Pickles!

     Autumn has always been pumpkin season but only recently have a realized it is also baby season. No babies for me yet but many of my friends are in the process of growing small humans! When I think pregnancy, naturally, I think pickles. Crisp, savory, garlicky pickles. When I was growing up, my family pickled anything from the garden that did not get eaten right away. That meant we always had traditional cucumber pickles, as well as those dreaded green beans. Making pickles is easier than you might think. If you don't like cucumbers, you can pickle any vegetable! I like to pickle bell peppers, onions, and green beans. But most grocery stores sell the small cucumbers that are ideal for pickling and the other ingredients are kitchen basics. This recipe is for refrigerator pickles and can be made in any plastic or glass container. Let's get pickling!

What You Will Need:

12 small Pickling Cucumbers (regular cucumbers have too many seeds to make a crunchy pickle)
4 large Garlic Cloves
1/2 White Onion
1 3/4 cups White Vinegar
1 3/4 cups Water
2 Tbsp Dry Dill
2 Tbsp Mustard Seed
2 Tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns
1 Tbsp Red Pepper flakes
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup Kosher Salt

I know it seems like a lot of ingredients but it's not complicated; they all get mixed together!

First, cut the cucumbers into the desired size spears. I like mine to have a real crunch so I cut them into quarters but you can do sixths or even eighths if you want them a little softer. Lay them in the container you will be storing them in.

Next, chop the garlic, cut the onion into large pieces, and place them on top of the cucumbers.

Place the rest of the ingredients in a sauce pot and bring to a boil. (See, easy.)

 Mustard Seed

Water and Vinegar

 Dill

Red Pepper Flakes

 Kosher Salt

Sugar

 Black Peppercorns

Boil them together...

Let it boil for 2 minutes then pour it over the cucumbers.

Let them cool before replacing the lids and refrigerating. You are done! If you cut the cucumbers small, the pickles should be ready in two days. No matter the size they should be done after four days for sure. They will be at their most delicious for a week but, because of the high pH (acid) levels, it takes a lot for them to go bad. 

Whether you are pregnant or not, these pickles make a scrumptious snack!

Sweetened Condensed Version:

What You Will Need:

12 small Pickling Cucumbers 

4 large Garlic Cloves

1/2 White Onion 

1 3/4 cups White Vinegar

1 3/4 cups Water

2 Tbsp Dry Dill

2 Tbsp Mustard Seed

2 Tbsp Whole Black Peppercorns

1 Tbsp Red Pepper flakes

1/4 cup Sugar

1/4 cup Kosher Salt

1. Cut the cucumber to the desired size for your pickles. Layer in the container you will store them in. 

2. Chop the garlic and cut the onion into large pieces. Place on top of cut cucumbers. 

3. In a medium sauce pot add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes.

4. Pour over cucumbers and allow to cool before replacing the lid. Refrigerate for 2-4 days, then enjoy! 

Apple Spice Bread

     It really is Autumn! I was beginning to believe it was never coming to Charlotte. I think the reason  my seasonal breads did not work out well the last time is because it was 85 degrees and my brain was still in summer mode. But this week was textbook fall weather and I was able to perfect my Apple Spice Bread recipe! (I know I said it would be on here on Friday but I had a little hiccup in my recipe storage and just got it back.) I have mentioned before that I do not have much of a sweet tooth but this bread is the perfect companion to a mug of hot cider or spiced tea. I love to add something a little tart to make it feel a little less heavy so I am including the recipe for Apple Butter that I literally just threw together in a saucepan with an extra apple I had. This is by no means a 'healthy' recipe. I know some of you may be tempted to tell yourself that it is healthy because it has apples in it. It is not as bad as some desserts and does have some of your daily serving of fruit, however, it does still have a cup of sugar per loaf. Anyway, enough about nutrition. Let's get bakin'!

What You Will Need:

For the Bread:

3 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 tsp Baking Soda
1 tsp Kosher Salt
2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1 tsp ground Cloves
1 tsp ground Nutmeg
2 cups Sugar
1 cup plain Apple Sauce
1/4 Vegetable Oil
3 Eggs
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
3 large Granny Smith Apples, grated

For the Apple Butter:

1 tbsp unsalted Butter
1 large Granny Smith Apple, diced small
1/2 cup granulated Sugar
1/2 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Then, in a mixing bowl (not the bowl for your stand mixer), combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg.

When any recipe calls for nutmeg I always use whole nutmeg and grate it fresh. It mellows out really quickly and I like it spicy! I love my Microplane zester for this. If you have one, use it. If not you can use any small zester or grater you have around.  

Mix it all together with a rubber spatula or silicone spoon, then set it aside.

Next, this time in the bowl for the stand mixer, mix the sugar, eggs, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla.

Mix them on medium speed until all the ingredients are combined.

Next comes the apples. Peel them and cut them squarely off the core. (Go ahead and cut all four because you are not going to want to come back just to cut one apple for the apple butter.) If you are like me and like to do things the hard way, grate the apples on the largest size on a standing cheese grater. If you prefer the easy way, put them in a food processor! I thought of that after the fact. Put the grated apples in a bowl and prepare to finish the batter.

Now, slowly add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients with the mixer on LOW. If it is on too high you will have flour everywhere except the bowl. When the flour is combined, add the apples and stir until just combined. It should look like this:

Split the batter evenly between two greased, standard-sized loaf pans. Tip: Be sure to wipe off the drips from the sides of the pan so they do not burn. Like the pan on the right, not the one on the left.

Place in the preheated oven and bake for 50-55 minutes. It should be a lovely golden-brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle should come out clean. Tip: Another good indicator of doneness is a hollow sound when you tap on it with your finger.

Let them cook in their pans for ten minutes, then remove and let cool a few more minutes on a cooling rack. 

While they are cooling, let's make apple butter! It's super simple. 

Brown the butter in a small sauce pot. Add the apple, sugar, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Let it cook until you can smash it easily with a fork. Then, shockingly, smash it with a fork until it is smooth. The end! 

Slice the bread, top with some of the warm apple butter, then sit by the fire and think autumny thoughts...

Sweetened Condensed Version:

For the Bread:

3 cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

1 tsp Kosher Salt

2 tsp ground Cinnamon

1 tsp ground Cloves

1 tsp ground Nutmeg

2 cups Sugar

1 cup plain Apple Sauce

1/4 Vegetable Oil

3 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

3 large Granny Smith Apples, grated

For the Apple Butter:

1 tbsp unsalted Butter

1 large Granny Smith Apple, diced small

1/2 cup granulated Sugar

1/2 cup Brown Sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg. Stir and set aside. 

2. In the bowl of a stand mixer combine sugar, eggs, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla. Mix until combined.

3. Grate apples. With the stand mixer on low, gradually add the flour mixer to the sugar mixture. When the flour is combined add the apples. Stir until JUST combined.

4. Split the batter evenly between two greased loaf pans and bake for 50-55 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for 10 minutes then remove and place on cooling rack until ready to eat. 

5. For the apple butter, brown the butter in a small sauce pot over medium heat. Add apples, sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cook until apples are soft then smash with a fork. 

6. Slice bread, top with apple butter, and enjoy!

Sea Scallops

    About a month ago, they FINALLY opened the Whole Foods they have been teasing me with for the last year. We went in the first weekend after it opened but could barely get from the produce to the seafood through the mass of people! We quickly abandoned ship to try when people got over their excitement. We tried again this past weekend with success. It was definitely more crowded than I would have liked but we were at least able to navigate our cart. Even through the crowd I was able to really appreciate shopping organic. Everything looks like food should look; bright, inconsistent, and delicious! I went in with the mission of finding something luxurious and romantic that wouldn't cost me an arm and a leg. I walked up to the seafood counter and saw the most beautiful sea scallops I have ever seen! I built this dish around those scallops and fully expected to pay the price for the, not only beautiful but also organic, ingredients. I was shocked to learn that this dish for 2 people came out to a little over $20! Sure, it's a little more expensive than your every day home cooked meal, but think of the $60 or more you would spend on a similar dish in a restaurant. I know what you are going to say next: "But it is SO much work to make a fancy dish at home." It really does not have to be. This dish took me a total of 25 minutes and requires only a handful of ingredient. Read on and see what I mean...

Sea Scallops with Fennel and Corn over Israeli Couscous

What you need:

1 small bulb Fennel, cut julienne
1 small cob Sweet Corn (corn removed)
3/ 4 cup dry Israeli Couscous
1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tbsp Butter, or enough to coat pan
6 Sea Scallops
1/3 cup White Wine
Salt TT (to taste)

This is a recipe you are really going to want to have everything cut and measured out before you turn on the stove; everything happens pretty quickly once the heat is on!

If you have never worked with fennel before, this is what it looks like:

It smells like licorice! Don't worry though, it doesn't taste as strong as it smells. It tastes sweet and clean. To prepare it for this dish, remove the top and cut the bulb in half. From that point you can cut it julienne just like you would an onion. (Tip for plating: save a little bit of the greens for a pop of color on the completed plate.)

Next is the corn. You know corn is at it's sweetest when the silk on top is dry and dark brown:

 Unfortunately, grocery suppliers have found ways to artificially darken the silk because they know that is what people buy. Thankfully, I don't worry about that when I buy organic produce.

Shuck the corn and remove the kernels from the cob. This is easily accoplished by cutting off the bottom (to give it an even base) and sawing it from top to bottom using a serrated knife.

To prepare the scallops, pat dry with a paper towel and add a hint of kosher salt.

There are two things you can start, and even finish, before you start the scallops.

Place the balsamic vinegar in a small (as small as you have) sauce pan over medium heat and let it simmer until it is thick. The 1/2 cup you began with should reduce down to about half and you should be able to make a path through it with your finger when it coats a spoon. It will take roughly 5-7 minutes.

And yes, the picture of the spoon is from the Korean BBQ. But it is a good example of the desired thickness of ANY sauce.

The other thing you can begin before the scallops is the couscous. Boil 1 cup of salted water. Add Israeli couscous, cover and let it boil for about 5 minutes. After the 5 minutes are up, remove from heat and let sit (still covered) for 10 minutes or until you are ready to put it on the plate.

Okay, time to move on to the main event. This part really does go very quickly but don't be scared. I'm right here.

On high heat, place a saute pan large enough for the scallops to have plenty of room. Add enough butter to coat the bottom of the pan. (For my 8 inch pan that meant about a 1/4 tablespoon.) When the pan is REALLY hot, there should be a little smoke and the butter should be starting to brown, add the scallops. Sear on each side for about 30 seconds, then remove from pan and place on a paper towel. They should be a yummy, caramelized brown on both sides. If you poke one with your finger it should feel soft but with a little resistance in the center. If you are not confident in what it feels like, cut one in half. It should be white, not pink, and still soft to the touch. If they are not fully cooked, place them in a warm oven, about 250 degrees for a few minutes. Check them OFTEN! The only thing worse than an undercooked scallop is an overcooked scallop. Can you say 'hockey puck'?

Immediately after removing the scallops from the pan, toss in the fennel. Saute it until it begins to brown on the edges. Deglaze with the white wine and add the corn. Cook until the wine is ALMOST completely dried and the fennel begins turning translucent. 

We are nearing the end folks! All that is left is plating. Spoon half of the couscous onto each plate. Top with the vegetables and the scallops. Drizzle the balsamic either around the plate or over the scallops directly. Make sure there is enough balsamic on the plate to have some with every bite. It really is necessary for the flavor of the dish. Top each scallop with the fennel green you set aside and a little more salt, then step back to admire your work!

You have just created a dish that any restaurant would charge about $30 a plate for. You spent only $20 for two plates, it's entirely organic, and it only took you 30 minutes. Reward yourself by sitting down with the person you love and a glass of the wine you cooked with and enjoy!

Sweetened Condensed Version:

1 small bulb Fennel, cut julienne

1 small cob Sweet Corn (corn removed)

3/ 4 cup dry Israeli Couscous

1/2 cup Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 tbsp Butter, or enough to coat pan

6 Sea Scallops

1/3 cup White Wine

Salt TT (to taste)

1. Prepare couscous and set aside. Also, reduce balsamic vinegar by about half and set that aside as well.

2. Place saute pan over high heat and coat with butter. When the pan is hot, sear scallops for about 30 seconds on each side. Remove from pan and place on a paper towel.

3. Add the fennel to the hot pan and saute until it begins to brown. Deglaze with wine and add corn. Cook until the wine is almost dry and the fennel begins turning translucent.

4. To plate, split couscous between two plates and top with vegetable and 3 scallops each. Drizzle with balsamic glaze and garnish with fennel fronds.

5. Enjoy with a glass of white wine!

Korean BBQ

     I love Asian food! I bet you were beginning to think I only eat Italian. I admit that I do eat a lot of Italian. It is my happy place. But I love the flavors of Asian cuisine. They are bright, fresh, and light. Not to mention savory! I have never had much of a sweet tooth but I get some pretty serious cravings for salt. Asian cuisines satisfy my desire for something savory without requiring me to eat an entire bag of potato chips. Growing up in the middle-of-nowhere the Asian options were limited. We had a Chinese restaurant we enjoyed but that was the extent of my experience with Asian cuisine. That is until my second year of culinary school. Sophomore year at Johnson & Wales University provides a lab called International Cuisine and that is where I was introduced to Korean barbecue. We have been close ever since. I was thrilled to have the forethought to make it earlier this week (it takes a long time to marinate so I had to think about it the night before) and it was everything I had hoped it would be. I want you all to love Korean barbecue as I do and I think this is a good place to start your relationship (or reassess where you stand, if need be). So without further adieu, the recipe.

What You Will Need:

3 large cloves Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds
1 cup Soy Sauce
1/2 cup Water
1/2 cup Sugar
1/2 cup Oil (sesame or canola are best)
1 large Onion, 1/2 diced small and 1/2 julienne
4 small Steaks or 1 Flank Steak
1 cup  dry Rice
1 bunch Scallions, chopped

The key to this dish tasting yummy is the marinade. If you do nothing else I tell you, at least do this. You are going to want to make this in a non-metallic bowl. The acid from the soy sauce and the onions could 'burn' off some of the metal and it would end up in your marinade. Not good. Place the 5 ingredients prior to the oil into the bowl and whisk together.

When the first five ingredients are mixed together, SLOWLY pour in the oil while whisking. If you pour the oil in with the other ingredients and then mix, it will separate after a few minutes. Drizzling it as you whisk creates an emulsified (thickened and well blended) marinade. 

The last ingredient in the marinade is the onion. You will need an entire onion but only half will be diced for the marinade. Add the diced portion to the bowl and stir. (The onion is really the most important part of the marinade which is the most important part of the dish!) The other half will be sauteed later on. 

Set the bowl aside. It 's time for the meat! Place the steak(s) on a cutting board and poke with a fork across the entire surface on both sides. This not only tenderizes the meat but also allows for the marinade to get into the center of the steak, giving it more flavor.

Place them in a flat container (something with a lid is best but anything works) and cover with half the marinade. Cover and refrigerate for as long as you can, overnight is best, turning them once or twice. Also refrigerate the unused half of the marinade. That will be used as a sauce for the final product.

When you take them out of the refrigerator the next day you will notice how much darker the steaks are. Remember folks, color equals flavor so this is a very good thing. 

Before you begin cooking the steaks, start the rice.

Place a saute pan over high heat. Because there is oil in the marinade there is no need to add more to the pan. When the pan begins to smoke just a teeny bit, add the steaks and sear on both sides until they are well browned. 

When they are browned, remove from the pan and let them rest on a cutting board. Add the onions to the pan and saute until they start to turn brown. Pour in the reserved marinade and bring to a simmer. 

Meanwhile, slice the steak as thinly as possible. Add to pan with onions and sauce and cook to desired doneness. I like mine medium so I cooked it another 3-5 minutes.

To serve, place rice on the plate and top with a combination of steak and onions. Sprinkle with chopped scallions (also called green onions) and enjoy! 

Sweetened Condensed Version:

3 large cloves Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp Sesame Seeds

1 cup Soy Sauce

1/2 cup Water

1/2 cup Sugar

1/2 cup Oil (sesame or canola are best)

1 large Onion, 1/2 diced small and 1/2 julienne 

4 small Steaks or 1 Flank Steak

1 cup  dry Rice

1 bunch Scallions, chopped

1. In a non-metallic bowl, combine garlic, sesame seeds, water, soy sauce, and sugar. Slowly whisk in the oil then add the diced onions. Reserve the julienne onions for later cooking.

2. Tenderize the steaks by poking entire surface with a fork. Place in a flat container and cover with half the marinade. Cover and refrigerate the steaks and the unused portion of the marinade. Allow to sit for several hours or overnight. 

3. When ready, begin by cooking the rice. On a separate burner, place a saute pan over high heat. Sear steaks until browned on both sides. Remove from heat and allow to rest, then slice thinly.

4. While the pan is still hot, add the julienne onions. Saute until they begin turning brown. Add the reserved marinade and bring to a simmer. Add the sliced steak and cook to desired doneness.

5. To serve, place rice on plate and cover with a combination of steak and onion. Sprinkle with chopped scallions and enjoy!