TartQueen's Kitchen

Savory pies, or their fancier cousin, quiches, are a great way to use a combination of leftovers, pantry items, and your imagination.  Like with sweet pies, a savory pie can make you use your creativity in new and surprising ways.

Plus, it’s a good, quick meal after a long day at work.

A few tips on making savory pies:

1.  Frozen pie crusts are fine.  That’s what I used in this recipe.  I know some will think it’s cheating, or, at worst, sacrilege, but I think it works perfectly well for this recipe.

2.  Keep the pie crust frozen until just before you’re ready to fill it.  Otherwise, it will become soggy during baking.

3.  Always have whole milk and eggs on hand.  They’ll make the custard, or base, of the pie.  Don’t use 2%, 1%, or skim milk.  They won”t stand up to the heat.

4.  If you’re using a cooked filling in the pie, make sure it’s cooled off before you put it into the crust.  Otherwise, it will begin to melt the crust too early and/or cook the eggs too quickly.

5.  Cheese is always good.

6.  When you bake the pie, take it out of the oven when it has a slight wobble in the center.  Let the pie sit for 10 minutes before cutting.  This will allow the pie to settle and finish setting up in the center without overcooking the eggs,

Now, to the recipe.

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The ingredients

A whole nutmeg seed. Like most spices, it’s so much better to buy the whole seed and grate or grind just what you need.

A grated nutmeg seed. It smells wonderful, looks really tiger-stripe cool, and lasts a long time.

For my money, the perfect nutmeg-grating tool: the mini Microplane.

The flavorings: fresh rosemary, black pepper, salt, fresh grated nutmeg

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 c. sliced mushrooms

1 c. spinach, chopped (if you’re using baby spinach, don’t worry about chopping)

1 c. whole milk or half-and-half

3 eggs

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1 tsp. rosemary, chopped

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1 c. shredded Gruyère cheese

1 ea. frozen 9-inch pie shell

1.  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat  to 425F.  Prepare a baking sheet by lining it with foil (this is to transport the pie to and from the oven).  Tear a long piece of foil in half lengthwise; fold each piece in half again lengthwise.  You will use these to wrap the edges of the crust before you add the filling. (The foil will keep the edges of the crust from burning in the oven.)

2.  Heat the oil in a large skillet over rmedium-high heat.  Add the mushrooms, a pinch of salt, and saute until they soften, about 5 – 7 minutes.

Sauteing the mushrooms.

Add the spinach and cook until it just begins to wilt.

Adding the spinach. In this example, I actually used a spinach-arugula salad mix. It worked very well.

Remove the skillet from the heat and let the mixture cool. (To cool the filling faster, take it out of the pan and  spread it onto a plate.)

3.  In a large measuring cup or medium bowl, mix together the eggs, milk or half-and-half, rosemary, nutmeg, and salt & pepper.  Set aside.  This is the custard mixture.

The custard mixture.

4.  Take the pie crust out of the freezer and place it on the baking sheet.  Take your two reserved pieces of foil and wrap them around the outer edge of the pie crust.  There will be some overlap.  Be sure the foil doesn’t go down the sides of the crust where the filling will be.

The wrapped pie shell.

5.  Line the bottom of the crust with the grated Gruyère.

Mmm… Gruyère.

Next, spread the spinach-mushroom mixture as evenly as possible over the cheese.

Layer #2.

Lastly, slowly over the custard to fill the pie.

Pour the custard mixture over slowly so it has a chance to soak into the spaces around the cheese and vegetables.

Ready for the oven. Be sure to put it in immediately after filling the crust.

6.  Place the pie in the oven and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean and there is a very slight wobble in the center of the pie.  Let the pie stand for about 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

How can you resist this?

Enjoy!

Nice lunch or a light dinner. Either way, you can’t go wrong.

Summer is my favorite time of the year for fruit.  Plums, peaches, cherries, nectarines, and, my favorite, berries.  All of them.

Berries are one fruit that are now available all year ’round.  However, I tend to eat them only seasonally.  The fruit sold in the winter not only has little taste but is generally shipped from South America; a very heavy carbon footprint.

Of course, one age-old way to hold on to that summer flavor is to make preserves.  So, that’s what I did.

Now, on to the recipe

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A couple of notes:

1.  You can use any combination of berries you like in this recipe.  Just make sure you have 9 cups total.  I used the four most commonly seen in the grocery, but if you find/have gooseberries, boysenberries, etc., you can use those as well.

2.  Always buy extra.  This is to take into account bad berries, trimming, and any that you eat along the way.

3.  Check the date on the pectin.  You want to be sure it’s good.  If it’s out of date, buy new.

4.  To get a full explanation of the hows and whys of canning, please read my post from August 10, 2012, “Classic Strawberry Jam”.

The ingredients

Strawberries, Blueberries, Blackberries, Raspberries.

9 cups total fresh berries, trimmed, picked through, and washed  (For this recipe I used 3 c. strawberries, 2 c. blackberries, 2 c. blueberries, 2 c. raspberries)

6 tbsp. powdered pectin

1/4 c. lemon juice

6 c. sugar

1.  Wash the jars, lids, and rims in hot soapy water.  Place the jars in a large stockpot of boiling water to sterilize them.  Leave them in the boiling water, topping it off as needed (you need at least 1″ water above the tops of the jars).  Place the lids into a small saucepan.  Bring the water just to a boil, then turn the heat down to low and let the water simmer.  The rims don’t need to be sterilized.

2.  In a large saucepan, take the berries, 1/4 at a time and crush them with a potato masher.  It’s OK if there are some large pieces.  You don’t need to mash the berries smooth.

Crushing the berries.

3.  Add the lemon juice and the pectin.  Stir until the pectin has dissolved.

Adding the pectin and lemon.

The crushed berries, pectin, and lemon mixed together. And, we’re ready to go.

4.  Place the saucepan over medium heat and, stirring frequently, bring the mixture to a rolling boil.  (You want it to come back to a boil immediately after stirring.)

A rolling boil.

5.  Add the sugar and stir until it’s dissolved.

Adding the sugar.

The sugar dissolved and the jam beginning to take shape.

Continue stirring frequently until the mixture again comes to a rolling boil.  Boil for 1 minute.

Another rolling boil.

6.  Remove the saucepan from the heat. Carefully skim the foam from the top of the jam.

Skimming the foam from the jam.

7.  Take the jars from the boiling water and drain.  Carefully ladle the jam into the jars, leaving 1/4″ of head space in the jar (use a jar gauge to make sure you’re at the right level).

Ladling the jam into the jars. Use a wide-mouth funnel. It certainly reduces mess.

Measuring the head space in the jar.

Clean the jar rims with a damp towel.

Cleaning the jar rims. If the rims have any food on them, the jars won’t seal properly.

8.  Place the lids and rims (tighten them only finger tight) on the jars and place them back into the hot water.  Bring the water up to the boil and process the jars for 10 minutes.

9.  The jars can take up to 24 hours to seal.  However, it usually doesn’t take that long.  You’ll know the jars are sealed when the lid becomes concave.  You’ll also hear something like a “ping” when the jar begins to seal.  Once the jar is sealed, you can tighten the rim.

Ideally, let the jars sit for about 24 hours before moving them.  But, as long as you let them sit until they are cool, you should be fine.

If the jar doesn’t seal, put it in the fridge and eat the jam within 2 – 3 weeks.  You can also remove the contents from the jar, wash it and the rim, discard the lid, re-sterilize everything, fill the jar again and process.  It’s up to you.

Be sure to label and date the jars.

The finished jam in sealed jars.

Enjoy!

Meringues are that almost etherial confection that can either come out beautifully or end in frustration for many a baker.

On top of a pie, as a base or crust, or in bite-sized form, in actuality, they’re easy and fun to make. They can make a dessert look elegant or festive. And mostly, especially for those of us with a sweet tooth, delicious.

There are three basic types of meringue:  Italian, French, and Swiss.

The Italian Meringue consists of boiling syrup poured slowly into beaten egg whites.  This produces a meringue that is more stable and can be used in a variety of desserts without a danger of it breaking down or collapsing.  Because boiling sugar is added to the whites, no further cooking is needed. (If you want to see an example of Italian Meringue, check out my blog post from May 31,2012: “Key Lime Pie”.)

French Meringue is the most commonly used meringue in home kitchens.  It consists of either granulated or powdered sugar slowly added to egg whites and beaten until stiff.

Swiss Meringue consists of the egg whites beaten over a bain-marie or a very slow simmering double boiler to warm the egg whites and sugar together.  Whisk until the sugar is dissolved and the egg whites are warm.  The whites are then removed from the heat and beaten until they have a dense, marshmallow-like consistency.

The history of the meringue is a bit of a murky one.  The first known reference to meringues is found in Francois Massialot’s 1692 cookbook,  Nouvelle instruction pour les confitures, les liqueurs et les fruits (Instruction for new jams and fruit liqueurs).  The first reference to meringues in England is from 1706 in a translation of Massialot’s book.

Two earlier 17th Century English recipe books give instructions for confections that are recognizable as meringue, though called “white biskit bread” in the book of recipes started in 1604 by Lady Elinor Fettiplace of Appleton in Berkshire (now in Oxfordshire), and called “pets” in the manuscript of collected recipes written by Lady Rachel Fane of Kent.

Slowly baked meringues are still referred to as “pets” (meaning farts in French) in the Loire region of France due to their light and fluffy texture.

How lovely.

(some information from www.wikipedia.org)

There are several important things to remember when making a meringue:

1.  Make sure your eggs are separated properly.  The egg whites must be free of yolk.  Even a small amount of fat in egg whites will prevent them from reaching their full volume and may cause them to collapse.

2.  Make sure your egg whites are at room temperature.  This allows the proteins of the whites to relax and loosen.  The volume of the egg whites is not only contingent on no fat, but also the breakdown of hydrogen bonds in the protein.  A warmer temperature helps to create this.

3.  Make sure the utensils you use are clean, free of any fat (including any oily residue), and room temperature. Avoid using plastic bowls or utensils; they tend to hold on to oils.

4.  Do not overbeat the whites.  You’ll know you’ve done this if the whites begin to separate, look dry, and you see liquid (albumen) pooling at the bottom of the bowl.  There are supposedly methods for saving the whites, but I’ve never found one that works.  Just start over.

5.  When adding the sugar (or any dry ingredients), it has to be done slowly and gradually.  If you add all of the sugar at once, it won’t dissolve properly and the egg whites and will attract moisture.  Moisture is the ruination of a meringue.

A note about the cocoa powder: M. Herme uses exclusively the Valrhona Dutch-processed cocoa powder.  He calls for it in this recipe.  I did use the Dutch-processed cocoa (what I have at home is Hershey’s) and I like it; in fact, I prefer it. Dutch-processed cocoa is readily available, but, if you have natural cocoa powder, you should be fine.

Natural Cocoa Powder is made with all of the cocoa butter is removed from the cocoa liquor leaving a dry cake that is then ground down to a fine powder that’s  bitter and acidic.  Its natural acidity is used to help activate baking soda in recipes.  It’s only used in cooked or baked desserts.

Dutch Process Cocoa Powder is natural powder that’s been treated with a small amount of alkaline to reduce the cocoa’s natural acidity. The process makes the powder darker and gives it a more mellow flavor.

Now.  On to the recipe.

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Lotsa chocolate. My most recent class at Central Market.

This recipe is based on a recipe from the great book Chocolate Desserts by Pierre Herme by Dorie Greenspan (Little, Brown; 2001).  While it is a wonderful recipe, I did make a couple of changes.

1.  M. Herme calls for Valrhona cocoa powder.  While I like Valrhona and use it occasionally, it is expensive ($13.99/lb. at Central Market).  Plus, not it’s not available to everyone. You can use any type of Dutch-process cocoa you like in this recipe.

2.  He does have a step in his original recipe saying to dust the raw meringues with powdered sugar and cocoa before putting in the oven to dry.  I did that.  I found it to be an unnecessary step.  When I took my meringues out of the oven, I had to take a soft pastry brush and brush off the excess sugar and cocoa.  So, I left it out of the recipe I’m showing you.

3.  His original recipe doesn’t include cream of tartar.  I added it because it helps to add to the stability of the whites and helps to produce a stiffer peak.

The Ingredients

1 c. powdered sugar

3 tbsp. Dutch-process cocoa

4 egg whites, room temperature

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

7 tbsp. granulated sugar, separated into 2 ea. 3-1/2 tbsp.

1.  Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat it to 250F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set them aside.  Fit a large pastry bag with a plain 1/2″ – 3/4″ tip – you want a large tip so you can pipe generous meringue kisses.  (If you don’t have a large enough tip or a pastry bag, skip the pastry bag and use a zipper-lock plastic bag.  Seal the bag and then snip off a corner so that it creates a “tip” that’s just the right size.)

2.  Sift together the powdered sugar and cocoa and set aside.

Sifting the sugar and the cocoa.

3.  In a clean, dry mixer bowl with a clean, dry whisk attachment in place, whip the egg whites on high speed until they form soft peaks.

Egg whites and cream of tartar ready for whipping.

Soft peak stage.

Still whipping on high, gradually add the first half of the granulated sugar.and continue to beat until the whites are glossy and form stiff peaks.

Adding the sugar.

The egg whites at stiff peak stage after adding the first half of the sugar.

Reduce the mixer speed to medium-low and gradually beat in the remaining half of the granulated sugar.

Adding the remaining sugar.

The finished egg whites.

4.  Remove the bowl from the mixer and, working with a large rubber spatula, gradually fold in the sifted powdered sugar and cocoa mixture.

I like to sift the dry ingredients on top of the egg whites before I begin to fold. Makes for a more even mixture.

Folding the powdered sugar/cocoa mix into the egg whites.

Work quickly but delicately, and don’t be discouraged when your beautifully airy meringue deflates a little; it’s inevitable.

Ready for the piping bag.

5.  Working with half the batter at a time, gently spoon half the batter into the pastry bag.

A trick to more neatly fill a pastry bag: Take a large glass, either twist or bend the tip of the bag, and place the bag into and over the glass as shown. Take the spatula and fill the pastry bag about 1/2 – 2/3 full.

The filled pastry bag.

Pipe out rounds roughly 1-1/2″ – 2″ in diameter, finishing with a peak in the center onto the baking sheets (they should look like giant chocolate kisses).

Twist or fold over the top of the pastry bag and gently work the batter down to the tip. Be sure to work from the top of the bag down. Don’t squeeze in the center.

Use your dominant hand to squeeze from the top, continuing to twist or fold the bag as you go. Your non-dominant hand is for guiding and lifting the bag only.

Allow about 1 inch between each puff.  The larger the meringues, the fewer you’ll have. (M. Herme’s recipe says make the meringues 2-1/2″ for a yield of 20. Mine are generally smaller, so I’ve had as many as 40.)

Piping the meringues onto the baking sheet. Not perfect. But, hey, they’re homemade.

6.  Place the baking sheets in the oven and insert a handle of a wooden spoon into the door to keep it slightly ajar (this helps cut down on moisture in the oven).  Bake the puffs for 1 hour, rotate the sheet pans, and bake for another hour.

A sheet pan ready for the oven.

A wooden spatula in the oven door for venting.

7.  After the second hour, turn off the oven, take the wooden spoon out of the door to close the oven, and continue to dry the meringues for another 2 hours, or as long as overnight.  Take the meringues out of the oven and transfer, parchment and all, to racks to cool to room to room temperature.  Run a thin metal spatula under the puffs to release them from the paper.

The finished meringues.

*The meringues can be kept up to one week in an airtight container.

Enjoy!

“What exactly is Welsh Rarebit?” you’re probably asking yourself.

Most of us know this dish as basically cheese on toast.  Not a bad thing.

It’s actually a dish that was born of poverty in 18th Century Wales.  At that time, only the wealthiest could afford meat.  Cheese was the “meat” of the poor.  Over time, “Rarebit” became the bastardization of “rabbit”.

Most recipes that I’ve found contain some sort of alcohol, generally ale.  However, I wanted a recipe that didn’t have any alcohol.  And, I finally came across one written by Jennifer Paterson of “Two Fat Ladies” fame.  It is different than traditional Rarebit, which is generally a cheese sauce, in that this recipe is more of a souffle-style.

This won’t behave like what most would think of as a souffle.  It certainly doesn’t rise like one.  The souffle-style comes from the base  (cheese and egg yolks) folded into beaten egg whites which makes the topping a souffle effect.

The tomato soup is just a natural paring.

Tomato soup goes with just about everything.

Welsh Rarebit mixed with tomato soup or tomatoes is known as “Blushing Bunny”.  Huh.

Now.  To the recipes.

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Now, of course, with either of these recipes, you can serve them separately with a simple salad to make a nice lunch or a light dinner.  Together, they make a rather hearty end-of-day vegetarian supper.

For the Rarebit, if you want to use other cheeses or all of one or the other, go ahead.  However, cheddar is the most traditional.  Be sure to use a sharp cheddar.  Once you add the egg whites, it will neutralize the flavor of the cheese mixture, so you want a stong-tasting cheese.  Longhorn cheddar won’t do.

With summer coming up, fresh tomatoes will be abundant.  If you want to use your fresh home-grown tomatoes, by all means, do.  Use the equivalent amount to fresh tomatoes.  Depending on how “rustic” you like your soup, you can peel and seed your fresh tomatoes before using them in the soup if you prefer.  It’s up to you.

As for canned, I use Muir Glen Fire Roasted.  If you want to use your fresh tomatoes but would like the roasted flavor, you can either roast your tomatoes on the grill or slow-roast in your oven.

Tomato Soup:

The ingredients

The spices (clockwise from top): Red Pepper Flakes, ground Black Pepper, Kosher Salt

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 small onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional

4 tbsp. tomato paste

1 lg. (28 oz.) can tomatoes

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1 lg. sprig rosemary, left whole

4 c. vegetable broth

Pinch sugar

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 bunch fresh basil, julienned

Shredded Parmesan or Romano

1.  In a large saucepan over medium-high heat, saute the onions and garlic until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the onions and garlic.

2.  Add the red pepper flakes, if using, and cook another minute.

3.  Add the tomato paste and, stirring frequently, cook until the tomato paste begins to take on a rust-colored appearance (this indicates the sugars in the tomato paste are caramelizing).

Cooking the tomato paste. The paste is beginning to turn a burnt orange color.

4.  Add the tomatoes, rosemary, vinegar, broth, sugar, salt & pepper.  Stir until the soup is well mixed.  Cover and bring to a boil.  Once the soup has come to a boil, uncover, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for 30 minutes.  Stir occasionally.

After adding the tomatoes, broth, rosemary, vinegar, and spices

Bringing the soup to a boil.

5.  After the first 30 minutes of cooking, remove the soup from the heat and remove the rosemary stem.  Let the soup cool slightly.

After 30 minutes of cooking.

6.  With either a stand blender (in batches) or a stick blender, puree the soup.  Make it as smooth or as texture as you like.  If you want a super-smooth soup, then pour the pureed soup through a strainer.  Taste for seasoning.

Pureeing the soup with a stick blender. (I find the stick blender easier and it uses fewer dishes.)

7.  Put the soup back on the stove to reheat over medium heat and just bring back to a boil.  Turn off the heat and add the basil.  Set the soup aside and let the basil “steep”.

Adding the basil and letting it “steep” in the soup.

Meanwhile, while the soup is cooking, make the Rarebit.

The Ingredients

The Spices (clockwise from top center): Paprika, Kosher Salt, Cayenne Pepper, dry Mustard, Black Pepper

Cheddar and Gruyere cheeses

1 c. grated extra sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 c. grated Gruyère or Emmenthal Cheese

3 eggs, separated

1/4 tsp. cream of tartar

1 tsp. dry mustard

1/2 tsp. cayenne

1/2 tsp. paprika

1 tsp. Worcestershire Sauce

Salt & pepper to taste

4 thick slices bread (sourdough or country loaf works best)

1.  In a large bowl mix the cheese with the egg yolks, Worcestershire, dry mustard, cayenne, paprika, salt & pepper.  Set aside.

The cheese mixed with the eggs and spices.

2.  Preheat the oven to 450F.  Place the bread on a baking sheet lines with foil and parchment paper and toast the bread until it is lightly toasted on both sides.  Set aside.

Toasted bread.

3.  In a mixer, beat the egg whites with the cream of tartar until the whites reach stiff peak stage.

Perfectly beaten egg whites.

4.  Take 1/4 of the egg whites and mix them into the cheese mixture to lighten it up a bit.

Folding in the egg whites.

5.  Take the remaining egg whites, 1/3 at a time, and fold them into the cheese mixture.  Don’t worry about making a homogenous mixture.  You just want to get a good mix with the cheese.

Ready for the bread. Don’t worry about making a homogeneous mixture.

6.  Divide the mixture evenly between the pieces of bread (there will be quite a lot).

Ready for the oven.

Place the baking sheet in the oven and bake for 10  – 12 minutes or until the souffles are brown and have risen slightly.

The finished rarebit. Golden brown, slightly puffy, a little crispy.

Finish the meal:  By this point, the soup should be finished and the basil “steeping”.

Spoon the soup into a bowl and sprinkle some Parmesan or Romano over the top.

The finished soup. Parmesan to be added.

Place one of the Rarebit on a plate.

The finished Rarebit. Molten gooddness.

Suppertime!

Supper! Yummy, yummy supper.

Enjoy!

Shrimp & Grits. For most Southerners, this sounds like ambrosia. It’s almost a religion. For everyone else, an odd combination at best.

Now, some people are wondering, what exactly are grits?  Here’s an excellent quick explanation from http://whatscookingamerica.net:

“Grits (or hominy) were one of the first truly American foods. The Native Americans ate a mush made of softened corn or maize. In 1584, during their reconnaissance party of what is now Roanoke, North Carolina, Sir Walter Raleigh and his men met and dined with the local Indians. Having no language in common, the two groups quickly resorted to food and drink. One of Raleigh’s men, Arthur Barlowe, recorded notes on the foods of the Indians. He mad a special not of corn, which he found “very white, faire, and well tasted.” He also wrote about being served a boiled corn or hominy.

When the colonists came ashore in Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607, the Indians offered them bowls of this boiled corn substance. The Indians called it “rockahomine,” which was later shortened to “hominy” by the colonists. The Indians taught the colonists how to thresh the hulls from dried yellow corn. Corn was a year-round staple and each tribe called it by a different name.”

Shrimp & Grits started off as a breakfast staple among the fisherman of South Carolina’s coastal low country during shrimp season (May – December).  It was a simple dish called “breakfast shrimp” that was usually cooked in bacon grease or butter. In recent years, however, it’s been “fancified” and is now seen in restaurants all across the South and is eaten at any time of day.

Now, on to the recipe:

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Now, admittedly, my recipe differs from traditional style Shrimp & Grits in that I use cornmeal, cheese, and parsley.  It’s one of those “fancified” versions.

A few notes:

1.  It’s important that you don’t use instant or quick-cooking grits.  They don’t have the flavor or texture of slow cooked grits.

2.  If you can’t find grits, then you can use stone-ground cornmeal.  In fact, that’s what I use in this recipe.

3.  For my readers who don’t eat pork, you can substitute turkey bacon.  Just add 2 tablespoons oil or butter to the pan. The bacon will flavor the oil or butter which in turn will flavor the shrimp.

4.  The cheese in the grits wouldn’t have been found in the earliest recipes.  It’s a more modern addition.  If you don’t want to add the cheese, feel free to omit it.

5.  Use large or (insert oxymoron here) jumbo shrimp.  They are just better in this recipe.

The ingredients

4 c. water, chicken or shrimp stock

2 c. whole milk or half & half

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. black pepper

1 1/2 c. grits (not instant or quick-cooking) or stone-ground cornmeal

2 tbsp. butter

2 c. sharp cheddar cheese

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into roughly 1/2″ pieces

3 cloves garlic, minced

2 lb. large shrimp, peeled & deveined

4 scallions, thinly sliced

1 tbsp. or juice of 1 lemon

1/4 c. parsley, minced

1.  Make the grits:  Bring the water or broth, and half & half to a boil.  Add the salt and pepper.  Whisk in the grits or cornmeal 1/2 cup at a time.

Whisking in the cornmeal.

It’s very important to keep whisking as you add the grits or cornmeal until they come back to the boil; otherwise, they’ll become lumpy and no amount of whisking will fix it.

All the cornmeal in the pot and whisking until it comes back to a boil.

When the all the grits are added and come back to a boil, lower the heat to low.  (Be careful, there will be some splatter.  This should calm down as you lower the heat and the mixture thickens.)  Stir often.

The boiling cauldron.

Continue cooking until all the liquid is absorbed and the mixture becomes very thick, about 20 – 25 minutes.

After about 20 minutes.

Remove the grits from the heat. Stir in the butter and cheese.

Adding the butter.

Adding the cheese.

Once the butter and cheese have been mixed in, cover the saucepan and set the grits aside.

2.  Heat a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook until browned.

Cooking the bacon.

Once the bacon is cooked, remove it from the skillet with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Increase the heat to medium-high and add the garlic.  Cook for 1 – 2 minutes.

Cooking the garlic. Be sure not to let it become too brown.

Add the shrimp and cook until they turn pink, about 5 minutes.

Cooking the shrimp. You just want them to turn pink at this point.

Add the scallions and cook another 1 – 2 minutes.

Adding the scallions.

Add the lemon juice and cook another minute.  Take the skillet off the heat and stir in the parsley and reserved bacon.

Adding the parsley and bacon.

3.  Serve the grits with a generous helping of the shrimp on top.

Anytime meal. Yum.

Enjoy!

p.s.  One of the great things about leftover grits (regular or cornmeal) is when, when cooked properly, they solidify as they cool.  While to the uninitiated, it sounds unappetizing, for a Southerner, it’s great.

Take any leftover grits and put them into a small loaf pan or in a square or rectangular container and make as even as possible.  The next day, take the “loaf” and cut it into pieces about 1/2-inch thick.  Fry in oil or butter until browned on both sides (they will soften a bit).  Take off the heat, and serve with some syrup or jam.

Oh. Yeah.

I’m about to say something that will send some chili aficionados into a wall-eyed fit: green chili is a good thing.

Now, being from Texas, I know that’s not necessarily a popular sentiment.  Unless you’re close to the New Mexico border.  In fact, at the best-known chili cookoff in Terlingua, Texas, there’s not even a green chili category.

However, I do like it.  I find it’s generally easier to make than traditional chili (if you’d like the recipe, see my post [Chili… Or, Them’s Fightin’ Words] from Feb. 14, 2012), it’s just as versatile, and mostly, it’s delicious.

So, off I go.  On to the recipe:

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A couple of notes:

1.  Using canned Hatch chiles will save time and mess.  But, if you have Hatch chiles from last year in the freezer, use them.

2.  I’ve also used, in place of the thighs, a whole chicken from the deli.  This will save time also and make this a reasonably quick after-work meal.

3.  You can use pork instead or make the chili vegetarian.  In place of chicken or pork, you can use beans.  Yes… Beans.  Also, substitute vegetable broth for the chicken broth.

4.  Admittedly, my chili is not green, per se.  I call it green because I don’t use any tomatoes or red meat.  However, if you want a fully green chili, you can use green chili powder (usually ground jalapeno, hatch, or poblano chiles.)  However, you will want to experiment and check the spice level and adjust the recipe accordingly.

5.  Taste the chili before adding the lime juice.  I like more citrus than most people, so I enjoy the added tartness.  However, you may not.

The ingredients

Clockwise from top: Mexican Oregano, Black Pepper, Salt, ground Cumin, Chili Powder

3 lbs. chicken thighs

4 c. water or chicken broth

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

4 cl. garlic, minced

1 med. onion, diced

2 serranos, sliced in half lengthwise, seeds removed if you prefer

1 c. roasted, seeded,  peeled , and chipped Anaheim, Poblano, or Hatch Chilies (roughly 4 – 6 chiles)

-or-

2 small cans chopped Hatch chilies

1 1/2 lbs. tomatillos, husks removed and rinsed, leave whole

2 tsp. dried Mexican Oregano

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 tbsp. chili powder

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper

1/2 c. chopped cilantro

juice of 1 lime

2 tbsp. masa

Queso fresco or Jack cheese and Tortillas for serving

1.  Put the chicken thighs and stock or water in a large saucepan or Dutch oven.  Cover and bring the stock to a boil over medium heat.  Once the liquid has started boiling , uncover, turn the heat down to medium-low and continue cooking until the thighs are cooked.

2.  Place a large strainer or colander over a large bowl and drain the thighs.  Reserve the stock and set the thighs aside to cool.

**If you’re using a pre-cooked chicken, you can skip steps 1 & 2.** 

3.  While the thighs are cooling, turn the heat on the stove back up to medium-high.  Add the oil.  Once the oil is hot, add the onions and garlic,  Saute until the onions begin to soften, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the onions and garlic.

4.  Add the serranos.  Saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

How I prep the serranos. I leave the stem on and cut the serrano almost in half.

Sauteing the peppers with the onions and garlic.

Add the chiles and saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the chiles.

Add the tomatillos and mix them in well.

The perfect tomatillo.

Choose tomatillos that are firm and the outer husk peels away easily.  You don’t want tomatillos that are too small for the husk.  They’re generally old and dehydrated.  The tomatillo will be sticky when you peel off the husk, so be sure to wear gloves.

Adding the tomatilos to the saucepan.

5.  Add the spices and cook until they begin to have a scent.  About another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the spices.

6.  Add the reserved stock back into the pan.

Adding the broth.

Cover and bring to a boil.  Uncover the saucepan, lower the heat to medium, and continue to cook until the tomatillos have softened, about 20 – 30 minutes.

Boiling the tomatillos.

7.  Meanwhile, skin, bone, and shred the chicken.  Set aside.

The shredded chicken. Not pretty. But delicious.

8.  Make a slurry.  Take the masa and add 2 – 3 tablespoons of the cooking liquid or water.  Mix together until smooth.  Set aside.

9.  Once the tomatillos are soft, remove the saucepan from the heat.  Take a potato masher and carefully mash the tomatillos.

Mashing the tomatillos.

Place the saucepan back on the heat and cook for another 20 minutes.  Be sure to stir frequently.  Taste for seasoning.

10.  Add the slurry and mix in well.  Add the chicken, cilantro, and lime juice.

Adding the chicken, cilantro, and lime juice.

Cook for another 5 – 10 minutes, or until slightly thickened.  Taste for seasoning.  Stir frequently.

11.  Serve with tortillas and a little queso fresco or shredded jack cheese.

Dinner!

Now, If you have some leftover chili, and I’m sure you will, here’s a great way to use it.

Take a couple of toastada shells and break them into large pieces on a plate. (Or, you can use tortilla chips.) Take a skillet and set it over medium heat.  Add a little vegetable oil and heat.  Add roughly 1 cup of the chili.  Heat the chili and stir frequently.  Spread the chili out as evenly as possible over the bottom of the skillet and crack 2 eggs on top of the chili.  Cover the skillet and turn the heat to medium-low.

I generally like to spoon some of the warm chili over the top of the eggs to help with cooking. Carefully use a rubber spatula to get under the chili and eggs so the chili doesn’t stick to the pan and burn.

Let the eggs poach in the chili until they’re done to your liking.  I generally like my eggs soft, so I’ll let them cook about 5 minutes.

When the eggs are done, carefully scoop out the chili and eggs and place them over the broken toastada shells.

Yummy.

Breakfast!

Enjoy!

Admittedly, this is coming a little later than I had planned.  With life getting in the way over the last few weeks, I haven’t had the opportunity to write a post.

Finally, the time as finally made an appearance.

The inaugural Viva Big Bend Food Festival was, as a reminder, held the first weekend of this month, April 4 – 6.  Monica Pope (http://chefmonicapope.keepercollection.com) was the “celebrity” chef in residence, having brought a trainload of folks from Houston as part of a “Foodie Train”.  I only caught a passing glance of her once.  However, I understand her classes were spectacular.

Of course, I would expect no less.

For my part, I got the opportunity to meet Tiffany Harelik (http://trailerfooddiaries.blogspot.com) when I checked in as well as her partner in all things delicious, Maurine Winkley (http://www.trailerfoods.com/about-us/maurine-winkley/).  They are absolutely lovely and I sincerely hope that I get to know them both better as time goes by.  They gave me so much advice, help, and guidance that I can’t thank them enough for.

Also, I must send a huge shout-out and thank you to the mastermind behind all this, Stuart Ramser (http://vivabigbend.com).  He invited me, answered all of my persistent questions, and gave me plenty of encouragement.

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Day 1:  Thursday

Leaving Austin on time for once, Husband Steve & I enjoyed our share of Austin morning rush hour.

Austin rush hour. Sigh.

We started breathing a little easier once we got a little west of Ozona.

Endless black ribbon.

We arrived in Alpine in the early afternoon.  We stayed at Alpine’s historic Holland Hotel.  It was originally opened in 1928.  They’re in their latest incarnation, and the hotel and Alpine seem to have benefitted. Very nice.

The Holland Hotel. Alpine.

My VBBFF wristband.

After checking in, unpacking and resting a bit, we headed down to dinner.  The Century Grill, as is my understanding, has only been open for a few months, but they’re already well on their way to doing great things there.

My sister-in-law Kim had traveled down from Odessa to hang out with us for most of the weekend, so she joined us for dinner.  We started out with cocktails:

Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail

Kim had a Hibiscus Champagne Cocktail. Literally champagne (or, more likely, sparkling wine) with hibiscus petals.  Very pretty, but Kim said she didn’t taste any hibiscus until the very end.  Plus, she had little bits of dried petals floating in her drink. She wasn’t too crazy about that.

Sparkling Margarita

Husband Steve ordered a Sparkling Margarita.  I liked it better than my drink. So, we ended up switching.

Sparkling Pomona

Actually, when these two drinks were brought to our table, we thought the Pomona and Margarita were put in front of the wrong person.  If you look at the way the drinks are presented, you can see why.

Appetizers:  Fried Green Tomatoes.  Why the hell not.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Aioli

These were excellent, by the way.  Crispy and not at all greasy.

I have to admit, I was a little skeptical, but hopeful, when it came to the entrees.  However, I was pleasantly surprised.  It really showed me how serious the kitchen is in enticing the fine dining customer to the hotel.  In fact, I had several local merchants tell me that the Century Grill has been great for the town.

Seared Tuna on Pearl CousCous, Citrus, and Fennel

Steve’s entrée was Seared Tuna.  He said it was very good.  While it looked a little overdone to me, he enjoyed it.

Pecan Crusted Chicken Fried Steak

Kim went all Texas traditional on us with her choice of Chicken Fried Steak.  While I’m not really one to mess with the traditional, the pecan crust and the corn in the cream gravy worked well.  She ate the whole thing while saying the whole time, “I don”t know if I can finish this”.

Crab Ravioli with Arugula Cream Sauce

I opted for the special that night. Crab Ravioli with Arugula Cream Sauce.  I was very happy with my choice.  For the most part.  The pasta was fresh (I don’t know if it was made in-house, but it was fresh) and the filling was crab. Just crab.  The sauce was really more like melted butter with wilted arugula and a little cream; I was fine with that.  The only things I can say is I wish the pasta was a little thinner and there was a little less salt.

Now, on to dessert:

Cajeta Cheesecake

Steve had Cajeta Cheesecake. Basically, cheesecake served in a Mason jar topped with cajeta, cream, and a strawberry.  Interesting presentation, I thought.

Chocolate Torte

Kim had Chocolate Torte.  It was lovely.  Dark, dense, and not too sweet.  Kim loves dark chocolate, so this was perfect for her.

Sticky Toffee Pudding

I had Sticky Toffee Pudding.  Yummy.  Not too sweet.  Nice and warm when served.  Perfectly cooked.

I’m seeing Sticky Toffee Pudding everywhere now.  I only hope it doesn’t become the Panna Cotta of 2013.

After dinner, we waddled down to the Granada Theater for the opening night party.  When we got there, many of the restaurants from the surrounding towns had tables set up and were serving samples.

Oh, well.

The eclectic crowd was pretty sizable and seemed to be enjoying the music, booze, and food.

Opening night party at the Granada Theater

Music supplied by the great Dale Watson

Dale Watson with his amazing voice and Closer to God Hair.

It was a great party.  Had the opportunity to meet some new people and enjoy the evening.

Very long day. We turned in early.

Day 2: Friday

Alpine sunrise.

Breakfast was from a local bakery (whose name I didn’t note).  Husband picked up Pigs in a Blanket and a scone.

The scone was delicious, if a bit dry. And these were the most awesome Pigs in a Blanket I’ve ever seen.

We started out the busy part of the day by heading to the grocery store in Alpine.  I brought many of the ingredients for my  classes with me from Austin, but I wanted to buy what perishables I could when I arrived.

We slowly started making our way towards Ft. Davis.  On the way out, we saw a few spots where the fires from last year left their mark.

The trees show scars from last year’s fires.

Wide open spaces outside Ft. Davis.

Soon after, Steve, Kim & I made our way into Ft. Davis.  There were salsa and tortilla classes we wanted to attend as well as a fajita buffet lunch at Mountain Trails Lodge.

Outside Mountain Hills Lodge, Ft. Davis

Our teacher was the head chef a the lodge, Patrick Camacho.

The great Patrick Camacho

He gave us a quick demonstrations on flour tortilla and salsa making.  By the way, those were some of the best tortillas and salsa I’ve ever eaten.  Even better, he makes his Salsa Macho with chiles he’s grown himself.

Can’t get much fresher than that.

I must admit to not being the world’s biggest fan of fajitas.  Probably because I’ve had so many bad ones.  These were the best I’ve ever had. The meat was tender and full of flavor.  The ingredients were fresh.  All of us who took the classes (about a dozen or so) agreed that Patrick was one of the best chefs we’ve ever seen.

And, his fresh tortillas were the proverbial cherry on the cake.

Our fajita brunch. Yummy.

Patrick’s fresh salsas on the buffet.
OMG.

My lunch. Oof.

Oh, yeah. There was dessert. My personal favorite cake, Tres Leches.

Tres Leches Cake. Oh. Yeah.

After a stroll around Ft. Davis to walk off lunch, I settled in at the Hotel Limpia to prepare for my first class.

Hotel Limpia, Ft. Davis, TX

(photo credit: members.virtualtourist.com/Basaic – I somehow lost my photos of the hotel)

I taught my class in the courtyard area.  It was a beautiful, if windy, day.

I need to thank the owners of the Limpia, David & Anna Shriver, for all their help and allowing me the use of their kitchen during the evening prep for their restaurant.

I also want to thank the morning chef, Caroline, the evening chef, Isaac, and my volunteers Sue, Abby, & Mary for all their help as well.  I’m so happy I had those ladies help out. I don’t know if I could’ve done the class without them. I think I was a little overambitious with my menu.  It’s hard to become completely organized and focused in an unfamiliar kitchen. At least it is for me.

The menu was a few choice Middle Eastern specialties: Hummous, Baba Ghannouj, Ful Mudammas, Fatoush (Bread Salad), Ard Ma’Khuzbara (Artichoke & Coriander Salad), and Shish Kebebs.

I wish the class was a little larger (I had about 10 people), but they all seemed to enjoy the class and got plenty of food. Added bonus: Patrick Camacho came to my class!

After clean-up and bundling what leftovers there were for the kitchen staff, Steve, Kim, & I made our way back to Alpine.  After a shower and a nap, we headed out to Railroad Blues for some music and hot dogs.

The Cow Dog. Damn great hot dogs.

OK. Not to take anything away from anyone, but we all agreed that the Cow Dog had the best hot dogs we ever ate. Mine was The German.  A beer-braised brat with sauerkraut, hot mustard, caraway seeds on a Kaiser bun. Sublime (and I’ve never used that word about hot dogs).  Steve ate 3, including one that had shoestring fries on it.

I had a nice long chat with Tiffany & Maurine about their class at the Holland and I told them about my class at the Limpia.  We were switching places the next day, so the exchange of information was invaluable.

Railroad Blues opened in 1993 (http://www.railroadblues.com) and has long been established as one of the best live music venues in the state. And, after my first visit there, I can see why.  It’s small enough to be intimate without seeming claustrophobic and it  had that honky-tonk feel.  That night was Cory Morrow.

I’ve never seen him before, despite the fact he performs fairly frequently in Austin. Great show.

Cory Morrow Band at Railroad Blues.

Stepping out for some fresh air:

At Railroad Blues.

Good night.

Day 3: Saturday

Steve, Kim & I headed to Marfa for some breakfast and to check out the farmer’s market.

We went to Squeeze.  A restaurant I’ve wanted to try for some time.  It’s a nice small space with a lovely courtyard (it seems that most restaurants in Marfa use this same design).

Squeeze Marfa was started in 2004 by Verena Zbinden as a juice bar that slowly morphed into a sandwich and coffee shop.  She imports chocolates from her family’s chocolate business, Vollenweider, in Zürich.

They’re great, by the way.

Squeeze Marfa.

We all three ordered the same thing: Ham, Egg, & Cheese Croissants.  Delicious. Just what I needed to start my day.  My only disappointment was that there was no hot chocolate on the menu. It sounds stereotypical, I know, but I would expect someone from Switzerland to have hot chocolate.

Breakfast. Squeeze Marfa.

Oh, well.

I was disappointed in the Farmer’s Market.  I was expecting a whole lot more than I saw.  I think there was one produce seller, a few people selling homemade goods, a bookseller, and a lady selling rocks she found (Kim bought one).  Steve found someone selling homemade lemon-blueberry bread and peanut brittle, so he was happy. I did get some local honey, so I guess that was a win.

Took a quick trip to The Get Go to pick up a few items for my class at the Holland and then back to Alpine for a little personal shopping and class prep.

Alpine wall art. I had no idea Dan Blocker was from there. Silly me.

Once again, I must take the opportunity here to thank everyone at the Holland who helped me out: Front of the House Manager Donovan Sanchez, Head Chef Alex Costa, and kitchen staff Bret, Adrian, and Joey.  I had a great volunteer in Barbara.  She’s an ex-Austinite, so we had a lovely time commiserating.  She jumped in with both feet and I couldn’t have appreciated her help more.

Class on Saturday was Hors d’oeuvre.  And, I had a good sized crowd.  About 20.  I think they were expecting the Middle Eastern class.  But, they didn’t seem too disappointed with the menu.

Photo, by Steve, of my class at the Holland. I’m somewhere in the middle.

The menu was Three Cheese Straws, Mushroom Tart, Blinis, and Crostini with Brie and Candied Walnuts.  During class, Barbara was furiously making blinis and dressing them with sour cream and caviar to serve out.  When those we ran out, we served up more blinis with my homemade cherry compote.  Everything else was prepped and ready to go before class.  Not much food was at the end.  Again, we bundled up what we could and left it for the kitchen staff and got out of their way as quickly as we could.

I thought it was a success.

Kim left us after this to drive back to Odessa, and Steve & I went back to Ft. Davis to have at Blue Mountain Bistro, the Limpia’s restaurant.

It was serviceable food. I had a pasta dish with shrimp and Steve had salmon.  None of the seafood was overcooked, the food had good flavor, and the portions were ample.  Just nothing special. We shared cheesecake for dessert.

My critique.  It’s my understanding that the Shrivers have only owned the hotel for a short time (I couldn’t find out how long) and they’re bringing the restaurant along.  Good.  But, they still have a little ways to go.  The other thing I have to say is that they really need to plan a little better for big weekends.  They were out of two things on the dinner menu and the only desserts they had available were cheesecake and carrot cake.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad they seem to be getting enough business to run out of a few things, but planning is a big part of running a restaurant.  And, the food needs to move beyond serviceable.  They need to make it special.

That being said, they certainly know their clientele much better than I do.

Off to Marfa to see the Shelly King Band.

Shelly King Band at Padres. Marfa.

Great show.  Amazing voice.

Got to see Stewart, Tiffany, and Maurine again.  They all looked tired.  Stewart looked happy.  I think he felt the weekend was successful.  I think so, too.

For what that’s worth.

Day 4: Sunday.

Going home.

Not feeling so funky fresh the next morning, I opted for a large cup of hot tea.  I figured I could eat when we got back to Austin.

I love old road signs. Outside Alpine.

Of course, just to stretch our legs, and &c, we stopped in Fredericksburg.  It was a lovely day (unlike when we left) and we finally decided we were hungry.

But first, we walked around the Virens Kirche in the center of town and saw the little botanical garden.  Honestly, in all the years I’ve gone there, I never noticed it.  I’m glad I finally did.

Virens Kirche. Fredericksburg

Roses. Fredericksburg.

Finally. Home.

I had a wonderful time at the festival.  And, like I said before, it was great to be able to get in on the ground floor of something that, hopefully, will become an annual event.

I hope I’m invited back and that I also have the opportunity to see more of the classes and events.  Unfortunately, my schedule this year didn’t allow for that.  But, there’s always next year.

West Texas Sunset.

The humble tomato. One of our favorite  nightshade family fruits used as a vegetable. It’s hard to imagine now how it was once considered at best a trash food, and, at worst, poisonous.

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A brief history (via www.wikipedia.org)

Aztecs and other peoples in Mesoamerica used tomatoes in their cooking. The exact date of domestication is unknown; however,  by 500 BCE, it was already being cultivated in southern Mexico. The large, lumpy tomato, a mutation from a smoother, smaller fruit, originated in Mesoamerica, and may be the direct ancestor of some modern cultivated tomatoes.

There is some specualtion as to whether it was Christopher Columbus or Hernán Cortés was the first European to transfer the small yellow tomato to Europe. The earliest discussion of the tomato in European literature appeared  in 1544 by Pietro Andrea Mattioli, an Italian physician and botanist, who suggested that a new type of “eggplant” had been brought to Italy that was blood red or golden color when mature and could be eaten like an eggplant—cooked and seasoned with salt, black pepper, and oil. However it wasn’t until ten years later that tomatoes were named in print by Mattioli as pomi d’oro, or “golden apple”.

The earliest discovered cookbook with tomato recipes was published in Naples in 1692, though the author had apparently obtained these recipes from Spanish sources. In northern areas of Italy, however, the fruit was used solely as a tabletop decoration before it was incorporated into the local cuisine in the late 17th or early 18th century.

The first recorded history of tomatoes in Italy dates back to October 31, 1548 when the house steward of the de’ Medici family wrote to the Medici private secretary informing him that the basket of tomatoes sent from the family’s Florentine estate at Torre del Gallo “had arrived safely.” Tomatoes were grown mainly as ornamentals early on after their arrival in Italy. The Florentine aristocrat Giovanvettorio Soderini wrote how they “were to be sought only for their beauty” and were grown only in gardens or flower beds. The tomato’s ability to mutate and create new and different varieties helped contribute to its success and spread throughout Italy. However, even in areas where the climate supported growing tomatoes, their proximity of growing to the ground suggested low status. They were not adopted as a staple of the peasant population because they were not as filling as other fruits already available. Additionally, both toxic and inedible varieties discouraged many people from attempting to consume or prepare them.

Tomatoes were not grown in England until the 1590s. One of the earliest cultivators was John Gerard, a barber-surgeon. Gerard’sHerbal, published in 1597, and largely plagiarized from continental sources, is also one of the earliest discussions of the tomato in England. Gerard knew the tomato was eaten in Spain and Italy.  Nonetheless, he believed it was poisonous.  Gerard’s views were influential, and the tomato was considered unfit for eating (though not necessarily poisonous) for many years in Britain and its North American colonies. By the mid-18th century, tomatoes were widely eaten in Britain, and before the end of that century, the Encyclopædia Britannica stated the tomato was “in daily use” in soups, broths, and as a garnish.

The tomato was introduced to cultivation in the Middle East/Asia by John Barker, British consul in Aleppo circa 1799 to 1825. Nineteenth century descriptions of its consumption are uniformly as an ingredient in a cooked dish. In 1881, it is described as only eaten in the region “within the last forty years”.

The tomato entered Iran through two separate routes; one was through Turkey and Armenia, and the other was through the Qajar royal family’s frequent travels to France. The early name used for tomato in Iran was Armani badenjan (Armenian eggplant). Currently, the name used for tomato in Iran is gojeh farangi [French plum].

The earliest reference to tomatoes being grown in British North America is from 1710, when herbalist William Salmon reported seeing them in what is today South Carolina, where they were introduced from the Caribbean. By the mid-18th century, they were cultivated on some Carolina plantations, and likely in other parts of the Southeast as well. Possibly, some people continued to think tomatoes were poisonous at this time; and in general, they were grown more as ornamental plants than as food. Thomas Jefferson, who ate tomatoes in Paris, sent some seeds back to America.

Alexander W. Livingston was the first person who succeeded in upgrading the wild tomato, developing different breeds and stabilizing the plants. In the 1937 yearbook of the Federal Department of Agriculture, it was declared that “half of the major varieties were a result of the abilities of the Livingstons to evaluate and perpetuate superior material in the tomato”. Livingston’s first breed of tomato, the Paragon, was introduced in 1870. In 1875, he introduced the Acme, which was said to be involved in the parentage of most of the tomatoes introduced by him and his competitors for the next twenty-five years.

When Alexander W. Livingston had begun his attempts to develop the tomato as a commercial crop, his aim had been to grow tomatoes smooth in contour, uniform in size and having better flavor.  After five years, the fruit became fleshier and larger. In 1870, Alexander introduced the Paragon and tomato culture began at once to be a great enterprise of the county. Today, the crop is grown in every state in the Union. He eventually developed over seventeen different varieties of the tomato plant.

And… thus  the birth of the  homoginization of the tomato.

Luckily, that’s changing rapidly as heirloom varieties are now becoming more readily avilable.

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This recipe is one of my favorites not only because of its ease of preparation and the fact that it’s delicious, but because of its long cooking time.

Yes. You read that right.

This is a recipe that requires a very long cooking time.  At least 6 hours.

I know what some of you are thinking. What?! That’s insane! What do you mean by this being a good thing?

Trust me.  It is.  Because I can put this in the oven on a low, slow cook, walk away, and forget about it for a few hours. I can get on with my day.

Now, admittedly, some of you don’t feel comfortable leaving your oven on all day without someone at home to monitor it.  And that’s fine.  You can certainly roast the tomatoes over a weekend day and save them until later in the week for a quick weeknight supper.

Now, to the recipe:

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A few notes:

a) I generally use Roma tomatoes in this recipe.  This particular variety of tomato is meant to be cooked because of it’s meatiness. (It’s typically used in sauces and pastes.) They’re also available year-round.

b) Feel free to use whatever spices and herbs you like for this.  However, due to the long cooking time, I recommend using dried herbs.  If you’d like to use fresh herbs, mix them into the roasted tomatoes and pasta at the end.

c) Feel free to use what ever pasta you like.  I like to use orecchiette (meaning “little ears” in Italian) because the shape of the pasta holds so much of the sauce that comes from roasting the tomatoes.  However, if you would like to use another pasta, I would recommend using a shaped pasta as opposed to a straight pasta like spaghetti or pappardelle.

d) You can roast the tomatoes in advance and keep them in the refrigerator for 4 – 5 days.  Just heat them up slowly as you cook the pasta, then, mix them together when the pasta is done.

e) If you like, you can mix in a little protein to the tomatoes and pasta just before you serve.  Spicy Italian sausage works well.

The ingredients

5 – 6 lb. Roma tomatoes, seeded, stem end cut out

1/2 c. olive oil

Assorted herbs and spices, as much or as little as you like

Seasonings I used. Clockwise from top: Sugar, Black Pepper, Salt, Red Pepper Flakes, Italian Seasoning Blend

1 lb. Orecchiette, or other shaped pasta

Grated Romano cheese

1.  Turn on your oven to 200F – 250F (depends on how fast you want to cook your tomatoes). Take a very large baking dish (mine is 12″ x 18″), and, if you like, give it a quick spritz with some non-stick spray.

2.  Cut the blossom end off and cut the  tomatoes in half along their equator. Give each of the halves a squeeze and use your fingers to remove as many of the seeds as possible.

Cleaning out the tomatoes. Not a pretty job.

The cleaned tomato.

Take the discarded seeds and use them in the compost pile or save for seeds for the garden.

3.  Place the cleaned halves in the baking dish.  Try to make sure you have a single layer.

Tomatoes in the baking dish ready for seasoning.

4.  Drizzle the olive oil over the tomatoes.

Drizzling over the olive oil

Sprinkle over the seasonings.  Again, use as much or as little of what you like.  Carefully toss the tomatoes to completely coat them in the oil and seasonings.

Tomatoes ready for the oven.

5.  Now, bake the tomatoes for at least 6 hours.  You can go as long as you like, depending on your oven temperature and how roasted you want your tomatoes.

I generally bake my tomatoes at 225F for about 8-10 hours.  I like them pretty well reduced.

With the amount of tomatoes you are roasting, unless they are very dry (and some may be, especially in the winter), you will end up with a lot of juices in the pan.  Embrace that.  Makes a great natural sauce for the pasta along with the tomatoes.

6.  After the tomatoes have roasted for at least 6 hours, check them.  Stir if you like. At this point, you can take the tomatoes out of the oven or continue to roast further.

The roasted tomatoes.

7.  After the tomatoes are out of the oven, cook your chosen pasta according to the package directions until al dente.  Drain and put back into the cooking pot.

8.  Meanwhile, cut or chop the tomatoes.  I like doing this with a pair of kitchen shears.  It’s just easier and a whole lot less messy.

Cutting the tomatoes

9.  Pour the tomatoes and juice into the cooking pot with the pasta and mix together.

Pasta and tomatoes ready to eat

If you like, sprinkle on some Romano Cheese.  I find it works well with the roasted flavor of the tomatoes.

Dinner!

Enjoy!

When my husband, Steve, was a vegetarian, I had to come up with all sorts of variations on my favorite dishes to accommodate his dietary needs. (He has since come back to the dark side.)  Since one of my favorites has always been Posole, I wanted to come up with a variation that we would both enjoy. (For more on posole, see my Feb. 28, 2012 post “Posole (…or Pozole)”.)

Traditional posole is always made with meat.  Usually pork.  However, my recipe is a quick, easy, and most importantly, tasty recipe that will make vegetarian and non-vegetarians alike very happy. And full.

Now, to the recipe.

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Notes:

a) I realize I’m wandering dangerously close into Sandra Lee territory with all the canned ingredients.  But, trust me, they work in this dish.  However, if you’d like to use all fresh, be my guest.

b) If you omit the cheese as a garnish and cook the hominy from dried, you can make this dish vegan.  If you’d like to add some protein, use chicken broth and add some cooked chicken at the end.

The ingredients

Clockwise from top: ground cumin, salt, black pepper, Mexican oregano

2 tbsp. vegetable or canola oil

1 med. white onion, diced

3 cl. garlic, minced

1 small can (approximately 1/2 c.) salsa verde

2 small cans (approxomately 1/2 c.) chopped green chiles, hot, mild, or a combination

2 cans hominy, drained

1 tsp. dried Mexican oregano

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. Kosher salt

1/2 tsp. ground black pepper

4 c. vegetable broth

few dashes green Tabasco

Juice of 1 lime, or to taste

For garnish:

chopped avocado

diced queso fresco

chopped cilantro

fresh limes, quartered (because I like more lime than most normal people)

corn tortillas

1.  Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic.  Saute until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.

Sauteing the onion and garlic.

2.  Add the salsa verde and the chiles.  Saute another 2 -3 minutes.  Add the oregano, cumin, salt & pepper.  Saute another 2 – 3 minutes.

Sauteing the salsa verde, chiles, and spices

3.  Add the hominy and saute for another 2 – 3 minutes.

Adding the hominy

4.  Add the vegetable broth and a few dashes of the green Tabasco.

Adding the broth and Tabasco.

Cover the saucepan and bring the broth to a boil.  Uncover, lower the heat to medium low, and cook for 30 – 45 minutes.  The soup will thicken slightly as it cooks.

Stir frequently.  Taste for seasoning after the first 30 minutes.

The posole after 45 minutes of cooking. It’s reduced and thickened slightly.

5.  After the initial cooking time, add the lime juice and cook another 5 minutes.  Taste the soup for seasoning.

Mmmm….

6.  Serve the posole with queso fresco, chopped cilantro, chopped avocado, and more lime.  Have heated corn tortillas on the side.

The condiment tray. clockwise from top: chopped cilantro, queso fresco, chopped avocado, limes.

Dinner!

Enjoy!

Dear Fellow Food Lovers –

On behalf of the inaugural Viva Big Bend Food Festival, I would like to cordially invite all of you for food, music, and beautiful scenery April 4 – 6 in Alpine, Marfa, Marathon, and Fort Davis, TX.

All of the information for the festival can be found on the festival website: http://www.vivabigbend.com

There’s more information being added every day.

And, yes. I will be teaching 2 classes during the festival. I’m excited and honored to have been chosen to help kick off what will no doubt be a successful, annual, and kick-ass food festival.

Besides the food and music, who couldn’t resist enjoying the scenery?

Chisos Basin. Big Bend.

Ocatillo cactus. Big Bend.

Granada Theater. Alpine.

Gage Hotel. Marathon.

Chinati Foundation. Marfa, TX

Telescope at McDonald Observatory. Fort Davis, TX

Of course, some of the scenery includes food (obviously)…

Dinner at Cochineal. Marfa, TX

Lunch at Food Shark. Marfa, TX.

Bison Ribeye. 12 Gage Steakhouse. Marathon, TX

…and music:

Paula Nelson at Padres. Marfa, TX

Joe King Carasco. Padres. Marfa, TX

So, please. Make some room in your busy schedule and join us!  It’s the ultimate getaway so close to home!