Peppers Too Hot To Eat? Pickle 'Em!

Well, Liz is away for the weekend visiting her soon-to-be 101 year old grandmother, so there will be no cooking until at least Monday. Yes, I CAN cook, but NO I likely will not be (at least not anything noteworthy.) I do, however, hope to return home this evening (from the Bon Jovi-Kid Rock concert at Soldier Field) with a bitchin concert-t, but I digress. Last year (or the year before, I forget), we had brazenly bought a mess of hot peppers (banana I think) from Fournie Farms. Fully secure in our own abilities to endure any heat, we tossed them in a salad and realized that they were blazing. Don't get me wrong, I was not beaten by the peppers, but it would have been an unnecessary challenge to make it through all of those peppers.

Plan 2
Liz found a recipe for Pork Chops with Vinegar Peppers from the Sopranos cookbook, so she followed another recipe for Pickled Peppers and Onions and we called it a coup. The peppers were a huge success. They were still a little mind-blowing but so tasty. They were lovely on the pork chops. They're lovely on a salad. They're lovely on a pizza. In short, they are just a little bit of spicy Heaven.

SO, we thought we'd give them another go this summer. We headed back to Fournie Farms and bought a giant bag of peppers (basically fill as full as you can a standard size plastic veg bag). As we were bagging the peppers, they yelled, "YOU KNOW THOSE ARE HOT!!??" We made sure they knew we were all good. What are we amateurs?

Anyway, before Liz left town (and the peppers were reduced to nothing), we headed back into the recipe. In an attempt to protect my hands, face, etc. from the blazing heat of the pepper seeds, I donned some lovely plastic gloves and then cut off the tops, cleaned out the seeds, and sliced the mess of peppers into rings. When Liz got home we started the pickling. We basically followed this recipe (times 1.5) except we used the mess of banana peppers, ran out of rice vinegar after the first 3/4c and had no white-wine vinegar. Instead we used cider vinegar in place of the remaining vinegar. Liz also uses pickling spice instead of juniper berries. She said shes that it was maybe an eighth of a cup/3T/a generous handful or something like that. She now (as I confer over the phone) said, "some." You have to love her for her specificity.

Okay, I have to be honest, I haven't tasted this batch yet, but I wanted to get the blog up before we forgot (and because I love the pic of Liz). All fingers are crossed that it's as hot, tasty, and lovely as before and I'm really looking forward to the pork chops. We'll be sending a jar of it home with our CSA box mates. All fingers crossed.

Sadness of Lemon Cake But Joy of Random Cajun-ish Stuff

KELLY * July 28 * DINNER

Okay, I'm going to try to blow through this. I'm stuffed and pooped and it's a mere 9:52pm (a time that usually signals us starting dinner). Tonight's dinner accomplished 2 tasks. One, it knocked off a LOT of our current produce before Liz heads out of town for the weekend (and I am left to fend for myself). Two, it provided a bounty for some friends who came to dinner.

Well, I'm generally not that much of a fan of okra (which is almost a sin in my family), but tonight's dinner was fab and fresh and frisky. So the question was, what do we do with all of this food. The first answer was, "Let's make gumbo." Upon realizing that we did not actually have the ingredients or the time to make gumbo, we decided on something gumbo-ish but not really gumbo. I thought it would be tasty but it has a serious lovely kick. You know Flauto starts with recipes often. Then she just throws this and that into the skillet. Well, this and that were the right things. It was juicy, spicy, and fresh. I think, also (and quite sadly), that this is one of the first times in our lives that we did not cook too much. We are both bummed about the lack of leftovers. CURSES!!!


After that (as was evidenced by my facebook posts) we had a somewhat failed lemon cake with a chocolate ganache glaze. It was not 100% successful on an aesthetic level (as the bundt cake did not seem to like me). I think my error was listening to the comment of the person who suggested not flouring the pan and sugaring it instead. I tried to use cooking spray and powdered sugar (as I hate pulling the bundts out a layer of cooked goopy flour. Well, it was a bust. I lost the whole top of the bundt and had to ultimately glaze it upside down and pretend that the side did not look like hell. (The grand irony was that we were reading The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake. The agreement was that the cake tasted like baking stress or happiness.) Anyway, the lemon cake recipe came from here (although I used 3/4c lemon juice and 1/4c milk instead of the 1c milk. I also used 2T zest and no lemon extract and only baked it for 50 minutes (which was either just right or too long). The ganache (a nice option when you are largely butterless) came from here.

Anyway, in short. WE NEED TO EAT THAT AGAIN!

ELIZABETH * July 28 * Dinner

OK, we started here with Epicurious and improvised. We didn't have any cilantro and decided we'd prefer our corn on the cob, but did have some andouille sausage from Holland Farmer's Market in the freezer, and some truly awesome tomatoes...

2 links andouille sausage, sliced (20th Century Meat Market Holland, MI)
1 chopped yellow organic onion (CA via Trader Joe's)
3 cloves elephant garlic, chopped fine (Angelic CSA)
2 hot banana peppers sliced into rings (Fournie Farms, Collinsville, IL)

Saute above in olive oil. Toss in:

1 yellow squash, chopped (Angelic CSA)
2 large tomatoes, chopped (we used one yellow, one red, Fournie Farms)

Steam/stew above with:
2 tsp paprika
Salt and pepper to taste

Before serving stir in a handful of fresh basil, rough chopped.

We served this over a brown rice and barley mixture from Trader Joe's, with okra tossed in heavy cream and then coated with medium ground cornmeal, salt, pepper, cayenne, and pan-fried.

I also thought this would taste ok. I don't do alot of cajun and I never made okra before, but it in fact was very delicious - I would most certainly make that again, and the fact that it was gone indicates it was enough of a hit for company!

The cake was also very good, although less beautiful than some of Kelly's work. Nonetheless we ate it and did not feel sad. Rather we feel full and happy of good food!

B-L-A-G-T = Tomato Down My Chin Deliciousness

KELLY * July 27 * DINNER

Okay, this night truly had both barrels blazin'. We just officially booked a Caribbean cruise for a portion of my winter break and we just made the best freaking BLT ever!!! Truly, as I type (and keep in mind I'm sticky-phobic) I'm pretty sure there is still tomato juice running down my chin. All I know is that the trip to Fournie Farms in Collinsville, IL, coupled with our CSA box and a trip to Trader Joe's creates a pyramid of tastiness. Flauto is still feeling a little quiet this evening (and is a bit at a loss to say when there is no actual recipe), so I'm taking over. Okay, I'll give you the run-down.

So, what is a BLAGT you ask. Well, this was truly no ordinary BLT. We wanted a little something special, but also wanted to take full advantage of our Fournie Farms tomatoes (that looked amazing). So, here you go:

World's best BLAGT:
2 pieces of pane toscano (Trader Joe's)
2 GIANT slices of GIANT tomato (Fournie Farms - Collinsville, IL)
4-5 skinny pieces of bacon (Trader Joe's)
1/4 of an avocado, slathered on one side of the bread (Trader Joe's)
one hunk of goat cheese slathered on the other side of the bread (Trader Joe's)
(Liz's also had mayo. Mine did not.)

All I know is that the brilliance of the goat cheese (a food that I fully believe makes any meal an event and is, in any dish, a game changer) and the creaminess of the avocado joined with the explosion of tomato and crispiness of toast and bacon to create actual magic. This is no metaphor. I pulled a rabbit out of my mouth. It's actual magic.

As a lovely side dish, we each had an ear of bi-colored corn from Fournie's. (We bought 6 ears before we figured out that our CSA box came with 8. Oops. We just gave much of the CSA corn to our friends who picked up the box for us while we were out of town. Holla Myron and Ed!)

Anyway, it was a simple dinner, but I shall now (at 11:32 after a very late dinner) go to bed very happy and dream of plump tomatoes frolicking with cows, loaves of bread, and the like. Ah, it's a nice dream.

Kickin' the Shrimp Squash Curry in the GC

KELLY * DINNER * July 25

Okay, this is a day late (but hopefully not a dollar short), but we just made it back to town today and I had a serious baseball game to watch with my mom last night. As many of you know, we were in Granite City this past weekend for my 20 year high school reunion (at which we discovered the blog has many lurkers. Thanks for that and keep reading.). The reunion was a hoot. I enjoyed seeing Liz briefly abandon the CSA box and eat the following: Popeye's chicken, church BBQ pork steaks, White Castles, a Taco Bell meximelt, caramel rolls from a tube, and a margarita in a pool (thanks Aunt Ginny). Anyway, we did try to balance it out a bit while we were there. We brought produce with us to Granite so we could cook for my mom. Yesterday--after stopping at Fournie Farms in Collinsville, IL--to pick up some corn, okra, hot peppers, etc. that will be featured later this week--we (okay, largely Liz) made a lovely red curry with shrimp, skapes, sweet peppers, and squash (based loosely on this). She also made (less than aesthetically successful but tasty) vegetarian spring rolls. It was a little bite of Vietnam and Thailand right in the Granite City kitchen (if Vietnam and Thailand had really dull knives). Anyway, I thought the dinner was lovely. My mom and my Aunt Ginny were quite pleased with the entire meal (and enjoyed having someone cook for THEM). Liz was less than pleased with the shrimp that we bought at Schnucks, but what are you going to do. Anyway, I thought it was a swell end to the trip home and hope so much that my aunt enjoyed her dinner (as we THOROUGHLY enjoyed swimming in her pool in the idiotically hot Southern Illinois heat and being served margaritas). Anyway, Liz is going to talk some smack about the meal when she posts her half of the blog at a later time (as she's now too sleepy), but believe me instead. It was tasty if a bit shrimp-y. I think she may have still been turned off as a residual effect of the previous night's White Castles.

Hey Lamby Pie, That's One Hot Cookie!!

KELLY * July 21 * DINNER

So, I've started this blog prior to the actual dinner cooking. We have guests coming over tonight, so things might be a bit hectic. Regardless, I thought I might set the table so to speak. So, today was yet another day of failed writing (okay, honestly, I watched season 6 of 24) and Cayenne Chocolate Chip Cookie discovery (see recipe).I fully admit that I cut the recipe in half (due to a dearth of flour) but I doubled (or so) the cayenne pepper. Based on the one sample cookie I've tried, I stand by it, although if I were doing a full batch of it, I think I would put a full tablespoon of cayenne. It really just depends on whether you want the cookie to be starring the cayenne or featuring it as a bit player. The way I baked them they were tasty. The cayenne gave a nice after-kick, but I can always use more heat.

I'm getting ready to head into what we hope is a lovely Lamb-Wild Mushroom-Random Veg-Fresh Sage Potpie. I'll let you know.

Okay, I'm back. There was simply no time for an evening blog. The dinner with Michael and Andrew was lovely. In a shocking move, we had dinner ready and appetizers (various cheeses and Trader Joe's pepperoni) plated before they got here. If you have ever eaten dinner at our house, you know on-time cooking is not how we roll.

Anyway, the lamb pie turned out swell. I know people fear pies and I beg of them to relax. Pies are not scary!! If you just follow the Joy of Cooking's basic pie crust you'll be fine. It really is a freakishly easy way to impress people. They think the pie-maker is a genius (when all you really have to do is follow directions). I love baking because it is simply math. Follow directions and you're golden. Anyway, the pie was tasty and delicious (although it needed a little salt).

Despite my overall aversion to cucumbers, I even stood by Liz's emergency (a green bean disaster had occurred) cucumber-mint-sweet onion salad. I can't really give you specifics. She's going to have to make an appearance on the blog to finish things up. I know is was a GIANT cucumber (CSA) and Sweet Onions (CSA) cut ever so thin with the cheap-o mandolin and diced fresh mint (Glenwood Sunday Market).

Anyway, all was super delicious. We think our guests enjoyed everything (as seconds were had all around). We had a bit of pie left (which we look forward to eating). The cayenne cookies were a hit at dessert. In short, win, win, win!!!! The only down-side of the dinner was 2 separate incidents whereby some cats who shall remain nameless thought that licking appetizer olives and goat gouda was appropriate. It was NOT. It's always good to be shamed in front of guests.

Anyway, I'll get down to the nitty-gritty:


This will make enough dough for 2 9 inch pie crusts
* Sift together 2 cups of flour and 1t salt
* In a separate bowl mix together 2T of butter and 2/3 cups of shortening. (I like the new individually wrapped Crisco bars, as Crisco actually goes bad. Who knew?? My family used so much Crisco that we never gave the GIANT bucket time to go bad).
* Mix the shortening/butter mixture into the flour mixture. Using your fingers or a pastry blender works best. (I got my gma's pastry blender last year. It changed my life a little.) Just work the shortening mixture in until it looks coarse.
* Add 4T of water to the mixture and work it in until you can make the dough into a ball. Use half of the ball for each crust. (If you need to add 1 more T have at it.)
* Chilling the dough a bit might make it easier to work with. Also, I swear by rolling out the crust between 2 pieces of waxed paper. I swear, it's easy as pie.

The filling was based on a recipe for Chicken Pot Pie with Leeks and Wild Mushrooms from the Crabtree and Evelyn Cookbook. We just shook it up a bit to fit what we had.

In 4T butter and 2T olive oil cook (for about 10min. on high, stirring occasionally):
1 c small potatoes in small chunks (Mix of baby red and German butter potatoes, Holland, MI farmer's market)
5 new tiny carrots in small slices (CSA)
1 yellow onion, diced (Trader Joe's organic)
1lb of wild mushrooms, sliced small (Glenwood Sunday Market) - Shiitake, Baby Bella, Oyster Mushrooms
Remove the veg with a wooden spoon (leaving oil and butter in skillet)

Brown 2/3c ground lamb (Mint Creek Farms via Glenwood Sunday Market) in the same skillet and then transfer with wooden spoon into holding container with veg.

In same skillet, add 3T of flour and stir constantly (stove on high) for 2 minutes. Add 1.5c chicken broth and .5c heavy cream in stages to the flour. Simmer and stir for about 5 minutes (until smooth and thickened--well, somewhat thickened but it won't get too thick). Scrape any brown bits from the skillet.

Pour cream mixture in bowl with the rest of the lamb and veg mixture and add

1/4c green onions (CSA)
1t dried rosemary (Dad's Herb Garden)
1T fresh sage (CSA)
salt and pepper to taste

Pour all into the pie crust. Cover with 2nd crust (and add cut out dough pieces if'n you have a hankerin'. I had such a hankerin'.). Bake at 425 for 40-50 minutes.


And then eat tasty deliciousness!




Okay, I know this part is totally better if Liz does it, but there you go.

ELIZABETH * July 21 * Dinner

My four cents:

1) Clearly Kelly is better under a deadline than I am. This is not the first indication of this. She did an excellent job of wifery - cleaned house, baked cookies, made pie, all with a smile on her face and a song on her lips, and in good time. I usually sweat and swear up to the point we open the door and then cook for another hour.

2) The dressing on the cukes was regular and lemon flavor olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt, pepper, pinch of sugar.

3) The pie was RIDICULOUSLY DELICIOUS, as it was the first time we (Kelly) made it (after which we misplaced the recipe for several years despite the fact that it was right there in the cookbook we thought it was in). Brigadoon Pot Pie.

4) I would not request that she double the cayenne. The cookies were not spicy hot. They were warm. Even when they are room temperature, they have the sensation of warmth. They are magic.

That is all.

Mary Ate a Little Lamb with a Fresh Bolognase Sauce

KELLY * July 18 * Dinner

So, tonight's dinner was late. It's 10:40 and I'm just finishing. Liz is still in her chair with the bowl in her lap making "mmmm" sounds. I fully admit, that again I was supposed to start the dinner. I did not (and it totally worked out for me again). I was doing 6 loads of laundry, so Liz felt it was a legit excuse for culinary foot-dragging on my part. Anyway, we hooked ourselves up with some fresh ground lamb at the Glenwood Sunday Market and I must admit that it does not suck. Liz feels that I did not respond vehemently enough after my first bite. However, as I was trying to sop the last bit of anything out of the bowl with my bread, she decided that maybe I did not hate the dinner. All I know is that (a) it still freaks me out a little to think about eating lamb, (b) I do not like seeing pictures of the lamb at the stall, and (c) it was very tasty. (And I may or may not be singing about the lamb to the tune of Ludicris's "My Chick Bad.") Thank you. And scene.

ELIZABETH * July 18 * Dinner

It is true that I did not think the reaction to the lamb bolognese was sufficently effusive. Especially as I thought it was awesome. Bolognese is a funny thing. I have tried it a couple times in the past and found that it very easily comes out bland. Tonight, however, the onions and carrots were sweet, the lamb tender and meaty, the tomatoes fresh and red. Starting with a bolognese recipe from The Reluctant Gourmet and improvising freely, it went like this:

* 3 cloves garlic, minced (damn chinese garlic. Soon it will be time for local - the garlic at the market this week was so tiny and dirty and weak looking and it was fifty cents a head argh.)
* 1 onion, finely chopped (organic california via Trader Joe's)
* 3 young carrots, finely chopped (Angelic CSA - yummy! a whole bunch with tops!)

Above sauteed in olive oil, then -

Generous pinch crushed chilis
1/2 or 1 tsp (who measures?) dried rosemary, crushed (Dad's garden)
1/2 c (or so) Australian Shiraz someone left here after a party
5 roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/3 lb fresh ground lamb from Mint Creek Farms via Glenwood Sunday Market

Simmered this while cooking the cellentani, then added a little scoop of pasta water for sauciness and stirred together pasta and sauce. Topped with pecorino and sea salt. Both bowls licked clean, despite perceived lack of enthusiasm on the part of K.

Served with a salad - baby green leaf lettuce from CSA, yellow pepper, red onion, kalamatas, sliced black pepper pepperoni (thank god as the black pepper is gone again mon dieu) and dressed with something I found in the fridge that seemed to involve olive oil, red wine vinegar, s/p, anchovies, and mustard.

Kelly is dying to read this so I am going to stop writing as she has been asking for 10 minutes if I am done yet. Perhaps she wants to make lamb bolognese and wants my recipe.

G'Night.

Chili in the Summer = Yum! Chili Prior to Blackout = HOT!

KELLY * Dinner * July 18

Have I mentioned how much I love Elizabeth for her willingness to make chili in the sweltering heat of summer. Today was a lovely sedentary Sunday. Liz slept late. We took a brisk walk to the Glenwood (Rogers Park) Farmers Market. We walked back home in a very warm downpour. We sat around and listened to the Cardinals pull a game off at the final strike. I breathed a heavy sigh when Jack Bauer righted wrongs as I streamed the end of season 5. The evening was all set for perfection; Liz was making white bean chicken chili with fresh summer squash and quesedillas. This is all I know. The chili was true perfection. The tastes were amazing. As I think I've said before, I strive for the perfect chili and this was near perfection. The only downside was that, yes, we lost power as we were finishing the cooking. (Okay, as Liz was finishing the cooking.) This was the 3rd time we had lost power this week. Honestly, it's getting a little boring. It was a bit eerie when the only light in the house was the gas burners as they simmered the chili, boiled a chicken, and heated the quesadillas. So, we sat in the darkness of our sunporch, crossed fingers for no looting, and luxuriated in a delicious dinner that had made (the now fan bereft) apartment sweltering. I still stand by summer chili, despite the heat in the apartment and my body. GO CHILI!!!!

ELIZABETH * July 18 * Dinner

I said this evening, not for the first time, that all I really need to pull the strings in this relationship is garlic, onion, and toasted cumin seeds. Tonight's chili is proof. The jalepenos are bonus.

White Bean Chicken Chili (augmented Cha-Cha's recipe)

6 cloves of garlic (good start.)
1 onion
2 tsp toasted cumin seeds
1/2 tsp dried oregano
black pepper to taste
2 diced jalapenos, 1 red, 1 green

saute above in olive oil

Add 4c broth, plus

shredded chicken
1 can small white beans
1 chopped yellow squash (CSA)
corn from 1 ear (our first CSA ear - so tiny!)
1 diced tomato

Simmer until squash is tender.

This is good. We topped it with sour cream and ate it with queso fresco quesadillas on those really good adobo tortillas from holland. We couldn't see it, but we ate it!