Fermentation Station

This corner of my kitchen is full of bubbling jars. Further prep for my seminar next week. Kimchi getting tangy and cukes on their way to sour. There's creme fraiche, corned beef and gravlax in the fridge. This weekend: yogurt, pickled grapes, cultured butter. I'm getting psyched.

Thoughts on NaBloPoMo will have to wait until tomorrow, but I do have some thoughts to share. Thanks for reading along this month, it's been fun for me and I hope you've enjoyed it.

Coconut Curry Mussels

I had rather a lot to do tonight to prep for that pickle seminar I'm teaching at work next week. I started kimchi and gravlax tonight, woo! But that means I needed a fast dinner. Mussels may seem labor intensive (and ok, if you get a grubby batch they might require a fair amount of scrubbing) but they cook in five minutes or less. How can you beat that?

Coconut Curry Mussels
serves 2

I'm a big fan of moules frites, that is mussels and french fries, but this was supposed to be one of those quick and easy type dinners and I didn't feel like frying, so I just halved some fingerling potatoes, tossed them with some oil and salt and stuck them in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. I mixed some sriracha and mayonnaise together and we dipped the taters in that. That and some sliced baguette (you know, for extra starch) to sop up the unspeakably delicious sauce  in the bottom of the pot and you've got dinner.

PS, the deal with mussels is if they are open and do not close when you tap them, don't eat them. Once they are cooked, don't eat the ones that remain closed. I don't soak mussels or anything (soaking saltwater creatures in fresh water will only suffocate them, yes?), I just scrub them under cold running water right before I want to eat them.

2 lbs mussels, scrubbed, beards removed if necessary
1 onion, diced
2 large garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon thai red curry paste (or more to taste)
1 teaspoon chili garlic paste (or more to taste)
1 14.5 ounce coconut milk
1 large handful cilantro, chopped

Heat a large heavy pot with a tight fitting lid over medium high heat. Add the oil then the onion and saute until the onion is translucent. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the chili paste and curry paste and stir stir stir until well distributed, cook for another minutes. Add the coconut milk - shake the can before you open it, and be sure to scoop any clumps into the pan, they'll melt down.

Bring the sauce to a simmer. You can turn the heat down and let it cook for a few minutes if you need to finish scrubbing the mussels; it's ok if it thickens up a bit. Once you're ready with the mussels, turn the heat back up to medium high, wait for the liquid to bubble assertively, and add the mussels. Stir to distribute the mussels, then cover the pot. The mussels will open when they have cooked, check them after four minutes, and if only a few have opened, stir them to redistribute (or put the lid back on and shake the pan - mine's too heavy for that) and cook another minute. Remove the lid, add the cilantro and stir, then serve with bread for sopping and potatoes if you like.

Golden Fruitcake

You have been led to believe that fruitcake is icky. You have been told that it is heavy and leaden and will sit like an anvil in your stomach. You have been told that only German grandmothers like fruitcake, and that they make too much of it and that you'd better run and hide when the mailman limps up to your door hauling a ten pound, loaf-shaped package from Oma. People, you have been misled.

As it turns out, fruitcake can be delightful. This particular fruitcake is actually pretty light, considering it's 50% dried fruit soaked in brandy. My mom (hi mom!) got a bee in her bonnet about fruitcake a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving, so after the big day we hauled out the mixer and made a double batch of this recipe from King Arthur Flour. And lo, it was delicious. Plus it glows like a stained glass window:



Golden Fruitcake
adapted from King Arthur Flour

Mom had a longish list of people who should receive a fruitcake, so we made a double batch and I measured by weight (regular sized batch appears below). I have a Pro series KA mixer with a 6 quart bowl and the double batch filled it to the brim, so heads up. Also, a double batch filled 12 mini loaf pans (5"x2"), plus 2 small loaf pans (7"x2.5") and 1 regular loaf pan (8.5"x4.5"). I assume a regular sized batch will fill, uh, half that? The point is, it's a large recipe already. Mini loaves are easier for giving to other people, though, I think. Incidentally, this recipe uses a really interesting extract called Fiori di Sicilia which to me smells like excellent panettone.

We also bought mixed dried fruit from KAF; in addition to the fruits below it includes pineapple and date, so if you want to chop your own, feel free to include those as well.Feel free to mix and match fruit to your heart's delight, but please don't skip the candied cherries. They are the prettiest.

Fruit:
5 cups mixed dried fruit of your preference (20-25 ounces), OR:
  2 cups golden raisins (10ish ounces)
  1 cup dried cranberries (4ish ounces)
  1 cup dried apricots, diced small (4ish ounces)
  1 cup chopped candied citrus peel (4ish ounces)
1 1/2 cups candied cherries (10ish ounces)
1/2 cup brandy (or rum or yes I suppose you could use apple juice, but why?)
1 tsp vanilla extract

Combine the fruit (except the cherries), booze and extract in a bowl. Stir to combine and let sit overnight.

Cake:
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)
1 3/4 cups sugar (12.25 ounces)
1/4 cup light corn syrup (2.75 ounces)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmet
1/8 teaspoon Fiori di Sicilia if you have it
5 large eggs
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour (13 3/4 ounces)
1 cup whole milk
2 cups chopped pecans 
More brandy (or the liquor of your choice) for brushing

Preheat the oven to 300. Spray your chosen loaf pans with non-stick spray. You may wish to have a few extra loaf pans around, I was surprised at just how many we got out of the batch.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and nutmeg in a bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter, sugar and corn syrup. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the flour in three additions alternately with the milk, starting and ending with the flour. When the last flour addition is mostly incorporated but you can still see some white spots, add the booze-soaked fruit, then the cherries and the nuts, allowing the mixer to do its thing and not adding everything all at once lest it spill all over the dang counter.

Fill the sprayed loaf pans 3/4 full. I suggest you put them all on a sheet pan for ease of transfer from counter to oven. Bake for as long as it takes for them to get golden, and for a tester inserted in the center to come out clean. Small ones will take about an hour, mediums ten minutes more and large loaves probably in the 90 minute range. Don't be afraid to put them back in for a few minutes if they're not golden all over. Fruitcake is a slow, old fashioned confection that can't be rushed.

Once they're out of the oven, let them cool for 15 minutes or so, brush them with more brandy, then pop them out of the pans and let them cool to room temp. Feel free to brush them more than once (I did!). Allow to cool completely, then wrap tightly in plastic. We popped ours back into the mini paper pans we baked them in so they'd be cuter for gifting. Fruitcake will keep for a month as long as you brush it with more brandy once a week or so.

Slice thinly when serving, preferably alongside a cup of coffee or tea or maybe a hot toddy. Be filled with holiday cheer.

Fruitcake Teaser

Having some computer troubles, sorry to be a tease. Fruitcake tomorrow!

Unpretty Food

I used up the last of the turkey today, woo! Turkey pot pie with onion, carrot, parsnip, mushrooms and peas and instead of building a sauce from scratch I used the last of the gravy. It was a good choice. However, it was not pretty.

You know how it is. Sometimes your pie crust doesn't roll smoothly. Sometimes you throw it on top of your stew anyway and then the stew bubbles up around it and obscures 80% of the crust. Sometimes dinner is delicious and homely so you don't take any pictures. Alas.

Peanuty Turkey Salad Lettuce Wraps

We're back in Boston tonight, but worry not, Mom sent us home with a boatload of Thanksgiving leftovers (24 lb turkey for the five of us, ahem). Tomorrow night I'll probably make a turkey pot pie or something along those classic leftover lines, but first I wanted something light and crunchy and with flavors I hadn't tasted for a few days. Of course, it totally hit the spot so I ate it all before I took pictures of my plate, so here's the lunch I packed for tomorrow.

I went with peanuts and cilantro and lime, wrapped in lettuce for freshness, and a carrot slaw on the side  for crunch. Plus rice, because between potatoes and sweet potatoes and dinner rolls and sandwich bread I haven't had enough starch this week.

Peanuty Turkey Salad

3ish cups leftover turkey, shredded or diced (I used one giant thigh)
1 green onion, white and green parts, minced
1-2" knob fresh ginger, minced or grated
1 clove garlic, minced
small handful cilantro, chopped
small handful mint, chopped (if you have it)
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 tablespoon fish sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1-2 tablespoons sriracha (more if you like it spicy)
1 lime

For serving: 
green leaf or Boston lettuce leaves
sriracha
lime wedges
steamed white rice
carrot slaw

Combine turkey, green onion, minced ginger and garlic, and herbs in a bowl. In a small jar with a lid, mix the peanut butter, fish sauce, soy sauce and sriracha with 2 tablespoons water, then microwave for 30 seconds. Put the lid on the jar and shake, shake, shake it like a polaroid picture. You should end up with about half a cup of sauce; pour it over the turkey. Squeeze the juice of half the lime over the turkey salad and mix with a fork to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary with more lime juice or more sriracha or soy sauce.

Serve wrapped in lettuce leaves with a squeeze of lime and/or sriracha. I eat the slaw and rice on the side because otherwise I overfill my lettuce leaves and make a giant mess.

Sesame Carrot Slaw

1 lb carrots, julienned (this peeler makes short work of it)
2 green onions, thinly sliced on a strong bias
4 hakurei turnips or 1 daikon radish, julienned
small handful cilantro, chopped
2 tablespoon rice vinegar
splash soy sauce
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 tablespoon vegetable or other neutral oil
sesame seeds, if you have them, for garnish

Mix all the ingredients together in a bowl and toss to combine. Let stand 20 minutes or so, tossing occasionally. Before serving, taste and adjust seasoning with more rice vinegar or soy sauce as needed.

A few things from today

Here's a pretty thing I saw today: wintery fountain grass at my parents' house. I also saw a bunch of other pretty things today. And ate some awfully tasty food (the cioppino!) And ran into this guy, so that was fun. Tomorrow I'll be back home and hopefully back here with a recipe.