How Not to Burn Garlic

(Cooking Titan Conspiracy Revealed)

It's white outside  today in Boise and the forecasters are predicting an 80% chance of more whiteness tomorrow. 

Not the kind of whiteness that coats the trees and lawns in a bright, soft blanket and not any  kind of cultural whiteness (though neither are rare in Boise).   Today the sky is just a smooth, featureless span of white.

Imagine you are a spider trying to make a break for it across my kitchen floor only to have your scuttle interrupted by an inverted cottage cheese container.  But ... we don't generally eat cottage cheese, so maybe it would be a Greek yogurt cup.

That's what the white is like today in Boise.  Like someone has trapped the entire Treasure Valley underneath a food-grade plastic tub.

Cozy, huh?

I should probably segue into talking about bright colorful fruits and vegetables or vitamin D supplements about here, but because this is the grand re-opening post of my blog, I want to talk about something instantly accessible.

Namely, garlic.

I'm not going to post a recipe that uses garlic. I'm sure you have already stumbled upon one of those yourself.  There are a few of them out there if you Google long and hard enough. 

I'm going to complain about an injustice that involves most recipes that include garlic as an ingredient. 

The offending recipes generally begin like this:

"In a large sauté pan over medium heat, add the olive oil. When the oil begins to shimmer, add the onions and garlic and cook until they begin to become soft ..." (Taken from Emeril's Spinach Saute with Garlic and Onions.)

Sound familiar?

Julia is famous for starting her recipes out this way too. It's puzzling why this technique purports to result in such success for them and cause such disappointment among us mere mortals.

The fact that the garlic contains more oil than the onion, and that the dice is generally smaller than the onion, causes the garlic to cook much faster  -- often burning before the onion is properly softened. 

The good news is that the prevention of burned garlic is easy.

1. Saute your chopped onion until it is just about done.

2. Throw in your chopped garlic and continue to saute everything together for thirty seconds (and no longer than a minute).

3.When you can begin to smell the garlic it's time to get it out of the pan or add the other ingredients, depending on your recipe.

Try this variation next time and you might be surprised how much better your dish is with out the faint bitterness of burned garlic.

 

Larrupin Cafe

I spent the weekend in Northern California and enjoyed another fabulous dinner at Larrupin Cafe in Trinidad. This cozy, little out-of-the-way restaurant is just off Highway 101 about twenty miles north of Eureka.

They don't advertise (I couldn't even find their number in a local phone book) and they don't take credit cards ... but none of that matters because they have big, thick Oriental rugs covering all of the tables and that, coupled with the warmth and friendliness of the staff, gives this little place a sumptuousness that is hard to match.

First things first and, at Larrupin Cafe, that means their complimentary appetizer tray; apples, duck liver pate, chutney, crackers, cucumber with lox and of course a side of their famous Larrupin Mustard Dill Sauce.

The rest of the meal consisted of mouth-watering offerings (created from organic and mostly locally-procured ingredients) such as artichoke stuffed chicken breast wrapped in phyllo dough with roasted winter squash, grilled portobello mushrooms with Manchego on baguette, and butternut squash filled ravioli.

Everything was amazing, but, in my opinion, the portobello/Manchego/baguette combination was truly inspired. I'm planning on trying to put together a reasonable facsimile to offer as a

Thanksgiving hors d'oeuvre.

So, if you ever find yourself near the Humboldt Coast don't miss Larrupin Cafe.

Stay in one of the cabins along Patrick's Point Drive that are withing walking distance of the restaurant and venture into "downtown" Trinidad in the morning to the Beachcomber Cafe for a fully loaded white chocolate mocha and the "Trinidad Special" bagel (it uses Larrupin's famous sauce!). Stay and drink out of their cups ... but make sure to bring your own if you want coffee "to-go". There is not a disposable cup in the place --

-- but they'll happily sell you a Mason jar with a lid for $1.

Well, my pressure canner was all neatly tucked away for the season when, on November 1st, I suddenly found myself face to face with one hundred full size jack-o-lanterns.

How they came to be mine is a long story, but I can share that they are organic and were purchased from the Boise Co-op for about $8.00 per pumpkin and weighed over 1000 lbs. en masse when they all still had their guts. (Are you doing the math?)

So I, with the help of extended family, have been chopping, roasting, pureeing and canning.

We've been at it two nights and still have wagon loads to go.

Stay tuned for a bevy of ramblings about recipes with names like Black-Bean Pumpkin Soup, Fettuccine with Shiitake, Pumpkin, and Mascarpone and Pumpkin Cheesecake with Bourbon Sour Cream Topping.

Or ... check them out yourself and let me know what you think.

That is, if you can find canned pumpkin. There's a shortage, you, know.

(Hmmmmmm .... do I smell a business opportunity with Thanksgiving right around the corner?)

P.S. That is a meyer lemon in the foreground. And, yes, it is local. Another Idaho's Bounty find. Can someone please figure out how to grow avocados here? Please? Please?

Fish Phone

Hey!

Check out Blue Ocean Institute's free Fish Phone service.

"To find out about your seafood choice, text 30644 with the message FISH and the name of the fish in question/ We'll text you back with our assessment and better alternatives to fish with significant environment concerns."

How cool is that?

Braising Season

Am I the only one who actually experiences a brief moment of genuine depression when I hear the first few notes of the closing theme song to The Splendid Table on public radio?

I have actually been known to re-listen to episodes three and four times -- don't tell anyone. Please?

Not because I find any particular episode more fascinating than the last, just because the show, in itself, is such a pleasurable escape. I feel briefly connected to a larger community of foodies - something I have been unable to duplicate in real life here in Boise.

It's comforting to hear Lynn Rossetto Kasear rhapsodize about the merits of anchovies and pity those people (poor fools) who think they don't like them. Just today she listed off the ingredients of her homemade ranch dressing today; anchovies (of course), vinegar, garlic, onion, mayonnaise, yogurt, buttermilk and parsley.

My husband thinks he doesn't like ranch dressing (thankfully, he does like anchovies) -- I aim to change his mind. I can't wait to start experimenting.

But, really, it's her advice on braising which is dear to my heart.

After years of Internet research and following the advice of various cookbooks, I had tried my hand at braising pretty much any form of animal protein I could lay my hands on. On top of the stove, in the oven, lid on, lid off, low and slow, not so low and slow, with a thermometer and without a thermometer.

Sometimes the dish turned out great, sometimes not. What utterly and completely frustrated me was that there was no consistency. I could never be absolutely sure that I could repeat a successful dish until .... now.

Lynne's advice on braising is to never EVER let the liquid boil, but I already knew that. Here's her very scientific way to know when it is the correct temperature.

"It should be just hot enough for an occasional bubble to form at the top.

Bloop.

Bloop."

Her words, not mine.

Kale Supper #1

Drowning in kale, I decided to try to try to emulate the amazing Kale Caesar Salad I had at Red Feather Lounge a couple of weeks ago.

I riffed on this recipe I found at Serious Eats and topped it with chicken. I cooked everything on the grill - which was tricky because the kale really wanted to just blacken and turn to ash.

My babysitting efforts paid off and most of the kale came off the grill cooked perfectly, smoky and meaty tasting - just like at Red Feather. I tossed it with the dressing, topped it with the chicken and grated Parmesan and served everything with a crusty loaf of warm bread.

It was really amazing and it will definitely be served often throughout the winter. It wasn't quite as good as Red Feather's though, which is fine by me ...

... now I have a reason to go back!

Ever Wish (When You Are Trying to Eat Locally) That You Lived in Southeast Asia?

I do!

This is tonight's haul from Idaho's Bounty. Shallots, kale, a persian lime, a pomelo, an acorn squash and two butternut squash.

Yes, I said a persian lime and a pomelo.

I'm really not kidding.

Ramblin' Rose Ranch in Ketchum, Idaho is growing them in their greenhouses.

Wouldn't it be fun to send someone in California or Florida a box of Pomelos from Idaho?

Now I just need to find the perfect recipe ....(think anyone around here is growing coconuts?)