My Brudda: Pork Champion

So My Brudda is famous. It's true. He was in a cook-off, a very special cook-off, and it made the East Coast papers. Well, it made the Central Jersey Community Newspapers, but Central Jersey is a good hour or two away from where my brother lives, so hello, that's like getting a Hollywood Star while residing in Nebraska.

I do believe I have mentioned before how talented My Brudda is with pork. Do read the article and you will see that pork let him down by becoming a bit overcooked, nevertheless, to beat this pork My Brudda's competition had to use pastry, sausage, and fois gras. I mean, just look at that picture (courtesy of the Central Jersey Community Newspapers @ CentralJersey.com). Does that pork not just cry for your plate?

Kudos to the Pork Master for his expertise not just with pork, but also for his stellar frittata and a heavenly salad. Recipe at the end of the article. Here's the link:

In the kitchen: Showdown in the sacristy

My Brudda notes, by the way, that his wife, Lady Pate Sucre, made an absolutely stunning key lime pie for the competition. I haven't yet met a key lime pie I haven't fallen deeply in love with, and I regret that I was not in attendance for what would have been the beginnings of yet another illicit affair with pastry and lime curd. Maybe next time.

Pass U By Saves the Day. Again. Lemony Goodness.

Wow, did I have a bad week. Normally when overwhelmed I visit my dear friend Amazon Prime who sends me small pick-me-up packages all week. However, I just paid my NOT dear friend the IRS a huge tax check and am pretending to be frugal, at least for a month. After a particularly miserable day, I arrived home and found a package. I accessed my online order memory bank. Hmmmm....No orders to Lands End, no Amazon, no contenders for the final solution to the Great American Bra Struggle. What could it be?

Into the kitchen I stumbled. It was a package from Pass U By!!! I beat the tape and cardboard into submission and what to my wondering eyes did appear? Could it be the heavenly aroma of lemons from her back yard? Yes. Yes. Yes. Oh, Pass U By. In one package I am reminded of my dear friend and her wonderful family, of fabulous drives up Route 1 in Northern California, of shared meals, of a glorious semester in Oxford mostly drunk with . . . Pass U By, decades ago.

These lemons present a problem to me. I want to savor them and never use them because they are so wonderful and cherished. But they are quite perishable. What to do?

First, a story. Have I mentioned this one before? When I was pregnant with my first little bambino, Little Cappucino, I had an "ultra screen" in the first trimester. Mistake. The screen results, which I received looking out at the Pacific on vacation in California, standing at a payphone, was of course positive, given my age greater than 35, which was (at the time) the single biggest variable in the equation of ultrasound measurements, HCG, and whatever else was in the screen. The speaker over the phone said, "I'm so sorry but there's an 60% chance you're going to have a child with Down's Syndrome." My stomach dropped deep, deep into my feet. I started crying and between the endless episodes of emesis I was lucky enough to enjoy during both of my pregnancies I kept right on crying for a few days.

Pass U By, whose home Monsieur and I were visiting, took the matter squarely in hand, in her usual efficient, matter-of-fact, cheery, loving way. She patted me on the back. She handed me tissues. She asked thoughtful questions. Mostly, though, she cooked me into not crying. And for that I will be eternally grateful to her, her house, her kids, and her husband, all of whom gave me safe space to be sad about a possible problem in a baby I'd never met, who was making me vomit my head off. Pass U By could make anything seem okay, any problem workable. Dusted off, belly full (at least until I vomited again), I picked myself up and dealt.

The amnio was fine.

But as I stood in my kitchen, seven years later, and beheld the lemons, felt their soft skins, inhaled their glorious sunshine smell, I remembered it all. I teared up with love and affection for my friend, and yesterday, fed my big now quirky, funny, big, silly, nose-picking six-year old boy Lemon Pudding Cake. He gave it one thumb's down, ironically, but the rest of us enjoyed it. You might too.

Lemon Pudding Cake
from Cook's Country

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 1/4 cup sugar
5 tablespoons soft unsalted butter
2 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
5 large eggs, separated
1 1/2 cups whole milk (I used 2%. It's all I had.)

1. Put oven rack in lowest position and heat oven to 325.
2. Get out an 8" square baking dish.
3. Whisk flour and cornstarch in a small bowl.
4. Cream butter, 1/2 cup sugar, and lemon zest until light and fluffy.
5. Add yolks, one at a time, beating until silky.
6. Add flour/cornstarch on low speed.
7. Slowly add milk and lemon juice. Mix till just combined.
8. Beat egg whites till light and fluffy, forming soft peaks.
9. Add sugar slowly until egg whites form firm glossy peaks.
10. Fold egg whites into the lemony batter.
11. Get out a roasting pan and put a kettle on to boil.
12. Put a kitchen towel or Silpat in the bottom of the roaster.
13. Pour batter into the 8" baking dish and place it in the roaster.
14. Pour boiling water into the roaster around the baking dish.
15. CAREFULLY put the whole thing in the oven.
16. Bake 45-60 minutes, until top golden and center slightly jiggly.
17. Remove from oven and let cool about an hour.
18. Eat, enjoy, and think fondly of old, dear friends.

Cooking the blog: Salty Crispy, Warm Spaghetti-Squash

Image via Wikipedia

Made a few things this weekend from la blog. My latest feature, for all you who don't want to read all my blah blah blah is a letter grade.

A=Knock your socks off keeper (to quote PassUBy), A+ if my kids love it, too.
B=Tweak and perhaps it will be a KYSO
C=Not bad. Seen better.

First. Oh. Fabulous. The ah, Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats? (Scroll down. Link is lower in the post.) These are seriously good. Very seriously, very being included in my very short list of favorite recipes, and yes, perhaps even in the next BEACH COOKBOOK!

(Oh, not familiar with my original beach cookbook? Take a gander and weep baby. Then plan a vacation.)

dinner

fabulously beat up ...

By vicki rentel (aka...

Book Preview

The only changes I'd make, and I wouldn't make them every time, are that
1. I'd melt semi-sweet chocolate on the top and dust it with sea salt, and / or
2. I'd mix in salted peanuts. But then I'd leave the salt out of the brown butter & cereal.

Letter grade: A+

I also made warm spaghetti squash salad from Food & Wine. (It's the last recipe in the link.) I pretty much stuck to the program but not quite. I roasted the squash in the microwave. Why haven't I tried this before? Pricked it all over with a knife, then put it on 6 minutes @ 100%; flipped it over, then cooked another 8 minutes. Let it cool for five, then sliced in right in half and scooped out the seeds, then the fabulous strands of calorie-free strangely pasta-like squash.

So that's difference #1. I didn't roast the squash in the oven, and might not ever again. This was far, far too easy and fast. I used Kalamata, not green olives, and it's not as pretty with the hunks of diced brown olive. It's a pretty olive-y recipe, in fact, but not bad. I'd probably try the Moroccan squash next time, only I like the addition of almonds. I only had smoked around. They worked. I had it cold for lunch today and it was quite okay. I wouldn't KILL myself to make the recipe again, but all-in-all, a good day out for the new microwave skill.

Letter grade: C

I did chickpeas yesterday, too, from a recent recipe in Food & Wine.

Spicy Chickpea Salad

I didn't use tomato. Blech. I could because I have a few I plucked before the frost, but I don't use raw tomatoes as a rule. I cooked my own garbanzo beans in the slow cooker for oh, I don't know, two or three hours. Used a whole jalepeno, but only because I have about 50 outside on the plant, hanging on despite the coldish weather, and they're so sweet and vegetal. Hardly spicy. Except for not having mango powder and skipping the tomato, I otherwise stuck with the rules. Initially I thought, "Eh." But today it's quite nice. Better summer salad. Could add fresh corn. Little garlic. I reseasoned today and I think I'll pulverize the leftovers and use it as a dip. I wouldn't rush out for the ingredients. Let's say C+.

Jacques Pepin

When I was young I had a teddie bear named "Jacques" after Jacques Pepin. Love him. Love his cookbooks. Love his autobiography. Love his scrappy attitude. Try to emulate the cheery workman-like execution of his craft. Came upon this in the Washington Post with delight today:

For Pepin, Impromtu Comes Easy

I vow to try every single recipe, only I might use butternut squash rather than acorn because those ridges on the acorn squash scare me.

Flanken-Style Shortribs with Mushrooms
Baked apples
Sweet and Sour Glazed Squash
Slaw with Mustard Garlic Dressing
Sauteed Cabbage and Kielbasa
Crisp Pear Tart
Crispy Chicken Thighs with Mushroom Sauce

Martha Stewart's White Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake

This is so good--I have pretty high standards--that you're going to want to start starving yourself now if you're going to make it for Thanksgiving. It is life-altering. I saved the recipe for a long time, then about two years ago convinced my aunt, a very accomplished baker, to make it. Then I hid the leftovers so she couldn't take it with her. You want to knock the socks of your guests? Make this. If you are having guests who prefer Kroger's pumpkin pie, that's fine. It's a perfectly fine pumpkin pie. Don't let them near this. They are entitled to what they love but you are entitled to this incredible cake.

How bad can it be? After all, sweet potatoes are a super food.

Marth Stewart's White Chocolate Sweet Potato Cake post and picture via marthastewart.com

Let them eat Pumpkin Cake

My aunt made the best, best cake a couple of years ago for Thanksgiving. It was approximately 50,000 calories a bite, but worth every single one. While I'm searching for the recipe, how about this?

Pumpkin cake=perfect alternative to pumpkin pie picture and post via Yum Sugar

Leftover Paella, Green Bean Casserole, Yakitori, and a Barn

Leftover paella is tasty. I would know because I just nibbled some, standing at the counter, reading the NYTimes food section, which I picked up at work today while I was sucking on a mint and some Sprite but didn't read at the time because I felt like death warmed over and didn't want to eat much or read about food because, in fact, I spent the first several hours on the job puking between patients. And no, I am not pregnant. A Sprite, said mints, an egg, and some toast later, I felt up to nibbling leftover delicious paella. But just a little. Me and my tummy aren't sure if we are friends yet.

Whilst nibbling paella, I was reading a recipe for homemade green bean casserole. I am not generally a green bean fan, but for this I might make an exception:

Green Bean Casserole @ the New York Times

What sounds better right now, though, is this:

Butterscotch 's Whiskey Cookie Bars

And hello, at the end of the recipe, note the picture of Jello pudding! And a little teaser:

I should add that JELL-O pudding mix is NOT in the recipe but the first picture is just a picture of my groceries. Cookie dough pictures aren’t very interesting anyways…the pudding is for another recipe though: Rum Cupcakes! I shall await with scotched-laced breath.

Did I mention that my Brudda, the Pork Master, got a slow cooker? And guess what? I found a slow cooker brined pork recipe with Alton Brown's fingerprints all over it. Possibly worth a try:

Slow cooker pork chops, apples, and sweet potatoes via Cheap Healthy Good

Two from Simply Recipes recently:

Cauliflower pasta with anchovies (I'll probably be eating this alone but oh, how I love anchovies and cauliflower, united at last in this recipe)
Scambled eggs with tomatillos (Green Eggs & Ham!)

THESE are going to be here at this house this weekend. I am going to need them:

Salted brown butter crispy treats from Smitten Kitchen

(Note the cute baby picture above the recipe and know that my friend Dr. Fabuloso's new baby is 20 times cuter and I have the pictures to prove it.)

Have a bit of beef hanging around and the urge to eat Vietnamese? Try this:

Vietnamese-styled sauteed beef

Thinking ahead to that turkey you're going to have left over? Grind it and try:

Turkey Yakitori Burgers

(Shout out to Columbus Foodie for the tips.)

Roger. Over and out.

Foodie Weekend

Having company over for the weekend. Can't decide what to make. Would it be wrong to serve these for dinner?

Smores IceBox Candy Bars link and picture via Joy the Baker

How to get my two of my favorite foods together, shrimp and chips? How about this fabulous sounding (and looking) dip from an American master, Tom Douglas:

Shrimp Dip with Potato Chips via Yum Sugar

I've been eyeing this recipe for a week. Should I give it a spin or not?

Grilled Apple Salad with Cider Vinaigrette via Slashfood

Did you know Necco wafers have gone all natural? I'm not sure if that's better or worse in regard to you know, the fact that it's candy and all, but still. I'll tell myself that it means that I can eat Necco wafers for lunch 'cause they're full of beets:

Necco Wafers via Slashfood

Speaking junk food, just in case you can't get enough of me, I have a post on the OSU Student Health Services Blog today:

Twinkies really are like crack!

I'm not saying Twinkies are crack, I'm just sayin' to keep the Narcan handy when ingesting.

Regards for a most excellent Friday! ---IcedLatte

My Brudda, Pork Master

My Brudda just bought a crockpot. He made a good soup. I might have mentioned that before. His wife suggested I post a list of my crockpot favorites. I'm not sure I have a list of crockpot favorites yet, aside from my coconut vegetable stew and PassUBy's Mac & Cheese, but I did come across this. Looked to be an intriguing list from A Year of Slow Cooking:

Slow Cooker Fall Favorites

Blinded Snickers Video

From a reader, a rather hilariously bizzare video. Ever wonder how to make a Snickers bar at home? God help me, I should never have all the ingredients to do this in one place or I would make a Snickers bar at home every single night. It's the Top Secret Recipes guy, who blindfolds himself and puts duct tape around the blindfold just to prove that it's so incredibly easy to make a Snickers that you could do it without vision. All I have to say about that is that I want his refrigerator.

Make your own Snickers video via Wimp

How Locro can you go?

From the Boston Globe, a recipe for Locro, a pretty amazing sounding stew from Argentina. I'm thinking this might be a most excellent crockpot recipe, with a few adaptations here and there. I'll let you know how it turns out. In the meantime if you're interested, check out the recipe from the Globe:

Locro

From Slashfood, ah, Dulce de leche. Included was a recipe to make it yourself; I tend to buy it already done for me. It's fabulous. Towards the end off the post is a brief list off things to do with the golden goodness:

Dulce De Leche - An Easy Dessert Enhancer

The thought of the sweetness reminded me of a recipe I clipped ages ago from Saveur for a Ducle de Leche Cake. Strangely, I had just pulled it out this past week. I'd caressed it a few times and toyed with making it. Presto, Slashfood sends a related link to Google Reader. I think it's kizmet.

Dulce de Leche Cake

I asked Lord Google about Dulce de Leche. He suggested this, and oh, Lord, it looks fabulous:

Dulce de Leche Flan, recipe and image via No Special Effects

Really? Does the world need another brownie recipe?

Maybe. Consider these, from Serious Eats, with sea salt. Many brownies, for my money, are overly sweet and not chocolate pillowy buttery enough. But these? Maybe. I mean, they have all my favorite food groups: chocolate, butter, salt, and coffee:

Adult Brownies

Vegan Cupcakes? Have I lost my mind?

From the very precious Gwynneth Paltrow's site, Goop, which I actually secretly kind of like oops the secret is out, an interesting post on vegan cupcakes and darn it, other vegan baked goods.

The one time I had vegan bread I was violently ill for a day. I channeled my grandmother, "My body needs butter." But the baguette is butter, salt, and oil. I eat that without turning my gastrointestinal tract inside out. Of course, I usually eat it with cream of cauliflower soup topped with Gruyere, shmeared with lots of fresh imported butter, but still. It makes no sense.

I am, however, intrigued. I might try it. I might like it. I will not, however, give up the precious goodness of the butter cow.

Goop Make: Babycakes with recipes

On the subject of eggplant

Another killer article from Gourmet. The directions are a bit coy, although they read like my directions so maybe I should pay more attention and be more specific. It can be such a downer to measure everything, though, and to skip cooking something just because you don't have everything on the menu. But the title is a killer. This must be tried:

An Eggplant Confession

Orangette is going to use it as a sauce for pizza, which sounds fabulous especially on my grill in the backyard. Read her post, although it makes me tired. She and her husband are working so hard on their restaurant.

What I do now

Her post was just in time. I need the crumble recipe for the prune plums I picked up at the orchard today, along with the 4 bushels of apples fresh from the tree.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes.

Tomatillo Chicken Stew

Could I make this when I get home from work? Or maybe NOW?

And serve it with just a drizzle of Snowville Creamery Half & Half?

Apple Cake in and Iron Skillet

via the always fabulous Pioneer Woman

See Post Below Before You Run

In the next post down I am going to tell you to run to the store, and I mean it. But before you go you might want to get the ingredients for Joy the Baker's Favorite Red Velvet Cupcakes.

Smitten Kitchen does it again!

These get an 8/10 on the Food Swoon scale.

Read about 'em and get the recipe at:

Peach cupcakes with brown sugar frosting

Bread pudding worthy of killing a guy for

From Simply Recipe archives

Bread Budding

I'm not sure about a big dish of bread pudding on a hot summer day, but I could probably force myself. If Elise says this is the best ever, I believe her, however, I believe my pumpkin bread pudding with ginger-infused cream could give her a run for her money. But mine is more of a holiday delicacy. I will give her the nod for every day other than holiday.

Even MORE on the paleta front

I'm serious, these things were rather amazing. Clearly they have left a mark on my palate. And they're all the rage! The San Diego Union Tribune sported a few recipes recently. (And Google Reader? Have I mentioned how much I love you? I do, I really do.)

Stick with these treats

Southern Sweet Tea might be on the menu for the beach next time. Mango Lassi is getting a spin this weekend. I might just have to take a little ICEDLATTE out for a frozen spin too!

Amended to include YET another fabulous paleta link, this from the San Francisco Chronicle. I have unleashed a food frenzy in this country, all based on a trip to Raleigh. Wow. the power of one person is turly amazing.

A chef perfects the paleta of childhood

Would this make a great new paleta?

Apple pie granita, from Joy the Baker