DIY Hot Sauce

Thanks to Monihan for the pic!

With the last of my banana peppers sturdily clinging to the vine, I thought what better time to explore the world of hot sauce! I adapted this simple recipe from something I saw on the Bitten blog to start me out on my hot sauce adventure.

Ingredients
- A couple quarts of chile peppers (Can be a mixture of different kinds including but not limited to jalapeno, chipotle or poblano)
- Plastic gloves (make sure theyre safe for food handling!)
- White Vinegar
- Salt to taste

Once your chiles have ripened to your desired color/taste, put on your plastic gloves (The plastic gloves will save your hands from burning from handling chiles) and rinse and trim the stems and any bad spots off the chiles. It's okay if they are in different stages of dryness, you just want to remove any potential rot. Remove seeds if you'd like but I prefer to keep them in.

Place the chiles into a food processor and pour in enough white vinegar to submerge the chiles. Add about a tbsp of salt (or more to taste!) Puree until smooth. 

Transfer to a pot and bring to a boil stirring once or twice. Be careful not to inhale or stand over the boiling pot! While youre waiting for the sauce to boil, wash and rinse a bottle with a reclosable cap. Rinse the inside with the white vinegar to disinfect the bottle.

Funnel the sauce into the clean jar or bottle and cool. Cover with a cloth napkin or dish towel. I use a rubberband to secure the towel and prevent any fruit flys from invading. Let the mixture sit at room temperature for three days, undisturbed. Carefully pour off all but a thin layer of the vinegar (which true enthusiasts save for another use) and refrigerate. 

The sauce keeps for months; you’ll know if it goes off when it starts to ferment and get sort of effervescent.

Summer Harvest

It's a beautiful fall Friday in NYC and here's a peek at my Brooklyn summer harvest. The big tomatoes are courtesy of my neighbor -- fried green tomatoes for brunch tomorrow? Here's the recipe:

3 medium, firm green tomatoes
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup milk
2 beaten eggs
2/3 cup fine dry bread crumbs or cornmeal
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices. Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper. Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.

2 Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in a skillet on medium heat. Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs. In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side or until brown. As you cook the rest of the tomatoes, add olive oil as needed. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Kombucha - Detox Summer

After a phenomenal weekend of backyard barbecue birthday blowouts, chicago house house parties, and rooftop sunsets you might feel the need for a little detox in your life...I know my Tuesday morning haze was enough indication that my liver might need a little break. What better time than to start a kombucha regiment than the first of summer?

Kombucha has seen a huge resurgence in the last couple of years but the fermented tea has been consumed for centuries by Chinese, Russian, and Eastern Europeans for its healing and digestive properties. Those in the new age/hippie dippy set are familiar with the beautifully packaged versions sold at high-end delis for $4.50 a bottle with names like Synergy and Wonder Drink but a quick google reveals that you can easily make and bottle this fizzy jam in the comfort of your own home! I started the process today with this quick recipe to make the "mother" culture and will be on my way to making my first batch of tea by next week! Check the starter recipe from Food Renegade below:
1 bottle of Organic, Raw Kombucha
1 glass jar
1 kitchen towel
1 cup of room temperature black tea sweetened with 1 tbsp sugar

Pour the bottle of kombucha and sweetened tea into a glass jar. Cover it with a towel so it can breathe but be protected from insects and other contaminants. Let it sit. With time, a new "mother" culture called a SCOBY will start to form on top of the liquid. It will appear first as a thin film, then slowly fill in and thicken up. Once it’s about 1/4 inch thick, it’s ready to go. You can let it sit longer and get even thicker. Should take 1.5-3 weeks depending on room temperature!

Check full directions on how to brew your own kombucha once you've cultured the mother here and here!

Green Chili Cornbread

Happy Memorial Day! Fire up the grill and ice the beers for the weekend. I typically smoke meat instead of grilling it but wanted to share a favorite recipe from my girl Paula Deen. Its super easy and a great compliment to bring or serve at a BBQ.

For those who are more ambitious, check the home smoking shenanigans from T Magazine and Kitchen 4B!

Ingredients:

* 1 1/4 cup stone-ground cornmeal
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
* 8 ounce can cream-style corn
* 1 cup sour cream
* 4 ounce can chopped green chilies
* 1/2 cup canola oil
* 2 eggs, lightly beaten


Directions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Spray miniature muffin tins with vegetable oil cooking spray.

In a small mixing bowl, combine the cornmeal, salt and baking powder, stirring with a metal spoon. Add the cheese, corn, sour cream, and chilies. Stir until lightly combined. Add the oil and eggs and stir until everything is just combined; do not over mix. The batter will be very stiff.

Place about 1/2 tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes. Serve warm.

Chicken Fried Steak

Sometimes, you just cant get the real thing in New York. When it comes to Southern home cooking, New York is lacking in a solid place that serves a consistently satisfying meal. After a disappointing bout with Jambalaya, I had an even more disappointing Chicken Fried Steak at Marlow & Sons this past weekend. It was soggy, served with salad, and not only was there no gravy (gasp!) but when I asked for some, I was told there was a lot of butter on the steak.

I used to go back to Houston for the holidays and my mom and I would have a special meal together...at The Black Eyed Pea. Now this local Texas franchise we rarely frequented growing up but as a college student my mom would take me there for one thing and one thing only...the best chicken fried steak in our 'hood. Now I've had my fair share of CFS...Thursdays at Clear Lake High School was CFS day. You'd get it served smothered with gravy and with some corn, mashed potatoes, and a roll on the side. Cracker Barrel is also a good option if you're not in Texas. In New York, Chat N' Chew's CFS can hold you over until you cross the Mason-Dixon line. But theres always something missing. My answer is just to make it yourself...this might have to be my weekend project.

Chicken Fried Steak
Ingredients

* 2 1/4 teaspoons salt, divided
* 1 3/4 teaspoons black pepper, divided
* 4 (4-ounce) cube steaks
* 38 saltine crackers (1 sleeve), crushed
* 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided
* 1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 4 3/4 cups milk, divided
* 2 large eggs
* 3 1/2 cups peanut oil
* Garnish: chopped fresh parsley

Preparation

Sprinkle 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon black pepper evenly over steaks. Combine cracker crumbs, 1 cup flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, red pepper, and baking powder. Whisk together 3/4 cup milk and eggs. Dredge steaks in cracker mixture; dip in milk mixture, and dredge again in cracker mixture.

Pour oil into a 12-inch skillet; heat to 360°. (Do not use a nonstick skillet.) Fry steaks 3 to 4 minutes. Turn and fry 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Remove steaks to a wire rack in a jelly-roll pan. Keep steaks warm in a 225° oven. Carefully drain hot oil, reserving cooked bits and 1 tablespoon drippings in skillet.

Whisk together remaining 4 cups milk, 1/4 cup flour, remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and remaining 1 teaspoon black pepper. Add milk mixture to reserved drippings in skillet; cook, whisking constantly, over medium-high heat 10 to 12 minutes or until thickened. Serve gravy with steaks. Garnish, if desired.

From Southern Living, JANUARY 2006

Crawfish Season

This past weekend we experienced 80 degree weather and a taste for the upcoming summer season of events. I met up with my friends on Sunday for Flatbush Farm's crawfish boil, aka an ode to cajun cooking. The restaurant and bar is a favorite hangout serving great drinks (Try the Mo'Stormy, a minty twist on the Dark & Stormy), solid food and a nice backyard patio for those warm spring nights. The crawfish boil was okay—it lacked the kick that I'm used to—but I was kinda horrified that what they called jambalaya was actually just gumbo served on top of some dirty rice. Im a bit of a gumbo snob and I really love the complex flavors of cajun cooking. Check out this great jambalaya recipe adapated from NOLA Cuisine:

Chicken & Andouille Sausage Jambalaya Recipe
2-3 Servings

1 Tbsp Unsalted Butter
1 Cup Andouille Sausage, Diced
1/2 Cup Onion, Diced
1/2 Cup Bell Pepper, Diced
1/2 Cup Celery, Diced
2 Tbsp. Garlic, Minced
1/2 Cup Tomatoes, Diced
1/4 Cup Tomato Sauce
3/4 Cup Enriched Long grain Rice
1 3/4 Cup Chicken Stock
1 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 Tbsp Hot Sauce
1 Cup Boneless Chicken Thigh, Diced
(Seasoning Mix: 1/2 tsp Cayenne, 3/4 tsp White Pepper, 1 tsp Kosher Salt, 1/2 tsp Dried Thyme, 1/2 tsp Rubbed Sage, 3 Bay Leaves)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt the butter, saute the Andouille until slightly browned. Add 1/2 of the trinity (onion, bell pepper, celery) saute until tender. Add the Tomato and cook for about one minute, then add the Tomato Sauce, cook 1 minute more. Add the Rice, cook 1 minute. Add the Stock, Worcestershire, Hot Sauce, Garlic, Seasoning Mix, Bay Leaves, the other half of the Trinity, and Raw Chicken. Stir well and bake uncovered for about 30-40 minutes, or until the rice is cooked, but still has a little bite. Top with chopped Parsley, and sliced Green Onions. Put on some Zydeco and enjoy!