Monthly Archives: July 2012

Summer Tamarind Drink: Agua de Tamarindo

If you’ve not tried this I really urge you to take a sip.  It’s somewhat tart but but you’ll find it is also wonderfully complex, not at all like a sugary obviously-flavored soft drink.

It is one of the standard Mexican aguas frescas and, again, shows how food pathways impact our civilization and culture.  Meeting new peoples does enrich our food.

Tamarind is African, found in the tropical areas of the continent from where it migrated to Arabia. It arrived in our region in the 1500′s with the Spaniards whose food and culture had already been influenced by the Arabs who occupied Spain for 800 years.  It has become an integral part of our culture now and we use it for candies and sweets and beverages.  I’ve also made a salad dressing with it!

Do try this recipe and keep a pitcher full in your fridge. Oh,  it has diuretic properties when consumed in large enough quantities.

Recipe: (makes 2 quarts)

Ingredients:
4 oz. unpeeled Tamarind pods (when peeled they will fill 3/4 cup)
2/3 cup light Agave Nectar  OR  3/4 cup  sugar
2 quarts water

Method:
1. Peel and remove the strings from the Tamarinds and rinse them.

2. Bring the water to a boil, add the tamarind and boil for 15 minutes.

3. When the water cools down and you can handle the tamarind, squeeze out all of the seeds and discard them.

4. Working in batches, pour the Tamarinds and the water into a blender and blend until smooth.  Add the agave nectar or sugar.  The foam will subside.

Serve very well chilled over plenty of ice.

!Buen Provecho!

Almost forgot. A recipe for my cocktail, “Tamarindo con Tequila,” follows in a subsequent blog.

 

Posted on July 29, 2012
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Crab Cakes, Texas Mexican

Most anthropologists assert that the Karankawas, lean, dark and tall (6 feet),  lived on the Texas coast for thousands of years (La Vere, 2004).  European explorer documents describe their food and their cooking techniques but we’ve lost much detail because the oral culture and traditions are lost.  I can imagine Karankawa families enjoying crab cooked in different ways, much as they did corn cakes, perhaps roasting them, seasoned with the surrounding herbs.  Tragically, their life and culture reached a bloody end.

Between 1824 and 1827, the Rangers under John H. Moore and Robert Kuykendall attacked them, killed most of them and and drove the survivors south.  The history of this period is still being written and needs more study.  We know that the surviving Karankawas fled their centuries-old ancestral homeland while Kuykendall  is quoted as proclaiming that  “Indian hunting” had become a “sport.” (Anderson, 2005)

When I’m in my kitchen cooking any type of seafood from our Texas coast, these important memories are with me and I think they make my food more substantial, nuanced and I want it to be flavorful and enjoyed by all.  It was the French food philosopher, Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, who wrote in 1825, “Gastronomy is the intelligent knowledge of whatever concerns man’s nourishment.” “…the action of foods on man’s morale, on his imagination, his spirit, his judgment, his courage and perceptions…” (Brillat-Savarin, re-published 2009)

Let’s serve the table. These gulf coast crab cakes are lightly flavored with shallots, parsley and Chile de Arbol.  No mayonnaise (it’s in the sauce) and very little breading.  Oh, yes, this dish  makes me happy.  It helps build a table where all are welcome.

Recipe ( serves 8)

Ingredients:
10 oz fresh large lump crabmeat
2 shallots, minced
2 Tbs fresh flat leaf parsley, minced
1 Tbs fresh chives, minced
1 Tbs fresh chives, cut into 1/2 pieces for garnish
1/8 tsp powdered Chile De Arbol or Cayenne chile
egg whites of 2 small eggs
Salt to taste
Black pepper to taste
2/3 cup panko bread crumbs
3 Tbs Canola oil

Method:
1. With iced water, wash and pick over the crab meat gently so it doesn’t break apart, set aside.
2. Sauté the shallots in 1 Tbs Canola oil until they are soft.  Set aside and allow them to cool to room temperature.
3. In a large bowl mix together with a spatula the egg whites, parsley, chives, Chile de Arbol, salt, pepper and cooled shallots.
4. Fold in the crab meat and when it is covered with the egg white mixture, gently fold in the panko bread crumbs.
5. Make 24 round cakes and set them aside.
6. In a sautée pan, preferably non-stick, heat 2 Tbs Canola oil on high heat.
7. Add the crab cakes in batches and sautée until golden, about 2 minutes on each side.  Don’t overcrowd them in the pan because this will lower the oil temperature too much. I use a rubber spatula and a fork to turn them gently. Add a little more Canola oil if needed, just a little.

Serve them immediately with this mayonnaise sauce, a French remoulade  from my previous post, and garnish with chives. It’ll bring smiles to your table. !Buen Provecho!

References:

Anderson, G. C. (2005). The conquest of texas. Norman: University of Oklahoma Press.

Brillat-Savarin, J. A. (2009). The physiology of taste. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, Inc.

La Vere, D. (2004). The texas indians. College Station: Texas A&M University Press.

Posted on July 12, 2012
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Crab Louie

I first tasted this as a teenager just a few, ahem, years ago.
Every time I see it on a menu I order it ’cause I love it. 

It first appeared on hotel menus around 1915 in Washington State and San Francisco.  I use Thousand Island dressing which was the rage in the 1950′s and whose origin is said to be in the early 1900′s in upstate New York, although some say New Orleans, some Chicago.  University studies today are placing more importance on food history and so I think we’ll have better knowledge about our food pathways.  To me food history lets me enjoy the food more.

A note about the dressing.  You’ll see that I use fresh shallots and not any pickles or pickle relish.  I think this makes it more alive and bouncy.  Also add cayenne.  This dressing is mouthwatering and so emblematic of the US 1950′s surreptitious use of chiles.

Recipe (serves 6)

Ingredients:
1 iceberg lettuce, cut into medium-size pieces
12 small asparagus spears, boiled, chilled, cut into 3″pieces
6 eggs, hardboiled, chilled, quartered
1 lb lump crabmeat, cleaned, picked through
1 cucumber, peeled, cut into 1″cubes (one of my friends tells me to omit the cucumber)

For the Dressing: (makes 1 1/2 cups, so you’ll have some leftover. yay!)
2/3 cup mayonnaise
6 Tbls Ketchup
1 plus 1/4 Tbs white wine vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbls shallots, chopped
1/8 tsp cayenne
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 cup Canola oil

Method:

For the Dressing:
1. Place all the ingredients, except the oil, in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Then pour in the Canola oil while the blender is running.  Done.

Arrange the salad ingredients on plates and drizzle with the dressing.  Did I need to say that?  haha!

Enjoy. ¡Buen Provecho!

Posted on July 8, 2012
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Pastel de Papa is also known as Cottage Pie, Sheperd’s Pie

It was in Peru where I enjoyed a Pastel de Papa that was earthy, flavorful, no pretensions. A potato (papa) and meat dish that you want to eat all day long!  La papa (not the Catholic pope) was first cultivated up in the Andes about 6,000 to 10,000 years ago, in the region of Lake Titicaca.  So Peru is the country that can lay claim to the potato (Rodriguez, 2010).

However, some Chileans lay claim to the potato’s origins as do some Bolivians.  Well my personal conviction is that I’ll say whatever I need to in order to get served this delicious pie.

Pastel de Papa is a blending of European, Asian and Native American ingredients. In Europe the dish is known as Cotttage Pie when it includes beef and Shepherd’s Pie when it includes lamb. But they all share the potato as the topping and sometimes also as the crust.

I know it’s summer but since I had to do something with leftover roast and since I’m craving potatoes, Cottage Pie, Pastel de Papa, had my name on it.

In this recipe I use a crockpot to minimize heat inside the house and I disregard baking.  Improvise!  You can put the meat in the crockpot when you leave for work and it’ll be cooked when you get home after work. I plug it outside on the porch. Cooking the vegetables separately on the stove top keeps their individual flavors sharp and distinct.

Recipe (serves 8)
Ingredients
Beef:
-2  lb Round Roast
-2 teaspoons salt
-1/2 teaspoon black pepper
-1 Bay Leaf
-2 tspn fresh thyme, minced or 1/2 tspn dried
-1 tspn fresh sage, minced or 1/4 tspn dried
-1 Tbsp fresh Parsley, minced

Vegetables:  You can see from this list how easy it’d be to leave out the beef and have a vegetarian feast.
-10 oz pearl onions, peeled and the root tip sliced off (If you drop them into boiling water for 30 seconds, then immerse in an ice bath to stop the cooking, the skin will easily slide off. But you may prefer to just lop off the end and peel.)
-3 medium leeks. washed well, cut in 1/2″ slices. Use only the white and pale green parts
-1 Parsnip, peeled,  cut diagonally into 1″slices
-6 oz Cremini mushrooms, sliced
-2 Carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1/2″slices
-1 medium Turnip, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch squares
-2 Tbsp Canola oil
-3/4 cup water

Sauce:
-4 tablespoons all-purpose flour
-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
-1 cup beef broth
-1 cup water

Mashed Potatoes  (Papas):
-2 lb russet potatoes, peeled, cut into fourths. These are the large baking potatoes that are fluffy, not waxy.
-1 cup milk
-3 tablespoons unsalted butter
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
-2 quarts water with 1 Tbsp salt
Method
A.   MEAT: 
1. Place all the meat ingredients in a crock pot, medium setting, and go to work or do something while it cooks for about 8 hours or a bit longer.
2. Remove the meat from the crockpot, cut into 1″cubes and set aside.
B. VEGETABLES:
1. Heat the Canola oil in a deep skillet, then place all the ingredients and brown them a bit, about 3 minutes
2. Add the water, scrape the bottom to deglaze, and cook covered for 10 minutes. Uncover and cook on low until most of the liquid has evaporated. Set aside
C. SAUCE:
1.  In a small bowl combine the flour and butter to make a paste.
2.  Heat the beef broth and water in a saucepan and then add the paste, whisking continuously to avoid lumps.
3. Bring to a simmer and stir for about 3-5 minutes until the flour cooks completely and the sauce thickens. Set aside.
D:  PAPAS, potatoes
1. Place the potatoes in a large saucepan or pot and cover with the water and salt.  Bring to a simmer and cook until soft, about 20 minutes.
2. Drain and then pass them through a ricer.
3.  In a saucepan heat the milk, butter, salt, and pepper.
4.  When heated through, add the milk mixture to the potatoes and fold gently to combine. Set aside.
E:  ASSEMBLE
1. Spoon the meat and the vegetables onto a large glass casserole.
2. Then pour the sauce into the casserole and gently combine.
3. Spread or pipe the potatoes evenly on top. Make little decorative incisions with a fork as you like.
4. Microwave for  3-5 minutes until bubbly.
5. Optional:  brown the casserole in the broiler for 3-5 minutes.
Serve and enjoy as though you were in Chile, or Peru or Ireland!
References:

Rodriguez, L. E. (2010). Origen y evolución de la papa cultivada. una revisión. Agronomía Colombiana,

Posted on July 6, 2012
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