EllenFork

A Tasty Topping

Hi friends. I'm back, and I mean it this time. I've been remiss in posting, but I've seriously missed this blog and you guys. And there have been so many culinary creations that went unrecorded, whether through busyness, laziness or just forgetfulness. It's tragic, really. Sigh.

BUT, it's October, my favorite month of year (besides June). The leaves are changing, the weather is cool and crisp (and rainy of late) and now the food is changing. I love roasting, and baking and stewing all the wonderful fall produce. Sweet potatoes! Parsnips! Squashes of all varieties! Things are a bout to get roasty up in here, y'all. However, the recipe I am going to share with you now is not a roasty one, but a sweet, tart and tangy one. Fall is also a great time for pickles and briny treats (although, when ISN'T a good time for those things??).

When I received my September Bon Appetit, I raced through it as always to get to Cooking Life by Molly Wizenburg. I probably mention her to much, but her recipes are always the right combination of simplicity and originality. I recently made her Chana Masala recipe, which is AMAZING. Maybe I should just make all the recipes in her book A Homemade Life... ANYWAY, the September issue contains a recipe from her restaurant, Delancey. These peppers are so incredibly delicious and are very versatile. I eat them on bread, with cheese, with my fingers out of the jar... Molly recommends them as a topping for pizza. Seriously though, you can eat these on ANYTHING. The thyme plant on my balcony is looking pretty bare after all the sprigs I've stolen to make these peppers. Sorry, t.

Pickled Peppers with Shallots and Thyme

Recipe from Bon Appetit by Molly Wizenburg

September 2009

Makes 1 Quart

Ingredients

• 1 pound sweet or mild mini bell peppers, sliced crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds, seeded
• 2 large shallots, thinly sliced, separated into rings
• 2 cups white wine vinegar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons water
• 5 fresh thyme sprigs
• 2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
• Pinch of coarse kosher salt

Preparation

• Place peppers and shallots in medium bowl.
• Mix vinegar and next 6 ingredients in medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium heat, stirring to dissolve sugar and salt. Remove brine from heat; carefully pour over peppers and shallots. Cover bowl; let stand 5 minutes. Uncover; cool to room temperature. Transfer to quart-size jar, pressing peppers into brine. Cover; chill at least 4 hours and up to 10 days.

Pretty in Pink

The summer just keeps chugging along. How is it August already, y'all? I feel like I'm getting ready for the fourth of July and it's almost back to school time (not that that has any effect on my life, thank god). However, August does mean one good thing, and that is the onset of several of my very good friends' birthdays. Only one of these good friends lives in my area however, so only one of them benefited from the beauty of... the PINK PARTY.

Somehow I got a bee in my bonnet that caused me to obsess over and subsequently host, a party with a pink theme. Well, it started when my birthday-having friend Tifa wanted to do in-home manicures and pedicures at her house. You're not supposed to host on your bday people, lets get that straight! So the party moved to my house and I went overboard. I mean duh, have you met me? Actually scratch that, you probably haven't...

At any rate, I decided to imbue dear Tifa's birthday with a most girlish hue, and everything just went from there. Snacks, beverages and decorations became pink, pink, pink! The main raison d'etre of this birthday party was so that we could have manicures and pedicures administered in the comfort of my home, while drinking and snacking to our little hearts' content. We found this incredible service called Celebrating You. Spa technicians come to your house, set everything up and do your nails. InCREDible, let me tell you.

The pink theme was derived from several sources of inspiration. One being Amy Atlas because she. is. amazing. I want to live underneath the dessert tables she creates. Go there, experience the beauty of her DESSERT TABLES, PEOPLE! Recession be DAMNED!!! Ahem... the other inspiration was from a blog I admire, Bread and Honey. This is three degrees of inspiration, since I believe their pink party table was also inspired by the general loveliness of Amy's designs and mixed with their natural creative awesomeness.

I'm a hot little pepper...

First, an apology....

Hey guys. What can I say? Have you ever had a 4 week + span in which you have been bombarded with work and life and not really been able to update your blog to the standards you'd like?

Well, that's pretty much what's been going on. I moved, went on vacation and then got bodyslammed by work, and then went to NYC and turned old (yay birthdays!). You know it's bad when your dear mother emails you with "Where has Ellenfork gone?? I miss her..."

Guilt trip to the max. But it's not because I don't still love each and every one of you like the food lusting children I don't have. Let's just make up and move on, ok y'all?

Now the fun part...

Before this marathon of packing, moving, unpacking, working and traveling ensued, I prepared. I prepared for the day when it would be my good fortune to snack again. You saw the Preserved Lemons, now please let me introduce you to Pickled Jalapeños.

For some reason, I've been obsessing over the idea of pickling, canning and preserving. Perhaps this is because as summer progresses, so does the possibility of an overflow of vegetables from my CSA (Community-Supported Agriculture- wherein I receive boxes of fresh vegetables from a local organic farm, all summer long!!!). My thoughts have turned to canned tomatoes and pickled veggies of kinds. As you may have learned by now, my tastes strongly lean towards  tangy, savory and acidic foodstuffs, and pickles and other brine-saturated items are at the top of my snack list. Pickled beets, cucumbers, onions, cauliflower, okra, carrots, green beans...give me one of each, please!

This delightful and simple recipe came from David Lebovitz, by way of Michael Symon's Live to Cook.

Pickled Jalapeños

1 pound  fresh jalapeno peppers, washed
2 1/2 cups water
2 1/2 cups white vinegar
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons coarse salt, such as kosher
2 bay leaves
2 tablespoons whole coriander seeds
3 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons black peppercorns

1. Pierce the flesh of the peppers three or so times and place them in a glass jar. I used a delightful jar called "Slom" from Ikea.

2. In a non-reactive saucepan, bring the other ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for five minutes.

3. Remove from heat and let cool for five minutes, then pour the brine over the peppers. Place the lid on the jar and let cool. Once cool, refrigerate for at least a week before using, but more is better. They should last up to six months in the fridge.

David says "Serve whole, with Mexican dishes, or remove the seeds then chop and use to season any recipe that is improved by a little bit of sweet heat."

So far I've chopped these up and added them to napa cabbage slaw, marinated steaks with them and added them to fish tacos for some spicy crunch. Seriously, these babies are amazing!! AND, I can't wait to use them more often, as the Rick Bayless cookbook my mother gave me for my birthday calls for Pickled J's a lot.

Tell me, how would YOU use these little guys?

Spring Fling

Ah, Spring! I am especially glad to see it this year. I've had about enough of cold weather, time spent indoors, cruel wind and all those nekkid trees. It's time to warm up! Too bad that fickle creature Mother Nature isn't completely cooperating with us... However, this past weekend was lovely, so I decided to spend it on my roof with friends and bubbles.

Before I can even get into that, I need to tell you all something very important.... last week, I became the proud owner of... AN ICE CREAM MAKER! YES. I've been dreaming and scheming up so many interesting yogurts, sorbets and ice creams that I can't even begin to tell you...not that I would anyway, as I shall be trotting them out one-by-one as the weather gets warmer. My first frozen treat was a recipe gleaned from Bon Appetit, a more adult take on a "float", with strawberry sorbato and Prosecco.

I made this treat last Sunday for some friends, along with some radish sandwiches and yet another suggestion by Molly Wizenberg, an Egg and Tomato Gratin from Jacque Pepin. My friend Tifa brought a Moroccan breakfast specialty, R'ghayef. These delicious flat breads are basically fried, extra flat pancakes sent from heaven. They are served with a mixture of melted butter, honey and rosewater, as well as any jams or preserves you desire. They sound like a lot of work, but their taste was worth the effort (easy for me to say, since I didn't make them)!

This entry is rather long, so continue reading after the jump!

Bundles of Joy

SOOOoooo....

The other weekend I found myself in Brooklyn, NY, at my twin sister's abode. I was headed over for dinner with friends, as Alice's mother-in-law was in town and staying with her and her husband. Naturally, I heard there was free mom-cooked food in the neighborhood so I hoofed it cross town as fast as my stumps could stir.

Judy (the MIL) is world renowned for her lasagna. It's simple meat lasagna, but there is something soo delicious about it...maybe the 234 lbs of ricotta and mozzarella? Anyway, it's damn good and she makes about 10 gallons of it at a time. I was prepared for that. What I was not prepared for was the plate full of sweaty, glistening hors d'ouerves that greeted me...

These might be the best things EVER MADE with THREE INGREDIENTS. SERIOUSLY. They don't even have a name. From here on out, they shall be referred to as Bundles of Joy.

Find the recipe below:

Ingredients:
Jalapeño peppers, halved lengthwise and seeded
Cream Cheese
Pepper Bacon

Yeah, that's IT. Now preheat oven to 375 degrees. Ok so, once you have a little jalapeño boat, fill it with cream cheese. Fill it nice and full, but not overflowing, as the cream cheese tends to puff up in the oven. Now, here is the hard part. Take a piece of bacon and wrap it around the pepper. Right around the middle like an ultimate fighter championship belt. You can stick a toothpick in it if you'd like, but usually it is not required.

Set all of these bundles on a baking sheet and pop into the oven til done. By done, I mean when the bacon is nice and cooked through, sizzling. I'd say at least 10 min, but check frequently. Cool, and eat. Make sure you cool them because I KNOW you're going to want to pop a flaming hot jalapeno bundle covered with bacon grease in your mouth, but I caution against this.

Seriously- the warm cream cheese and bacon mixing with the spiciness of the pepper...insano!!!

Enjoy!