Posts from October 2016

Treats Trump Tricks, Banshee Balls, Halloween Illustrated via Hoxton Street Monster Supplies, London

Treats Trump Tricks, Halloween Illustrated

Banshee balls

Banshee Balls

Salt made from tears

Also Salts made from Tears of Envy (featured in 2015) 

Both by way of Hoxton Street Monster Supplies (...'for the living, dead, and undead')


Nettles Galore, April in Whidbey Island, Neah Bay Halibut with Creamed Nettles and Morels from 'Lark'

After Elegance for Dessert with Lacquered Peaches from Lark' Cooking Wild in the Northwest' Cookbook  (Sasquatch Books, August 2016) by chef John Sundstrom, here's a helping of fish as secomd recipe from the book

Nettles Galore, April in Whidbey Island,

Neah Bay Halibut with Creamed Nettles and Morels

For a few weeks in April, we have a lovely convergence of spring delights: fresh halibut, young and tender stinging nettles, and the first true morels of the season. I bring them together in this bright, earthy, and creamy dish. After months of root vegetables and cabbage we Northwesterners are craving something green, and usually the first stinging nettles fill the void. At Lark I have a network of hard-working foragers who bring them right to me, but nettles grow wild all over. Whidbey Island’s bucolic setting is known for having nettles galore, and many a part-time forager takes revenge on this weed. They do sting, so use tongs to move them from the storage container to the pan for cooking. Cooking removes the stinging properties. Nettles are highly nutritious, full of vitamins and minerals, and delicious. And if this is all just too much, spinach is a great substitute.

MAKES 4 SERVINGS

1½ pounds halibut fillets (or cheeks), cut into 6-ounce portions

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided

¼ pound morels, trimmed, washed, dried, and sliced

1 teaspoon minced garlic

½ pound stinging nettles, picked and washed

2 tablespoons dry white wine

¾ cup heavy cream

1 tablespoon minced chives, for finishing

Neah Bay Halibut by Zack Bent (1)

1- Season the halibut on both sides with salt and pepper. 


        2-Heat the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large sauté pan over medium-high heat. Add the halibut fillets and cook on one side until golden brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Turn them over gently and use a spoon to baste the fillets. Continue cooking until they are just cooked through and translucent in the center, 2 to 3 more minutes. Transfer the halibut to a warm plate until ready to serve.

         3-In a medium sauté pan over medium-high heat, melt the remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Add the morels with a pinch of salt and pepper and cook them until just soft and tender, 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes until softened but not browned. Using tongs, add the nettles to the pan and stir them into the morels and garlic. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and let it reduce slightly. Stir in the cream and adjust seasoning to taste. Simmer until the cream has reduced to a slightly thickened sauce. Adjust seasoning to taste.

         4-To serve, spoon the creamed nettles and morels onto a serving platter. Place the halibut on top and garnish with the chives.

        CHEF’S NOTE: When cleaning morels, it is best to use a brush or towel to gently remove the dirt. Sometimes they can be especially dirty and hard to clean completely with a brush and need to be washed in water.It is important not to soak them; dunk them in the water, toss them around briefly and then dry immediately in a salad spinner before laying them out on paper towels.

        Be very careful when handling the stinging nettles. At Lark we double up on latex gloves when cleaning them.

(* Recipe (c)2016 by Johnathan Sundstrom. All rights reserved. Excerpted from Lark: Cooking Wild in the Northwest by permission of Sasquatch Books, Photography by Zack Bent)


Hard to Squeeze Essence of 400 Years of Drinking in American South narrated Deftly by Robert F. Moss in 'Southern Spirits'

It's hard to squeeze the essence of 315 pages of 400 Years of Drinking in American South narrated Deftly by Robert F. Moss in Southern Spirits (Ten Speed Press, Hardcover, April 12, 2016)

Best thing I could do is give you a taste of it.

Don't expect to find a book full of cocktail recipes between the covers of 'Southern Spirits'.
It is a serious expose on history of '400 years of drinking in the American South' with a sprinkling of recipes.
Book opens with description of failure of beer and wine in colonists early years.
Barley brought from England was worm infested after weeks at sea.

Rum was the savior.

Southern spirits

Rest of story is for you to discover


Black Dinner Plates on my Bucket List, Noritake Drops Water Video to Show Me How Saucy Dinner Can Be

Dinner Plates on my Bucket List,

 

 

Noritake Drops Water Video on Instagram to Show Me How Saucy Dinner Can Be in their Colorscapes plates.

(* This is not a sponsored post)


Seed your Soup, No VC Needed, Pomegranate Soup by Way of Azerbaijan from 'Samarkand'

Seed your Soup, No VC Needed, Pomegranate Soup by Way of Azarbaijan from  SamarkandRecipes & Stories from Central Asia & the Caucasus (Kyle Books, June 2016) by Caroline Eden and Eleanor Ford.

Pomegranate Soup

Serves 4

150g yellow split peas

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 onions, finely chopped

4 garlic cloves, finely chopped

1 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/2 teaspoon chilli powder

1/2 cinnamon stick

1 litre hot vegetable stock

400ml pomegranate juice

2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses

pinch of sugar (optional)

2 spring onions, chopped

150g spinach leaves, roughly chopped

a handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped

a handful of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

sea salt and freshy ground black pepper

To serve

seeds of 1/2 pomegranate

1 tablespoon mint leaves, thinly sliced

SMK Pomegranate Soup

This is an Azerbaijani soup with sweet, tart and complex spice flavours. Substitute the split peas for green or brown lentils if you prefer.

Unless your split peas are very fresh, soak them overnight in cold water.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and soften the onions. Add the garlic and spices and stir for a minute

or two, until fragrant. Tip in the split peas, add the stock and pomegranate juice and bring to the boil. Cook for 30-45 minutes, until the split peas are tender. Add more hot water if you want a thinner broth.

Stir in the pomegranate molasses and taste the soup for seasoning. If it is tart, a pinch of sugar will mellow the flavour.

Remomve the cinnamon stick and add the spring onions, spinach, parsley and coriander and cook just long enough for them to wilt into the soup. Serve scattered with pomegranate seeds and ribbons of fresh mint.

(^Recipe reproduced with permission from SamarkandRecipes & Stories from Central Asia & the Caucasus -Kyle Books, June 2016- by Caroline Eden, Eleanor Ford)