We Have Cleared the Tower

One of the many highlights of my slim loss in the first Grill Master Competition at the Taste of Buffalo was the Judges’ reactions to the condiments and seasonings I created for my entries. But only one was developed specifically for the event – a little something I call Jupiter-C Salt.

I was looking to make a salt to season grilled plank potatoes. I knew that I wanted lime zest as a part of it. I was building most of my menu around citrus. I also knew I wanted chilli heat. Maybe Aleppo pepper?

So I hit the internets and quickly found some ideas that were in the right ballpark. The problem is that many of them called for sriracha – preferably the Huy Fong ‘'Rooster” brand. I love the stuff, but it has become ubiquitous. Mundane. Dare I say passé? Even though I had settled on Southeast Asian flavors for my submissions this just wasn’t the right choice.

I needed something else, something special, but something others could reproduce. So Uncle Scotty’s Atomic Retrofire hot sauces were out.
The answer was right in front of my eyes. Literally – the bottle is kept handy on my prep cart. Rocket Sauce from my friends at Lloyd Taco Trucks. Though inspired by Mexican flavors, its taste profile fit with my plans. It also says “Buffalo” without reference to Wings.

The name comes from the Jupiter-C missile – my favorite rocket, the Juno variant of which lifted aloft Explorer I (the first US satellite launch) on the day of my birth. And C-salt just feels right. After all, all salt is Sea Salt including Kosher Salt.

Technorati Tags: Salt,Condiments,Lloyd Taco Trucks,Buffalo

Jupiter-C Salt

Ingredients

1 cup large flake kosher salt
zest of one lime
1 teaspoon lime juice
3 tablespoons Lloyd’s Rocket Sauce sauce

Instructions

Toss all ingredients together in a bowl using a fork until the mixture is even in color and moisture.
Spread the salt in a thin, even layer on a sheet pan with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
     
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Turn it off. Pop the pan in, close the door and let sit until dry. 2 - 3 hours.
If you use a dehydrator sheet, the salt should come up very easily. Break the salt up (I used a mortar and pestle) and store in an airtight jar.

A perfect finishing salt. Great on fries, chips and grilled planked potatoes. Guaranteed to break the ice at parties.

An Egg is Always an Adventure

Just as a poached egg isn't a poached egg unless it’s been stolen from the woods in the middle of the night… -Willy Wonka

Poaching an egg isn’t rocket science. You might think so by the plethora of devices available to make the process “easier”. Over the years, I have tried most if not all of them. The slotted receptacles you lower in the water; the cups that hover over simmering water (either in a rack, or hanging on the side of the pot); the electric cookers and the microwave cookers. Some work, to a certain extent, others are a complete disaster.

Brothy Beans in the Style of Mexico

I have loved Rancho Gordo Beans since I first discovered them.
Don’t try to argue with me. I have have tried all kinds: bulk and bagged, organic and not, gourmet food store and dingy Mexican grocery – Rancho Gordo’s are the best. I love some varieties more than others, but love them all I do.
I used to pay shipping to get the. Probably as close to happily paying for shipping as I will ever get. Premier Gourmet started carrying them about the same time I started working there. That makes me VERY happy. So when it was suggested that my weekly demo for this week celebrate Cinco de Mayo by showing off Rancho Gordo products, I jumped at the chance.
What we call Mexican Brothy Beans are a staple in this house. We enjoy them as is, turned into soup or mashed into refritos.

The Recipes (Finally)

I have been thinking about this for years: setting up a web site to host my recipe collection. Just mine, to share as I see fit and without a third party.

Yes, I know. I don’t use recipes for much of my cooking – but I do “clip” and save them. I use them as inspiration. A jumping off point. I may not be able to help you recreate exactly what I prepared on that particular date or in that particular photo, but I can get you headed in the right direction.

Sometimes I do use a recipe, and I am happy to share. If you are a Facebook friend, it’s easy to share from Pepperplate, a web based recipe program I use. If it’s in Pepperplate. If it’s collected elsewhere in one of the many programs I have used over the years I have to jump through some hoops.

So getting it on a web site would just make things easier. What got me started in earnest was that bread demo I did for Slow Food Buffalo Niagara in January. It has taken me 8 weeks to complete. Purchasing a domain, finding a host, designing a page, buying and leaning software to build the page, finding a program to create an html index from multiple files, setting up a new recipe program, etc., etc., etc.

It all took time.

But finally it is working as I want. You can find the whole shebang here.

Enjoy.

A Doughnut With Rigor Mortis

The first printed mention of bagels...is to be found in the Community Regulations of Kracow, Poland, for the year 1610 which stated that bagels would be given as a gift to any woman in childbirth - The Joys of Yiddish by Leo Rosten

We were invited to an absolutely delightful brunch last Sunday. The group was made up, in large part, people who really care about food. Some fellow members of the Slow Food Board and Professional Cooks among them. The offerings included home cured meats, fresh bi-valves, yeast waffles and other tasty goods. A carefully concocted variety of “Marys” and some ales to wash things down.

By request, I brought bagels. Despite being usually reserved for our Sunday brunch, small amounts have been doled out over time – enough to gain a bit of a reputation for being yummy.

Cabbage with a College Education

All of the sudden, it seems that I am besieged by suggestions of using grated Cauliflower as a substitute for rice or couscous or rice. Trish had about it from The Shiksa in the Kitchen, website she follows on Facebook. I had been reading about it from several sources. But when my friend,  Mary Luz Mejia, wrote of it,  I had to try it.

As it happens,  we are in the midst of our occasional carb purge - time to drop the holiday weight gain. Mashed Cauliflower is a staple.  A substitute for the carb heavy potato. The idea of a grain/pasta like vegetables was not only intriguing, but fit perfectly with our occasional post-holiday carbohydrate purge.

The Shiksa calls for boiling the granules, with a dire warning: "[y]our house will be filled with a-- umm, interesting cauliflower aroma as it cooks". Mary Luz's column suggests using it raw to preserve the nutrients. I like raw cauliflower, perhaps even more than cooked, but not what I wanted.

Neither method met my needs. I dunned my crunchies. So I heated the oven to 425, or whatever the ailing machine was actually at, and roasted it until it was a nice toasty brown. I did some shrimp and scallops "scampi" style and spooned it over the cauliflower.

Delicious.

Next time I think I'll toss it in some olive oil and season it more aggressively. It's a really great concept.

Here I go again

Another day another blog.