The Dog Peed On My Basil!!!!

This weekend I had an epiphany that if I really wanted to be a "farm to table" cook I needed to start doing some farming. I didn't want to bite off more than I could chew so I decided to start small. I purchased a basil plant, in part because it's finally tomato season (and I will only eat tomatoes in season and had a vision of a tomato basil and mozzarella salad) and in part because Bob at RSK farm (where I purchased the basil) told me that basil is an annual so it will die at the end of the summer and won't come back next year. So the basil will expire without my killing it by my lack of preservation techniques over the winter and therefore making me discouraged about my farming ability (which is what happened with one of my mint plants from last year).

So I purchased this basil, and since it's not going to come back next year I made a conscious decision not to put it into the soil around my house because I figured the plant would be safer on the porch than in the ground below where it could be ravaged by deer. I didn't figure into my equation Tucker, our next door neighbor Annette's (who also happens to be a really close family friend) dog.

Let me start off by saying that I love Tucker, my mom loves Tucker and most of all Spoon (our girl cat) really loves Tucker. Tucker is Spoons dog boyfriend (which upsets Grant, my cat who is her husband but that's another story). So Tucker, who is really an extended member of our four legged family is welcomed on our porch and yard and we leave all of the windows and doors open (screened in) so that Spoon can communicate with him. She would have it no other way. This morning Tucker came over to serenade Spoon, and found my basil plant sitting on the floor of the porch. Well I guess it was unfamiliar territory to him so before I could stop him he lifted his leg and the rest was history. Bob said the plant needed to be watered everyday but I don't think that's what he meant LOL!!!!! So my early morning job wasn't that of farmer it was that of janitor. I had to soap off the porch, and wash off the basil. I considered throwing out the whole basil plant (clearly showing my Bronx roots and that I'm not a country farmer girl after all), but my mother who spent her summers in the gardens of rural South Carolina as a child shook her head and said "you will not be throwing out that basil, what do you think those animals in the woods do to the vegetables that you eat??? They pee on them!!!" Oh yeah, that makes sense. So I rinsed the basil and it seems no worse for wear...and Tucker isn't going anywhere because Spoon would have it no other way, basil vs. Spoon and Tuckers happiness? Spoon and Tucker win hands down...maybe I should leave farming to the farmers, and just concentrate on representing their bounty to the best of my ability as a final product on a plate.

Pork Tenderloin - Really the other white meat

I'm always hearing commercials touting pork as "the other white meat". "White meat" invokes thoughts of chicken or turkey breast, a generally low fat and healthy alternative to eating red meat (beef, or lamb for example). Pork is in that gray area, it's not beef but there are certain cuts of pork that are just as fattening as a ribeye! So I decided to see if there were any cuts of pork that really did resemble the fat and calorie content of a chicken breast, and low and behold there are a few (and I mean very few) cuts of pork that really can be touted as "the other white meat". Pork tenderloin is an example of one of those cuts. Being a true pork fanatic I never really liked the tenderloin, it is not an exciting cut (those offal cuts that I love like the cheek, snout, ears and feet) and generally it's not flavorful on it's own like a shank or shoulder. In restaurants I often find that it's dry (sometimes to the point of resembling saw dust) and full of glazes and gook and toppings as what I thought was a disguise for its bland flavor.

Because we have a whole pig at our disposal of course there are cuts of tenderloin, so I figured that I would at least try to cook it, considering that if I could make it taste like something it would allow me to eat pork (my absolute favorite food) more than once a week because it's calorie content at 34 calories an ounce resembles chicken breast.

I marinated the tenderloin with a dry rub that included chili pepper, cumin, adobo, brown sugar and ginger and frilled it on the outside grill to exactly 140 degrees and let it rest for 10 minutes before slicing and then served it with a side of peach chutney that I made with local peaches and spices and onion. It was a flavorful and delicious! I would definitely make it again. The trick is to marinade and make sure you don't over cook it.

S'MORES!!!!

Every now and then something will take you right back to a really vivid childhood memory. Last night my mother and I dined at Blue Mingo Grill in Cooperstown, a restaurant on Ostego lake about 2 miles north of Cooperstown village (where the Baseball hall of fame is) which serves innovative and imaginative American food. Our home in Jefferson is less than an hour from Cooperstown, and because it's a tourist destination we dine there a few times a month because the quality of food is really "kicked up a notch". One of the coolest things about Blue Mingo is that they have S'mores on their dessert menu! And you can roast your own marshmallows and assemble the s'more yourself...it took me right back to Girl Scout camp, in a flash! I was so excited I had to blog about it, I was instantly in front of a campfire singing "Little Bumblebee" at Rocky Brook with about 10 marshmallows lined up on a stick and a bunch of graham crackers and Hershey's chocolate bars waiting on the side. I remember being the only little Girl Scout sitting in front of the fire slow roasting my marshmallows to a golden brown while my fellow brownies burned theirs to a crisp! I guess I should've known then that I was destined to be in the kitchen.

Grilling Whole Fish

I love whole fish, and I'm one of those people who grosses my friends out because in a restaurant I decapitate a whole fish, even eating the eyeballs. North American's aren't generally fans of whole fish, getting annoyed by the process of having to take the time to debone plate side and prefer the fillet. However, in the Caribbean and in Asia (which are the two places where my family comes from) the only way to eat a fish is whole, whether grilled, poached, escabeched or fried, it's always the whole fish head and tail intact! In restaurants often the preparation is only for fish fillet which is a true shame because the natural flavors of fish really stand out when you cook it with the bones, therefore the extent of seasoning and glaze that is found on fillet isn't necessary and you really get to appreciate the true flavor and essence of the fish that you are eating.

An advantage of whole fish (when purchasing it and preparing it at home) is that you don't have to be at the mercy of the fish monger (or inexperienced teenager with the summer job at the fish counter) because it's VERY easy to tell when a whole fish is fresh. Of course you first want to smell it, it shouldn't have a smell or it should smell very faintly of the sea, if it smells like "fish" pass up on it right away. Then look at the eyes, make sure they are clear and not cloudy, some fish (like snapper) will have very red eyes when fresh. Then take a look at the gills that are right between the head and the body, those gills should still have blood and be bright red, if they are dull colored or too brown once again pass up on that fish. Then you need to ask your fish monger to clean and gut that fish for you, you don't want to be in your kitchen at the sink pulling scales off the fish and cleaning out fish guts (I've done it and trust me it's not a fun task, I even had scales in my hair)...Once you get that fish home, only refrigerate for 2 days maximum before making it.

You can definitely make whole fish in the oven but my favorite way to make whole fish is on the grill. I recently grilled a whole branzino with a side of couscous and salad, the recipe is below.

Ingredients for the whole fish 1 to 1 1/2 lbs
1 lemon zested and cut into round slices
fresh herbs of your choice
Salt, pepper, dried oregano, and fennel seed to taste
2 tablespoons of olive oil or extra virgin olive oil

Mix the salt, pepper, fennel seed,oregano and lemon zest in a small bowl.
If you desire (to make it easier to get the fish away from the bones when eating) you can make 2 inch diagonal slits across the body of the fish on both sides.
Place fresh herbs and all but 2 lemon rounds into the center pocket of the fish. Coat the fish with olive oil and then rub in the seasoning mixture on both sides.

Turn on the grill and make sure the temperature reads to 375 degrees. Make sure that grill is really well oiled because if it isn't half of your fish will remain on the grill (yes I've done this before and the presentation at the end isn't cute at all).

Place fish on the grill, grill for about 10 minutes on side one and 8 minutes on side 2 (general rule is 10 min per inch of thickness so if the fish is 2 inches thick (which most 1 to 1 1/2 lb fish are) then grill first side for 10 minutes and the other for 8, longer for thicker fish and remember that the second side always cooks quicker than the first.

Recipe for Couscous
You can really make any couscous combination for fish, I made a couscous with zucchini and onion and garlic and golden raisins with a seasoning of cumin and turmeric salt and pepper...what you need to know is that couscous takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it, and that the liquid to dry ratio is approximately 1 to 1 (one cup of couscous to one cup of liquid) also remember to saute your ingredients, add the couscous and then add the boiling liquid (I use chicken stock) and turn off the couscous in the sauce pot and cover it as soon as you add the liquid and let it stand for approximately 7 minutes covered without peeking! I always have a bit of reserve hot liquid on the side in case the couscous is a tad dry after I fluff it with a fork after the 7 minutes, I add a couple of tablespoons of the liquid and cover again for 2 minutes and fluff again.

Too Hot to Cook

Today it was too hot to cook, it was almost too hot to even eat (NOT!)...But seriously, when it's this hot I can't begin to think about turning on the stove, oven or even the grill and up here in the Catskills there are very few places that deliver. Therefore on days like today I try to think of innovative ways to have meals that don't require cooking. The first thing that comes to mind is a salad of course, but after eating salads and FroYo for the past 2 days I was ready for a little variety. I had a cucumber and some garlic left over from our 4th of July BBQ that I picked up from Shaul Farm, and a full container of non fat fage yogurt so I realized that I had ingredients for the makings of a damn good tzatziki. I quickly rummaged through my fridge, took out the following ingredients and I made tzatziki for dinner which I paired with some pita bread, this meal took me right to my favorite restaurant in Astoria; Agnanti and the only appliance that I had to turn on was the food processor.

Ingredients*
1 cucumber peeled with seeds removed, shredded in the food processor (or with a cheese grater) and with all liquids squeezed ou
2 cloves of garlic
1 16 oz container of Greek yogurt (preferably Fage)
1/4 cup of sour cream
Zest of 1 lemon and juice of 2 lemons
Parsley for garnish
Salt and Pepper to taste
Drizzle of extra virgin olive oil if you like on top

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and chill and serve with pita.
* Note that some people use dill, I'm not a huge fan of dill so I never add it to my tzatziki recipe however feel free to use a teaspoon of dill if you like dill.

Ice Cream Sundaes for Grownups!

Its really hot today, hot to the point where I think it should be a designated "lets eat ice cream for dinner" day! When I was a kid I loved vanilla ice cream sundaes with butterscotch topping and sprinkles and whipped cream. And if the sundae came from Carvel soft serve then I really felt that I hit the jackpot. Just because I'm all grown up doesn't mean that on a day like today I don't crave a sundae, the combination of the cold texture with the decadence of a syrup or sauce is something that brings me right back to the 1970's. However now that I am all grown up, I experiment with grown up sundae flavors. One of my favorites is warm strawberries with a red wine and balsamic reduction over Edy's caramel praline frozen yogurt...AMAZING, sweet and sour and tangy and crunchy all in one bite...now that's decadent!

Steamers - The True Meaning of Summer

For me nothing signals that the summer has arrived more than eating a bucket of steamer clams. Steamers are clams that are steamed in a pot, with a tail hanging off then end of the pot and served with hot water (to dip and clean) and a cup of melted butter for dipping. Steamer with a ear of corn, and boiled exemplifies a hot summer day. Dayboat Cafe in Irvington New York which is a wonderful seafood restaurant has steamers now on special, they also have outdoor dining. I ordered the steamers with a bottle of Rodney Strong Chardonnay and it just put me in the mode for summer! So exciting my favorite season of all is finally here!!!