theStearns

Just what every table needs: salt and pepper

The community benefits when chefs and farmers connect through locally-produced vegetables, fruits, and farm products. Yesterday I spotted these locavore chefs – Chris Shepherd (chef and managing partner of Catalan Food & Wine) and Randy Evans (executive chef of Haven) – comparing notes in the 90+ degree heat/humidity during a break in their buying activities at the Urban Harvest Farmers Market at Eastside. Farmers appreciate the restaurants’ buying power and restaurant customers enjoy fresh ingredients that taste good. It’s all good!

This variety of zucchini doesn’t vine all over the place. It’s usually confined to a compact bush. Its leaves grow on sturdy stalks that grow straight up from the middle of the plant. Zucchini form in a cluster from the center of the plant.

Colorful, hard to miss, best breakfast tacos in town, owner does not like people to take pictures of his bidness

Crawfish season is from late February to mid-May. Outdoor cooking, Louisiana-style, is a popular way to boil crawfish. I prefer my crawfish purged and washed thoroughly prior to boiling. A Cajun Crawfish Boil recipe works well. Throw in a few red potatoes and corn-on-the-cob. Wash down with you favorite cold beverage, repeat.

The 22-acre Home Sweet Farm near Brenham, TX grows more than 100 vegetables using natural techniques. Farmer Brad has been a professional organic horticulturist since 1991.

It’s squash blossom season and Executive Chef Hugo Ortega knows how to get the very best squash blossoms for Hugo’s. He has tagged special growers in California and Houston that will keep one of Houston’s most popular restaurants well-supplied. Crepas, tamales, empanadas, and more make the season bright!

Last weekend we visited Vespaio, an Italian restaurant on South Congress at Milton. Three of us shared a bottle of wine, appetizers, a mid-course, entrees, and dessert including house made mozzarella, risotto with pulled lamb, oak fire grilled prosciutto-wrapped jumbo Gulf shrimp, cioppino, and traditional (not soggy) tiramisu. We enjoyed a cozy corner of the restaurant with a quiet street view. The authentic Italian food and attentive service exceeded expectations. We highly recommend you give Vespaio a try.

This tome on pesto is a logical follow-on to yesterday’s entry on basil.  Pesto is derived from the same Latin root of “pestle” – a pestle also is like a small bat with an end used for crushing and grinding. At its core, pesto includes crushed herbs and garlic. Basil is a popular herb used in pesto. Pesto can also include pine nuts, almonds, and cheese. Whew.

Pesto

This recipe will yield about 4 cups of pesto. It can be doubled or halved.

• 4 cups basil leaves, packed
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed lightly and peeled
• 1 cup pine nuts, walnuts, or almonds
• 1½ cups freshly grated Parmigiano Reggiano or Pecorino cheese
• 1½ cups extra-virgin olive oil
• salt and pepper to taste

Put basil leaves and garlic in a blender or food processor and blend until leaves are finely chopped. Add nuts and blend some more until the nuts are finely chopped. Add cheese and blend everything is combined. While the appliance is running, slowly add the olive oil in a steady drizzle. Add more or less oil to obtain the desired consistency (thicker or thinner). After the oil is blended in, turn off the appliance, and then add salt and pepper to taste.

Pesto can be refrigerated for a week or more. Use an air-tight container and add a thin coat of olive oil on top to keep the pesto from turning dark. Pesto can be frozen put don’t add the cheese. My spousal unit divides batches into small jars (top right in photo above) and refrigerates. She uses pesto for bruschetta, adds light cream with it for pesto sauce on pizza, pasta salad with a little mayonnaise, on tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, smear on bread for turkey sandwiches, and her latest discovery putting pesto in won tons and dropping them into spring soup.

Spring Soup with Pesto Won Tons

by Jamie Davies, Schramsberg Co-Founder

• 8 cups chicken stock
• 8 petite carrots or regular carrots cut on long diagonals
• 1 cup green beans cut in diagonal pieces
• 1 cup asparagus cut in diagonal pieces
• 1 cup small green peas
• 1 cup finely shredded green cabbage
• 1 cup scallions cut in diagonal pieces
• 1 cup mushrooms quartered
• 1 cup spinach leaves cut in ribbons
• 1 tablespoon fresh dill or 1 teaspoon dry dill
• 1 package won ton skins (12)
• 12 teaspoons pesto
• 1 egg yolk stirred with a fork

Pesto Won Ton

Place 1 teaspoon pesto on each won ton skin.

Pat a dot of egg yolk in a corner as “glue.” Fold into a triangle shape.

Dot egg yolk on outer corner. Bring points around and press one on top of the other.

Soup

Bring chicken stock to a simmer in a large pot.

Add each vegetable in order given above, allowing broth to come to a simmer again after each addition.

Add pesto-filled won tons and cook gently until they are tender, about 6-8 minutes.

Serve in warmed soup plates. Serves 12.

Bon appétit!

Each spring we find a couple of basil plants and get them started in the garden. After getting settled in they grow quickly, about an inch per day. Once the summer heats up their growth seems to slow a bit. It’s a versatile herb that we enjoy in many ways.

We’ve tried several varieties of basil including globe, lemon, and Thai, but the larger leaves from Italian work best for our culinary needs: pesto, pizza, anything Italian, chicken, tomatoes, marinara sauce, cheese, and more.

The strong scent of sweet basil comes from eugenol, the same chemical that’s in cloves. It turns out there may be health benefits associated with the essential oils in basil such as potent antioxidant, anti-cancer, antiviral, and anti-microbial properties. Basil represents love in Italy, hatred in ancient Greece, and Satan in certain European lore. In our home, the sweet smell of  basil always means good food.

My sister and I were raised on artichokes. Mom served them steamed accompanied by fresh Hollandaise sauce (an emulsion of butter and egg yolks), or drawn butter with lemon when she was running short of time. In the ’70s, friends in Utah where I went to college liked their artichokes with mayonnaise. I can eat artichokes for breakfast (Eggs Sardou at Brennan’s of Houston), lunch (artichoke and oyster soup), appetizers (grilled artichokes at Houston’s or fresh artichoke bottoms at Backstreet Cafe), and a simple summer dinner (fresh steamed corn on the cob and artichokes).

No one really knows much about the origin of artichokes. Some say they’re from North Africa. They’re said to have been cultivated in Sicily during the Greek occupation. Today, California is responsible for all the artichokes grown in the U.S. In Northern California’s Monterey County, Castroville holds an annual Artichoke Festival that revolves around the perennial thistle served fried, steamed, sautéed, grilled, stuffed, marinated, pickled, fresh, creamed in soup, and in ice cream. Artichokes crave cool coastal climates, require frequent irrigation, and are a good source of fiber, vitamin C, magnesium, and potassium.

When buying artichokes at the market, it’s common to be asked by others how they’re cooked or what they are – I’ve even had the grocery store checkout clerk ask for help in identifying them. I thought artichokes weren’t on menus much because they’re relatively obscure and unknown. After all, it’s a globe-shaped thistle covered in leathery green leaves topped with thorns that can hurt. All these years buying, eating, and enjoying artichokes and only last week did I learn that restaurants and their sommeliers don’t like them because they don’t go with wine.

Artichokes And Wine Don’t Mix?

Turns out sommeliers are frustrated by artichokes because the taste is persistent, lingers in the mouth, affects taste buds, and can enhance sweetness in wine. Many sommeliers put artichokes in the oenologically incompatible category with egg dishes, smoked foods, and strong curries. If we must consume wine with artichokes (insert disgusted eye roll here), try something very dry that’s on the acidic side: dry rose wines, dry Chardonnays, some Italian whites, and ulta brut or brut non-vintage champagne.

I’ve been breaking the rules for decades. To me, nothing’s better with grilled artichokes than a nice cool Chardonnay. I’ve also even been known to enjoy them with a strong red wine. Sadly, the next time I visit a restaurant I’ll know why not to bother looking an artichoke dish on the menu. But maybe I’ll see if they have some Cynar (a bittersweet Italian liqueur made from herbs and plants, predominantly - you guessed it –  artichoke).

Question: What vegetable from the lily family (think leaks, garlic, onions, etc.) that has been cultivated for more than 2,000 years is loaded with vitamins/minerals; is a diuretic, an antioxidant, and a vitality booster; is used as a remedy for arthritis and rheumatism; and is believed by some to be an aphrodisiac?

Answer: Asparagus officinalis or just simply asparagus.

A host of relatively newly discovered phytonutrients (plant nutrients) in asparagus are known to protect us from heart disease and cancer. Scientific research indicates that certain chemical compounds in asparagus inhibit the growth of human cancer cells. Asparagus contains high levels of chemicals that have cancer-fighting anti-inflammatory properties and help protect our blood vessels. Asparagus is rich in beta-carotene, iodine, potassium, and zinc. It’s also rich in vitamins B, C and E, including folate, the B vitamin essential for cell growth and reproduction that helps prevent neural tube birth defects.

Indians believed asparagus was an aphrodisiac because it increased circulation in the genito-urinary system. Chinese believe asparagus roots increase love and passion. In India, asparagus is used to soothe symptoms of menstrual cramping and increase the production of mother’s milk.

An extremely flexible vegetable, asparagus can be served hot or cold. It can be purple, green, or white; steamed or roasted. Spears can be thick or thin. Most asparagus is less expensive and tastes best this time of the year – in April and May. So what are you waiting for? Eat some asparagus today!

Ever wonder what the term “kosher” means when used to identify a specific type of salt? Well I did. Turns out it doesn’t have anything to do with the salt being prepared to kosher food guidelines as written in the Torah. But kosher salt is used in making kosher products.

Usually, kosher salt contains no additives, has a larger grain size than common table salt, and can absorb more moisture than table salt. Chefs prefer kosher salt because there are no additives such as iodine, they can pinch it easily, and it’s considered pure.

Kosher salt can be used for seasoning, as a topping for breads (including bagels and pretzels), making marinades, creating a salty rim on a cocktail glass, coating fish with a salt crust, koshering meat/poultry, brining, and in pickling. When using kosher salt in a recipe that calls for table salt, the amount of kosher salt should be increased to accommodate the differences:

1 teaspoon table salt = 1¼ teaspoon kosher salt

1 tablespoon table salt = 1 tablespoon + ¾ teaspoon kosher salt

¼ cup table salt = ¼ cup + 1 teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup table salt = ½ cup + 2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 cup table salt = 1 cup + 4 teaspoons kosher salt

The word salary comes from the Latin term salarium (sal is for salt) which was the term used to describe a Roman soldier’s pay which also included a ration of salt, then a valued spice and a medium for exchange. Relevant popular expressions include “worth your salt” and “salt of the earth.”

Kosher salt and table salt have the same chemical makeup. Some say the flavor of Kosher salt is different than table salt – descriptions include cleaner, softer, or more pleasing texture. I like it better but that’s probably because it looks better when chefs fling it on cooking shows.