Pomegranates and Persimmons

Pomegranates and Persimmons

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the food world is in the midst of a renewed love affair with pomegranates and persimmons, and they are a formidable culinary combination.

Pomegranates are easier to tackle than it appears.  Simply cut in half through the middle, hold the cut end down in your palm over a bowl and whack the uncut side with a wooden spoon.  Seeds come flying out (best to have a nice generous bowl for this process) along with some of the white membrane that holds them in place.  Hopefully I don’t have to tell you the membrane is yucky and should be composted.  Seeds are ready for eating or juicing at this point.

Persimmons are the tomato of winter in our house.  They are in season now in Virginia, and when choosing an eating persimmon, choose a Fuyu variety, the ones that look like an orange tomato and are pretty firm.  The peel can be a little tough, but it is edible, so make the call to peel on whether you’re feeling up to it (a veg peeler works well) or your guests warrant the effort, i.e., will your mother-in-law complain?  The Hachiyas are tasty as well, but not to be eaten fresh until they’re good and ripe (read: soft and schmooshy).  You’ll know Hachiyas by their large acorn like appearance.  For all you mnemonic people out there, Hachiyas ‘hatch a seed’, Fuyus ‘eff yeah I want a bite.’  Hey, you’ll remember it now, won’t you?  Just don’t pass this trick on to the kids.

So why do these two autumn superstars work well together?  I think it’s a combination of the disparity in texture, as well as the contrast in acidity.  Persimmons are creamy and dense, with a subtle sweetness that plays backup to the vegetal fruitiness.  Pomegranate seeds aren’t dense at all, until you hit the tiny crunchy nugget in the center of the seed, which is a nice surprise and adds meatiness to an otherwise ethereal experience.  The bright acidity with a touch of twang brings out the best in a persimmon, and the persimmon adds character and depth to the pomegranate.  Substitute the combination of p&p for tomato and onion in a salsa, and watch the magic unfold when paired with a piece of grilled fish or over a salty queso fundido.  Magic I tell you, magic!

Our fastest and most favorite way to enjoy p&p is in a fresh salad, where the flavors are separate but combine to make a bright and palate readying appetizer.  This salad would also be fantastic at the end of a meal, when you want a little something to cleanse, with some cheese, but you don’t want dessert.  Have I mentioned the beauty of the composition??  The bright orange of the persimmon and the gemlike quality of the pomegranates are a feast for the eyes as well as the tummy.  

Persimmon and Pomegranate Salad - The Basics

serves 4 as a side

Greens - three nice fat handfuls of a green with a little bitterness to it, like arugula, frisee, baby kale or a combination thereof.  Mesclun makes a nice base, especially if bolstered with a little endive or radicchio.

1/2 pomegranate, just the seeds

2 Fuyu persimmons, stem removed, peeled if you like, sliced

at least 2 ounces of a good, salty cheese, like Manchego, ricotta salata, feta or gorgonzola

1/3 cup nuts, your choice, but I like the Pomegranate, Persimmon, Pecan alliteration

That’s it.  The basics.  Add a nice vinaigrette, nothing too flashy, maybe add a little smoked paprika or other interesting herb, and voila!  You look like a food stylist.  Our favorite dressing for this salad is a simple white balsamic vinaigrette, with a dash of garlic dust in it.  Lemon, honey and thyme comes a close second.  

If you wanted to really gussy up the salad, add a few pears that you’ve baked off with a dusting of cardamom. Prosciutto shavings are divine with persimmons - think melon and prosciutto and you have the flavor profile.  My mouth is watering just considering the possibilities.  Hope you get on the persimmon train this week - let us know how you use them!

An Unexpected Birthday Treat

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know these two things:

1) I've been very lazy about writing posts and 

2) I was born and raised in NJ. See this blog post for more on that...Tomato Pie, Pork Roll and Oyster Crackers

 I'm trying to get back to posting more often and I hope this is the start of that. I bring up the New Jersey connection because I spent a lot of my youth at the shore. Yes, we called it the shore, not the beach. Those from NJ will understand. Well, these days I rarely, if ever, get to the NJ shore but in the last 4 years, Cynthia and I have fallen in love with another beach community, the Outer Banks of North Carolina. Just about 5 hours from our home in Northern Virginia, OBX, as they call it, is a narrow strip of islands just off the East Coast, connected to the mainland by the occasional causeway or bridge. 

That's where we recently spent 3 days celebrating my birthday. Did I mention it was one of those "round number" birthdays? The ones that seem to have all kinds of special meaning and sometimes traumatic effect? For me, this one was number 60 - or as I prefer to call it, 30 version 2.0. The trip was a bit of a last minute thing that Cynthia convinced me to do. After all, we have a week scheduled back down there at the end of September. But, it was my birthday, so I managed to rearrange some stuff at work and Cyn found a bed and breakfast willing to rent us a room for exactly the three days we needed AND allow us to bring both our dogs.

gratuitous dog picture

Our first full day was a Monday, my birthday, and after a perfect day at the beach and then an exploration of a part of the area that we hadn't seen before, Cynthia mentions, oh so casually, that she had done some research and found a restaurant that looked pretty interesting. You know, good reviews from people on Chowhound, good looking list of craft beers, solid menu - and that she hoped we could get in.

The restaurant, the Brine and Bottle, is less than imposing from the road. It's the kind of place you might ride by for a really long time without giving it a second glance. That would be a mistake. When we arrived and I say to the person who greets us, "two for dinner", Cyn manages to slip in, "we have a reservation, Cynthia and Alex". Next thing I know, we being escorted across the room to the perfect table for two overlooking the deck that sits right on the Roanoke Sound. As we're seated, I see she has that sly smile on her face giving me a look like "fooled you, didn't I?"

Then, I look down and see this.....

Note the date and the "Happy Birthday Alex". My wife had been planning this little soiree for quite some time and had been working with the owners, Andrew and Ashley Donovan, to plan the individualized six course meal with paired craft beers!

I won't bore you to death by recounting the meal blow by blow, but do know that the food was nothing short of outstanding and the beer pairings were spot on. Well, maybe I'll bore you just a bit, if only to show off the presentaion.
 
If you haven't had bacon jam, find some or find a recipe and make some. This rich, slightly sweet dollop of heaven is making my mouth water just looking at the picture.

Scallops can either be great when done right, or terribly disappointing when done badly. These were clearly the former. Perfectly seared on the outside and translucent on the inside they were paired with summer squash fritters that just screamed southern food. The charred tomato vinaigrette was tart and complemented them both.

Admittedly, foie gras isn't my favorite (OK, I'm a heathen, I admit it), but I will say this was prepared expertly and I ate my share, you know, just to be polite. For the record, I think Cynthia is still salivating over hers. For me, the stewed honey fig compote was the star of the dish.

It wouldn't be a southern meal without shrimp and grits, right? Well, these local shrimp were perfectly complimented by the rich cava creme and the grit cakes were a surprising and pleasant twist on the typical version.

Perfectly cooked duck breast with goat cheese spoon bread - this is about where I started to run out of steam. I wonder if the 5th beer had anything to do with that?

I rallied a bit when this inspired choice of desserts was served - watermelon brulee with a beautiful little cheese plate

Seriously, if you ever find yourself in or around the Outer Banks make a point of eating a meal at the Brine and Bottle. Thanks Andrew and Ashley!

Side note from Cyn:  These smaller, 'boutique' restaurants are worth seeking out - no matter where you are.  Usually owned and managed by dedicated and educated food people, they're working their butts off to make sure your dining experience is spot on.  Ashley was a dream to work with on this surprise for Alex, and the wait staff at the restaurant followed up with amazing service.  The kind you don't expect from a little place on the causeway to Manteo but are delighted to receive.  I didn't catch our servers name (thank goodness she wasn't required to give us the 'spiel') but she was personable, friendly and had exactly the right amount of personality while maintaining a professional attitude.  If the food didn't impress the heck out of me (and it did! Chef, you're talented!) then the service we received would have made us repeat customers anyway. Can't wait to see these guys again in late September and see what new seasonal offerings appear!

a simple sandwich with tomatoes still warm from the sun

One of the great joys of gardening is eating the tasty fruits of your labor.  And one of the great joys of summer is the vine ripened tomato.  Put the two together and you have my favorite lunch.

At the moment, it's open faced, just showing off the gorgeous color of the tomatoes.  This particular sandwich has all my favorite tomatoes in it, Green Zebras are under all the baby Gem lettuce.   Green Zebra has the best flavor - slightly tart with a hint of acid but big bold tomato flavor and a certain richness.  The heaping pile in the foreground sees red Juliet, a large grape tomato with fabulous meaty flavor and wonderful disease resistance, and it's our favorite for sauce making as well.  (See this post for my sauce recipe.)  Cherry tomatoes top Juliet, both Sungold, an early prolific producer of sweet sort of tropical flavored tomatoes, and White Cherry, which isn't really white, but a blushed lemon color, and has a true tomato flavor with a nice juicy finish.  A beautiful collection, even if I do say so myself.  

The bread used here is a miche from Wegman's made with a nice sour starter and OG flour.  Crusty and relatively dense, it makes a nice sponge for all those juices.  To help prevent the bread from getting too soggy, I've shmushed an avocado with a little sea salt and used that as my schmear, something all good tomato sandwiches need.  Very often the schmear is mayonnaise.  Now we can debate the merits of mayo vs Miracle until the cows come home, each has their audience.  As long as there are tomatoes and good bread, in a pinch, I could go either way.  

The baby Gem lettuce is basically miniature romaine, and I cut it in thin slices the sort way to get more surface area.  This helps prevent the dreaded sandwich slide.  You know the one, where your sandwich  filling squirts out the bottom of your bread and you end up taking the next bite with your hands over your head?  The shreds create all sorts of nooks and crannies for the tomatoes to snuggle into and stay locked in place.  Have I sold you on the merits of the shred yet?

This simple sandwich benefits from a good amount of seasoning, so be generous with the salt and pepper.  Dousing the shred with a housemade balsamic dressing that the husband makes adds umami to the dish and really brightens up the acidity, something I love.  You could just as easily use a Green Goddess or something else creamy and tangy.  In fact, if you're so inclined, there are infinite variations to my tomato theme.  You could add or substitute:

-fresh mozzarella and basil

-bacon

-shmush some white beans and spread 

-arugula, feta and watermelon

-pesto

-prosciutto, salami, crispy pancetta

-simple drizzle of the best olive oil you can buy along with aged balsamic

Or for something a little outside the box, cube and toast your bread and mix with wedges of tomatoes and basil for a panzanella.  Add some butter or olive oil and garlic to that bread before toasting takes your panzanella to a whole new level. 

You can't go wrong with tomatoes and bread, enjoy!

Savory Stuffed Peppers

Originally posted on November 8, 2012 at http://www.delicieux.eu/?p=1240 as a guest post.

It's been nearly a full year since I started writing as A Reluctant Foodie. I’ll admit to having been a little lazy about posting lately, but this is my 83rd posting -- not bad for someone who hadn’t written much since college ( I won’t date myself by telling you when that was). In that year I've learned a lot about myself, blogging and social media in general.

Like every other new blogger, my biggest challenge was getting people to actually visit and read what I had written. I figured out pretty quickly that the best way to drive traffic to the blog was through Twitter. So, @ReluctantFoodee was launched on Twitter. Yes, I know it is spelled wrong -- @Reluctantfoodie was taken. At first, I struggled to get followers but as of this writing, I have over 1,400 followers! I'm proud to say that since I don't buy followers, rarely follow back commercially oriented people/businesses and I block the obvious spammers my follower count is pretty pure.

A few amongst this illustrious group have become friends, as much as people who have never met can be friends. One in particular stands out. Anneli is an Englishwoman living with her husband and children in the French Pyrenees. She is a private chef who blogs at Delicieux . You really should check out her out.
Recently, in an effort to pull me out of my writing funk, I proposed that it might be fun for both of us to prepare the same basic dish and to guest blog the results for each other. Now, in the spirit of full disclosure, and I've pointed this out in many of my other posts, I don't cook. The culinary talent in our home is all with my wife Cynthia. I eat, clean up and write, period. So really, Cynthia and Anneli decided to make the same basic dish. There, I feel better now.

If you're a regular reader you know that Cynthia and I garden a good bit. We try to grow a reasonably wide selection of veggies because they are so much better than anything you can buy at even the best supermarkets. When Anneli and I hatched our little plot, we happened to have a goodly number of ripe peppers ready to be harvested. We agreed on stuffed peppers as the common dish because, everyone loves a good stuffed pepper, right?

Here is the recipe Cynthia put together for the great stuffed pepper challenge!

 Ingredients

• 1 pound ground beef
• 4-6 whole peppers, tops and ribs removed, meat from around stem chopped and reserved for filling

•         2.5-3 cups cooked rice 
•          3 slices good smoky bacon
•          1 cup chopped onion
•          vegetable oil
•          2 cloves garlic, smashed
•          2 tbsp tomato paste
•          2 tsp curry powder (or to taste)
•          1/2 tsp crushed red pepper (or to taste)
•          1 tbsp brown sugar, 1/3 cup sherry, 1/3 cup Kikkoman teriyaki sauce, 2/3 c water – mixed together

Preparation
In a large mixing bowl, place beef and room temp rice.  You'll be adding ingredients to this bowl as we go, so size accordingly.

Cook bacon in skillet until crispy.  Remove from heat and set aside to drain.  Leaving bacon fat in pan, add enough additional oil so you have a nice thin coat of fat in the pan.  About a tbsp total.

Saute onions on med-high heat until soft.  Dump on meat and rice.

Crumble bacon.  Dump on meat, rice and onion.

To make the sauce:  Put the pan back on medium high heat, add 1 tbsp veg oil and when hot but not smoking, add curry powder and red pepper, stirring constantly.

When fragrant, about 30 seconds in, add garlic and tomato paste.  Cook for a minute or so - the fragrance should be roasty, but not burned.  (If your curry or garlic burns, start over.  The bitter taste will never go away.)

Add the sherryaki mixture (get it, sherry-aki) and whisk a bit to remove all lumps and smooth out the sauce. Simmer for 10 minutes, until you taste the sauce and the alcohol from the sherry isn't prevalent.  (If this doesn't happen, you need to buy better sherry.  I use an amontillado that I also drink as an aperitif.  If you can't drink it from the bottle, it won't get better with cooking.)

Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.  Add more crushed red pepper if you like a little hurt.

Add about 1/4 cup of sauce to the bottom of a baking dish.

Add half of what's left to the meat, rice, onion and bacon mixture. Mix thoroughly but gently.

Fill pepper one at a time and place in baking dish.  It helps if it has high sides and holds the peppers snugly. If all you've got is a low rider, cut peppers in half instead of removing top.  Not as pretty, but I like the ratio of pepper to filling better this way.

Before covering with foil (I parchment first then foil) distribute the remainder of the sauce on top of the peppers.

 Bake covered for 45 minutes at 350.  Uncover and bake an additional 15.  The sauce takes to browning very well, so if you're of a mind, a low broil helps you get your brown on.

 Let sit a few moments before serving.

Yes, I did! Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Quinoa Cookies

We get a lot of requests from our no wheat friends for gluten free sweets - something with a nice buttery richness and that crunchy crunch that seems to be missing from most wheat flour free baked goods.  Ladies and gentlemen, I have your recipe.

This came about when we received a new cook book pre-distribution for comments and a possible talk up in the blog.  This was our first bit of unsolicited swag, and you may note, we have not talked up a new cookbook of any sort.  The recipes we tried just weren't great.  And we shoot for great.

There were quite a few recipes for gluten free sweets of one sort or another - now this was not a gluten free cookbook, but one all about using an ancient grain from the high desert south of the equator.  Just so happened a lot of the recipes were gluten free.  After trying 3 or 4 of the desserts, and throwing out 3 or 4 of the desserts into the garrrbaggge, I set out to make something better.  Through trial and error, and quite a few taste tests (thank you to those of you who tried the icky ones even when I told you they stunk just so we could agree on it), I have an easy recipe for a gluten free chocolate chip cookie.  They're delicious and easy.

Quinoa Chocolate Chip Cookies

makes about 2 dozen

1 1/4 cup quinoa flour*

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp sea salt or other fine salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1/2 cup brown sugar, packed

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for at least 1/2 hour.  Cookies will not be as crispy as they can be if your oven isn't hot enough.  

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, soda and salt.  Add egg to the melted and cooled butter and beat well until egg is incorporated.  Add brown sugar and vanilla, stir well to combine and add to the flour mixture.  Mix well and stir in chocolate chips.  Chill dough well - at least 20 minutes and 30 is better.

Dough will scoop easily once chilled.  Roll into 1" balls and place about 2" apart on cookie sheets, flattening slightly with your fingers as dough will not spread during baking.

Bake for 9 minutes, until ever so slightly brown at the edges and top.  If you over bake, you'll get a crumbly dry cookie.  Cool in the pan.  Since these rarely make it out of day one, I'm guessing a sealed container on the counter would be fine for storage.

*****UPDATE on these cookies - I inadvertently over baked a batch by about 6 minutes.  My quinoa go to guru said that if this happened, they would be sandy and dry.  Boy was she wrong!  They got nutty and crispier and didn't dry out.  They were better!*****

*quinoa flour can be made by grinding quinoa in a high speed, high power blender like our most favorite tool, the VitaMix.  They even have a special attachment for making grains into flour.  But should you not have a beloved VitaMix, you can purchase quinoa flour ready to go at most well stocked grocers these days, and my personal favorite is from Bob's Red Mill.  

Grandma's Meatballs - Only Better!

A while back, my friend Anneli (@Delicieux_fr on Twitter) and I wrote guest posts for each other’s blog. The subject was stuffed peppers and we had so much fun that we agreed to do it again. Since I had suggested the ingredient the first time, it was Anneli's turn to come up with the theme. She sent me a list (there's always a list, isn't there?) and one in particular seemed perfect. Balls! OK people, get your minds out of the gutter, we’re talking food here.

She explained that since there are so many foods that are served in a round form, we would have a broad list to choose from. You may think I've picked the absolute most obvious kind of food ball -- the meatball -- and I'd have to say that you're probably right, but let me explain.

My grandparents came to the United States from Calabria, Italy in the early 1920s. Like hundreds of thousands of other immigrants, they brought with them a culture of food that was specific to not only their country, but their local region. Some of the best memories of my childhood are of Sunday afternoon dinners at my grandparent’s house where spaghetti and meatballs were front and center.  The recipe my grandmother used was simple, a good handful of grated cheese lightly and delicately mixed into each pound of ground meat.  This works beautifully if your sauce is complex and has been simmering with bones and sausages all day, the way hers was.  The recipe that Cynthia and I use today is based on what my grandmother brought from Calabria, but our sauce is a simple marinara made with tomatoes picked at the height of summer from our garden, roasted with garlic and olive oil then frozen or canned.  So, for me, there was almost no choice but to write about these meatballs! For a more detailed description of how we roast our tomatoes, click here.

You might ask, what's so special about meatballs? Anyone can make them, right? Well, sort of, or at least some version of them. The fact is, I've had lots of bad meatballs over the years. Done right, they can be flavorful and tender (yes, I said tender). Done badly, they are often tasteless and rock hard. Ick! The trick to tender balls is.....drumroll please.....simmering sauce.  When the balls hit the sauce, it must have already been brought up to a boil and then back down to a nice simmer.  Bringing it up to a boil first insures the entire pot has been heated thoroughly.  If your sauce is boiling or cold, you will have tough balls.  No one likes tough balls.  Well, OK, our dogs will eat them, but then they've not turned their noses up to anything from the kitchen yet (or from the yard for that matter). Here’s how you too, can have tender balls.

Ingredients (makes 12 meatballs)

• ·         1 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• ·         1shallot, preferably the long french variety, minced
• ·         1 tbsp fresh minced rosemary or 1 tsp dry crumbled
• ·         1/4 cup port wine 
• ·         6-8 dashes worcestershire sauce
• ·         2 tsp soy sauce
• ·         2 tbsp fresh parsley chopped fine
• ·         2 eggs (optional)
• ·         1/4-1/2 cup freshly grated cheese - parmigiano reggiano, locatelli romano or grana padan
• ·         1/2 cup FRESH bread crumbs*
• ·         2-4 tbsp milk or cream
• ·         1 pound ground meat (1/4 veal,1/4  pork,1/2  beef – this blend adds flavor and texture)
• ·         salt/pepper to taste

 Preparation

• ·In a small skillet, on medium high heat, saute the shallot in EVOO until a little browning begins at the edges.  Add rosemary, wait 30 seconds, then add the port.  Allow to bubble until reduced by at least half.  Set aside to coo

•  In a small bowl, combine fresh breadcrumbs with milk or cream.  If your bread is very fresh, you'll need less milk - you want a nice moist crumb, but not wet, otherwise you'll make paste.  Not tasty.  Let sit for 5 minutes or so and fluff it right before you use it. 

•  Place ground meat in a large bowl, hit with 6-8 dashes Worcestershire.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper, flip it over.  Sprinkle soy over, then parsley, eggs (if using), cheese, shallot mixture and breadcrumbs. Mix thoroughly but gently, do not shmush.  When it's mixed to your satisfaction - if it's too wet add a little more cheese and if it's too dry add a little milk or tomato sauce - pinch off a little bit, form it into a mini pattie and saute.  Let it cool a bit and taste.  Adjust seasoning if needed and please don't skip this step.  

• You could, at this point, form the meatballs into a meatloaf, or patties for meatloaf burgers.  It’s also tasty dropped into stock for Italian wedding soup. Mix it with rice and stuff some cabbage leaves or peppers.  I think you get where I'm going with this - it's a very versatile mixture.

• Form into balls.  I use a small ice cream scoop that holds a tablespoon, and scoop twice, loosely. You want to form a nice ball, but again, don't shmush.  Light but firm pressure. 

• At this point, you have two options, to fry or not to fry.   If you're feeling lazy, just drop the balls into SIMMERING sauce.  If you want a little more umami going in the finished product, saute them until golden brown and delicious on all sides. 

 

• This can be tedious and messy, and although I like a brown ball, I think the un-browned balls are a wee bit tender-er and I don't miss the extra bit of meatiness.  In fact, when it's a simple marinara, I think I prefer it without the extra step.

• Once the balls are in the sauce, simmer for at least 1/2 an hour. 

 

• When they’re done, they should be tender enough to cut with almost no downward pressure by a fork and should look something like this…..

 
*A note on fresh breadcrumbs: day old bread works best, and I use my spice mill to pulverize it.  Added bonus, it cleans the mill and may pick up a little interesting spice in the process.  Should your bread be too fresh, toast it before blitzing.  Need to be gluten free?  Sub in some crushed Rice Krispies, Gluten Free or cooked rice that you've taken a knife to, but do not use the milk or cream, just straight in.

Buon Appetito!

You can see Anneli’s guest post about balls on my blog site, A Reluctant Foodie by clicking here!

 Originally posted on January 4, 2013 at http://www.delicieux.eu/?p=1374 as a guest post.