Dewberry Bombs

I was reading Homesick Texan’s post on dewberries and luscious cobbler. She said “picking dewberries is a wonderful warm-day pastime. When I was young, my friends and I would march out to the wilder parts of my suburban Houston neighborhood—such as the bayou, vacant lots or the rough patch next to the golf course—and brave water moccasins, thorns and poison ivy to score some of these black orbs, warm from the sun and ready to pop in your mouth.” She’s absolutely right and I am beginning to think that we might have lived inthe same Houston neighborhood at around the same time (ish). I love dewberries and I can even put up with having to go through the dental floss event from hell after my profligate consumption. But there is one thing that I have learned to hate about dewberries: birds.

As much as people love dewberries, birds love them more. Black birds, mockingbirds, sparrows, titmice, cardinals, grackles, finches, warblers… They slurp them down with more glee than people. And they have the benefit of an aerial vantage, so they can get *more* dewberries than people. And then they crap. Some would think that pigeon crap is a burden. I’ll swap. For a good month in SouthEast Texas all the bird crap is purple. Not lavender, but that sickening yoghurt purple. And it’s everywhere. On your car, the sidewalk, the mailbox, the porch… Great splats and piles of purple poop. And if you do not wash it off immediately, it begins to assume the destructive/corrosive/quantum properties of red matter (go see the new Star Trek movie). My oldest daughter has actually been splatted on the forehead by a sated black bird as she tried to get into the family car. (Note: the shrieks of a 17 year old after said event can be auditorily challenging.) Purple poop *almost* makes me want to give up blackberries. But not quite. Especially since I’ll be making Homesick Texan’s cobbler recipe tonight…

Dewberry Cobbler
Crust ingredients:
1/2 stick of butter (2 oz.)
1 cup of flour (6 oz.)
1/2 cup sugar (3 oz.)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup of buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt

Filling ingredients:
4 cups dewberries or blackberries
1/2 cup sugar (3 oz.)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon lemon juice

Method:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Place the rinsed berries in a large cast-iron skillet or nine-inch round cake pan, and toss the berries with the sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon and lemon juice. Let them macerate for 20 minutes. To make the crust, melt the butter on low in a pan, and then add the other ingredients. Dough will be slightly sticky, moist yet pliable. Pat out the dough and place it over the berries. Bake 40 minutes or until light brown and bubbling.

Damaged By The King

We’ve all heard about those amazing lawsuits involving fast food chains. They usually involve some wild-ass claim. There’s a guy suing BK for screwing up his order in Virginia. Seems kind of silly, eh? But when you read the actual lawsuit, it would appear that the plaintiff genuinely feels like he has been damaged by BK’s mistake. I get it and am actually gratified to see that somebody actually considered how they were damaged as a basis for the lawsuit. I guess the questions are…  Assuming one knew about a severe allergic reaction to a particular substance (presumably, that’s why he specifically ordered his meal without the ingrdient), wouldn’t a reasonable person actually check the item to be consumed before consuming it to avoid such reactions? Or does the sole responsibility for one’s health and welfare, or injury to that health, reside with the provider of substances that affect it? I gotta think that making BK responsible for insuring that you do not have allergic reactions is kind of silly.

Squashed Mint

Squash is one of those thing that I can take or leave. Never really been too passionate about it. But I found a recipe in one of my ancient cookbooks and the bog mint has been going nuts in my pond… so it was time to adapt, overcome and conquer. The recipe actually made the zucchini taste “crunchy” and the flavor was spot on.

Zucchini Strands with Mint

Ingredients:

1 pound of zucchini
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, finely chopped
3 tbsp bog mint, finely chopped (other fresh mint will probably work!)
Black pepper ground to taste

Method:

Cut the stems and bottom tips off the squash and slice them on a mandoline or other similar device to create spaghetti strands. Toss the strands with the salt and put in a colander to rest for about 15 minutes. Give a little squeeze with your hands to remove the rest of the moisture (should yield about a 1/2 cup). Heat large skillet over medium low heat and add olive oil. Add the garlic and stir until it doesn’t “smell harch”, but hasn’t begun to brown (about a minute). Add the zucchini and mint and toss until just heated through. Season with pepper and serve immediately. A dash of lemon juice may brighten things, but I am not inclined to jack with this just yet.

Get Your Lime On

I was looking for something a bit different than Creme Brulee’. CB is nice and always a delight to “finish” with a small blow torch, but I wanted something off the beaten path and a bit tangy for the summer. Gourmet Sleuth to the rescue…

Key Lime Pots de Creme
by Barabara Bowman

These rich, tart little treats are simply a variation on key lime pie.

Servings: 6 +

Ingredients:
4 large or extra large egg yolks
1 14 ounce can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup fresh key lime juice (approximately 6 to 8 limes)
2 teaspoons grated lime peel, green portion only
Whipping cream for garnish (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 325F.  Use an electric mixer and beat the egg yolks until they are thick and turn to a light yellow.   Turn the mixer off and add the sweetened condensed milk.  Turn speed to low and mix in half of the lime juice. Once the juice is incorporated add the other half of the juice and continue to mix until blended (just a few seconds).  Add the grated lime peel and stir in by hand.  Pour the mixture into a large measuring cup with a pouring lip.

Put six 1/2-cup pots de creme or ramekins in a deep baking dish.
Pour the lime mixture evenly between the pots. Pour hot tap water into the baking dish so that it comes within 1/2 inch of the top of the pots. Do not get water in the pots de creme cups. Cover the dish with a sheet of aluminum foil.  Put the baking dish in the oven and bake, until the custards are just set in the centers, approximately 15 minutes. Do  not overbake.  Remove the dish from the oven and carefully remove pots from the water.  If you are using pots de creme cups, put the lids on the pots.  If you are using ramekins, cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate until chilled and set at least 3 to 4 hours, or overnight.

Serving:
If you are using the whipping cream garnish, prepare the cream.  Use a pastry bag with a star tip and add a medium size star of whipping cream to each pot de creme and serve.

Tasty Hummus

I love the stuff… especially in summer. You can keep it plain or add in just about anything. Roasted garlic, red peppers, Kalamata olives, cucumbers… Yum.

Fried Foot Massage

If only…

Dreaming of Dining

I’ve had a rather nasty chest cold that seems to have peaked (I hope). I thought it was going to be brief and gone by this weekend. Not so much. Ah well. Round the clock hot toddies and expectorant should have me back in form by Monday. Unfortunately, I had planned to make some kind of fantastic veal dish this weekend and already purchased most of the ingredients. Now, I’m wondering if I should put the veal scallops in the freezer or hope that my taste buds regenerate by tomorrow.

Here’s what I bought:

• Fresh veal scallops
• Goat cheese
• Several kinds of white wine ranging from Sahara dry to slightly sweet and fruity
• Fresh herbs (basil, tarragon, etc.)
• A couple of packages of sun-dried tomatoes (I eat ‘em like raisins)
• Lemons and oranges

Assume that I have most everything else I could need for a fancyness veal dish in the house. How would you prepare this?

Asparagus Jones

I enjoy asparagus. I like it steamed as a side, chopped up in a stir fry, pickled as a munchie, marinated and more. However, I had never even heard of fried asparagus. And this is somewhat perplexing as Ihave lived almost my entire life in Texas… where we will fry and eat just about anything after it has been deep fried. So imagine my surprise when I was at a restaurant in rural Southern Illinois and saw fried asparagus on the menu. I immediately ordered it and was munching away in short order with an evil grin on my face. Last night, I made up some beer batter (traditional Easter fare, eh?) and dressed the asparagus. Dunked them in the fryer until they were golden, sprinkled some salt, served them with some sides of bleu cheese dressing, horseradish cream and ranch dressing. Several pounds of asparagus were immediately pillaged by the gathered minions. The bodily effects were noticed within 15 minutes.

Black Beans… Yummy

Sometimes simple really is best. Get a bunch of black beans, a fist full of fresh cilantro, a couple of onions, and some Shiner Bock beer. Rinse the beans well and put ‘em in a stock pot. Cover them with water plus an inch or so. Add a dash of salt and bring to a roiling boil. Cut the heat back and allow to simmer, uncovered. Finely dice two or three sweet onions (1015’s are better than Vidalia’s, but regular Mayan sweet yellow will do). Throw all the onions in the pot and continue simmering. Now finely dice the cilantro and separate into two piles. Add a Shiner Bock to the pot along with one of the piles of cilantro and continue simmering. When the level of the liquid gets even with the top of the beans, add another Shiner Bock. You can throw in a bit of seasoning, if you like, but it is not mandatory. Some red and black pepper, a little paprika, a bit of dried chipotle… After an hour or so, you can add the rest of the cilantro. Continue to simmer until the liquid is as thick as you like. Garnish with some fresh jalapeno slices and serve with rice or bread.

Of Fowl and Iron

This is a fun time of year for folks who like rustic fare. At least here in the Houston area. I live out in the county (read: unincorporated burbs) and we are now getting covered up with white winged dove. While it’s not hunting season for them… using something other than a firearm to very quietly snag a few from the backyard is pretty easy. For those of you who are already blanching at the thought of eating a game bird… relax. Dove tastes like chicken used to taste. It has flavor and is quite savory without being too gamey. Cleaning them is pretty simple and quick and you are really only going to use the breast meat.

Salt and pepper as many breasts as you like (4-12 per person), toss on a few jalapeno slices and some queso blanco chunks, wrap the breast up with some good slab bacon and then fry it up in a cast iron skillet (cast iron is mandatory).  Black beans and rice with a truckload of cilantro makes a good side dish. If you are skilled, bake up some fresh bread… Otherwise, have Jon Tillman bake it for you and don’t tell him you are eating meat.