Nibbles & Sips

Fun with food and beverages: recipes and opinions about what, how, and why we eat.

No One-Trick Ponies In Our Kitchens!

Nibbles

I’ve often said that our hands and the best kitchen tools every made. They can do so many things and are always (sorry, I have to) close at hand. They can break items down and combine others together. They can mix, measure and mold. And it is those same hands that guide and utilize all the rest of the tools in our culinary arsenal.

So if hands are the most versatile and we expect so much of them, why should we expect any less of the rest of our tools?

As much as I love kitchen gadgets and little doodads that do specific things in the kitchen, I really love finding multiple uses for those one-trick ponies populating my cupboards and drawers.

Back when I taught cake decorating we’d try to come up with different uses for those shaped cake pans that are very popular for their ease-of-use but, let’s face it, not exactly versatile. If you trace the basic outline of the pan on a spare cake-board or piece of paper you get to see it without all the details. Turn each drawing 90-degrees and you might see something else in the shape that you didn’t see before. Bingo: another use for the same item! Our rule of thumb was trying to get at least 1 use of each tool per dollar spent.

Albondi-subsYears (and years) ago I bought a baguette pan. Great for keeping those lovely loaves rounded instead of flat on the bottom but kind of a pain to store and not exactly made for multi-purposing. But! Making meatball subs with leftover albondigas one night with the aim to toast them/melt the cheese without the stuffed rolls losing all that yummy filling, that baguette pan was the perfect tool to hold the subs just right in the oven. And the other night when I was baking English marrow squash stuffed with seafood, that same baguette pan was, again, perfect for keeping the squash halves perfectly positioned.

This weekend, helping my brother get ready for his housewarming party, he had a watermelon I decided to get a little fancy with. Of course, being a bachelor, a melon-baller wasn’t part of his kitchen. In a pinch, we decided to use an ice cream scoop (the crescent-shaped kind) and it worked great! It made larger-than-usual egg-shaped watermelon pieces which were much more practical for a casual summer party and made cleaning out the watermelon shell a while lot easier than trying to do it with a pairing knife!

What single-use kitchen tools have you found other ways to use?

Talk About Your Local Color!

Nibbles

May Farmers MarketFor the month of May it was undeniably purple!

I’ve still been enjoying my bi-weekly visits to the local farmers’ market and loving how simple a start it makes menu-setting for my weeks. If I had to state a downside, the only one I can think of is that if our plans get juggled and we push a day or two off, sometimes the produce just doesn’t last long enough! But, hey, it’s a smallish price to pay for just-picked goodness.

I’m even starting to make friends with a couple of the farmers!

As spring began we were excited to see more farmers showing up to the market and were looking forward to the variety the season would bring. I always seem to find new or uncommon things to try each time.

One week in particular I brought home tart plums (that we paired with boneless pork chops), purple beans that turn green when you cook them (well, mostly green, there was still a little bit of a brown tinge to it), and Norwegian purple potatoes (these are the ones with purple skin and white flesh, unlike the Peruvian purples that have purple flesh and skin–those I got later in the month). The following trip yielded some red noodle beans about a foot long, each, as well as some beautiful Japanese eggplant.

Of course it wasn’t all purple–there was plenty of greens, yellows and reds to be found.

What’s catching your eye at the market–farmer or otherwise–this season?

Summertime Ice Cream Treat: Magnum Ice Cream Bars

Nibbles

It’s Memorial Day weekend and the unofficial beginning of summer–what better time to break out the ice cream makers, scoops, dishes and toppings.

But wait, maybe you’re pressed for time or just not into complicated frozen desserts. So you head to the ice cream section of your local grocery store and maybe, just maybe, you see something different that catches your eye.

Magnum Double Chocolate Ice Cream BarsMagnum ice cream bars have recently hit the American market and the premium perks don’t end at the snazzy packaging. These bars feature vanilla bean or chocolate ice creams dipped in rich Belgian chocolate. Some (like the Magnum Almond) come studded with nuts while others (Magnum Double Chocolate and Magnum Double Caramel) feature sauces in between the ice cream and chocolate.

But how do they taste?

I was offered a coupon for a free box of Magnum ice cream bars and went, first, for the Double Chocolate–how can you go wrong with more chocolate?

What we have here, folks, is chocolate ice cream with a thin coating of chocolate on it, a layer of chocolate syrup/sauce and the outer layer of Belgian milk chocolate. Being a bookkeeper I can tell you that that’s 4 chocolates, not 2, but I guess Quadruple Chocolate doesn’t roll off the tongue the way Double Chocolate does, so we’ll let that slide.

A cross-section of a Magnum Double Chocolate ice cream barAt first bite I was loving the chocolate upon chocolate flavors but, as Todd pointed out (yes, I shared), it was almost chocolate overload the further you got into it. I also found out that my co-tester is not a big fan of chocolate ice cream (3.5 years together and there’s still new things to learn!), but even so he liked them okay.

With that in mind, though, I picked up two more flavors on this week’s shopping trip: Magnum Classic and Magnum Double Caramel.

In the Classic variety, the Belgian chocolate really gets a chance to shine compared to the vanilla bean ice cream–which was pretty tasty itself–and tastes really luxurious. I’ve had richer ice creams before, but they were usually small batch chef-made varieties, so take what you will from that.

The Double Caramel, however, left us a little wanting. The caramel was lost in the shuffle of chocolate and vanilla bean and what you did get it of it was sharp and unpleasant instead of rich and creamy. Of the three versions we’ve tried I think we’ll be sticking to the Classic.

Aside from the ice cream bars themselves, packaging can either add to or take away from the experience. (Prime example? Apple products–hello pretty!) In this case Magnum does a great job at enhancing their product. Working for a printing company for 15+ years I tend to notice finishing details and know there’s a reason for most boxes having square corners: they’re natural, easy and cheap. Rounded edges require die cutting and specialty folding set-ups–that’s a step many manufacturers aren’t going to take.

The bars, themselves, are wrapped in printed gold foil sleeves; another step up from the waxed paper in most ice cream bars. Usually I find gold packaging tacky, but Magnum hits a nice balance between garish and classy. Even the sticks are branded and are a little different from your average popsicle-stick.

At 3.28 for a package of three they’re not that expensive ($1.09ish per bar) but they’re not the value that some other brands offer. It’s nice for a treat or to satisfy a craving, but I don’t think it’s destined to become a freezer staple for our home.

~~~oOo~~~

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for one box of Magnum ice cream bars. All opinions and observations are my own.

50 Shots of America–Hawaii

Sips

Pearl Bomber CocktailI suppose, pre-Internet especially but before the media made everyone so altogether global, traveling across country or to a different region could really feel like going someplace different. My own travels leads me to believe that’s not really the case anymore.

Except, perhaps, in Hawaii. (Granted, I’ve never been there myself but I’d be more than willing to undertake a research expedition should someone wish to fund it. Purely scientific discovery, you understand.)

A string of volcanic islands (some still active) and part of the Polynesian Islands, The Aloha State was actually a sovereign nation with a functioning monarchy before we, in our “infinite wisdom” started interfering and changing everything. In 1893 a group of American and European businessmen, calling themselves the “Committee of Safety,” deposed Queen Lili-uokalani, formed a Provisional Government (conveniently containing members of the CoS)  and asked the US to annex them as a territory.

Now the US, for what it’s worth, said ‘uh, no, you really shouldn’t have done that: put it back the way it was.’ The Provisional Government said ‘no, we don’t wanna,’ so the US looks at the matter again (under a new President by now) and basically says, ‘oh, wait, you meant THAT monarchy? Oh, no, you’re totally cool, carry on!’  (Sheesh, this empire building is so confusing!) But it’s cool, you know, because 30 years later we finally apologized for taking over a sovereign nation.

Anyway! After 4 years as an independent republic and 60 years as a territory, Hawaii became our 50th and final (to date) state on August 21, 1959.

Pearl Bomber

3/4 oz Gold Rum
3/4 oz Pineapple Juice
1/2 oz Banana Liqueur
1/2 oz Simple Syrup

Combine all ingredients over ice and shake ’em like a Polynesian dancer’s hip tassels. Strain into a chilled double shot glass (or two singles–pineapple is the fruit of hospitality, after all) and get a tropical feel anytime, anywhere.

Most folks know that on December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor, totally out of the blue. It’s what convinced the US to become involved in WWII. I knew that, but I didn’t realize Hawaii wasn’t even a state, yet, when all that happened.

The reason why it wasn’t a state was the ruling class–planters and banks–liked being able to take advantage of cheap, imported foreign labor to work the sugar cane, pineapple, coffee and other plantations (being a state would mean an end to that). But, when the local-born children of those immigrants–now US citizens–grew up they rose up and wrested control from the Republican powers that be.

But, hey, enough politics!

Have you ever worked in a place that observed Casual Fridays? Well, you have the Hawaiians to thank for that!

Known as Aloha Friday in Hawaii, it refers to the casual wear known as Aloha shirts (we call them, predictable enough, Hawaiian shirts)–acceptable business and formal wear on the islands! But it wasn’t always that way. In the 60s the garment industry led the change to casual wear as business attire for the summer months with the recommendation that employers relax the business attire (suit and tie) regulations on the last day of the week. It spread to California and eventually became the business casual we know and live for.

So throw on your Hawaiian shirt, kick back with a Pearl Bomber and Bombs Away!

~~~oOo~~~

And with that we’ve completed our cocktail tour of the United States! Around the country in 17 months (we took some detours on the way) and what’s next? Well, I do have another series coming up that will start on July 1st. Until then I’ll be wrapping up loose ends on some other projects. But this isn’t the last you’ll hear of our 50 Shots!

MCC: A Tarte of Proines (aka Spiced Plum Spread)

Nibbles

Medieval Cooking Challenge buttonIt’s the second month of the Medieval Cooking Challenge, an experiment where we take real Medieval recipes and prepare them in our modern kitchens, bringing the past into the present.

Spiced Plum Spread on Olive Oil Toast, garnished with Lemon Zest

Spiced Plum Spread on Olive-Oiled Toast, garnished with Lemon Zest

After last month’s Andalusian Lamb (which was a little complex), we’re going later within the Medieval period and a bit simpler in method of preparation. This recipe for a dried plum (aka prune–but don’t let the connotations of the word scare you off!) spread that is great on slices of baguette as an appetizer or an afternoon snack or used, as the name would suggest, as a tart filling or topping.

 

The original recipe is from 1587 England, from a book known as The Good Huswifes Jewell, 1587

To make a Tarte of Prunes [alternately spelled Proines]

Put your Prunes into a pot, and put in red wine or claret wine, and a little faire water, and stirre them now and then, and when they be boyled enough, put them into a bowle, and straine them with sugar, synamon and ginger.

Gotta love that creative spelling from back then!

The redacted recipe quantities I’ve taken (and adjusted ever so slightly) from a fabulous modern book: Shakespeare’s Kitchenby Francine Segan. Not all of the recipes in this book reference their original Italian or English inspirations but some do, and it was indispensable as I planned my first Medieval feast for 60-80 people.

~~~oOo~~~

Spiced Plum Spread

1.5 cups Red Wine
9 oz Pitted Dried Plums (aka prunes, about 30)
3 Tbsp Sugar
2 Tbsp minced Ginger
2 Cinnamon Stick (2 inches or so)

Combine all ingredients in a large pot and simmer until most of the liquid has either been absorbed or evaporated and what’s left is very thick. Remove the mixture from the heat and remove the cinnamon stick. Mash the cooked mixture until a fairly smooth consistency is reached.

Step-by-Step Spiced Plum Spread

Makes approximately 1 cup.

Originally I’d suggested using crystallized ginger and adding it to the mixture between the cooking and mashing stages but decided to go with the minced ginger since I had it on hand. (I buy it in the tubes from the produce section–comes in very handy and keeps wonderfully!) You can use more or less of the ginger and cinnamon to suit your own preferences.

~~~oOo~~~

At this point what you do with it is up to you. You could go old-school and fill a single large or several small tarts shells with the mixture and serve it as is. Or you can serve it, warm, in a small crock with fresh bread and soft butter like you would a marmalade or jelly. Based on the rich flavor this dish provides, I’m thinking a topping for a cream cheese tart would be fabulous–the cream cheese only slightly sweetened so as to cut the richness of the plum topping the way vanilla ice cream can cut through the richness of a double-chocolate cake.

If you have fresh plums available (I know we have a few left over from a recent farmers’ market trip) you can use them in addition to or instead of the dried variety but you’ll need to use more of them to start with as well as more sugar (drying concentrates the fruit’s flavor and sweetness) and it will probably need to cook longer to give it enough time to thicken properly.

I’ve got a party coming up next month so I’ve stashed mine in the freezer to save until then–it’ll be a nice addition to the menu I’ve got planned.

~~~oOo~~~

Did you try this month’s Medieval Cooking Challenge? Make sure to leave you link in the comments!

Would you like to get on the mailing list for future month’s challenges? Head over to the MCC page, sign up and grab the button for your sidebar!