Tag Archives: Features

You know that summer is officially here when you have so many cucumbers that you need to start pickling them. We have done dill, sweet, bread and butter, and every other kind of pickled cucumber you can think of. You can imagine how excited we were to learn from our friend Lisa that there is an easy way to make homemade fermented pickles that is safe and reliable.

The Perfect Pickler is simple air lock that fits on to any wide mouth canning jar that allows gas to escape during the fermentation process. Fermented pickles are much like the ones you might find a deli counter in a giant wooden barrel and we knew we could not pass up the opportunity start making out own.

The recipes could not be easier for fermented pickles. It has the same ingredients as any normal pickle but you leave out the vinegar and you do not need to cook anything. The key is making the salt brine that the pickles will live in. The brine is salty enough that the only good lactic acid producing bacteria can survive. Fermented pickles are actually pro-biotic just like yogurt and other fermented foods.

The first step is to fit all of your flavoring and cucumbers into a jar. here I used dried chili, dill, and some of our very own garlic. Then you make a 5% brine solution (by weight) and fill the jar so that the cucumbers and flavoring are completely covered. I like to pack the jars really tight so that the cucumbers do not float up during the pickling process. If the cucumbers are exposed to any air during the pickling the will turn sour and not be good to eat.

The next step to attach the air lock lid and wait 3-4 days until the cucumbers have reached the desired level of pickling. Then you can remove the lid and store them in the fridge for 3-4 weeks. During the fermenting process the brine solution will turn a bit cloudy but this is fine it is just part of the natural process.

The air lock is a very nice extra. Traditionally people would make large batches of these sour pickles and just weigh down the pickles with a wood top and stones. This would keep the cucumbers in the brine and safely away from the air. This method still works but the air lock on the top of the ball jar allows for small batches and a bit of extra add security. It also allows for consistency because the pickling environment is sealed so each batch you make can taste nearly the same (if you use the same ingredients of course).

Recipe:

1/2 lb of small pickling cucumbers

4 cloves garlic

1 bunch of fresh dill

4 dried chili peppers

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

2 cups of water

2 1/2 table spoons salt

Use a 1 quart wide mouth ball jar and fit all of the cucumbers and spices into the jar. Make sure that the cucumbers have been in the jar in such a way that they can not move around or little ones can not float to the surface. Next mix the salt and the water together until the salt has completely dissolved.   Pour in the jar until all of the cucumber are completely covered. Place the air lock lid on the jar and store at room temperature away from direct sunlight for 3-4 days. Once the jar starts to cloud up you can remove a pickle and taste it. If you want it more sour allow it to go for another day or two and then test again. Once the pickles have reached the perfect taste for you. Remove the air lock lid and put on a more two piece canning lid and transfer the pickles to the refrigerator. You can leave them in the original brine or remove that brine and replace with fresh brine to completely arrest the fermentation process. They will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 weeks.

In the last 20 years, Mac & Cheese has become synonymous with children’s food, which is really unfair in my opinion. I blame this misperception entirely on the blue box, which is only mac & cheese in the broadest sense of the words.

Real mac & cheese starts with a béchamel sauce, and that fact alone should elevate it’s status. By making it from scratch, you can use a variety of grown-up cheeses that will take your mac & cheese from nursery food to the most unctuous and creamy comfort food of them all. I’ve used a 50/50 blend of goat cheese and blue cheese and it was amazing!  Pepper Jack and Cheddar is another favorite.

My standard recipe is a pound and a half of goat cheese cut with a half pound of cheddar. Play around with the proportions and find what you like best.

I never make just one mac & cheese, as it’s just as easy to make two at one time and pop the second in the freezer for a weeknight when you just can’t be bothered to cook. If you’d prefer to make only one, cut this recipe in half.

First we’re going to make a roux. Melt the butter in a large sauce pan over medium heat.

Sprinkle the melted butter with flour and stir together.

Continue to stir over heat until the flour and butter are well combine, then switch to a whisk.

The consistency will be more like cookie dough than cake batter. Allow the roux to darken just a little, whisking continuously. At this stage, I like to add a teaspoon of red pepper flakes to give the mac & cheese the slightest hint of heat. If you are serving very young children you may want to skip this step but it truly won’t result in a spicy mac & cheese if you add it.

Add the milk to your roux and whisk to combine thoroughly. Bump the heat up to medium high and bring the milk to a low boil, all the while whisking to keep the milk from scorching on the bottom of the pan. When the milk has reached the barest boil, remove from heat. Congratulations! You’ve just made a béchamel sauce.

Add heavy cream, Dijon mustard, salt and pepper to the béchamel and stir.

Add your cheeses to the sauce stir. Don’t worry if the residual heat doesn’t melt the cheese entirely, as it will have plenty of time to melt in the oven.

While working on your sauce you’ll need to cook two pounds of penne pasta in salted water. It’s important to drain the pasta when it’s just shy of  al dente. That’s because we want it to continue to absorb liquid when it’s in the cheese sauce. You will also need to retain a cup of the cooking water from the pasta. I find the best way  to remember this is to place a measuring cup in your pasta strainer while the pasta is cooking.

When the pasta is ready, put it in a large bowl and add the cheese sauce, stirring to combine. The mixture should be looser than the mac & cheese you make from the box. If your sauce appears to be to thick, add the reserved pasta water 1/4 cup at a time until the sauce is loose.

Now is the time to taste the sauce and correct any seasoning.

Pour the mac & cheese into two pans, one for freezing. You can stop now and have an absolutely lovely mac & cheese for dinner or you can add a topping that will take this dish into the realm of the sublime. (If you decide to make the top, do not add it to the mac & cheese that’s bound for the freezer. You can add it when you are ready to bake that one. The topping recipe below makes only enough for 1 mac & cheese.)

Panko are just Japanese bread crumbs but they are much more crisp. Don’t attempt this topping with regular bread crumbs or you’ll end up with a soggy mess. Most grocery stores carry panko now, either in the Asian section or with the regular bread crumbs. (Progresso makes panko now.)

Mix 2 cup of panko with 1/4 stick of melted butter and 1 cup of shredded cheese and stir, stir, stir to combine.

(If you’re feeling particularly decadent, you can cook two pieces of bacon, replace the butter with bacon grease and add the crumbled bacon to the topping. YUM!)

Sprinkle the mixture over the dish and press down with the palm of your hand to flatten.

Cover the dish with foil, place it on a sheet tray and pop into a 400 degree oven until hot and bubbly, about 40 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes, until the crust is a golden brown.

We serve this as a main course, with a large green salad on the side. Serves 6 adults as a main course.

FOR THE TOPPING (Makes enough for 1 dish)

• ¼ stick unsalted butter, melted
• 2 cups panko
• 1 cup coarsely grated Cheddar

FOR CHEESE SAUCE AND PASTA (Makes 2 dishes)

• 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 4 1/2  cups whole milk
• 1 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 1 1/2 pounds mild goat cheese
• 1/2 cup coarsely grated extra-sharp Cheddar
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 3  teaspoons salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds penne

The carrots in our garden are finally starting to get to a nice size. Fresh carrots are sweet and nothing like grocery store carrots. This means that they are especially delicious when they are slightly caramelized.

Our lovely yellow carrots are especially photogenic.

The key to this dish are the light touted cumin seeds. The nutty flavor of the seeds complement the sweetness of the honey and carrot.

Browning carrots in a frying pan is actually very simple. Bring a dry pan up to a high heat and just leave the carrots moving them around every few minutes until they are nicely browned on all sides.

Once the carrots are browned and cook through add the honey, salt, pepper, and cumin and cook just until the honey begins to bubble and then add cream. After adding the cream reduce the heat and cook until the sauce thickens.

The result is the perfect side dish or even can make a nice main course when paired with rice. The sauce holds on to the carrots and the nuttiness of the cumin really shines through.

Carrots in Honey-Cumin-Cream Sauce

1 lbs fresh carrots

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

3 tablespoons honey

1 cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon cilantro

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Wash carrots and cook carrots on high heat in a large frying pan until they begin to brown. In another small frying pan toast the cumin seeds until they begin to pop and quickly remove from heat and transfer the a small bowl. Once the carrots are browned reduce the heat and add the honey, salt, pepper, and cumin seeds. Cook until the honey begins to bubble and then add the heavy cream. Cook until the sauce  it coats the back of a wooden spoon. Plate and and garnish with cilantro.