweet chocolate
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3 large eggs
• pinch sea salt salt

(If halving recipe, use 2 eggs)

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 425° Fahrenheit
2. In a small bowl, whisk cocoa powder with 1 tablespoon of flour and set aside.
3. Chop chocolate into chunks or shavings. Set aside.
4. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium low heat.  Be sure to keep an eye on it to prevent accidental burning.  Once melted, reduce heat to low.
5. Use about 1 tablespoon of melted butter to brush the inside of four oven safe custard cups. 
6. Divide cocoa powder among the custard cups and give each one a thin dusting.  Discard any access and set custard cups aside.
7. Add chopped chocolate to the remaining melted butter and stir until chocolate melts and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat to prevent chocolate from burning or breaking (and to keep from scrambling eggs later on!)
8. In a medium bowl, beat eggs and sugar together along  with a pinch of salt.
9. Fold cooled melted chocolate into the egg mixture until fully incorporated and then fold in the flour to form the final batter.
10. Divide matter among the four custard cups. The cakes will not rise significantly, so do not worry about how close the batter may come to the edge.
11. Place filled custard cups on a baking sheet and bake in oven for 12-15 minutes.  The outside should be set and inside should be full of melty chocolate.  If you bake  the cakes too long you’ll end up with a pudding cake or a fully cooked cake without any “lava” inside. (They will still taste delicious, though!)
12. When finished baking, remove from oven and allow to cool 5-8 minutes.
13. Invert a plate over each custard cup when ready to serve. Be sure to use oven mitts if cups are still hot. Carefully flip custard cup and plate at the same time so that the custard cup is now inverted on the plate. 
14. Lift custard cup. Cake should slip out on its own.
15. Serve warm. Garnish with mint, berries, caramel, vanilla ice cream, etc…and red wine!

~Ruth

Creamed Bok Choy an Asian Twist to a Holiday Dish

I hope everyone had a lovely holiday.  I’m sure everyone was extra nice and got some nice goodies instead of lumps of coal. Right? Hehehe! Who’s ready for the new year?

So, I’ve had a few requests to share the holiday dishes I was able to give a little Asian spin.   Today, I will be sharing my twist on creamed spinach: creamed baby bok choy.  You know how I love my bok choy! It’s one of my favorite veggies. Unfortunately,  I was unable to actually get this dish on our Christmas table due to time constraints, what with the boys having to get on the road and all, but I did make it to go with all the leftovers I’m making my way through this week.  Oh my, so so sooooo good, better than creamed spinach in my opinion with the more delicate flavor of the baby bok choy versus the more intense flavor of spinach. I went ahead and used heavy cream, but I definitely want to try this with coconut milk or almond milk   What do you guys think?

If you give this creamed baby bok choy a go, let me know how you liked it! I’ll give you the run down on the rest of my family’s Asian fusion Christmas dinner soon.

Creamed Baby Bok Choy

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 pound baby “shang hai” bok choy, trimmed and sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic, about 2 large cloves of garlic
• 1 tablespoon scallions, thinly sliced whites only, about 3 small or 2 large scallions
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup chicken stock
•  ¼ cup heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

1. Heat oil in a large pan. Add garlic and scallions and cook until fragrant.
2. Add sliced bok choy and stir fry for about a minute or two. You may need to add the bok choy in batches, adding more bok choy as earlier batches begin to wilt and create more room in the pan.
3. Add chicken stock to skillet and bring to a low boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover, simmering until bok choy is tender, approximately 3-4 minutes.
4. Once bok choy is tender, slowly whisk in heavy cream. Season with salt and pepper (I used my vanilla salt.) and bring to a gentle boil.  Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for another 2-3 minutes.
5. Remove lid and sprinkle flour into the creamed bok choy. Whisk until incorporated.  Re-cover pan and continue to simmer until mixture is creamy about another 2-3 minutes.
6. Remove from heat. Season with additional salt and pepper before serving  if needed.

Hump Day Happy Hour – Campari Mint Sparkler

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas! I revisited my maple glazed Cornish game hens with my mom and step-dad, watched a little TV, and indulged in a delicious lemon cake (recipe coming soon!), before having to drive back to D.C.  and get ready for work today. The best news for you, though, is that I got a new camera for the holidays – nothing too fancy but certainly better than the nearly decade old camera I had been using for pictures since Cork and Spoon’s inception. Hurrah!!

And now, with the wrapping paper cleaned up and the Christmas dinner leftovers in the fridge, its time to look forward to the New Year. Whether you are going big or celebrating quietly at home with loved ones,  New Year’s Eve is the holiday of champagne, Prosecco, and even sparkling apple cider for the munchkins. While you can certainly enjoy your glass of bubbly by itself, there are dozens of effervescent cocktails that can make the evening just a tiny bit more special. Ruth and I have shared a few ideas in the past, such as:

The Ginger Champagne Cocktail

The Black Velvet

Champagne and Lemon Sorbet

Never one to rest on my laurels, I wanted to bring you one more cocktail recipe, courtesy of The Kitchn, a fabulous site I’ve mentioned before and am guaranteed to mention again. At the beginning of December they posted a 10-minute happy hour featuring a Campari spritzer. I’m always interested in Campari based drinks, since I have a bottle of it that I’ve used maybe twice in its entire existence. So I book-marked the page, planning to revisit it before the New Year. I followed the recipe to the letter using a semi-dry prosecco. The first taste was more bitter than I expected, but after a couple more sips, I found the drink refreshing, light, and enjoyable. Although next time, I think I might pick up a slightly sweeter champagne, especially if I’m serving others who might not enjoy the herbal flavors as much as I do.

Campari Mint Sparkler
Makes 1 drink

ice
5 large mint leaves
1 ounce Campari
1 ounce cranberry juice
3 ounces Prosecco or champagne

1)     Fill a glass with several ice cubes and lightly bruised mint leaves.

2)    Add Campari and cranberry juice. Top with Prosecco or other sparkling wine. Using a spoon or stir stick, stir just once or twise to combine without disturbing the fizz too much.

3)      Toast the New Year.

Seafood Risotto with Shrimp and Scallops

It’s here, it’s here!  Weeks of preparation and Christmas is finally here…and I’m still not ready! Anyway, today is Christmas Eve and for most of my life that meant getting last minute gifts wrapped, prepping as much as possible for Christmas Day dinner, and taking a long nap in the evening in order to stay wide awake for Midnight Mass.  In researching Filipino Christmas traditions (you may recall my Christmas Tradition Makeover post last week) , I actually stumbled upon a pretty cool Italian Christmas Eve tradition: The Feast of the Seven Fishes… Must have been the Christmas and Seafood search combo. Whatever the chances, this was the perfect opportunity to give my Mustard Seed inspired Seafood Risotto (Remember #2?) another go.

Though there are many background stories as to the origins of this tradition and why “seven fishes”…some say it represents the seven sacraments,  some the seven days of creation, others the seven hills of Rome…whatever the story may be, it all boils down to a large, seven or more course seafood feast on Christmas Eve. How awesome is that? I don’t know about you, but I love, love, love, love, love seafood! And seven happens to be my favorite number, too!

So in honor of this Italian Christmas tradition, I give you my Seafood Risotto, inspired by the delicious Shrimp and Scallop Risotto of  the Mustard Seed in Summerville, SC.

Merry Christmas everyone!

The directions below are approximate since I was absolutely STARVING when I made this and didn’t have time to write as I went.  I almost didn’t take any pictures! So, if anything below gets confusing, just leave a comment and I’ll try to better explain you through it.

A SEAFOOD RISOTTO FOR THE FEAST OF SEVEN FISHES

serves 4-6

Ingredients

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 1 pound seafood (I used sea scallops and shrimp)
• 1 32 ounce box seafood stock
• 1/2 cup dry white wine (I used sparkling wine this time)
• 1 medium tomato, diced
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided in thirds
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Shredded Parmesan cheese to garnish
• Optional: Seafood flavor concentrate
• Optional: Fresh basil

Directions

1. Pour seafood broth into a medium saucepan and heat over medium until simmering. If using the seafood flavor concentrate, add to the pot and stir to dissolve. Allow broth to maintain a low simmer while completing steps 2-6.
2. Season seafood with salt and pepper.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large, heavy pot over medium-high heat.
4. Cook each type of seafood separately to ensure even cooking. I started first with scallops since they take longer. Add more olive oil in between batches if needed. Set cooked seafood aside when done.
5. Pour wine into pot and scrape up any brown bits (deglaze) left from the seafood. Allow wine to simmer and reduce in half. Carefully add the reduced wine to the seafood broth.
6. Add remaining olive oil to pot (2 tablespoons).  Once heated, pour in the Arborio rice and toss for about a minute to give it a very light toasting.
7. Using a ladle or heat safe/resistant measuring cup, carefully pour 1 cup of the hot seafood broth to the arborio rice. Stir constantly with a wooden spoon until almost all of the broth has been absorbed by the rice.
8. Continue adding the seafood broth 1 cup at a time, stirring constantly until absorbed in between each addition. As you get to the final cup of broth, add in small batches until the rice can no longer absorb any more liquid, and rice is “al dente” and creamy.
9. Taste, and season with salt and pepper as desired.
10. Add diced tomatoes along with the basil if using. Top with the cooked seafood and toss everything together in the pot
11. Cover pot and reduce heat to medium low. Let the tomatoes and seafood re-heat, about 5 minutes.
12. When heated through, serve garnished with shredded Parmesan and basil.

~Ruth

Au Revoir 2012 – A Look Back

We’ve only got about a week left in 2012, and, since you are all reading this, we can safely say the Mayans were wrong and the world continued past 12/21/2012.

And it really is just as well, because I need 2013 to get here so I can enjoy it! 2012 flew by in a blur of big life changes, ___________, and ____________. Let’s take a look back at what 2012 meant to us here at Cork and Spoon.

January

We were pretty boring in January- recovering from the holidays and using up left over champagne from New Years Eve.

February

Ruth and I continued volunteering with Potomac Point Winery this year, starting off with the Virginia Wine Expo, host to the Virginia Governors Cup. We went in with a well designed battle plan and had another fabulous time chatting with wine makers and vineyard owners, and interacting with the crowds.

March

March was a busy, busy, busy month, especially for me. In the very first week of March, I turned 30th, took (and passed!) my Certified Information Privacy Professional exam, and Cork and Spoon posted its 100th post!

In addition to all of that, Ruth moved to a new job within the Marine Corp, and I got to spend a weekend with my newest nephew Logan.

April

After the busyness of March, Ruth and I laid low in April. We did enjoy a night out in Old Town Alexandria belatedly celebrating my birthday at GRAPE + BEAN’s   Taste like a Sommelier class. (Read about fellow blogger, Karen of Back Road Journal, and her Alexandria, VA experience here and here.)

May

Ruth sipping coffee on the patio of her family’s timeshare in Spain.

May saw Ruth flying to Spain and spending a week soaking up the sun, culture, and food. She made sure to inspire us with a Spanish inspired Gin & Tonic and homemade aioli.

June

Ruth spent all of June at Patuxent River Air Station taking a class required for her job. While it certainly involved a lot of work and more than a little stress, she did get to spend part of her weekends exploring Maryland wineries – a nice change of pace for us here at Cork and Spoon.

Meanwhile, even though I was promoted in June to a Privacy Analyst position, I still extolled the virtues of finding great wine that doesn’t break the bank. Promotion or not, money should always be spent frugally so there is plenty left over for shoes!

July

Ruth and I both laid low during the month of July. There were weekends at the beach, and Independence day cookouts.  And of course, like so many around the world, we were eagerly following the 2012 Summer Olympics while making our own version of Olympic athlete approved dinner.

August

August is Virginia Craft Beer month, and here at Cork and Spoon , we got into the spirit with home-brewed ale.

The first weekend of August, also saw me moving back to my beloved Washington, D.C. in a lovely apartment in the Capitol Hill neighborhood. Not only was I blessed by awesome friends to help me move, but a trip to Ikea for a couch gave me the excuse to finally buy elderflower syrup. The result was a tasty drink, perfect for sipping while unpacking.

September

September was another laid back month for Ruth and I.  I fought a nasty cold… like I said, it wasn’t a very exciting month

October

On October 1st, I started a new job with a privacy and information security focused government contracting company. Finding a new position in my still pretty new career was an amazing feeling, and definitely confirmed that things are working out well.

October, as you may recall, is all Virginia Wine month. Again this year, the amazing folks at VA Tourism invited Ruth and I to participate in one of the month’s many activities celebrating Virginia wine – the Virginia Crush Bus tour of Loudon County wineries. We eagerly accepted the invitation, although prior commitments kept me from attending, so Ruth and Shawn went, making sure to send me envy invoking photos all day.

Meanwhile, I was in the wilds of Maryland, preparing for the zombie apocalypse by participating with friends in the Run for Your Lives 5k race. It was a tough race filled with obstacles such as swimming across a freezing cold pond and zombies bent on stealing the flags that kept me “alive.” The good news is, I crossed the finish line alive and kicking. Now I just need to practice my survivalist cooking techniques and I’ll be ready for my own version of The Walking Dead.

November

November marks the start of the holiday season here in the U.S. Its the start of holiday parties and plenty of quality time with family. And while Thanksgiving Day menus are remarkably similar from house to house, it doesn’t mean that Ruth and I play it safe. Nope we’re still experimenting, and just using our unsuspecting families as guinea pigs.

December

Between  more holiday parties, holiday shopping, and Christmas dinner planning,  December is always a busy month in its own right. Add to that a bend of creativity that has both of us making homemade Christmas gifts in our kitchens and Ruth and I are constantly moving during the month of December. But that didn’t stop us from heading out last night for a little bit of fun with one of our longtime favorite bands Carbon Leaf.

All in all, its been a crazy year for Ruth and I, and I don’t think we’d have it any other way. So here’s to what 2012 gave us and to what 2013 has in store. We couldn’t ask for better followers and friends to have along for the ride!

Christmas Tradition Makeovers

Maybe I should change that title to, “Christmas Tradition Makeovers, or What Happens When Family Throws You Holiday Curve Balls”! LOL! I guess there was a reason why my cookies didn’t turn out so great.  That was so I could share this with you.

A couple of days ago my parents and I were working out some Christmas dinner logistics such as where (my place) and when (2 PM).  Then we started discussing the cooking. “Yeah, I’m going to make lumpia,” Mom was saying… Wha?… “And pancit.”… Whoa, wait, we’re having… “Do you want George to make the ham?” “No, I’ll make the ham!” In all the years my family has had Christmas dinner together (every year of my life from what I remember lol), we have never had Filipino food on the holiday table. Easter sometimes and always at any big party, but never Christmas.

Now ham, or hamon (yes with an “h” and not a “j”) fits well on a Filipino Christmas table.  Probably a relic from the Spanish colonial heritage, Filipinos love their pork! Instead of my usual honey and thyme based glaze, I’m thinking a simple change of the thyme to ginger or curry powder will give it  that Asian twist.  Easy peasy, there…but green bean casserole, cornbread stuffing, mashed potatoes…how am I going to make those classic favorites work? Also, what other Filipino dishes can I make?

So you see, we’ve got an interesting Christmas spread in the making…and only 6 days to figure it out and buy the groceries before everything is gone! At least I know there will be a bottle (or two or three) of riesling like white on the table with all these Asian and salty flavors going on.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Butternut Squash Latkes

Happy Hanukkah!! The Festival of Lights started this Saturday, December 8th and will last until this coming Saturday evening. One of the many rich traditions of the holiday is the eating of foods fried or baked in oil, especially olive oil, to commemorate the ancient lamps that held only 1 night’s worth of oil but kept burning for 8 whole nights.

For me the best of these golden fried bites of deliciousness are latkes – pancakes made of grated vegetables, flour, eggs, and seasoned with grated onions and garlic. Latkes have traditionally been  made with grated potatoes and are closely related to the potato pancakes of Eastern European cuisine, such as my own Hungarian and Germany ancestors. They can, however, be made with nearly any vegetable, including carrots, yams, zucchini, and butternut squash. Recipes can vary in the amount of egg or flour they use, some being more like hash-browns and others more pancake like. The one thing latkes can’t be is baked, they must be fried, preferably in olive oil, which is the type of oil that burned in the ancient temple lamps. Remember, the oil is symbolic of the holy oil that burned for 8 days, so don’t try to cut calories and bake them. Accept them as the rich, delicious, slightly-less-than-healthy treat they are!

Butternut Squash Latkes
Makes about half a dozen, depending on size

1 medium butternut squash, about 3 cups grated
1 medium sweet onion
1 cup flour
3 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
salt & pepper
oil (for frying)
applesauce (for serving)
sour cream (for serving)
finely chopped chives or parsley (for garnish)

1)     Using a sharp knife, carefully peel the butternut squash. Grate the squash into a large mixing bowl. You can use the large or small grates as you prefer; I made these with the smaller grating side because I wanted a slightly more pancake like texture.

2)     Peel the onion and grate directly into the bowl. The grated onion will be almost like a puree.

3)     Stir in the flour, eggs, baking powder,  and salt & pepper (to taste).

4)     Pour about ½ to 1 inch of olive oil into a medium frying pan over medium heat and heat until it begins to shimmer. Using a small dry-ingredient measuring cup or a large spoon, place batter in pan and let fry for about 2 minutes per side, adjusting as necessary.

5)     Place cooked latkes on a paper towel/coffee filter lined plate for a few moments to absorb some of the oil. Serve hot with a little sour cream and/or applesauce and sprinkled with parsley (my favorite) or chives.

Vanilla Salt – Homemade Gifts for the Holidays

I am trying to take my own advice about remembering to breath. Is that working for anyone, by the way? Lol! Oh yes, Christmas is racing towards us.  This year, I decided to make as many Christmas presents as I possibly could. Partly to cut down on costs, but mostly to make myself stop and think about something besides work, bills, chores, and even the blog…to stop and think about my loved ones. Today, I am sharing with you one of these homemade gifts: Vanilla Salt.

During the holiday’s last year I was spending a lot of time in Charleston, South Carolina for work. My last trip was just before Christmas. I remember scouring King, Market, and East Bay Streets for presents. One of the shops I popped into just off Market is the Spice & Tea Exchange. If you have one of these franchises near year, I definitely recommend a visit if just to experience the fabulous smell of the shop. You’ll find one of the largest gathering of spice blends I have ever seen along with amazing infused salts and sugars, tea blends and more.  While I was wandering and opening jars to smell and taste, I saw one of the store employees measuring out truffle salt for a customer and I got a glimpse at the process as a number of tools and supplies were in the same area. “I can do something like this,” I thought to myself.  I also asked the lady if I could get a couple of bags of the truffle salt, too!  (Yum!)

Fast forward a year later and I’m thinking about what I can make everyone for Christmas.  Out of my back pocket came the infused salt and sugar ideas. My sister and almost all of my friends love food and (mostly) enjoy cooking. Making them “gourmet” blends would be perfect and bring some fun into their kitchens and dishes. Liking interesting flavor combinations, I thought vanilla salt (over vanilla sugar) would be a delicious, yet practical, treat.  It’s still salt, after all, and who doesn’t love vanilla?

Now please do remember that this is salt! The beautiful vanilla aroma will fool you into thinking you’re about to place a few sweet crystals on your tongue when you are not. Use it as a nice finishing salt. I’m still experimenting with the portion I set aside for myself. So far it goes great on seared scallops and savory butternut squash dishes.  Recently, I  used it on freshly grated hashed browns I threw in a skillet with butter. That little bit of vanilla in the salt enhanced the creaminess of the butter to the point of “wow!” My next project is to use the Vanilla Salt in my Christmas cookies in place of the regular salt. Needless to say I am pretty confident my friends will enjoy this gift!

Vanilla Salt

Ingredients

• 1 vanilla bean (seeds and pod)
• 1 cup coarse sea salt

Other

• Food processor
• Empty clean jar

Directions

1. Pour salt into the bowl of a food processor. I have a mini processor, so I worked in 1 cup batches of salt. If you have a larger processor, follow the ratio of 1 vanilla bean per cup of salt. For a faster and more intense vanilla flavor, increase the amount of vanilla bean.
2. With a sharp paring knife, slice the vanilla bean lengthwise in half so that you have two sections.
3. Take a vanilla bean half, hold down one end, and use the back of your paring knife to scrape out as much of the vanilla “caviar” (the seeds) as possible. Add the vanilla caviar to the salt.
4. Repeat steps 2 and 3 on the other half of the vanilla bean. Set empty pod(s) to the side.
5. Pulse salt and vanilla caviar together in the processor until well blended. You may want to use a flat spatula to push salt back down the sides of the processor bowl once or twice if you have a moister sea salt like I did.
6. Place the scraped vanilla bean pod(s) into your jar.
7. Pour the salt and vanilla caviar mixture into the jar, ensuring that the pod is burried in as much salt as possible.
8. Close jar and set aside somewhere cool and dry for at least a week to allow the salt to be infused with the vanilla. If you are patient enough, I would recommend at least two weeks if not more. The longer you let the salt “steep” with the vanilla, the more vanilla flavor you’ll get (vice just the fragrance).
9. When your desired “infusion” time is over, add the salt back into the food processor along with the vanilla pods. Pulse until well blended.
10. For gifts, dispense evenly into spice jars or containers and decorate with labels, ribbons…anything you like!

Tip – If you have a moist salt like I did and want to dry it out a bit, bake the plain salt at 250°F for about 10-15 minutes. Wait until COMPLETELY COOL before adding the vanilla. Trust me on this one. I did two batches: one where I baked the salt after infusing it for two weeks…and then a batch where I baked the salt first then added the vanilla while the salt was still warm (In my defense I thought it had cooled!)…Doing either of these two will cause the vanilla salt to take on a baked fragrance, think Christmas cookies, rather than the fresh vanilla you’re aiming for.

Happy Holidays! ~Ruth