Uber Umami Porcini Pork Chops

Even though the taste of umami was identified relatively recently, great chefs have been instinctively working with it almost forever. More potent than your common, ordinary food tastes, 'umami' definitely pushes the boundaries of everyday taste sensations. 

When I started working on my pork chop rub/paste, I didn't set out to produce an 'umami bomb." Just so happens, that's exactly what resulted! What's an umami bomb? A dish that's built of almost (or completely) umami ingredients. 

Let's back up here. I guess your first question is, "What IS umami anyway?" In addition to the tastes of sweet, salty, bitter and sour, it's a savory flavor. Think of the taste sensation you get from meats, especially pork and beef. To take it a step further, especially the flavor of cured or smoked meats. Not just meats, however...fish and seafood are rich in umami, the earthy taste of mushrooms, cheeses - particularly Parmesan, feta and blue veined varieties and even vegetables such as asparagus and garlic come into play, too. 

Fermentation produces vinegars, soy sauce and fish sauce that have double the wham with more than one umami trigger - fish sauce has both fish AND is fermented, Worcestershire sauce is also fermented and contains anchovies. Enough background. Just how did umami favors result in a totally delightful dish?

As I said above, I started with pork chops - umami already. There were dried porcini mushrooms in the cabinet so I put those in my spice grinder with black peppercorns and a few Szechuan peppercorns - whirrrr whirrrrr - porcini peppercorn dust. Next I added tamari, balsamic vinegar and garlic, mixed them into a paste, rubbed the chops and let them marinate overnight. 

Once grilled the next day, the flavors were deep, dark, rich, mysterious and intense. Total umami success! 

Uber Umami Porcini Pork Chops

• 1/4 C dried porcini mushrooms
• 12 black peppercorns
• 5 Szechuan peppercorns

• 1 T granulated garlic
• 2 large garlic cloves, pressed or minced finely
• 1 T wheat-free Tamari or soy sauce (I use wheat-free Tamari to make this gluten free)
• 1 T balsamic vinegar
• 2 T roasted peanut oil
• 1 T agave
• a sprinkling of Porcini & Salt  - a finishing salt that's mixture of sea salt, porcini mushrooms and herbs (I get mine at Gourmet Delights) to finish!

• 4 nice, thick bone-in pork chops - I like center cut loin chops

Start martinating these the night before for maximum umami-ness or 4 hours in a pinch.

In a spice grinder, buzz the dried mushrooms and the black and Szechuan peppercorns together to a dust. Transfer to a medium bowl.

Add the rest of the ingredients (except for the pork chops) to the porcini peppercorn dust and mix to a well-combined paste, then evenly coat both sides of the pork chops with ALL of the paste.  Put the chops into a zip top plastic bag, squeeze out all the air, seal and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, grill the chops and serve with a sprinkle of Porcini & Salt for extra porcini - AND umami - emphasis!

NOTE: This was one of the last dishes I got to make for Mark, who gave it a highly enthusiastic thumbs up and a request for me to make them again SOON. We both thought they'd be pretty amazing smoked!

Dark n Stormy Stew

"It was a dark and stormy night." Remember Snoopy at his typewriter, sitting atop his doghouse, clicking out that cliched opening line to his novel? That thought may have just brought a smile to your face, it certainly does to mine.

You may not know (then again, you might just be hip to it already!), but there's another kind of Dark n Stormy that brings a smile, too...the classic cocktail of dark rum, ginger beer and lime by the same name. Not only that, there's Dark n Stormy Stew, too. Yep, why not put the same flavors that work as a cocktail into a rich, hearty and spicy beef crockpot-simple stew? No reason not to...so I did!

Rum and ginger paired perfectly to make a satisfying winter stew loaded with butternut squash, pearl onions, fingerling potatoes and lots of savory gravy redolent with ginger, clove and allspice to echo the spice notes of fine dark rum and good ginger beer. As the stew simmered slowly over the hours, flavors melded into such a conglomeration of sweet, savory, gingery, rummy goodness that even butternut squash became as one with the sauce.

What do you accent the inspirational cocktail with? Lime. And there's no more proper finish to the stew either than bright and fresh lime. Just as the green citrus fruit perks up the dark sweetness of the cocktail, freshly grated lime zest and a hefty squeeze of a lime wedge do the same thing for this savory stew. Lime and gingery beef stew may sound like an odd combo, but trust me...the accent of lime takes the party to new heights.

As for the perfect cocktail pairing? A Dark n Stormy, of course! Here's the recipe for BOTH the stew AND the cocktail.

Dark n Stormy Stew

• 2 T canola oil
• 2 1/2 pounds beef flapsteak (that's what I had in the freezer - use your own favorite, tender stew beef)
• 2 1/2 C butternut squash, cubed - you know I use the already peeled and cubed squash the grocer conveniently has waiting in plastic tubs in the produce section (repurpose the plastic...wash it out and use it to store cookies!)
• 12 oz bag of frozen pearl onions (hey...if YOU want to go to the trouble of peeling all those teeny, tiny fresh pearl onions, go ahead....we'll wait for you to catch up....)
• 2 pounds fingerling potatoes, cut in half 
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1/4 t. ground cloves
• 1 t. powdered ginger
• 1/2 t. allspice
• 1/2 C dark rum - I used Meyer's
• 7 oz bottle ginger beer - I use Fever Tree
• 2 T cornstarch
• 5 oz. (1/2 a can) beef broth
• 2 limes - 1 zested, 1 cut into wedges

To get good deep beefy flavors going in a crockpot stew, you know I always like to start by browning the meat in a skillet - that's where we're starting this time, too.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. While the oil is heating, season the beef liberally with salt and pepper. Brown the beef cubes in 2 batches. Remove each to the waiting crockpot.

Add the rum to the skillet and stir well to get all those browned bits into the rum. Set aside.

Add the squash, onions and potatoes along with the spices to the crockpot and give it all a good stir. Pour the rum that's still in the skillet and a bottle of ginger beer over the contents of the crockpot. Cover.

Start the crockpot on high and cook for an hour, then lower the temp to low (my crockpot only has settings of "off" "low" and "high.") and continue cooking 4-5 hours until the beef is tender and the squash has nearly disintegrated - it becomes part of the rich sauce.

To thicken the gravy, mix 2 T cornstarch with half a can (5 oz) beef broth and stir into the stew. It will thicken in minutes.

To Serve: Ladle the stew into bowls, sprinkle a little lime zest over each and serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze over the top. 

Classic Dark and Stormy - The Cocktail

• 2 oz dark rum - Gosling's preferred
• 3 oz. ginger beer - Fever Tree or the excellent Pittsburgh-made Jamaica's Finest by Natrona Bottling
• a nice big lime wedge

In a collins glass filled with ice, add the rum and top with ginger beer. Add lime juice, stir gently and serve.

Black Mission Fig and Ginger Pecan Baked Oatmeal

Nothing hugs the tummy on a cold morning quite like a bowl of oatmeal. I can hear you now, "What?! A recipe for oatmeal? You've got to be kidding me." (Accompanied by a dramatic eyeroll, I hope!) Who needs a recipe for oatmeal when all you have to do is tear open a packet, add water, give it a little spin in the microwave and breakfast is ON the table!

Not so fast. How about morning convenience AND oatmeal raised to a whole new level? One that's more delicious than any artificial ingredients-filled, sugar-laden paper packet of oatmeal dust you've ever had?

Oh...you don't like oatmeal? Perhaps your tastebuds have simply been waiting for a hot morning cereal worthy of their undivided attention. Your bored tastebuds have been waiting for Black Mission Fig and Ginger Pecan Baked Oatmeal! 

Kimber has been home for a few days and treated us to this simple, make-it-the-night-before breakfast.  Mmmmm...she enjoys it warm and topped with a little non-fat Greek yogurt. I like it cold with either a little skim milk or non-fat Greek yogurt, too. Sound too healthy for you? What if I told you the flavor and texture is more like a rich, creamy, decadent bread pudding than a good-for-you quick morning meal? It is.

It's not often you can splurge on flavor, yet skimp on fat and calories...and have the result be heart healthy, too. Live it up!

Black Mission Fig and Ginger Pecan Baked Oatmeal

• 2 1/2 cups oatmeal, certified gf to make this gluten-free!
• 1/3 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1 cup dried figs, Black Mission figs are my fave, quartered lengthwise
• 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
• 3 tablespoons crystallized ginger, diced small if it didn't come that way already
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 1/3 cups skim milk
• 4 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 8" glass baking dish with Pam.  Mix all the dry ingredients in large bowl.  In medium bowl, combine the wet ingredients.  Add wet ingredients to dry and mix well.
 
Pour mixture into dish sprayed with Pam, bake for 55-60 minutes or until center is set and firm to touch. 
 
Serve as is or with some yogurt on top...maybe a few berries, too! Oh...and I love that it make a good amount so you have an instant breakfast for a few days...IF you and the fam don't scarf it up!

Plum Smoked Duck with Plum Wine Reduction

Duck...duck...duck...NOT goose! Duck. Smoked duck to be specific. Fine tuning it even more, duck marinated in Japanese plum wine (gekkheikan), garlic, Asian 5-spice, star anise, Szechuan peppercorns and tamari, then smoked over a combo of apple and cherry woods and served with a fresh plum and plum wine reduction. Drooling yet?

This was our very first venture into duck smoking so we kind of went into it blindly. (Just so you know, with great effort I'm resisting a duck blind joke. You're welcome.) I knew I didn't want to go the traditional orange route...so overdone, don't you think? But the classic combo of fruit and duck is a time-honored tradition for a reason. They were meant for one another!

The plan was to use sake as the marinade base, but when I found plum wine on the state store shelf, the rest of the flavors fell right in line. Plums are plentiful in the farm markets right now so Italian prune plums went on the list. The rest of the ingredients found their way from the pantry and spice rack into the solution and became one beautifully fragrant bath for our plump duck.

After hours of smoking the duck to a deep, rich brown lacquer, all that was needed was a simple sauce to highlight the the smoky, sweet flavor. You should have smelled the luscious, fruity, spicy aroma as it rose from the opened smoker! Heaven. 

Isn't he pretty?!

A simple reduction of the same plum wine mixed with crushed plums, organic orange blossom honey (ha! I did get the classic orange in there after all!), sharp Colman's mustard, ginger and garlic produced a gorgeous dark red sauce that accented the sweet, slightly game-y duck perfectly. You might even say dinner was plum delicious!    

Plum Smoked Duck With Plum Wine Reduction

• 1 5-pound (approximately) duck, thawed if necessary

• 3 BIG garlic cloves...or 6 smaller ones, smashed
• 1 star anise, crushed
• 3 slices fresh ginger root, about quarter sized
• 1 tablespoon Scechuan peppercorns, crushed
• 2 teaspoons five-spice powder
• 2 tablespoons tamari soy sauce, Gluten-free to make this GF
• 1 1/2 cups wine, Japanese Plum Wine - also known as Gekkeikan

• 1 cup wine, Japanese Plum Wine - yep, same as above
• 4 very ripe Italian prune plums, seeded and quartered
• 1 teaspoon honey, orange blossom...or your own favorite
• 1 teaspoon Colman's dry mustard
• 1 teaspoon granulated garlic
• a hefty pinch of powdered ginger

The night before you want to serve this, combine garlic, star anise, fresh ginger, Szechuan peppercorns, 5-spice, tamari and plum wine in a gallon size zip top plastic bag. Squeeze out all the air, seal tightly and put it into a bowl that holds it snugly. (If it leaks, it won't be all over your fridge if it's in a bowl!)
 
The next day, take the duck out of the marinade and discard the marinade. Dry the duck thoroughly with paper towels. Pour the soda out of a soda can, add about 1/2 cup of plum wine, a hefty shake of granulated garlic, 1/2 t. - 1 t. cayenne, 1/2 t. mustard powder and 1 t. ginger. Yes, this will cook beer can chicken style! Fit the duck over the spice and wine filled can and carefully set aside.
 
Soak a combination of half cherry/half applewood chips for at least an hour. Prepare the smoker according to whatever smoker you use. When the coals are hot, scatter the chips.
 
Put the duck on the smoker and smoke for at least 6 hours - more or less according to your smoker and/or your preference. You know I'm loose about smoking instructions...every smoker is different! Remove the duck and let sit while you make the reduction.
 
REDUCTION (reDUCKtion?): In a saucepan combine 1 c. plum wine, the quartered plums, honey and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium. Let simmer until the liquid reduces by half. Strain the reduction through a small strainer, pressing the solids to extract all the liquid.
 
Slice the duck and serve with the beautiful sauce. This would also be wonderful with a chicken...and there's a LOT more meat on a chicken! (A turkey breast would work well, too!)

Mango Hibiscus Daiquiris To Celebrate National Daiquiri Day!

Happy National Daiquiri Day, friends! Funny how I just happen to have a batch of my new fave twist on a daiquiri all ready to go...thanks to the Jimmy Buffet concert last night. Yes, it surprises me, too, that there are leftovers. Who knew?!

One of the good things about making cocktails by the batch (one thing among MANY), is that nobody has to wait while one custom cocktail at a time is crafted. One big lime juicing session, some rum and (in this case) hibiscus simple syrup and it's party time! This would be wonderful served either in a pitcher or a punch bowl so the bartender can relax and enjoy the festivities.

Not gonna make you wait any longer to get started...here's the recipe for Mango Hibiscus Daiquiris for one AND by the batch. Cheers....oh, and fins up!

Mango Hibiscus Daiquiris - for 1

• 3 fluid ounces Parrot Bay Mango rum - ONLY use Parrot Bay...it isn't too sweet. Trust me on this one, the others DO NOT work at all (or you can do your own mango/rum infusion which is very good and fresh, but when you want it NOW, Parrot Bay is faster!)
• 1 1/2 fluid ounces fresh-squeezed lime juice - do NOT use that bottled crap
• 1/2 ounce hibiscus simple syrup, homemade (see recipe below)
• 1/4 ounce Canton Ginger Liqueur

Put everything into a cocktail shaker.  Cap and shake vigorously until the shaker frosts up.
 
Pour over ice into a double old fashioned glass, garnish with a lime wheel and serve! You could even do a cute little umbrella...have fun with it!

Mango Hibiscus Daiquiris - by the pitcher

• 3 cups Parrot Bay Mango rum - ONLY use Parrot Bay...it isn't too sweet. Trust me on this one, the others DO NOT work at all (or you can do your own mango/rum infusion which is very good and fresh, but when you want it NOW, Parrot Bay is faster!)
• 1 1/2 cups fresh-squeezed lime juice - do NOT use that bottled crap
• 1/2 cup hibiscus simple syrup, homemade (see recipe below)
• 1/4 cup Canton Ginger Liqueur

Put everything into a large pitcher, stir. 
 
Pour into a double old fashioned glass with lots of ice, garnish with a lime wheel and serve! You could even do a cute little umbrella...have fun with it!

Hibiscus Simple Syrup: Bring 1 cup sugar and 1 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Once it comes to a boil, add a BIG handful of dried hibiscus flowers (I get them at Reyna's in the Strip District in the back in a bulk bin) and remove from the heat. Let the solution cool completely and strain into a small glass or plastic bottle. Store in the fridge. Keeps for several weeks. Try using it in other beverages like lemonade or iced tea. YUM! 

Classic Spirits Making the Cocktail Scene All Over Again

Everything old is new again...or so they say. In the cocktail world, it seems to be absolutely (no pun intended) true. Without a doubt, the resurgence of classic cocktails and/or craft cocktails is the reason for some old time, classic spirits making the scene again.

Having an ear that's occasionally tuned to the current trends in spirits, I sometimes enjoy hearing about what's "new" these days. Take Fernet Branca for example, it's so hot right now! Um...Mark and I started enjoying it in the early 80's while on a trip to Monte Carlo and the French and Italian Rivieras. Every meal was followed by Fernet as an after dinner digestif by tourists and locals alike. When we bid adieu, there was a bottle of Fernet tucked into our bags!

Then there's Campari. This is another spirit Mark and I enjoyed many years ago - back in the late 60's! These days, the Negroni is THE cocktail to make with Campari...and I DO love me a well-made Negroni. (Thank you Acacia and Shane.) In those days, we simply mixed it with tonic or (wish we could still find this one) Schweppes Bitter Lemon. Clean, crisp, bitter and thoroughly refreshing on a warm, sunny day, the Negroni just hits the spot.

And then there's sloe gin. If you think the late 60's were far back, it was the mid 50's when my parents were sipping their favorite Sloe Gin Fizzes while playing Five Hundred around the kitchen table with Aunt Anna and Uncle Bert. We kids would occasionally be treated to a sip (or two if we were quick!) of the nose tickling beverage. 

Sloe Gin is back in style, too. Not the Jacquins my parents used in their cocktails - that sweet, syrupy stuff wasn't even real, just artificial flavors and coloring. Now Plymouth gin makes a very fine version with actual sloe berries! Not sweet, but tart and a little bitter. And that gorgeous red is natural!

With all these new-again liquors (with memories attached for me), I've been experimenting. Here are the recipes for the successful results, along with the recipe for a classic Negroni. Mix one of these up for yourself and a guest and sip...and maybe even conduct a little cocktail trial and error of your own. Research can be such fun!

The Classic Negroni

Makes 1

• 1 oz. gin
• 1 oz. Campari
• 1 oz. Sweet Vermouth
• a swath of orange peel

Gently stir gin, Campari and sweet vermouth in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with orange peel. If desired, serve over ice.

GinGinGinger

Makes 1

• 1 oz. gin (I used Bluecoat)
• 1 oz. Plymouth Sloe Gin
• 1 oz. Canton Ginger Liqueur
• a large slice of candied ginger (or smaller pieces on a cocktail skewer)

Gently stir gin, sloe gin and ginger liqueur in a mixing glass with ice. Strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with candied ginger. If desired, serve over ice.

Aloe and Sloe

Makes 1

• 1 oz. gin (I used Bluecoat)
• 1 oz. Plymouth Sloe Gin
• 1 oz. sweet vermouth
• 1/2 oz. sweetened aloe juice
• barest splash of seltzer
• a long ribbon of lemon peel

 In a cocktail tin, add gin, sloe gin, vermouth and aloe juice. Add ice 3/4 of the way up the tin. Cap tightly and shake until the tin is frosted on the outside.  

Strain into an ice filled cocktail glass, add just a splash of seltzer, give it just a gentle stir to keep the in the effervescence and garnish with lemon peel.  

Cheers!    


   

    

Spiced Carrot Tomato Creme with Wild Rice

Surely you don't think toys are only for kids, do you? Okay, I know some of you out there just said, "And don't call me Shirley!" You proved my point...some of us, hopefully MOST of us, are still kids at heart. 

Adult toys come in all shapes and flavors. For some it might be golf clubs and golf-related thingamajiggies, for the Tim Allens of the world it maybe it's the latest power tool. For me? Kitchen toys. You know things that make cooking even more fun than it already is.

What makes new cooking stuff fun? For me, it's something that brings a little smile when I use it...that brightens my day. Maybe a turquoise or polka dotted rubber spatula or an oval bright red casserole dish or, as in today's case, an electric appliance you've always wanted, but somehow couldn't quite justify. Enter my brand new Cuisinart stick blender. Welcome to my kitchen!  

Oh sure, I have a blender that performs the same function, but any time you can play motorboat in a pot of soup, THAT is fun! 

So what if there's more than one item to do the same thing. Come on now, do I really NEED another veggie peeler? What good is a microplane when I have a perfectly good 4-sided box grater? Aren't 3 crockpots (oooo sorry, "slow cooker" is the preferred term now) enough? 

If, like me, you're a kitchen toy addict, the answer is a resounding NO. Does not really needing something stop me from buying the fun stuff? That too, is a fervent NO! These purchases are guided by the fun factor of "playing" with new gadgets.  

That's how this recipe came about. Soup was on the menu for dinner, but part way through the cooking the mixture just begged to become a creamy soup. Normally, I'd puree a cream soup in the blender batch by batch risking the likelihood of spilling HOT SOUP in the process. No! There's a better way! Stick blender, here I come! 

The soup? Smooth and creamy (thanks stick blender!) soup studded with plump chewy wild rice, ever so slightly sweet and a little tart from the turmeric and yogurt, finished with just a touch of smoked salt to counterbalnce the other flavors and completely delicious.
 
Back to the needs and the wants. Did I really NEED a stick blender? No. Did it make my life a little easier? Yes. Was it one heck of a lot of fun? Hell yes! WANT to make your own cooking time more enjoyable? Break out the kitchen toys!

Spiced Carrot Tomato Creme with Wild Rice

• 1 chicken carcass, dark meat left on what's left of a rotisserie chicken (once again, you know I can't let good bones go to waste)
• 4 celery ribs, with leaves, chunked
• 1/2 pound carrots, baby, chunked
• 1 large onion, chunked
• 1/4 cup dried minced garlic
• 1/4 cup Jane's Crazy Salt
• 1 turmeric root, peeled, sliced lengthwise (new ingredients are like kitchen toys, too...found this little item in Whole Foods...yum!)
• water, to cover

• 3/4 pound carrots, baby, sliced
• 1 can diced tomatoes, fire roasted, with juice
• 2 cups chicken stock (additional to the stock above)
• 1/2  teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon (or so) granulated garlic
• saffron threads, 5 or 6 or so (I like "or so")
• 3 tablespoons butter

• 2/3 cup yogurt, Greek yogurt
• 1/2 cup wild rice, raw

• smoked salt, garnish

In a large soup pot, cover the carcass of a rotisserie chicken (the white meat was a quick Sunday dinner), the chunked carrots, celery, onion, the dried garlic, crazy salt and turmeric root with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 2-3 hours until the meat falls off the bones and the stock is rich. Let cool slightly. 

Remove the solids from the stock with a slotted spoon. Let the solids cool completely before picking the meat from the bones for another use. (I use the meat in casseroles.) Pick out the cooked carrots and set those aside to add back in later.
 
Into the stock in the pot add raw sliced carrots, the can of tomatoes and the spices. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cook until the veggies are nice and tender. Add the reserved cooked carrots from making the stock back into the soup. Now here comes the fun!  

Using your STICK BLENDER (mine is a Cuisinart), puree the soup until smooth. Add the butter. Move the stick blender through the soup until the butter is melted. (If you don't have a stick blender, blend batch by batch CAREFULLY being sure the hot liquid doesn't explode from the blender....see why I bought a stick blender?)
 
Now add the Greek yogurt. Blend again! Woo hoo!
 
Add the wild rice, raise heat to ALMOST a boil, but not quite. Lower heat to a simmer and continue to cook until the rice is done.
 
Serve in bowls garnished with a lovely smoked salt.

My smoked salt. You can order this at Gourmet Delights!

NOTE: Turmeric root is a small, bright yellow root (rhizome) sometimes used in curries. Every so slightly gingery, it adds a note of "hmmmm...I like that, what is it?" to any dish.  Nice.

NOTE 2:  For you purists out there, another name for stick blender is immersion blender. I prefer the term stick, because who doesn't love driving a stick?! Yeah, more fun.