Kitchen Gadget Girl Cooks

This weekend was the Slow Food Nation conference/meet-up/thingamabob (what do you call a day devoted to food – ah, yes, nirvana) in San Francisco at the Civic Center and Fort Mason, and I was fortunate enough to go both Saturday and Sunday to the Taste Pavilion. Saturday, I volunteered to work at the Welcome Center, where I met some very nice folks, but they seemed slightly overstaffed, so I reassigned myself to the Pickle booth inside the Pavilion. Well, actually, I was recruited (they must have heard about my 3rd place win with my B&B pickles at the San Mateo County Fair!)….

I was walking inside the Pavilion, to familiarize myself with the various exhibits, when Michelle Fuerst from Pickles asked if I was one of her volunteers. Since I had been standing outside in the cold, foggy morning with loads of other people, I said “I could be” and she put me to work. Tons of fun I had that morning, standing between Barbara from Three Square Grill and Picklopolis and Pat from The Asian Grandmothers Cookbook, pinching out small servings of all sorts of different kinds of sauerkrauts. Picklopolis had one made with fennel, which was very tasty. Their watermelon pickles are also awesome – we ate half a jar last night with our lamb chops. My son cannot get enough of them!

In between putting together little cups of sauerkraut for the booth, I also managed to get in a few yummy samples, including a pork spread (a rillettes, perhaps?) with a cherry (perhaps not?) conserve from the charcuterie booth next door, as well as some super tasty pizza from the outside ovens. In the pickle booth, in addition to 5 kinds of kraut, we were also serving Kim Chee, Szechwan Pepper Cabbage and Curtido. Also, a couple of the volunteers were putting together slices of Acme bread, fresh butter and a preserved trout, which was quite tasty.

Actually, everything I tried on both Saturday and Sunday was excellent, I think because it was all made with a good deal of attention to the final product. That is what Slow Food is all about, and frankly, it works for me!

More pictures from my Slow Food adventure…..

Today I entered my plum jam and bread & butter pickles in the local county fair. I did this mostly because the bee guild that I belong too needs the parking passes, but it is also fun to enter these local events. In 2005, I entered jam in the state fair, and received a second place award (no, that is not 2nd place, as in 1st and 2nd, all jams that are between 80-89 points receive a 2nd place ribbon). Not bad for my first time. However, not sure I have done much better this time!

On Monday, I will be making more jam, probably peach, and will post the recipe and photos. Making jam and canning is time consuming, but it is not rocket science, and I look forward to sharing more information about how anyone can do this project.

Food and I have a close relationship – I love talking food, cooking and sharing recipes, and searching out the best local offerings. All this has been influenced by several great cooks and cookbooks. Some have been inspiring me for years, others are fairly new to the game. And for this Thursday Thirteen, 4th edition, I offer you these thirteen cooks who have influenced and shaped my cooking:

1. my Mom
2. my Aunt Pat
3. Good Housekeeping (this was my first cookbook)
4. Alice Medrich
5. Julia Child
6. Marcella Hazan
7. Martha Stewart
8. Alice Waters
9. American Heart Association
10. Junior League of San Francisco
11. Mark Bittman
12. Steven Poses, Frog Commissary
13. Cooks Illustrated

This week, our temperatures have been in the upper 90s, some days topping out at over 100F. I certainly do not feel like getting into a hot kitchen at the end of a hot day and cooking up a hot dinner. So here are 13 dinners for hot nights:

1. Falafel with pitas, hummus, tzatzki, and tabouli
2. Taco Salad (this is what my Mom used to make on hot summer nights!)
3. Sushi, edamame and seaweed salad
4. Curry Chicken Salad on a bed of lettuce
5. Cold sliced meats and cheeses, served with excellent breads* and mustards
6. Orzo and shrimp salad, served in a 1/2 an avocado
7. Smoothies and milkshakes (I throw in tofu for a little protein)
8. Thai peanut noodles with cold sliced pork tenderloin
9. Bruschetta with three toppings – tomatoes with basil, white bean puree and eggplant tapanade
10. Fresh Corn on the Cob, dripping with butter and salt – yes, I can make a whole meal of this!
11. Cold BBQ’d chicken with potato salad
12. Cucumber soup (serve chilled)
13. Leftover pizza – that should be eaten cold, right?

With many of the above, I would also serve a green salad, just to round things out.

What would you serve for dinner on a hot night?

* When having bread for dinner, I tend to get very high quality, artisan bread. Not like the bread for lunch sandwiches is bad, I just feel I need to take it up a notch for dinner.

As the temperature approached 100F this afternoon, I knew I would not be cooking dinner, so no recipes for today. I stopped at the store and picked up some salads, a baguette, sliced salami and some sushi for dinner – that and a bottle of Grue from New Mexico was all we needed for a nice picnic dinner in our backyard. I love it when the really simple can be the most impactful.

On a side note, I did enter Plum Jam and Bread & Butter Pickles in the local county fair!

In our CSA box this week, we received a gorgeous head of cauliflower. My normal method of cooking this vegetable involves tossing the florets along with pieces of carrot, in olive oil in a baking dish. Then I add 4 chicken legs with thighs, sprinkle the whole dish with cumin, coriander and S&P, and roast in the oven for 1.15 hours at 425F. A great dish in the middle of winter, when you are cold and need a cozy dish.

However, it is spring! And I needed a salad for a Memorial Day picnic, so I found a recipe at Epicurious and modified it just a bit to use more in-season items:

CAULIFLOWER, WHITE BEAN, AND FETA SALAD
1/3 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 1/2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

1 medium head of cauliflower, trimmed, cut into small florets (about 3 cups)
1 (15-ounce) can white beans (such as Great Northern or navy beans), drained
1 small head of cabbage or endive, halved, then thinly sliced crosswise
1 tablespoon chopped fresh scallions
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)

Combine oil and rosemary in small saucepan. Stir over medium heat just until fragrant, about 1 minute. Cool.

Whisk lemon juice, vinegar, lemon peel, salt, and pepper in small bowl.

Combine cauliflower, beans, endive, chives, parsley, and rosemary oil in medium bowl; toss. Mix in cheese. Add lemon juice mixture and toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper.
originally from Bon Appétit
January 2007