GASTRONORMOUS

A Spanish drink to celebrate American Independence? Come on, loosen up! Being down on Spain is so 19th Century. Especially for wine lovers, sangria is the drink of summer, so why not celebrate the quintesential summer day, and while you’re at it, our American freedom of beverage choice, by making a sangia that looks like a glass of fireworks? Oh, okay, call it Stars and Stripes Fruit Punch if it makes you feel more patriotic.

This is a bit different than my last sangria recipe. First, staying with the American theme, I wanted the brandy stand-in (traditional red sangria is usually made with a touch of brandy) to be apple-based rather than orangey triple sec. And, I wanted to use white and red wine together in the same glass, but without making somehting that looks rosé. How is this possible you ask? It’s simple really: red wine ice cubes, some with a fruity twist!

When choosing a white wine, try to get something on the paler side to give the most contrast to the colorful fruit. Choose a lighter style red wine for the cubes–a big Zin will just be too heavy. Try to find a clear(ish) apple liquor like this one. If you can’t, then use another clear liquor of your choice. But, do not use apple flavored vodka or rum. These pack too much of an alcoholic punch and overpower the flavor of the wine. Stick to something with a higher sugar content. If you like your sangria on the dry side, use seltzer to top off the sangria, if you like it on the sweet side, then use a clear flavored soda (7-up or clear apple soda, if you can find it, would be best), or you can stir in some super fine sugar.

On the fruit: try to cut the apples so that there is some red skin on each piece. I just ate the middle part so that it wouldn’t go to waste. Oh, and I took a note from the Alton Brown school of shortcuts and used an egg slicer to cut my strawberries. Lazy? You betchya! But look how beautifully uniform the slices are!

Red, White, & Blue Sangria

about 2 cups of light-style red wine
1 bottle of pale white wine
1/2 to 1 cup of apple liquor (or schnapps)
2 cups of plain selter, 7-up, or clear apple soda
super fine sugar, to taste (optional)
2 bright red apples, cut into small cubes
2 cups blueberries
1 pint of strawberries, sliced
6 or so red cherries

At least 24 hours before drinking: Empty out an ice cube tray. Place cherries, stems kept on, in half of the compartments. Pour red wine into the tray (exact amount depends on size of the cubes). make sure cherries are submerged as possible in the wine. Freeze for at least 24 hours.

A few hours before drinking: Mix together the white wine and a half cup of liquor in a large pitcher. Taste and see if you want to add more liquor, up to a cup total. Stir in the seltzer or soda. Dump in all the fruit except the cherry cubes. Give it another stir, and let sit for a few hours.

Right before serving, taste again and if you want it sweeter some super fine sugar, a few teaspoons at a time (or if you happen to have some simple syrup on hand, please do use that).  Depending on the liquor you use, it may not need any sweetening.

To serve: Ladle the sangria into glasses. At the very last moment before handing it to your guest, pop a cherry cube and a plain wine cube or two into the top of the glass.

Now sit back and watch your guests ooh and ah at the fireworks you made!

Serves 4-6 Patriots.

The sign says the garlic scapes are $1.50 a bunch, but you may note that there is nary a “bunch” of these twisty tendrils to be seen—just a crate filled with loose ones. When I asked the proprietress of this booth at the Fort Greene Farmers’ Market last Saturday what constituted a bunch, she pursed her lips and dove both hands into the box. She pulled out two big handfuls of the scapes and offered them forward, shrugging “This much?” I was agreeable to the “bunch” size and held open my shopping bag so that she could unburden herself of scapes, as I unburdened by wallet of a buck-fifty.

Garlic scapes are the green stems that shoot up from the developing garlic bulb. They are cut off so that the garlic bulb itself can grow bigger. I imagine that as farmers figure out that they can extend their profits by selling these, garlic scapes will become more and more familiar to American markets (they have been eaten in parts of Europe for ages). And after my little culinary experiment, I certainly hope that is the case.

I had supposed the scapes would be relatively mild, in the vein spring garlic or ramps. But no, garlic scapes have an extremely pungent aroma, and an even stronger flavor. Cooking with them, I thought, might be a challenge. Having never used them before, I turned to the computer for more information and recipes, but to little avail. My search of the fantastic recipe website Epicurious came up with zero hits for scapes. A Google search brought up some references to garlic scape pesto, which sounded like a good option for dinner that night, but not much else that was useful.

But first that early afternoon, I needed to figure out what to do with the beautiful yellow and green pattypan squash I also bought at the market (and how to incorporate the scapes into whatever I decided to make with them). As it was incredibly hot out that day, I was already anticipating not wanting to stand in front of the stove cooking too much that evening, so a cold squash salad sounded like the perfect side dish to go with my planned garlic scape pesto.

My cold squash salad couldn’t be simpler to make, but does require some marinating time, so plan ahead if you are going to make it. I used scapes in this, but if you don’t have this pungent allium on hand, then substitute scallions, a couple cloves of crushed garlic, or some fresh herbs (dill would be good). Don’t overdo it with the add-ins, though; the point of this recipe is to celebrate in-season produce.

Summer Squash and Scape Salad

3 T apple cider vinegar
3 T extra virgin olive oil (a flavorless oil would also work)
2 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
a few grinds of pepper
2-3 garlic scapes
4-5 pattypan squash (or 3-4 of another type of summer squash)

Whisk together the oil, vinegar, sugar, salt, and pepper. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.

Trim and slice the scapes crosswise. Use a mandolin or food processor to slice the squash as thinly as possible.

Give the dressing another good whisk and dump in the sliced squash and scapes. Give it a gentle stir, cover in plastic and refrigerate for at least 4 hours. Stir again before serving. (A lot of liquid escapes from the squash during the marinating process, so you might want to serve using a slotted spoon.)

*A note: I plated this on top of mixed greens, which looks nice, but actually did the flavor of the dish a disservice. Next time I would serve the squash salad on its own.

Serves 4 (as a side).

Tune in later for my unusual and delicious garlic scape pesto recipe!

This is a salad inspired in part by one my mom makes and in part by the specialty oils and vinegars I happened to have in my kitchen cupboards on a recent evening.

A salad of avocados and oranges may sound like an odd combo, but the creaminess of the avocado balances out the bright acid of the orange in such a blissful way that I think it must be no accident that the two fruits grow in the same climes–it is as if Mother Nature intended them to be eaten together.

The mandarin oil I mentioned in a previous post I thought would work well here for obvious reasons, but since it was a little too orangey last time, I decided to cut it with another oil. I was just going to use some good quality extra virgin, when a tin of chili-flavored olive oil on the shelf caught my eye. (I am not so into store bought flavored oils generally–these were both gifts, actually–but these from O&CO. are of very good quality, and the chili one especially is very versatile.) The slight spiciness would add just the touch of intrigue I was looking for. But then! I saw that I was completely out of white wine vinegar. Quelle dommage! And the cider vinegar I had just would not do. But what was the slender orange-capped bottle stashed in the verrry back of the top shelf of the cupboard? Ah! It was rice vinegar with chili flakes! That might just work, it might just work perfectly.

The salad ended up being a great combination of sweet-salty-creamy-fresh-and-spicy (whew!), with none of the tastes or textures overpowering the others. I hope you try and enjoy it.

Sweet and Spicy Avocado-Orange Salad

For the dressing:

2 T. chili-flavored olive oil
2 T. mandarin-flavored olive oil
2 T. seasoned rice vinegar with pepper flakes
1/2 tsp. chili pepper paste
A few grinds black pepper
a pinch of salt, optional

For the salad:*

4-6 cups of mixed salad greens, cleaned and spun/dried
2-3 scallions, sliced
1 ripe avocado, cut into cubes
1 large orange, sectioned, then sections cut crosswise in half or thirds

Whisk together in a large glass bowl all the ingredients for the dressing, except for the salt. Taste dressing, then add a pinch of salt (and adjust other flavors to your taste), if needed.**

While the dressing rests, slice the scallions, cube the avocado, and section the orange (I did this the fancy way, which makes for better eatin’–no tough membranes. Psst! It is also faster than peeling by hand!). When you cut the sections out, hold the orange over the dressing bowl to catch all the juices.

Give the dressing another quick whisk before throwing in the avocado, scallions and orange sections. Toss very gently so as not to mush the avocado. Put the greens in a salad bowl, spoon the avocado-orange mixture onto the greens and toss. (You don’t want to just dump the entire bowl’s contents into the greens as it may be very liquidy.) After you toss with the greens, assess the dressing situation and add some of the reserved dressing from the glass bowl if necessary.

*Next time, per the good suggestion of the Hubs, I would add some sliced celery and toasted nuts (pecans or walnuts would be especially good). That would add a nice bit of crunch that this salad lacked. Add the celery with the avocado-orange-scallion step; the nuts should be tossed in right before serving.

** The rice vinegar I used has salt and corn syrup in it (I know, yuck, bad for you.), so be sure to taste the dressing before adding salt.  If you use an unsweetened rice vinegar, then add a couple pinches of superfine sugar too.

Last weekend the Hubs bought some beautiful turnips, beets, and potatoes at the local farmers’ market, and then last night wondered what the heck to do with them when he decided to make dinner for us. His solution was to turn to the internet and type in the ingredients as search terms. He came up with a recipe from a website that seems like a dubious source for recipes–a magazine for a radio program at Clemson University. I have not heard of that university, let alone their radio program or its magazine. I am sure glad he trusted it, though, because the dish turned out to be surprisingly delicious.

These are different than other roasted root vegetables recipes I have seen, in that in the final stages of roasting, the veggies are coated with broth and vinegar, which give the roots a beautiful and super tasty glaze.

He followed the recipe faithfully with a few exceptions: The beet greens, meant to be the basis of the salad, on our bunch was too wilted to use, so we used basic mixed greens instead. He used chili-flavored olive oil instead of plain olive oil for the roasted veggies to give the dish a bit of kick. He threw a couple new potatoes into the dish. Also, he couldn’t find fresh thyme, so he just used the called-for rosemary.

Roasted Beets and Turnips Salad
[from Your Day, Clemson University]

For the roasted roots:
Coarsely chopped Fresh Thyme (about 15 stems), divided into thirds
Coarsely chopped Fresh Rosemary (about 6 stems), divided into thirds
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
10 baby beets (about 1 inch in diameter), washed, unpeeled, leaves trimmed and saved (see salad below), root end trimmed and cut in half (1/4 if larger than 1”)
4 to 6 (about 1 pound) Turnips, washed, trimmed, peeled and cut into 6 – 8 wedges
1/4 cup canned low salt chicken broth
1 Tablespoon balsamic vinegar

For the salad:
Reserved Beet Greens (or other greens)
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
3 Tablespoon Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

Preheat oven to 425 F. Spray large rimmed baking sheet with nonstick spray. Mix 2/3 of thyme and rosemary, oil and garlic in small bowl. Add turnips and beets to bowl. Toss with herb mixture and transfer to baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and roast in oven, stirring once, about 40 minutes.
After vegetables are roasted, mix 1/3 herbs, chicken broth and 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar in small bowl and pour over roasted beets and turnips on baking sheet. Return baking sheet to oven and roast until liquid evaporates and vegetables are slightly glazed. About 5 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare beet greens by tearing leaves and washing, spin in salad spinner to dry or blot with paper towels. Mix together 1 clove garlic, 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar and 3 tablespoons olive oil in a medium bowl. Add beet greens and toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. To serve arrange beet greens on salad plates and top with roasted vegetables. Can be served hot or at room temperature.

[Gastronormous notes: Next time I might add some bleu cheese to the vinaigrette for the greens. Also, personally, I would use salt and freshly ground pepper on both the root vegetables and in the vinaigrette for the greens.]

Salmonella can’t survive being boiled for an hour, so why not make tomato jam? [Gothamist food].

In making-environmentally-informed-choices-more-confusing-news: a new scientific report is released that seems to show that eating local isn’t necessarily better for the environment. (Accidental Hedonist)

A related story from Mark Bittman about how eating less meat may help the environment. Check out this incredible graph.

Speaking of Samuel Beckett and faux-hawks (weren’t you just?), Grub Street once again proves they are the place for fans of Top Chef to go for the best coverage of the series, which just aired its season finale this week. Some highlights: An interview with Lisa almost makes her seem…human. A particularly tense scene from a recent episode is compared to a Beckett play—Beckett, while he certainly appreciated the absurd, must be whirring in his grave. A discussion of the importance of faux hawks with Tom Colicchio takes a rather blue turn.

And you thought creationism was bunk: Behold the banana. Everything about the fruit’s design makes it easy for humans to eat it–therefore God created it for us. Of course the design also makes it the perfect food for monkeys…. Oh, nevermind. [Serious Eats]

I can tell you that I am no Paula Deen. I am not really into mayonnaise. I so rarely use it that when a recipe calls for it I usually find myself frustrated because the little jar of mayo I find in the back of my fridge has expired. For the most part, I like my coleslaw or potato salad with a vinegarette, rather than a mayonnaise-based dressing (the potato salad from the BBQ discussed below being an exception!).

Last night was one of those hot and humid evenings in which nothing but a nice, big, and above all cold salad sounds appetizing for dinner. The problem is I came home to find no fresh vegetables in the fridge save some mixed lettuce greens and a couple scallions, and I did not have the will to go out into the terrible heat to procure more. Greens and scallions are a nice start for a salad, but not a meal in itself.

I opened my cupboards to see what I could use to make this a no-cook meal. A couple cans of legumes and a jar of artichokes ended up being my saviors. When I decided upon the lentils, I immediately thought of curry, which I think pairs well with them. And that is what brought me to the mayonnaise. I suppose you can make a curry vinegarette, but the creaminess of mayonnaise carries the flavor of the curry without masking it as the sharp acidity of too much vinegar can. I came up with this recipe on the spot, and if I do say so myself, it was a winner—and might just make Paula Deen proud.

Curried Lentil and Chick Pea Salad

1 heaping T. of prepared mayonnaise
2 tsp. good quality extra virgin olive oil
1 tsp. white wine vinegar
1 tsp. curry powder
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
a few grinds of black pepper
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 15 oz. can of lentils, drained
1 15 oz. can of chick peas (garbanzo beans), drained
1 6.5 oz. jar of marinated artichokes, drained
2 scallions, sliced
more salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
mixed greens

Wisk together in a large bowl first six ingredients (mayo through salt). Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary. Add the beans, artichokes, and 3/4 of the scallions to the dressing and fold mixture together. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for AT LEAST a half hour, to overnight. This is a very important step!

Just before serving, taste again and adjust if necessary, then toss with the greens. Alternatively, serve individual servings over beds of greens. Garnish with remaining 1/4 scallions.

Serves 4.

Note: This would be good with some cold rice mixed in as well–and that would make a complete protein.

This white sangria I made for a bar-b-que I attended last weekend was inspired by a recipe my husband brought back from a long ago trip to Spain. He stayed in a seaside town called Gijón where they made sangria using cheap red village wine, fruit, and orange soda. Yes, I am talkin’ Fanta. Elsewhere in Spain called tinto con naranja, it was served with fruit and called sangria in Gijón.

Red wine and Fanta sounds unsophisticated, or maybe even unpleasant, but incorporated into sangria it is a surprisingly tasty concoction (I can’t say the same for another popular drink in spain: calimocho, or red wine and coca-cola). We served it at a party once–everybody loved it and you can’t imagine their surprise when told the constituents of the beverage!

I don’t use Fanta in this white sangria recipe, but never fear, it is lowbrow-fabulous, or, shall we say, Rustic.

The trick to bringing sangria to a hot-weather event (it was in the 90′s Saturday). Is to cut up and freeze all the fruit the night before, and then mix the sangria right before leaving. The fruit acts to chill the sangria without watering it down. I served this in a 4 liter plastic pitcher with a spout at the bottom for easy pouring. I brought along a ladle to scoop fruit of the top.

“Rustic” White Sangria

about 8 cups of fruit.
(I used: 1 large orange, 1 bunch seedless red grapes, 1 bunch seedless white grapes, 1 peach, 1 nectarine, 1 pear, 1 apple.)
Plus: 2 limes
2.5 liters of cheap white wine
1 cup triple sec (or other orange liquor)
.5 liters seltzer or club soda

The night before: Cut all the fruit into small wedges. DO NOT PEEL THE FRUIT–even the citrus! Throw it all into a big ziploc bag. If using apples and/or pears, save those for last so that when you throw them in the bag the acid from the other fruits will prevent them from browning. Cut 1.5 limes into wedges and add to bag. Squeeze the juice out of the remaining half of lime over the fruit. Seal bag, then manipulate it to the mix the fruit around inside. Put the bag in the coldest part of the freezer.

The day of: dump the frozen fruit into the pitcher or other container you are using. Pour the other ingredients over it. Give it a taste and adjust as necessary. Now, go put on some sunblock and get out the door!

Notes:

• Bring extra wine and soda with you if you can. There will likely be a lot of fruit left in the container when you have gone through the liquid. I promise you your guests will appreciate a refill. Alternatively: enjoy a drunken fruit salad when all the liquid is gone!
• If you use a super dry wine, this might be good (and more true to its Español inspiration) with a clear flavored soda, like white grape soda.
• You could use some liquor other than orange. Peach schnapps might work, though the resultant flavor might induce a Bartles & Jaymes flashback. This may or may not be a good thing.
• Full disclosure: I used a 5 liter box of Almaden white wine for this recipe! A box! Not anything I would dream of serving straight up, to guests or even just myself. Sounds crazy, but look at it from the flip side: do you really want to violate a good bottle of wine with fruit and soda? ¡Claro que no!

Here the white sangria is served in the familiar red plastic SOLO cup. How rustic.

7/4/08 Postscript: See my spectacular new 4th of July, red, white, and blue sangria recipe here.

Whew, it’s been a long, long time, but I am back with more food news from the west coast.

I happen to have a weakness for mysteries and afternoon tea, and this book, part of the Tea Shop Mystery series, has both. Sure, on the surface I’m a cynical 30-something with a pottymouth, but deep inside languishes a dainty, middle-aged Southern belle with a red hat, purple dress, and a fierce need to eat something on a doily. Oh, and I love killing. We all have our quirks.

But why write about a cheesy mystery on a food blog, you ask? Because this is a cheesy mystery with a twist: recipes!

The book wasn’t that great, but I tried a few of the recipes in the back, and I think I’ll probably come back for more. Last night I whipped up lavender scones and faux Devonshire cream, and I think I’ll be looking for new ways to incorporate lavender into my dessert fare (and sure, main dishes while I’m at it).

Lavender Scones

2 cups flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
6 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp dried culinary lavender, chopped
1 egg
1/2 cup buttermilk

Sift flour and baking powder together. Cut the butter into flour mixture until it has the consistency of bread crumbs. Stir in sugar and lavender. In separate bowl, beat egg and buttermilk, then add to mixture, forming dough. Place dough onto well-floured surface and shape into a circle. Pat down dough until it is about 1 inch thick. Use a floured cutter to stamp out 12 scones [WCB note: I made mine considerably smaller to share at work, so I made about 20; just cook for slightly less time]. Place scones on parchment-lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with a little sugar. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm with Devonshire cream and jam or preserves.

Simple Devonshire Cream

1 3-oz package cream cheese, softened
1 Tbsp sugar
1/8 Tsp salt
1 cup heavy cream

Cream together cream cheese, sugar, and salt. Then, beat in cream until mixture forms stiff peaks. Chill until serving.

Makes 2 cups.

(both recipes from The Silver Needle Murder, by Laura Childs)

Ramps, also called Ramson or wild leeks, are in their brief season right now in the Northern US. Food people in New York City have been going cuckoo for them over the past few years, and for good reason.

I had never heard of them until I saw an interview with Mario Batalli two years ago about using them in a recipe of his, and I wondered what in the world he was talking about. I turned to the internet—and my grocer—to find out.

Ramps are native to to North America, and are not cultivated, but grow wild along river banks. The flavor is often descibed as a garlic-onion combo, though I think there is also a unique, very earthy element in the mix, too. They are especially popular in Appalachia, where the funky allium is celebrated every April at the festival “The Feast of Ramson” (aka the “Ramp Feed”). Ramps must be an east-coast-only affair because growing up in California, where there happen to be river banks aplenty, I never heard of them.

Last spring, Hubs and I found a recipe online for Ramps Risotto, and followed it word for word, except for the part where I accidentally blanched the ramps in boiling water for 3 minutes rather than 3 seconds. That turned out not to be a very successful dish.

Last weekend we spied some ramps at the local farmers market, and were able to snag two of the last four bunches left at the stand. I gave ramps risotto another try, but this time based it on my own basic recipe for risotto rather than one from the internet. I did not blanch the ramps at all because I thought with all the cooking it was going to do with the rice, that was sort of a redundant step. I cut the white bulbs, purple stems, and the greens of the ramps in a thin slice (for the greens, I did a chiffonade). I decided not to add any vegetables other than the ramps in order to let their unique flavor shine.

Ramps Risotto

4 cups low sodium vegetable or chicken broth
1 TB butter, plus a few tsp olive oil
2 bunches of ramps, thinly sliced (or about 1 cup each of sliced whites and greens)
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup arborio or other short white grained rice
1/2 cup white (un-oaked) wine
3/4 cup shredded parmigiano reggiano
salt and pepper, to taste

Heat broth and leave on a simmer, covered.

Meanwhile, heat butter and oil on medium heat in the bottom of large sauce pan. Add sliced white bulbs and purple reedy stems, and a few grinds of black pepper, to pan and sautee until soft, but not brown.

Add the rice and sautee for about a minute, until rice is well coated with oil–do not brown the rice. Add wine and stir gently but constantly until wine is absorbed. Add one ladleful of broth and stir until absorbed, then add another ladle. Continue this process until the rice is almost al dente; this should take 25 or so minutes. Now stir in the ramps greens and cook a few minutes more until greens are cooked through and rice is tender (but not mushy!). [Please note that you do not need to use all the broth. Cook until the risotto is done, not until the broth is gone. Conversely, if you run out of broth, test the texture of the risotto before assuming it is done, you may need to add even more broth, or use water.]

Turn off the heat and stir in the cheese the cheese.

Now taste again and season if necessary with salt and pepper (it might not need any salt as the cheese is pretty salty). Also feel free here to add more cheese or some butter if you think it needs it. Serve garnished with shredded parm.

Makes at least 2 servings.

This risotto was delicious, and though ramps are notoriously pungent, this cooking process mellowed it into near-subtlety. If we can find ramps at the farmers market this weekend, I am going to try this delicious-looking spaghetti with ramps from Epicurious.

Usually when we cook broccoli rabe (a frequent side to pasta or other italian fare in our household), it is a complicated process of blanching, chopping garlic and/or onion, sauteeing it all, then adding just the right-sized splash of balsamic at exactly the right time. You see, one must give the balsamic enough time to reduce and sweeten, which tones down the bitterness of the rabe, without overcooking the rabe. Who knew a dark leafy vegetable could cause so much stress?

Well, the other night, Hubs made pasta with broccoli rabe for dinner, and to prepare the broccoli rabe, he simply dumped a jar of marinated artichokes hearts and their marinade in a sautee pan and cooked the hearts until the juices reduced a bit, the dumped in the blanched broccoli rabe. It was delicious and took the balsamic-guesswork out of the equation.

If I didn’t love cooking so much, I’d let him cook for me every night!