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Farm Fresh Garlic Scapes – Behind the Scenes @ Maple Achers

Farm Fresh Garlic Scapes – Behind the Scenes @ Maple Achers

So here’s the full disclosure on Garlic Scapes – you are either going to have to run right now or bookmark this page for next year.  I’ve kind of being keeping this secret recipe under wraps so there would be more for me (sorry, not sorry). Depending on your location, you may still be able to get this magical ingredient. #fingerscrossed

Tangled Pile of Garlic Scape with a sign:  bag and  bunch

Garlic Scapes.  While it’s not new to me – I have been going mano a mano with it for years to get the twisty, curly scapes straight enough to chop – it was only last year that I learned about making bundles and roasting them.  Scapes are the bud of the garlic plant and are a milder, slightly sweeter version of the bulb.  For years, I chopped it – best I could – and threw it raw in salads, especially hearty ones like potato salad.  Or sautéed it in brown butter and tossed it with pasta, wilted greens, and some good parm. For a full FAQ on this magical shoot, check out Just Crumbs.

Russ and Linda Beaty outside their airstream and on the porch

Source (right photo above and below): Maple Achers

It is no coincidence that I fell in love with this recipe at exactly the same time I met the amazing Russ and Linda Hepler-Beaty of Maple Achers Farm.  Who doesn’t love a couple that come to farming a bit later in life and change the spelling of acres to better describe the pain of toiling away in their fields. I met them in Leland, Michigan (Thursday markets during season) with their super festive spread of interesting and often heirloom vegetables stylishly presented from their Veggie-mobile – a tricked out vintage (1965) Airstream with a brightly striped yellow canopy.  Years of catering, food styling and a more recent foray into photography make me a sucker for a gorgeous spread.  Too often farmers line the wooden baskets with plastic bags for grab and go service, which in my mind not only ruins the aesthetic but also the compostable nature of fresh produce.

The Veggie Mobile: Maple Achers Certified Naturally Grown logo and the airstream being trailered by an old pick up truck

Linda is a genius at using props that scream FARMLAND – maple sap buckets filled to overflowing with Portuguese kale bunches, a 3-tiered galvanized cake stand with bundles of herbs, wooden baskets and colorful fabrics. She and Russ are quick to offer a cooking suggestion – cook the fava beans like edamame – and general advice – drink wine while shelling peas. Hell, yes.

Shell Peas at the market: sign \"shell em on the porch with a glass of wine\"

The 10 acre farm in the heart of Leelanau County (Maple City, Michigan) is Certified Naturally Grown.  Using plot rotation, nourishing fallow ground with cover crops, along with a strategic release of 300,000 lady bugs over the summer – you CAN get them on Amazon. I checked – they plant about 3+ acres and as foodies-first offer a more unique and interesting veggie line up than most farm stands.

Kolorful Kohlrabi - green and purple on a wooden basket at the marketAlmost all vegetables come in a variety of colors – beets are garnet, orange and white; potatoes – red, white & blue; cauliflower is lime, white, orange and lavender; even currants are red and pink champagne.  Radishes range from yellow Polish Helios to lavender Asian Daikons, with about 6 stops in between.  Russ suggested grilling the Bravo daikon, and Linda chimed in with the idea to add grilled escarole, and top with feta and a drizzle of vinaigrette.

Heirloom Helios Yellow Radishes and red radish bunches at the market

Having only a few scapes to test their roasted garlic scapes recipe last year, I waited all winter for the first sign this spring.  Apparently used to selling them one by one,  I surprised the Grand Haven farmers by scooping up their entire stash.  I have since made them a few times and they have that mouth-pop-ability of edamame.  Olive oil and salt – what could be bad?

If you are in Leland on a Thursday, check out Maple Achers and try a new veggie.  Otherwise, run, run, run to gather up a handful of garlic scapes while you still can!  And yes, I’m still holding, so let me know if you are desperate.

Roasted Garlic Scapes

 

Preheat Oven to 425oF.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Drop the garlic scapes in the boiling water and cook for about a minute until bright green. Rinse with cold water to stop the cooking.

Coiling garlic scape into bundles

Coil each scape into a circle, following the natural shape, and tucking in the ends in to hold it.

Transfer to a bowl and drizzle with olive oil, tossing to coat.

Arrange on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt, and bake for 12-15 minutes until the ends start to crisp up. Feel free to use a hot grill instead – equally delicious.

Garlic Scape Bundles on a sheet pan being sprinkled with salt

Transfer to a serving plate and sprinkle with additional salt, if needed. Best served with a glass o’ vino!

Bundles of roasted Garlic Scapes with sea salt on black slate tray

This post contains affiliate links.  For more of my must-have faves, check out my shop.

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

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Summer Grilling: South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl

Summer Grilling: South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl

It was a perfect confluence of events.  I was invited to a dedication at a local yacht club, complete with naval officers and Girl Scouts, and asked to bring a side to share.   I had just loaded up with fresh corn, heirloom tomatoes, peppers and tomatillos (it’s true, I have been to five farmers market in six days – it’s that time of year – and no, I don’t have a problem, but thanks for your concern)!   And then a fabulous box filled with RiceSelect Texmati Rice appeared on my doorstep awaiting a review (two thumbs up), courtesy of culinary friends at Mambo Sprouts.  The wheels were already turning.  Rice. Grilled Veggies. Salad Bowl. Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl. Voila! A summer salad jammed packed with flavor was born.

RiceSelect Texmati Rice

RiceSelect Texmati, in case you don’t know, combines the best qualities of basmati and American long-grain rice and has a popcorn-y aroma and nutty taste. Because the grains cook up dry, separate and fluffy, it is the ideal choice for a rice salad.  Flavor + Texture.  Win. Win.  I was off and running to whip up a big batch of South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Vegetable Salad.  With Lime Cilantro Dressing!!  Oh, yeah!

As my mind was spinning around southwestern flavors, I remembered a vinaigrette that was a fan-favorite in my earliest catering days.  Lots of cumin.  It was pretty basic – a bit of a one note samba by today’s palate’s cries for layers of flavor – so I dosed it with Sriracha, a serious hit of lime (juice and zest) and cilantro. Yum.   I can’t be sure, though there are rumors of hoarding and hiding the leftovers, but I do believe this dish got better the next day.   Even the grilled romaine held up.  Especially with starch based dishes, it’s always important to re-taste for seasonings and acid both before you serve it and again the next day.  To my palate, it was still well-seasoned the next day, but it’s your kitchen, you be the judge.

Couple of quick notes to keep in mind as you are cooking:

  • Once the rice sits off the heat to absorb the final liquid, remove the lid, fluff it with a fork.  Since we are making a cold salad, drizzle a couple tablespoons of olive oil to coat and seal each grain. This will keep the rice from over-absorbing dressing later. And that friends, will let you serve it again over the next couple days.
  • The dressing recipe below makes a double batch and is a good one to keep on hand in the fridge. However if you want to store it for longer than a few days, add the cilantro to the salad, not the dressing.  The cilantro-free dressing will keep refrigerated for a couple weeks.
  • When chopping the grilled tomatillos, be sure to catch and add the juices to the salad. These liquids are a great way to add depth of flavor to your salad.  Single-handedly they add a rare combo – smoke AND acid
  • And zesting: if you aren’t fully stocked with a Microplane Zester/Grater, why are we even friends? For real. These zesters put the joy in zesting.  No chance of getting too much bitter white pith in the zest. No more scraped knuckles. Perfect every time.  And they are awesome for grating hard cheeses or spices like nutmeg. Run. Now.

Let’s get busy. This flavorful salad pairs perfectly with grilled meats or fish, or is a stand out as a vegetarian entrée.  Add toasted pepitas for a dose of protein if serving as a main.

Drizzling Little Gems with EVOO

South of the Border Texmati Rice & Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl

  • 1 cup RiceSelect Texmati White Rice
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil, plus more to drizzle on Little Gems
  • 3 tomatillos, husks removed
  • 3 ears corn, husks and silk removed
  • 1 poblano pepper
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, trimmed and seeded and cut into 4 sides and tossed in olive oil
  • ½ 6-pack Little Gems baby romaine (3 heads), trimmed and cut in half lengthwise
  • Ground coriander
  • 6 ounces heirloom cherry and/or grape tomatoes cut in quarter wedges
  • 4 ounces queso fresco, crumbled
  • 1 Avocado, chopped

Cook RiceSelect Texmati rice according to package directions.  After you remove the pan from the heat and let it stand 5-10 minutes, transfer the rice to a mixing bowl and drizzle with 1 ½ Tablespoons olive oil, fluffing with a fork.  Set aside.

Corn, Tomatillos, Bell Peppers and Poblano on the Grill

Grill the vegetables over a hot grill: tomatillos, corn, poblano pepper and yellow bell pepper.  Let the poblano char completely and transfer to a plastic bag to sweat.  When cool enough to handle, pull off the char under running water and remove stem and seeds.

Coarsely chop the tomatillos, poblano and bell pepper and cut corn from cob.  Add to the rice, along with any juices that release from the tomatillos.

Drizzle the Little Gems with olive oil and sprinkle with coriander.  Grill cut side down until the lettuce just starts to wilt and gets grill marks.  Chop coarsely and add to the salad.

Grilled Little Gem Baby Romaine Heads

Add tomatoes, queso fresco and avocado, and dress the salad with the Cumin Lime Cilantro Dressing.

Adjust seasonings before serving.

Makes about 3 quarts and is a fabulous leftover.

 

Cumin Lime Cilantro Dressing:

  • 1/3 cup EVOO
  • ¼ cup chopped cilantro (see note)
  • 2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
  • 2 Tablespoons Sriracha
  • Zest and Juice of 2 limes
  • ½ Tablespoon ground cumin
  • ½ Tablespoon salt

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.

Note: This will make twice the dressing needed for this salad and it will keep for several weeks refrigerated if you add the cilantro to the salad instead of  the dressing itself.  Or make a double batch of the salad and use it all!

Southwest RiceSelect Texmati and Grilled Veggie Salad Bowl topped with grilled baby romaine

This post contains affiliate links.  For more of my must-have faves, check out my shop.

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

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Feeling Pot Lucky: Build Your Own Burger

Feeling Pot Lucky: Build Your Own Burger

I have seriously gone down the Pot Lucky rabbit hole, or as I have recently taken to calling it – the Curated Pot Luck.  It was only a matter of time after sausage making, soup swapping, and pizza topping, that I would dive head first into a burger blast.  No doubt I have mentioned that I rarely get dinner invites,  despite my dear friend Cindy running ahead and telling people they’ll have me at hambur…. (hint, hint, hint – I’m a gracious guest, really I am).  If this party didn’t crystallize that concept, I’m destined to dine at home.  Burgers, burgers, burgers and more burgers.

Lamb burger sliders on a platter

The gang has started to embrace (or run for the hills) the idea of bringing together a culinary creation around a theme.  This time I first lined up six people as the Patty People.   The call went out for each to bring a different flavor, 3 pounds divvied up into 2-dozen sliders.  Yup! That’s 12 dozen sliders.  Plenty to share for any one that wandered our way.  We ended up with turkey burgers – one of my go-to recipes – a three-cut beef blend, lamb, bison, shrimp and a beef raised locally by the pattier himself.  (Note to Dan: standing invite).

Feast for the Eyes: overhead shot of a spread of toppings for six kinds of sliders

I provided the Designated Toppers with a range of ideas, but the contributions far exceeded that list.  Cheeses, veggies, special sauce and more. In case it’s not yet clear – “more” means bacon.  Or it means more bacon.  The contributions ran from an irreverently-titled hot sauce to smoked onions stuffed with garlic, and on to smoked tomato mint jam (Noyce!!! A fabulous complement to the lamb burger).  I felt a bit like the butterball hotline, holding court and making pairing recommendations.  A cup or two of each topping is plenty if you shoot for the wide range that we recruited – no need to prepare vats-full.

Woman holding a jar of Jimbo\'s hot sauce

Here are a few of the amazing items that painted the burger canvas:

Cheeses:

  • Goat
  • Bleu Cheese Crumbles
  • Pepper Jack
  • Jalapeno Pimento Cheese

Smoky onions stuffed with garlic

Veg & more:

  • Mushrooms Bourguignon
  • Smoked Onions
  • Mango Salsa
  • Arugula
  • Pickled Peppers
  • Lemon Feta Pepperoncini
  • Julienne purple radish
  • Bacon

Special Sauce:

  • Salsa Verde
  • Chimichurri
  • Cumin Yogurt
  • Mint Pesto
  • Chipotle Aioli
  • Roasted Pineapple Habanero Sauce
  • Guacamole
  • Tzatziki
  • Smoked Tomato Mint Jam

Smoked Tomato Mint Jam

Amazingly there were only about 3 of the 144 sliders left.  Clearly no one went home hungry and everyone was very (wink, wink) “happy”.  Sharing a grill and creating your own masterpiece is a great way to get the group mingling – everyone has something to say about their personal favorite combo.

Talking Turkey

If you have ever visited me in Michigan, you have probably had a turkey burger.   Because I add drained salsa to the very lean (read: potentially dry) meat, I tend to do a jar or two’s draining at once.  Then I patty the burgers out and wrap individually in saran and freeze on a sheet pan to keep their shape, zipping them up when frozen.  It’s great to have as a staple when company comes unannounced (unless they come three times in one day – you know who you are!)  This is the kind of dish I always make well ahead of guests and if I’m not freezing the patties, each wrapped in saran, I put them on a tray with wax paper below and on top of the burgers, and refrigerate for up to two days. If I’m holding for more than a few hours, I’m sure to wrap the whole tray in saran.  This resting time really helps firm up a somewhat wet patty.

At the very beginning of my career, I assisted my cooking school teacher Rick Rodgers in classes and at book signings.  He wrote both the Turkey Cookbook and Thanksgiving 101.  He has written well over 30 books now and there is not a dud among them. Every recipe is always impeccably tested.  I have links to a couple of the books in my shop but truthfully they are all fantastic.  I have a vague memory that we made turkey burger sliders for some book signings and served them on little potato rolls.  I think that is where the idea of drained salsa first came to my attention. Since then turkey burgers were a staple on the menu at my restaurant New World Grill, where we made Pico de Gallo in-house and added cumin, shallots, and a splash of white wine.  However you do it, these stir-ins add a lot of flavor and keep the lean meat from being dry.  I really love these with pepper jack and grilled onions on an onion roll. Go big or go home.

Turkey Burger

For the burger pot lucky, I used one of my very favorite salsas: Frontera Chipotle Salsa.  Because ground turkey is a blank canvas, you almost can’t over-season it. In other words, more heat, more spice. Please.

 

  • 16 ounce jar of favorite salsa, drained and liquid discarded (or save and use to season a sauce, etc.)
  • 3 pounds ground turkey
  • 3 shallots, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Pour the salsa into a fine mesh strainer, set over a bowl. Set aside for 20 minutes or more until the liquid has been released. Discard the liquid or save/freeze for something else.

Making turkey burgers: ground turkey, cumin, pepper, salt, chopped shallots and drained salsa

 

Mix the turkey, drained salsa, shallots, cumin, salt and pepper by hand until incorporated and shape into patties. See note above about stocking your freezer or letting them rest for an hour (up to two days) in your fridge before grilling.

Turkey burger sliders pattied out and waiting for the grill!

Grill over a medium-hot fire until cooked through (timing depends on burger size).  Poultry should always be thoroughly cooked.  If you find it hard to flip, show a little patience. A hot grill will always release the stuck food when it’s ready.

Serve with firecracker cole slaw – recipe is coming soon!!

Makes 24 sliders or 8 full size burgers.

Turkey Burger with Pimento Cheese & Bacon

This post contains affiliate links.  For more of my must-have faves, check out my shop.

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

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Pizza Party – Getting Pot Luck-y Part III

Pizza Party – Getting Pot Luck-y Part III

BYOPT!

Bring your own pizza toppings.   Pizza Party extraordinaire.

BYOPT - Bring Your Own Pizza Toppings

In case you haven’t guessed, these newfangled pot lucks (emphasis on the LUCKY, not the pot) are a big hit.  Perhaps the reason typical pot lucks scare me just a wee bit is their origin.  Historically, pot lucks date back to the European middle ages when nothing, but nothing, was thrown away.  (Maybe we could take a tiny page from that lifestyle – I’m looking at you 40% food waste). Rather, leftovers were thrown into a pot and kept warm kind of indefinitely, available to any unplanned arrivals on short notice. This practice was especially prevalent in taverns and inns in medieval times, so no matter when you arrived, you could be treated to the “luck of the pot.”  It’s entirely possible, to me at least, that modern day pot lucks could be of equally suspect food safety, never mind random items.   But the Pot Lucky aims to change all that!

While on the subject of random items, who can forget the famous shrimp dip?   My hosts, the charming Bob and Sally Oyler, were no doubt surprised when not only did a guest plop down a somewhat lame-ass (editorial comment mine, certainly not that of the gracious hosts) hors d’oeuvre smack dab in the middle of their fabulous holiday buffet, but said hors d’ was accompanied by kitschy  recipe cards to take away.  By the end of the party, pretty much every card remained – apparently not a dish that you really need (nor want, for that matter) a recipe for.  And now, for more than 35 years, they have appeared in my mail, tucked inside Christmas cards from Sally, their daughter Barb, and most recently hand-delivered by a grandson, something of a recipe card mule, given he had no idea what was in the envelope he bore.  I have gotten the last card from Sally, but trust, hope they will keep coming. Anybody want that recipe?   I might have a few to share.

Shrimp Dip. Shrimp Dip. Shrimp Dip. Lots of recipes

Like everything, pot lucks have a silver lining. The beauty of the pot luck is that it spreads both the effort and the expense and makes entertaining a you-don’t-have-to-be-Martha-Stewart snap.  After the sausage making party and the soup swap, both definite fan faves, I landed on BYOPT – bring your own pizza toppings.  A Pizza Party. “Best Party Ever”, according to one guest.  I think part of the fun was that everyone got a quick turn at playing chef – drawing from the 40 some toppings, sauces, and cheeses that found their way to the kitchen island.  And by playing chef, I mean this in the truest sense of the word – all the items were prepped (mise en place) and assembly is both the easy and the creative part.  I committed to providing the dough (Trader’s Joe has fresh flour, whole wheat and herbed dough, as well as a frozen organic dough).  Then I threw out some ideas for both pizza combos and individual toppings, organized by sauce/base, oils, toppings (veg and meat), and cheeses.    You can plan it two ways – have people chose from a list of toppings and mix and match at the party, or have them bring enough for their own concoction and they are responsible for everything but the dough on that pie. We got a bit of both.  Just a little coordination will keep you from having a lot of dupes.

I of course had to make a run to the Cheese Lady, not just for the fabulous ooey-gooey meltable cheeses, but also for her fine collection of oils and vinegars.   I settled on a lemon oil (fabulous to drizzle with my lemon pistachio pesto) and a white truffle oil. Super aromatic oils like truffle need to be drizzled after the bake.  They are too good to go on before the oven.  Good news guys – a phone call to the Cheese Lady and these puppies can be on their way to you.   They don’t ship cheeses, but do take phone orders on the wonderful assortment of oils and vinegars.  There is a divine maple balsamic that makes a killer vinaigrette with the lemon oil, and the raspberry balsamic is wonderful drizzled into a seltzer.  Super refreshing!

Oils and Vinegars Chez Cheese Lady

I had to get a couple cheeses that weren’t on my radar – one was meadowkaas which I did know about but didn’t expect to see til June. This is a special (aren’t they all?) style cheese that is made from the first milk from the cows that wander into North Holland’s (the Netherlands, not Michigan!!!) first grasses each spring.   An importer found some 65 wheels from 2015 and upon Cheese Lady deeming it delish, they found their way to her.  Yahoo!   However, the other cheese I bought I had never heard – Kurpianka smoked cheese from Poland.  Its touch of garlic and springy texture make it a perfect melting pizza cheese. Yum.     Oh and it looks like a cheese grenade. I love that!

Cheese Grenade - smoked mozzarella, along with other sauces and oils for pizza

The most important detail you can tell your guests is to make sure the ingredients are “pizza-ready.” That means olives are pitted, zucchini and shiitake-types are quickly sautéed, and bacon is at least par-cooked.  Otherwise you will get both a free for all with your limited space and a real mess. I considered a change of address halfway through the party.   But a little organization goes a long way. I had a building station with sauces and oils, a topping station, a cutting station, a bar area, and a plates & salad serving area.  My kitchen isn’t nearly as big as it sounds.  But it worked – just barely.  We had about 18 people and made about 13 pies.  I find that so hard to believe because I swear I made 15 myself and ate at least 20.  #CarbFreeMay

It helps to have some basic equipment – a Pizza Peel to transfer the prepped pizzas, a Pizza Stone or two (or three) always hot in the oven, pizza pans, and plenty of cutting boards and pizza wheels.   Everyone brought what they had. I think there may have been six pies in the oven and two on the grill at one point.  For the grilled pizza, we used the frozen dough.  If you make your own or use fresh dough, it is best to roll it as thinly as you can and then freeze it to make a smooth transfer to the grill. Oil the grill and cook the dough on both sides to color and get grill marks.   Then transfer to the building area where you can add toppings.  Slide back on the grill and close the lid to melt the toppings. This will only take a few minutes.   The oven (400-425oF) pizzas work well if you dust the peel with corn meal or make sure the dough is well floured and not sticky.  Build the pie and slide onto the hot stones.   All in all, it’s pretty neck-down in the execution, once you do a couple test pies to get down the technique.

Prepping Ingredients for pizza topping party

We had some pretty fantastic Pizza Party toppings – here is a select list (email if you want my master list):

  • Sauces: red sauce, lemon ricotta, lemon pistachio pesto, fruit chutney, kale pesto, green olive tapenade, horseradish dill drizzle
  • Oils: EVOO, lemon oil, white truffle oil, Toasted Pumpkin Seed Oil (divine on the butternut squash ribbon pie), chipotle oil, fig balsamic
  • Arugula, charred scallions, roasted garlic, sautéed shiitakes, grilled zucchini and yellow squash, you’ll thank me in the winter oven dried tomatoes, sautéed broccoli rabe, fresh basil, Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, spinach, roasted beets, dried figs, butternut squash ribbons (the Paderno Spiral Vegetable Slicer worked perfectly), Brussels sprouts, smoked salmon, capers, roasted plums, radishes  – wait…..seriously??? A partial list????
  • Pepperoni, prosciutto, shredded chicken, ham, bacon, sausage
  • Grated mozzarella, fresh mozzarella – sliced, burrata, grated parm/asiago/Romano, fresh goat, feta, glacier wildfire blue, smoked kurpianka, meadowkaas

Building a Pizza and ready to go in the oven

And here are a few of the winning Pizza Party combos:

  • Pesto, fresh mozzarella, prosciutto, you’ll thank me in the winter oven-dried tomatoes, and dressed with arugula tossed in a lemon vinaigrette
  • Red sauce, figs, bacon, chicken, roasted garlic, wildfire glacier blue, smoked kurpianka
  • Lemon pistachio pesto, fresh mozzarella, asiago/Romano/parm, smoked kurpianka, basil and shiitakes
  • Red sauce, sausage, mozzarella, basil, artichokes
  • Kale pesto, broccoli rabe, chicken, Kalamata olives, basil, mozzarella, burrata
  • Lemon Ricotta, spinach, Brussels sprouts, butternut squash ribbons, figs,  feta, toasted pumpkin seed oil
  • Arugula Pepita Pesto, goat cheese, butternut squash ribbons, pepitas

Oven Ready - three pizzas ready to go in the oven and just out

I’m sure you wish there were more and better photos (I do), but seriously, I need my fingers.

Good Enough to Eat - Pizza with broccolini and grated cheese

Next up in the Pot Lucky series: Build Your Own Burger!

Pizza Party - The End - dishwasher is full

The End of (this) Pizza Party! (and thanks to the phenom clean up crew!!!)

© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2016. All rights reserved.

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I Never Saw Such Sausage: Sausage Making 101

I Never Saw Such Sausage: Sausage Making 101

Sawsuch sawsedge. That’s the way my Dad used to say it. Was he channeling his inner Brooklyn? Fuhgeddaboudit! He cracked himself up when he said it. But this tale isn’t really about sausage or sausage making, it’s about fun with friends.  I must however make one quick sausage stop, a reverent moment to pay homage to the mother of all sausage experiences – the sausage bomb.  I once had to work for the daughter of a famed crime boss.  I would tell you who she was, but I’d have to kill you (read: they may kill me).  You think I’m kidding, but when her brother died in a car/mini-bike accident, the car driver was “disappeared.” Have I said too much already?  Anyway Princessa Mafiosa wrote a cookbook and Extra was filming a piece at her Lon G-Island mansion. I prepped what I could and took a car service to arrive a bit ahead of the appointed hour.  They really hadn’t scheduled sufficient time for me to ready all the beauty food laid out in a magnificent “of course she did this herself” spread.  When I knocked on the door of the palace, the circle drive strewn with obligatory black Escalades parked haphazardly Tony Soprano-style, my knock was greeted with a door slam and strict instructions to come back later. I had been doing this long enough to know how much work lay ahead and forceful enough to finesse my way inside, but I always wondered –  at what cost?

The first recipe was a pasta dish that called for browning the sausage in 2 cups of olive oil, then adding 2 cups of cold water and a bouillon cube to the boiling oil.  It was genius – take out the target without spilling any blood – sausage bomb ??? style. BOOM!  I did have the good sense to retrieve my business card from the kitchen counter before leaving lest I find a horse head in my bed. Hopefully with a lovely Béarnaise sauce napping it just so.

But I digress – and still swear this really isn’t about sausage.  It’s about hospitality.  We’ve just survived the super bowl, the Oscars, and the New York marathon of all home entertaining events- Thanksgiving.  It was no doubt stressful. Was the turkey too salty, too dry, too frozen?  Did you really have to do it all by yourself? Time now to sit back and enlist the full team to make things happen, and have fun while doing it.  I’m not just talking about a potluck people, I mean a real cooking party.

people gathered at the sausage making partyI recently had the good fortune of spending the afternoon at a sausage party.  This crowd takes their game meat seriously so we had a variety of flavors, including a beef heart sausage. (Stop it – your face is gonna freeze like that). But the one here is rabbit with dried cherries and toasted hazelnuts. The great thing about making your own sausage is that you have ultimate control over the seasonings and fat/meat ratio, eliminating all preservatives, while having great fun. Win. Win. Win.

One of my all-time favorite meat books is a seriously old cookbook by Jack Ubaldi. Jack owned the legendary Florence Prime Meat Market in New York’s Greenwich Village. He was a butcher’s butcher. A master of meat. When I came on the food scene, he had just sold it and was teaching. I took both butchering and knife skills from him.  He changed my life when I learned that a bread knife is not to be used in a back and forth sawing motion, but rather cut on the forward movement, only dragging the knife back – without action – merely to re-position, so you can cut again on the next forward motion. Who knew? Jack.

Jack’s sausage technique became the base for our afternoon of sausage revelry.  I arrived just as the sausage mix was being processed in a meat grinder. My Mom and Grandmothers had manual grinders that C-clamped to their counters. Today you can buy attachments for a variety of machines; I have the grinder attachment for my KitchenAid stand mixer. ground sausage recipe, grinding attachments and a bowl of mixHere’s what we missed –

Fresh Rabbit Sausage with Dried Cherries and Toasted Hazelnuts:

  • 2 pounds lamb, cut in chunks
  • 2 pounds rabbit, cut in chunks
  • 2 tablespoons kosher salt (if not kosher, at least coarse grain)
  • 2 Tablespoons chopped garlic
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 teaspoon chopped marjoram
  • 1 teaspoon chopped sage
  • ¼ cup chopped dried cherries
  • ¼ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts
  • Casings, soaked – available from your butcher

Makes about 4 pounds of sausage, or approximately 12 links.

The general rule of thumb is 30% fat to 70% lean meat. If it’s too lean, it will be very dry; too fatty, the fat will render leaving a shriveled up sausage that is way too rich. This sausage was pretty lean, but lots of flavor. The meat went through the grinder with 3/8” plate, and the rest is stirred in by hand, first the seasonings, then the cherries and nuts.   Knead by hand until the meat sticks together, about 5 minutes or so. The recipe and technique here are for a fresh sausage, meant to be cooked and enjoyed within a couple days. Drying sausage is a separate technique, which is no longer required for home cooks, now that we have fridges.

Vintage sausage grinder, sliding soaked casings on the tube, and close up of the tubeThe casings you will find are generally hog. They are often sold packed in salt. If your butcher doesn’t carry them there are several online sources. About an hour before you start, you should soak the casings in warm water for about 30 minutes. After, run water through the casings, but do not squeeze. Then return them to a container, covered in tepid water. One pound of casings is about 50-60 feet long, and will pack 25 pounds of sausage, though it may be closer to 50 pounds. There is a fairly wide range in capacity because the diameter will vary. If you don’t use them all, wring out the excess water and pack again in salt and refrigerate in airtight container.

The real fun begins when the stuffing happens.  My friends happen to own an antique stuffer, but in addition to the meat grinder attachment, my KitchenAid stand mixer has a Stuffing Attachment. You can always use a funnel for stuffing by hand. Thread the casings onto a wet funnel or stuffing tube until an inch of casing remains. Tie off the end.
making sausage and filling the casings in a spiral and tying them offAdd the meat to the hopper and push through. It helps here if you have octopus arms or a friend – one to man the sausage intake and one to manage the casing/stuffing output. Once you have filled a desired length, press gently to ease out any air, even the meat distribution, and make sure there is a little give – i.e. not too stuffed.   Tie off this end. Continue filling additional lengths, until you have used all your meat mixture.
spiral length of fresh made sausage and twisting into linksThe next step is to make links: Pinch off a 4-5 inch section at each end and twirl like a jump rope to create an individual link.  Generally all the links are kept attached to minimize the waste.  At this point you can freeze, simmer, broil, or grill, but if you are like us, you will want them right away with a frosty beer. We threw them on the grill and cooked about 8-10 minutes per side.

sausage on the grill and served on a board with mustard and breadThere are infinite ways you can customize this concept – fresh sausage, dry sausage, fruit, nuts, organs, animals, fish, veggie, etc. But this story is about camaraderie and spending the day with friends. We cracked a new jar of last season’s habanero mustard – sorry but this recipe is also a mob secret – and served it up with Amy and Todd’s butternut squash soup, topped with crispy bacon, shallots, and apples, then chased it with my gentleman jack pumpkin ginger cheesecake. Fat and happy!!!!

The next cooking party on the docket is a soup party. Stay tuned!

Where are they now? ChloElla J update

Okay you know where they are!!! It’s only been ten days. However, this update is worth reporting.

I do believe they have outdone themselves – December’s Cupcakes for a Cause were edible snow globes. Could they be a bit cuter????

cupcakes for a cause Christmas cupcakes made to resemble snow globes© Copyright: KatyKeck.com 2015. All rights reserved.

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