Perfect Hat Trick Triple Ginger Snaps

Ginger's perfect hat trick- fresh, dried, and candied- make cookies with a bite that ebbs into lingering warmth. Sensation and excitement are not words we usually associate with a tea-time snack, but these really are surprisingly spicy. And all that heat is just the thing when you are out skating, hiking, or just enjoying the urban pleasures of winter's chilly festive streets. These cookies also have a warm endorsement- my Swedish cousin, Bodil, liked these as much as the excellent but laborious rolled ginger cookies that are so popular in Sweden during the holidays.

These come together very easily- one bowl, oil instead of butter, just a spoon to mix. Use some of the ginger and syrup from this simple recipe, or just make up a fresh batch and use the candied ginger straight form the syrup, still wet and sticky. It's really no more trouble than making a pot of coffee.

We will need:

a ginger root the size of your hand

200 g/ 1 C sugar (if you are making candied ginger now from scratch)

240 ml/ 1 C water (same)

250 g/ 2 C flour

2 tsp. baking soda (don't worry- all the ginger will mask its taste)

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 pinch ground cloves

2 tsp. powdered ginger

dark brown sugar

1/2 C oil

1 egg

Peel the ginger root. On the small holes of a box grater, shred two tablespoons. Slice the rest into thin sheets, stack them, and then slice into matchsticks. Put the sugar and water in a pot, add the ginger, and boil gently until the ginger is translucent and the syrup has thickened. Cool a little. Take about a half cup of the ginger matchsticks and chop them into smaller pieces, setting the rest aside to coat in sugar later.  Blend all the dry ingredients in a bowl. Add the sugar, egg, oil,1/3 C of the ginger syrup (or a 1/3 C honey if you have candied ginger but you already used the syrup up for cocktails), fresh ginger, and chopped candied ginger.

It will be a soft dough that you can just form into balls. Take a piece the size of a walnut, roll in the coarse demerara sugar, and place it on a baking sheet lined with non-stick paper. Leave plenty of room for them to spread- we did a dozen to a sheet, and it made two sheets.

The cookie is called snap- so you expect some crunch. We like ours soft and chewy. The difference is only the baking time- 12 minutes at 170 C/ 350 F gives you soft cookies, and 15 minutes will give you crisper ones. They will puff, then fall when they come out of the oven, making a rustic crackled surface. Let them sit before removing them from the baking sheet- they are fragile.

Most prefer their cookies hot from the oven. Not these though- all the spice and soda are still agitated from the oven's heat. They taste much better after a half an hour to let the flavors settle and the aroma deepen.

Read More »

Pad Thai that's Quicker than Take - Out

This well-balanced fresh/hot/tangy Pad Thai is a nice break from the heavy holiday flavors of the season. It is also the most reliable recipe for anything I have ever made. Is it perfect? I don't know- but it tastes like really good take-out every time. Writing recipes for savory dishes, especially for people who may not have grown up eating a certain dish, I measure meticulously and assume nothing. That's the idea with recipes- they can just give nudge, an inspiration, if you are comfortable with the dish. If you're not, they can give you a reliable paint-by-numbers result. I never actually measure and follow to the letter Western, Middle-Eastern, and South Asian recipes. Any further east, and my intuition blanks out completely. The balance of flavors is elusive. Fortunately, my mother has this very tattered and treasured cookbook-

 - do exactly as the directions say, measure with measuring cups and spoons, and it will be as good as take-out. I have made this dish dozens of times and it always comes out exactly the same- less tempermental than an all'arrabbiata. The only changes to the original recipe are that I have removed things that I cannot easily get and have learned to live without- the dried shrimp and the fresh bean sprouts (too bad!)- If the dish is poorer for that I cannot tell. It is always fabulous. Also, I put on way more crushed peanuts than she calls for- they make the dish. And I left out the pork too, and added fresh or frozen shrimp. I wouldn't dream of tampering with the sauce or anything else. I have had no trouble finding these ingredients in Thessaloniki, and none of them are particularly expensive.

We will need:

1 package of wide rice noodles- "rice sticks" 400 g/ 14 oz.

500 g/ 1 pound shrimp (cleaned and tail-on are nice)

60 ml/ 4 tablespoons oil

4 cloves garlic

1 yellow onion

2 small dried chiles

30 ml/ 2 tablespoons fish sauce 

30 ml/ 2 tablespoons lime juice

1 tsp. sugar

1 tsp. salt

1 tsp. ground black pepper (measure- it's a lot and provides some heat)

45 ml/ 3 tablespoons ketchup

1 bunch cilantro, leaves only, chopped

4 green onions, chopped

2 handfuls salted roasted peanuts, crushed with a rolling pin

This dish is not difficult- it comes together all at the last minute though, and a mis en place makes it a lot more fun to assemble:

In other words, get everything ready like it is a cooking show-  prepare the fresh things, make the sauce, crush the peanuts, and soften the noodles.

Get out a large strainer and have it ready in the sink. Boil a large pot of water, drop in the rice noodles, stir at once to make sure they are all submerged, and keep stirring for just 60 seconds. Drain and rinse with cold water- the  noodles will be pliable but by no means ready to eat. Blend the sugar, salt, pepper, fish sauce, lime juice and ketchup and set aside.

Saute the garlic, onion, and red chilies in the oil until they just begin to soften, then add the shrimp, stir-frying for a two or three minutes- test one to make sure it is opaque inside. Add the noodles and the sauce, stir frying for another 2 minutes, until noddles are soft. Shower with the scallions, cilantro, and peanuts, and serve hot.

Read More »

Bouliourdi - A Hot Dish for a Fall Holiday.

Summer lingers so long in Greece the fall can't help but be a shock. Sometimes there's not not a week between the last chilly swim and the first crackling fire. In Thessaloniki, we have two holidays at the end of October to bring a little joy to the sudden season of wet leaves- the National holiday of October 28th - "No" day (the concise answer to the Axis in WW II), a celebration of a proud entry into the war. Two days before this, we have the Holiday of our patron Saint, Dimitrios, a day that coincides with the end of another war: Thessaloniki was liberated from five centuries of Ottoman rule on this day in 1912, marking a day of civic and sacred glory both.

A wonderful custom of the southern Mediterranean is the celebration of name days - along with Agios Dimitrios, we celebrate all the Dimitris and Dimitras, and in Thessaloniki there are a lot- the city will be aglow with festive gatherings - at cafes, bars, restaurants, and private homes. And the city's crowning church will be aglow from hundreds of candles, thronged from the pre - dawn hours until late into the night by a crowd far more joyous than solemn.

What to eat on this most Thessaloniki of days? A dish that sums up a rich and exotic history, hot enough to warm us on a crisp fall day, and quick enough to not keep us long from celebrating. Bouliourdi is a dish of feta, tomato, and hot peppers, spiced just as you like, broiled until bubbling and slightly charred, fragrant and filling.This is a perfect light lunch, part of a mezze table, or impromptu snack with wine when friends drop by. Nothing could be simpler or more satisfying.

We will need:

A large thick slice of feta, or two

olive oil

1 sliced tomato

1 sliced hot green pepper

some dried red chili if you want it really hot

oregano

a splash of ouzo

Simply oil an oven - proof dish arrange everything in it (except for the ouzo), and broil it close to the heat until the feta browns on the edges. It will have a nice crust and yield like a soft pillow. As soon as it comes out, douse it with a little ouzo- the sweetness cuts the heat and adds a perfect counterpoint to  the saltiness. Serve with more ouzo if you like, or in the cool weather, a glass of red wine.

Happy holiday and happy fall.

Read More »

Hot Mussels in Red Sauce with Ouzo- a Messy, Sumptuous Summer Dinner Party.

Sleepy August is a perfect time for a casual dinner party with your friends who are still in town. Mussels strike the right balance, casual, messy, sumptuous and copious. There's no point inviting fussy people who are afraid of getting dirty- food can be a lusty messy business. This meal certainly is- red broth sloshing around, blue-black mussel shells crashing into bowls. Candlelight would make it all look very bacchanalian/romantic. But we had ours in the light of the afternoon; I love a table strewn with the chaos of a good meal. There's no shame in a dirty tablecloth- it's the bedroom hair of table settings. 

It can be very festive to serve lots and lots of one fabulous thing. Saline, brothy, spicy, tender, and curiously sweet- this is that thing. It is not complicated; it simply needs a big pot and lots of big bowls for serving, and for tossing the pretty blue empty shells into. 

Mussels are the ideal combination of very festive and very inexpensive. I suppose they make for poor leftovers, but I don't know- we've never had any. A kilo for 2 is not really enough. if you are going for the mood of abandon, get a kilo per person. I find slightly less to be fine- 3 kilos for 4 people, 7 kilos for 9, etc. They are a lots of work to scrape clean and de-beard. If you are making them for more than 4, you will find that many hands make for pleasant work. The best dinner parties start in the kitchen. 

With steel wool and a short knife (and perhaps gloves), attack the outsides of the mussels, scraping them clean of barnacles and plant matter. Do not remove the "beard"- this that is attached to the middle of the flat side of the shell. Do that just before cooking. 

For every kilo of mussels, we will need 2 cloves of garlic and 2 fat tomatoes. Slice the garlic and grate the tomatoes. We will also need dried red chilies, to taste- one for every 2 kilos makes a spicy enough dish. You could add more at the table. The mussels provide their own salt. 

For 4, we will need: 

3 kilos of mussels

a half glass of olive oil 

6 large tomatoes

6 cloves of garlic

1 or 2 dried red chilies 

ground black pepper to taste 

a shot of ouzo 

An ouzo tasting at Eva Distillery, Lesvos.
 I loved the Sertiko.

Grate the tomatoes on the large holes of a box grater and set aside. In your largest pan, heat the olive oil and saute the sliced garlic until it begins to turn golden. Add the chilies, then the tomatoes and let them cook down a little, for 10 minutes or so. The mussels make lots of their own broth. 

Any mussels that are not tightly shut at this point should be tossed out. Add the clean and de-bearded mussels to the pot. The mussels in the hot red sauce will open nearly at once. Try to lift them to the top and work the closed mussels to the bottom. They are done when they are open wide, and then they begin to shrink. The goal is to have wide open, fully cooked but still fat mussels. 

Add *ouzo to taste- the sweet anise flavor plays well with the brininess of the mussels and the heat of the chilies. 

Lay the table with soup spoons, forks, bowls for the discarded shells, and lots of napkins. Serve in shallow bowls with lots of broth. You'll want bread, and maybe a little slightly under-cooked pasta to throw into the bowls and soak up the sauce. To drink, these are nice with anything- red sauce/red wine, more of the ouzo with water and ice, or cold beer. 

These will keep everyone at the table for a long time, and there is nothing more festive than that. 

*I had a intimate, vivacious introduction to the complexities and delights of ouzo at the Eva Distillery in Levsos. I will be writing with warmth about the culture of ouzo in itself soon. With anything spicy or anything salty form the sea, it is the most refreshing companion. 

Read More »

Watermelon rind Chutney- Trash or Treasure? Virtue or Vice?

One of Roz Chast's most delightful cartoons (of so very many) celebrates the seven deadly virtues:

Of these, "uncalled-for thrift" (at 1 o'clock) has a special place in my heart. Bizarre concessions to economy have been made by my sweet but sometimes truly wacky mother in law over the years; Roz Chast's example is a paltry one (I see your dented cans of peas and raise you a strapless vinyl snakeskin harlot mini dress, in red, obviously, for a 14 year old, but a very good price!). Thrift can be a great source of mirth.

But in the kitchen? Thrift- admittedly virtuous- is sad and small; it has no place in the kitchen. Greed serves us better- it's bold, resourceful, dynamic, and it gets us where we want to be. It's much more akin to hunger than thrift is. It was not some prim 'waste not, want not' thought that prompted me to turn those watermelon rinds- compost by any reasonable measure- into this glistening chutney. It was the memory of the first time I tried it in the Gourmet (how I miss that magazine!), the hand of ginger and a few dried chilies still out on the counter from last night's midnight Chinese noodles (we got homesick watching "Do the Right Thing"), and the fresh mint thriving outside the kitchen window (raita), to say nothing of the heat outside on the veranda. This will turn a handful of basmati into a fine little impromptu meal (chile peppers and lashings of hot tea are so curiously refreshing in the damp August heat). If you want to get the very most out of that chicken/watermelon/bunch of parsley or whatever you have on the counter right now, vice (not virtue) delivers very tasty results.

Trash!

Treasure!

You'll be happy with the result. But, having made it before, I didn't do much measuring at all and I used a few different ingredients. For a chutney you need the fruit or vegetable that is to be the bulk of it, plus tang, heat, and sweetness, plus any aromatics you like. It's enormously flexible- just mix it up to your taste, keeping in mind that it will get more intense, yet also more mellow, as it boils down. It's easy to tweak as you go.

This is what went into today's batch:

4 cups/ 1 liter of diced watermelon rind (dark green skin cut away, some pink flesh clinging to the inside)

1/3 C/large handful finely chopped ginger

4 chile peppers

8 whole allspice berries

a small spoonful of pink peppercorns

a little salt

1/2 C/125 ml vinegar

1/2 C/125 ml water

1/2 C/100 g sugar

a little lime zest after it comes off the heat

This is how to make it:

Slice the wedge of rind into strips 3 or 4 cm wide-
this makes it very easy to safely remove the dark green peel.

The peeled rinds with a pretty strip of red flesh still clinging to them.

The peeled lengths can be cut into narrow strips, then diced-
aim for about 1 cm. or a little smaller.

Carefully cut the ginger into thin slices, then do the same thing.

The ginger will be smaller than the melon, but still large enough
for texture and a nice bite of heat.

Dried red chiles, pink peppercorns, whole allspice berries,
and sugar.

All in the saucepan over medium-high heat

Adding the vinegar-

And the water.

After a moment, the melon releases its juices and it looks like this-
more liquid will come as it boils gently, then it will reduce and become slightly syrupy.
Turn it down and stir it once in awhile. after 20-30 minutes, it will look like this:

Translucent melon chunks still have a bit of crisp bite,
with a jammy spicy syrup through to their core.

Really, it's a bit unfair. This is so vice-quenchingly delicious. And yet, it's hard to suppress the feeling of satisfaction from so virtuously making a beautiful thing from something destined for the garbage can with the help of a handful of spices. Oh, I didn't mention- it fills the house with a sweet exotic perfume as it simmers.

Read More »