The Sunday Table: April 17, 2011

After the scary tornadoes that tore through North Carolina yesterday, I feel very blessed that I still have a Sunday table. Many lives were lost. Homes and businesses completely demolished. The aerial video of towns to the south is chilling. Photos of decimated homes in Raleigh are heartbreaking. We were so lucky. One tornado tore up a path west of us and another approached and went off to the east. We were well out of harm’s way. Mother Nature is random, either cruel or kind.

We watched on TV as the tornado headed toward downtown Raleigh.

Back to food — some relief. There’s something both fascinating and repugnant about this story. It’s a profile of Marie Wright who is a flavor chemist. Her creative process is compelling, reminding me of a painter mixing colors. But lab beakers full of prosciutto flavor? Ick. However, an interesting article and video about the secret to processed food’s success.

If it were April’s Fools Day, I’d think this was a joke. Mario Batali and a few other chefs, including Michael Symon, will be hosting a new daytime talk show, The Chew. It’s replacing one of the two long-running ABC soap operas that are being canceled. I have to admit, I could really get into watching a show that will “focus on food from EVERY angle.” Hopefully it won’t become too Food Network-y and the producers will let Mario be Mario. And here’s a bonus, Clinton Kelly of What Not to Wear is also one of the rotating hosts, their entertaining expert. Don’t judge, I adore him. The other new show The Revolution stars Timothy Gunn from Project Runway. Looove him! My work ethic will be challenged.

When I think about my fantasy sandwiches, there’s a common ingredient – melted cheese. Just writing those words makes my stomach rumble a bit, and now I’m wondering if there’s still cheddar in the frig. April, in case you haven’t heard, is National Grilled Cheese Month. If you’re looking for new grilled cheese ideas, check out the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board’s Grilled Cheese Academy. But beware, the page talks.

And then there’s the pimento cheese sandwich. Swoon. (stomach grumbling sounds)

Greenpeace has released its latest Carting Away the Oceans report, seafood sustainability rankings for supermarkets. I’m surprised to see Target is ranked second, behind Safeway. I’m guessing that’s based on frozen fish because I don’t recall any fresh fish at my nearest Target, about 15 minutes away.

As for my other local supermarkets:

• Harris Teeter, 20 minutes away but where I usually buy fish, placed 6^th
• Food Lion, part of the Delhaize group, placed 10^th – maybe they’re fairly sustainable but their selection is dismal
• Walmart is 13^th – surprised they even rank that high, the only fish I’ve seen there is frozen farmed fish from Asia, but maybe my Walmart is a crappy hick one
• Greenpeace doesn’t rate Lowes Foods, maybe because they’re a Carolina chain. Lowes Foods is better than Food Lion on inventory; I would hope they’re better on sustainability, I’ll have to take a closer look.
• BJ’s isn’t in the report either – love their frozen wild salmon.
• I don’t have any Whole Foods (4^th) or Trader Joe’s (12^th) near me which is why I left them out.

How does your supermarket rank? Where do you find the best fish?

A reminder to not take anything for granted, the house of one of my Raleigh tweeps.

Spicy Cheeseburger Dip

How about some heart attack on a chip? No, no, no, it can’t be that bad, can it? I made this dip for the Super Bowl. I heard the Obamas were having burgers and wings. If the First Lady can take a day off from healthy eating, so can we. Everything in moderation, including moderation, Julia Child used to say.

I suppose you could use any kind of hot pepper for this dish. I used a jalapeno; it’s a bit hotter than a poblano according to the Scoville (heat) scale. The original recipe called for 1/2 pound of ground beef, but I bought the smallest package I could find and used most of it. The elderly dog got a bit to make aspirin balls. You know that trick, right? Stick an aspirin (or heartworm pill) inside a ball of ground beef. Down the hatch!

I must confess another use for this dip. Toast some bread. Heat up the dip in the microwave. Spread on bread. Add some hot sauce or pickled jalapenos. Slice and serve for the most decadent cheese sandwich ever. That’s just theory, of course!

Cheeseburger Dip

You’ll need a foiled-line baking pan, small bowl and plate or a sealable plastic bag, medium bowl and large saucepan.

• 1 jalapeno, cut in half, stem and seeds removed
• 1/2 pound block American cheese from the deli counter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 1/2 pound sharp cheddar cheese, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
• 2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 3/4 pound ground beef
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes or tomatoes with chiles, drained
• 5 oz evaporated milk
• 1 tablespoon (or more) hot sauce
• 3 green onions, thinly sliced
• Optional: see ideas at the end of the recipe for variations involving mushrooms, green bell peppers, chipotle en adobo and smoked paprika, or horseradish.
  

Place jalapeno halves on a foil-lined baking sheet under the broiler or in the toaster oven, skin side up. Broil about 8 minutes. Transfer roasted jalapeno to a bowl and cover with a plate, or to a sealed plastic bag. Steam for 5-10 minutes. Peel off skin, chop finely and set aside.

Toss cheeses with cornstarch in a bowl until evenly coated.

Heat oil in saucepan over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and cook, stirring occasionally, until no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off some of the fat. Add cumin and pepper flakes and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, jalapeno and evaporated milk and stir. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to low, and add cheese, all at once. Cook, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon until cheese is completely melted and sauce is smooth. Stir in hot sauce and green onions.Taste for seasoning. Add more hot sauce if it needs more kick.

Serve immediately with crackers, vegetables or tortilla chips.

Variation: If I make this again, I’m tempted to add sauteed sliced mushrooms. If you’re a bell pepper lover, sauteed sliced green bell pepper would add some extra flavor and color — this is starting to remind me of a strange liquid Philly cheese steak.

Variation: You could go a different way with the heat. You could add smokiness by subbing chopped chipotle en adobo for the jalapeno, and smoked paprika for the hot sauce. Or, instead of using jalapeno and hot sauce, you could use lots of horseradish instead, and I mean lots.

Original recipe: Gooey Cheeseburger Dip, Serious Eats

The Sunday Table: January 9, 2011

North Carolina is frigid today; it went all the way down to 18 last night. I know that’s nothing for all you hardy northerners, but brrrrr. A storm’s coming in tonight bringing snow and freezing rain. Times like these call for making a big pot of chili. If my newly tweaked recipe turns out well, I’ll post it on Wednesday. Make yourself at home; I’ll have a bowl ready for you soon. In the meantime, have a beer, a Sierra Nevada Porter a Duck-Rabbit Porter (changed my mind at the store), some for the pot, some for us, and let’s talk food.

As much as I love excess, I am paying a bit more attention to my health this New Year. I’ve always taken it for granted, but I’m hitting a milestone birthday this year and it’s starting to sink in — I’m not invincible anymore. It’s time to make fitness more of a priority in my life. Don’t get me wrong, I was doing okay until I moved here and then I lost my momentum. But I’m back! Joe Miller at the Get Going NC blog gives us seven useful tips for a better 2011.

Joe’s blog led me to The Couch-to-5K ® Running Plan. I’ve seen references to this program, perhaps from friends on Facebook. I’m not sure if it’s for me but I like the idea of burning calories efficiently. I haven’t run since high school. I was a miler and cross-country runner but stopped after getting three tibia stress fractures in a row. Until now I’ve never been tempted to run again, all that bone banging put me off. But we’re talking only three miles, not thirteen miles, hmmm.

photo by Kristen Taylor

Back to the fat. I could have called this one: 2011 will be the year of pimento cheese, says Time. No kidding. I have seen an onslaught of recipes for pimento cheese dips, pimento cheese potato gratin and pimento cheese bacon bites. They’re all residing in my “make one day soon” list. I live in the land of pimento cheese. Even in the most basic supermarket, there are at least a few different brands. What’s not to love? Cheese, mayo, peppers? 2011 will be a very good year.

This is a fascinating and disturbing story, fittingly printed in the Crime section of The Globe & Mail, about honey laundering: the sour side of nature’s golden sweetener. Honey makes its way onto supermarket shelves and into food processors’ factories (for cereal, bread and more) from China where it’s been contaminated with dangerous antibiotics and diluted with sweeteners. Please please please buy local or made in USA honey. Support your local beekeepers. Support the US honey industry that supports our agriculture.

Everyone loves their Trader Joe’s. We all have our list of staples that we only buy there. Of course we always come out with more than the items on that list. It always cracks me up when the cashiers say, “Did you find everything you were looking for?” And everything I wasn’t but am compelled to buy! Even their beers, or at least some of them, are great deals. Tom Cizauskas led me to this post revealing the real breweries behind those silly Trader Joe’s names.

I’ve always been an advocate of pairing good craft beer with cheese, but when I had a cheese party for myself on my birthday this year, I chose white wine instead. I just think it goes better. Years ago in London, I had a picnic in my hotel room with cheese from Neal’s Yard Dairy; I chose white wine that night too. David Lebovitz’s post, Why You Should Drink White Wine with Cheese, made me realize that I’m not weird.

photo by Arnaud Clerget

Shattering All Your Resolutions: Beer Cheese Soup

Yes, yes, it’s the first week of the new year and you all have resolutions about eating healthier, exercising and being the perfect you. However, sometimes you need to treat yourself, and those around you, to a warm comforting bowl of fat. Don’t worry, it has vegetables in it too!

Beer cheese soups have been taunting me for quite some time. I hit the jackpot by picking this one from Serious Eats. We enjoyed a big bowl for dinner along with beer brats and red cabbage (recipes coming Monday) before heading off to a hockey game. True confession: a late night craving forced me to dip pretzels into the cold soup. It was very very good.

I left my guy behind on Christmas morning (don’t judge!) and flew north to visit my family. While I was gone he made his way through the rest of the pot and said it got even better with age. He also reported that jalapeno corn crackers make an excellent topping.

It’s important to select the right beer for this soup. If you like light malty lagers (the industry giants) they will probably work well, but they won’t add much flavor. The recipe suggested Bass Ale, but I wanted to buy American so I chose Sam Adams Boston Ale. The soup was delicious but there was a slight bitterness in the background. Next time, I’ll probably use a dark malty beer like a porter or stout, or maybe a Scotch ale, and see how that works. I want to enjoy the flavor and depth of a good beer, without that hint of hoppiness or dryness in the background. I’d prefer a sweeter or maltier flavor to emerge.

Oh darn, it looks like I’ll have to make it again for experimentation purposes.

Beer Cheese Soup

• 1/2 stick unsalted butter – you could substitute oil for 2 of the tablespoons, but with four cups of cheese, will it really matter?
  
• 2 medium leeks, use only the white parts, diced – compost or save the green parts for homemade stock
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced
• ½ red bell pepper, cored, seeded and diced
• 2 celery ribs, diced
• 1-2 large garlic cloves, minced
• 1 large bay leaf
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups whole milk
• 1-3/4 cups chicken broth – have more on hand if you wish to lighten the soup a bit when it’s done
• 12-oz bottle beer – something malty with deep flavor, avoid hoppy bitter beers
• 1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tsp dry mustard
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground black pepper
• Crushed red pepper flakes, to taste
• 4 cups extra-sharp cheddar, grated
• Optional toppings – bacon, green onions, pickled jalapenos, jalapeno corn crackers or your choice of cracker flavor

Add butter to a large heavy pot or dutch oven set over medium heat. When the butter is melted, add the leeks, carrots, red bell pepper, celery, garlic and bay leaf. Cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.

Turn the heat to medium-low and sprinkle in the flour. Stir well and cook for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Whisk in the milk, broth and beer in a slow stream. Turn heat to medium and bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 5 minutes.

Add Worcestershire sauce, mustard, salt, ground pepper and red pepper flakes. Stir well. Add a handful of cheese and stir until it melts. Continue adding cheese, stirring and waiting until one handful melts before you add the next. Make sure the soup doesn’t come to a boil; turn down the heat to low if necessary — I had to do that. You only want a light simmer.

When you’re ready to serve your soup, fish out and discard the bay leaf. Serve it plain or garnish it with chopped cooked bacon, chopped green onions, pickled jalapenos, jalapeno corn crackers or your choice of cracker flavor.

If you want to make the soup ahead of time, keep it warm (on the lowest setting) in a slow cooker. It does reheat well after refrigeration and a good stir.

It’s also good for dipping pretzels, sort of like a chile con queso. I can also imagine, oh this is evil, combining it with pasta for a turbo macaroni and cheese. Or is that gross? Now you know how I think.

Original recipe: Cheddar Beer Soup, Serious Eats

Update: I was just reminded by my friend Thomas Vincent that The Session, a monthly beer blogging event, is featuring Cooking with Beer posts this month. Check out my “cooking with beer” tag for even more recipes that include beer.

The Sunday Table: November 28, 2010

I launched The Sunday Table series last week. In my little game of Let’s Pretend, I imagine that I’m sharing my table with some fellow food lovers and we chat about interesting tidbits of food news from the past week.

Since it’s the season of Celebration, I’ll pour us some Sierra Nevada Celebration Ale, an American India Pale Ale brewed with fresh hops. Dan Becker at The Full Pint talks to Sierra Nevada brewer Bill Manley to clear up some myths about one of my favorite beers.

Has anyone tried this cheese, SarVecchio? I love Parmigiano-Reggiano but I’m too cheap, I mean frugal, to buy it regularly.

Live and let eat, that’s what I say. A vegan changed her eating habits because she needed to get some meat back into her diet and the holier-than-thou condemned her for it.

photo by flickr: Tony the Misfit

Sigh, the Dungeness crab season opened two weeks ago in northern California. Once you’ve been spoiled with Dungeness, it’s hard to go back to the smaller east coast crabs. Although I have, of course. When I lived in California I got my fill of Dungeness at many church fundraising crab feasts in Sacramento and at Jasper and Rebecca’s house at Christmas. Festive memories.

Six large companies, including Butterball and Heinz, have agreed to use less salt in some of their products as part of a national campaign against high blood pressure. I wonder if they’ll add something else to try to maintain the same flavor profiles.

A New York Times article about a small cheesemaker going head-to-head with the FDA over food safety regulations raises questions about balancing food safety with artisanal food production. Many artisanal products, for example, some Belgium beers and Italian meats, are made using methods that probably wouldn’t pass factory inspection muster yet are necessary for their unique flavor. Marion Nestle writes in The Atlantic:

“Every producer—large and small—who makes food should be producing it safely under a HACCP plan or its equivalent. If the product carries special risks, as cheeses sometimes do, the producer ought to be testing to make sure it is safe.”

“This cheesemaker’s refusal to recall Listeria-contaminated products is another reason why so many of us who care deeply about food safety want the Senate to get busy and pass food safety bill S.510.”

However, a commenter raises a good point, saying the FDA already makes it clear what foods to avoid when pregnant. “How about Americans start being responsible for themselves, rather than the government treating them like 2 yr olds.” There’s definitely a place for some regulation but not at the cost of artisanal foods that people have been eating for centuries.

Open It! is next weekend, Friday through Sunday, December 3-5. “Let’s find a bottle from the depth of the cellar and open it, drink it and then tell others about it.” My cellar isn’t that deep these days but I’m sure I can find a tasty seasonal beer on the store shelves, and some stinky cheese that was made in a dirty barn to go along with it.

photo by flickr: Chris Buecheler

Dreaming of Provence: Goat Cheese Gratin

When you are daydreaming about late afternoons at your vacation home in Provence (and the kind of life that would make that possible), pour a glass of wine, grab a baguette and feast on this. Go ahead, make it dinner, who’s judging? This is one of my old favorites from Patricia Wells at Home in Provence. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go add goat cheese to my shopping list.

Anne’s Goat Cheese Gratin

Anne is Wells’ neighbor in Provence who shares her “love of simple, big tastes” — that definitely describes this dish.

• 10 oz soft goat cheese
• 2 tsp minced fresh rosemary
• 2 tsp minced fresh oregano — I always stick to these herbs but you can definitely try others
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups tomato sauce (recipe follows), at room temp
• 24 high-quality black olives, pitted – I usually get dry-cured black olives from the olive bar in supermarkets. I cut them in half length-wise so there are more to go around.

Tomato Sauce

You could use any recipe, but hers is simple and really good.

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 small onion, minced
• salt
• 3 big cloves garlic, minced
• 28 oz can crushed tomatoes in puree
• bouquet garni – sprigs of Italian parsley, bay leaves, celery leaves tied with household twine — or use herbs (fresh or dry) of your choosing

Photo from La Fourchette blog

Saute onion in oil with salt, then add garlic, until garlic just turns golden. Add tomatoes and bouquet garni. Simmer, uncovered, until the sauce begins to thicken, about 15 minutes. You can cook it about 5 minutes more if you would like it to be a bit thicker. Remove the bouquet garni.

Preheat broiler. Scatter cheese on the bottom of a 10-1/2″ round baking pan (or whatever you’re using). Sprinkle with half of the herbs. Spoon on just enough of the tomato sauce to evenly coat the cheese. Sprinkle with the olives and remaining herbs.

Place under the broiler about 3″ from the heat. Broil until the cheese is melted and fragrant and the sauce is sizzling, about 2-3 minutes.

Serve with sliced rounds of a good baguette. So simple, so good.