One Night in Bangkok

Well, not quite, but the food took us there. Thursday night's class, Rim of Fire, was a lot of fun and thanks to everyone who came and helped cook. Shaking Beef is still a big hit and the Ginger Passionfruit Pineapple Sparklers didn't last very long. (Recipe to follow) That class put me in an Asian food kinda mood, so last night was sushi night with King Crab legs and tuna from Blue Marlin. Tonight I'm testing out a new Victoria seasoning, the 7 Seed Crust on a piece of swordfish and revisiting a favorite from my beach roots: softshell crabs. Trying to think of a healthier way to make them, the fishmonger reminded me that "they love to be fried". I'm not sure they love it, but we sure do! So buttermilk and panko? Any suggestions? And then in the Swiss Diamond pan so they won't require much oil. Deep frying is just too messy and greasy at home; leave that to the restaurants!

It's raining today and a perfect opportunity to hang out in the kitchen and do something with all of these tomatoes. Seems like a sauce makin' day, so I'm going to break out the slow cooker and get that sauce going. The weather has really helped the basil, so that's going in there along with oregano, thyme, onions, garlic (of course), mushrooms and green peppers from the garden. A food mill is a great way to get those tomatoes out of their skins and leave all the pulpy goodness behind. Only a few San Marzanos are going to make it into this sauce. A lot of them ended up on the ground after all of the storms, but nobody will complain about having heirlooms in there! Then eight hours in the cooker on low and it should be perfect for tomorrow.

Thanks to all of you who joined the blog and for your continued support. It's really a pleasure to serve the community and share our love and passion for food. Carla, a contestant from D.C. on Top Chef said it best: "Food is Love" and I couldn't agree more. There's nothing better than making something you love and sharing it with people you love and watching them fall in love with it too. It's the most pleasurable form of paying it forward.

The tomatoes are really starting to fizzle out, but that will leave room for the new veggies. I'm excited about the asparagus and looking forward to actually having them in the Spring.

In the meantime, salsa will be the next item that will benefit from the garden. I'll save a few tomatoes and peppers for the salsa class next week along with all of this beautiful slow bolt cilantro. Salsa Verde, Pico, Guacamole and Tropical Black Bean Salsa, a frequently requested item at family gatherings, will be on the slate for next Thursdays class. So come on by for some south of the border condiments. We'll be snackin' and sizzlin' and enjoying the last of the garden's high summer bounty.

Hope to see you soon.

Here's that recipe for the punch/cocktails:

Ginger Pineapple Passion Punch

For ginger syrup

1 1/2 cups water

1 cup sugar

1 cup thinly sliced unpeeled fresh ginger (1/4 lb; from two 5-inch-long pieces)

For punch

3 cups unsweetened pineapple juice, chilled

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (3 to 5 lemons)

1/4 cup fresh lime juice (4 to 6 limes)

3 cups sparkling water, chilled

4 cups ice cubes

Knipschlidt's Ginger Passionfruit Syrup (from Culina) about 2 Tablespoons or to taste

Garnish: lemon and lime slices

Special equipment: a small punch bowl or pitcher

preparation

Make ginger syrup:
Bring water, sugar, and ginger to a boil in a 1- to 1 1/2-quart saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes, then remove from heat and steep, uncovered, 15 minutes. Pour syrup through a sieve into a bowl, discarding ginger. Chill, covered, until cold, about 2 hours.

Make punch:
Stir together ginger syrup and fruit juices in a punch bowl or pitcher. Stir in sparkling water and ice.

I used champagne for this and added it as I poured it so there would be some non-alcoholic punch as well. You can also use crystalized ginger if you don't have fresh on hand. You just have to simmer it a little longer and dice it before you use it. Vodka or rum would also be good in this. I also like the idea of using one of our fruit infusing pitchers and stuffing the infuser with lime, lemon and ginger slices. It looks so pretty on the table and then folks can help themselves.

ENJOY!

Potatoes, Pisco Sours and Peru

Even though it's sweltering out there today with 90 degree temperatures and 80% humidity, Fall is in the air. It's evident in the wilting tomato vines and the dying squash vines. Farmer Jess here and unfortunately the tons of rain we have had over the past several weeks has not done the garden any favors. Baby pill bugs have infested the tomatoes, just when I thought I had such good luck this year with no tomato hornworms, the tomatoes split and the pill bugs invaded. The squash beetles were terrible this year and ravaged my golden bush zucchini plants while I was away. The late plantings of slow bolt cilantro and cucumbers are doing well as are the Benings Green Tint pattypan squash, but I am not going to hold my breath on those! Two squash does not equal a successful crop! This past winter, I did uncover a huge clump of cilantro, so I am hoping my current plants keep through the fall and maybe I will get another winter crop of it.

It's a little disheartening to come home to a garden that is 75% less lush than it was when you left (I was really pampering those squash plants!), but this is no time to dwell on harvests past, but time to plant for Fall. Here in Central Virginia, we are lucky to have extended growing seasons. This is no California or Florida, but we do have warm temperatures into the fall and late and early frost dates for winter and spring, respectively. So don't fret if you think you've missed the boat. You can still make use of that empty flower bed and plant some veggies. You can even plant some things in pots, although I would not recommend tomatoes or other tenders in pots. Some folks tell me that late planted tomatoes can be kept into the fall and winter if stored properly and I am going to experiment with that this year and get back to you to let you know how it worked. In the meantime, I will provide you with a list of fall crops.

So if you've been reading our blog for a bit, you will know that I had a bumper crop of potatoes this year and Kathleen helped me dig them a few weeks ago. After lots of reading, I figured out a way to store those spuds. Since most houses are not built with root cellars anymore and our basement is finished and not cold enough, I turned my garage fridge into a makeshift potato bin. Potatoes like it dark, the skins turn green which produces a toxic chemical, so you want to keep them out of the light. From the best I could ascertain, 45-60 degrees is ideal storage, so I turned up the temperature on my refrigerator and stored them there. For more information on potatoes, including growing them, storing them and preparing them, check out my potato class in September. It's the next in our continuing Tasteful Kitchen series, which is a series of mini-classes or workshops where I focus on one topic and we do an in depth look at a technique, a cuisine or a food. It's lots of fun and everyone learns a lot, including me!

Potatoes are also on my mind because I just returned from Peru and if you've ever been there, then you know that Peruvians love to eat and they are crazy about potatoes. Potatoes and rice or potatoes and quinoa (even better) is not unusual on one plate. These people would look at you like you're crazy if you mentioned eating like Dr. Atkins. My favorite dish I had was a causa, which is like a mold of mashed potatoes stuffed with crayfish, shrimp, crab, whatever. It reminded me of my favorite crab cakes made with mashed potatoes. Delicious! Driving through the Sacred Valley from Cuzco to Machu Picchu, it felt like Christmas because there is a constant burning wood smell in the air as the people are burning off their finished crops to prepare for potato plantings. It's late winter down there, so it's a little cool also, which adds to that Christmas feel. Chugging along on the train, we passed lots of fields with foot high potato plants, cabbage, broccoli, etc. growing already. They are headed into Spring, so this is right in line with an early crop.

In Peru, they eat good food and a lot of it. And they wash it down with a nice Pisco Sour. Pisco is a Quechuan word for "little bird" and is a liquor distilled from grapes. Similar to Grappa, it was developed by the Spanish and is distilled in conical containers, which is where it gets it's Incan name. The most popular way to drink it other than straight is in a Pisco Sour which combines lemon or lime juice, angostura bitters, simple syrup and egg whites. The egg whites are frothed and layered on the top. It's delicious. If you like margaritas or ciprihanas, you'll like these.

Our tailgating class will feature some foods from South America and will be sure to please. I loved the food so much I brought back two huge cookbooks. Hopefully I won't be getting any chiropractic bills from airline employees! It will be great to share Peruvian dishes with you folks and I know you'll be adding Pisco to your bar afterwards.

Well, the asparagus crowns are on order along with some bean seedlings and I'll be planting the fall crop to hopefully feature in upcoming classes. In the meantime, here is that list I promised you!

FALL CROPS (in the ground):

• Kale
• Swiss Chard
• Broccoli
• Cabbage
• Peas (short window)
• Lettuces
• Spinach
• Collards, Mustards and Turnip Greens
• Asparagus Crowns (for spring harvesting)
• Beans (short window)
• Winter Squashes like Butternut, Acorn and Spaghetti

FALL CROPS (can be potted until heavy frosts):

• Lettuces
• Hearty greens

Girlfriend Time In The Kitchen

Preparing for the Culina 1 year Anniversary event was as much fun as the event itself. My girlfriends turned out to lend a hand at making food the night before. I met Debbie, Linda, Angie, Sharon, Shelly and my sister Natalie at Isabella's just before for appetizers and drinks. Props to Isabella's for bringing fried artichoke hearts to Lynchburg. I have not had any good ones since I lived in Seattle. Henry's Off Broadway (long gone) had the best artichoke hearts ever.

Debbie and Linda were in charge of the brie blueberry scones and lemon curd muffin tops. The blueberry scones turned out the be the breakfast favorites! No one could believe that they were made with Stonewall blueberry scone mix and filled with Stonewall's wild blueberry jam. The lemon curd muffin tops were made with the Barefoot Contessa vanilla cupcake mix with a dollop of lemon curd in the middle. We just cut off the bottoms the expose the lemon curd and served them upside down like little cups. After the first drawing, there were very few to package up.

Sharon and Shelly were responsible for the mozzarella pesto puffs *recipe at the end of this blog*. Those little pesto puffs held their own against the mini tenderloin biscuits. The biscuits were made from Lollipop Tree Organic biscuit mix and the pork tenderloin seasoned with Victoria's Gourmet Kansas City Steak Rub.

My sister Natalie and Angie were in charge of cookies and the cranberry, white chocolate scones (made from Lollipop Tree Cream Scone Mix). I think Natalie fired Angie because Angie left her station and decided to supervise everyone else's stations. I think she got fired off of the blueberry station as well. For some reason she could not make the scones without smashing the blueberries. We were all roaring with laughter. My poor Chef Lance Yeatman was surrounded by women that night. I felt sorry for the poor guy. I have video but it is not suited for public viewing.

I digress.

Back to Natalie's cookies. My sister makes the best, most perfect cookies of any I have ever eaten. I watched people pick up a chocolate chip...eat it and them pick up a snicker doodle...eat it then pick up a monster cookie...eat it and then pick up three monster cookies and wrap them in napkins. She could be a millionaire with those cookies. If I could convince her to bake for me, they would become a Culina staple, like our coconut cake. Which we also served that day.

Nick Hammons is back at Culina (we love Nick). Nick and I worked late into the night Wednesday making cakes. We were so tired that we just gave up on the Red Velvet. It was a Charlie Brown Christmas Cake by the time we finished playing with it - it remained out of site but the coconut cake was devoured. I LOVE THAT CAKE.

It was so much fun giving away "to go" boxes to my customers filled with goodies. They felt like they were leaving the home of a relative they had just visited. Someone actually said that to me when I handed them their boxes of food. Awe Shucks!

After the event was over it was down to business pulling the store back together. I kicked off my shoes (if I would have had my "Life is Good" flannel PJs I would have put them on) and sat down for the first time in 12 hours. The phone rang and it was one of my customers. She called to thank me for the wonderful day. She had been there for all three drawings that day. She didn't win anything but had a blast (her words). She told me that she recognized the work we must have gone through to make all the great food and to make the event special for everyone. Wow! she was thanking me just as I was going through the invitations taken at the door, nearly in tears at the turn out of dedicated, loyal customers who came out to show their support.

It was a blessed day!

Mozzarella Pesto Puffs (so easy to make and impressively aesthetic and delicious)

Three Dufor Butter Based Puff Pastry (Culina can special order for you)
Mozzarella Pearls
Ruffled Round Biscuit Cutters
Scarpetta Pesto Sauce
Precooked Bacon, Ham or Prosciutto
Finely Chopped Tomato (we used organic tomatoes from Jessica's garden)

• Cut 1lb. bacon into small strips and fry until crispy
• Gently roll out a sheet of Dufor Puff Pastry
• Cut ruffled round discs using the 2 inch biscuit cutter
• Place a 1/8 tsp dollop of pesto in the center
• Position a mozzarella pearl in the center
• Place a small square of bacon on top of the cheese
• Place a few pieces of finely chopped tomato on top
• Place another disc on top of the filling and press edges together until sealed
• Refrigerate overnight bake and serve