'Pocking'

We went with friends recently to a Cajun cultural fair.  And we learned about

‘pocking eggs.’  I had never heard of this Easter custom, but one of our friends with a

German heritage had done this as a child.  It is known by various names: egg tapping,

egg cracking and is done in a number of cultures.  There is even a world championship

at the Peterlee Cricket Club in England.  Pâque is the French word for Easter and the

Cajuns have anglicized the spelling to ‘pock.’  The rules vary somewhat but basically two

people each take a hard-boiled egg and knock or tap it against their opponent’s.  If your

egg cracks you loose.  The winner then competes with the winner from another couple,

and so on until there is one overall winner.  Some say the small ends of the eggs are to be

tapped together.  I found online some mother wondering if there was some way to ‘build’

a better egg for pocking?  Apparently there is no way to boil or select eggs to be harder

but one suggestion was to boil them upright so the air bubble would be at a certain end,

therefore making the other end harder.  So-- if you are seriously competitive!  If you and

your children have never done this, I think it would be fun to do after the Easter egg

hunt.  But you must hard-boil and decorate real eggs.  Those plastic or candy ones are not

for ‘pocking.’ 

At the Cajun fair we cracked and pealed our eggs and ate them.  Salt and pepper were

provided.

What to do with all those hardboiled eggs?  One can use them in Easter bread with

sausages. Easter bread is different depending on the country. The Russians have kulich,

the Ukranians have paska, the Greeks have tsoureki, the English have hot cross buns. The

Spanish have hornazo. A great way to celebrate a fasting from meat is to eat lots of it

(thus the sausage). Eggs, were looked at as a ‘sort of meat’ since they came from

chickens and were not eaten during Lent. They were preserved by hard-boiling them and

used in hornazo. Legend has it that this may actually be the beginning of the term “Easter

egg”, according to Wikipedia.

I am making this sausage bread today and can’t wait to try it. Even if you cannot find the

morcilla sausage (blood sausage), use any sausage of your choosing. I am using choizo,

which you should be able to find or just stuff it with any available sausage.

Hornazo (Sausage and Egg-Stuffed Bread) Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients:

For bread:

1¼  cups warm water

1 package dry yeast

3¼  cups unbleached, all-purpose flour

1½ teaspoons coarse salt

cornmeal or breadcrumbs for sprinkling

1 egg white for brushing (optional)

For stuffing:

3 tablespoons olive oil

¼ pound bacon, sliced into bits

2 links of morcilla sausage, cut in half crosswise

2 links choizo, cut in half crosswise

2 hard-boiled eggs, shelled

Mix ¼ cup of the warm water with the yeast. While this sits, mix the flour and the salt in

a large bowl and then add the softened yeast along with the remaining cup of water.

Mix this with a wooden spoon until it is all combined then turn out on a floured working

surface.

The dough at this stage will not hold together well, but as you knead it, it will become

perfect. Knead dough for 10 minutes, adding more flour if necessary.

Place the dough in a bowl greased with olive oil; roll the dough in the oil and cover with

a towel. Allow to rise in a dark, draft-free and warm spot for about 3 hours, or until it

doubles in size.

While the dough is rising, sauté your bacon first, then save the crispy bits and the

rendered fat (this is very important). Next, sauté the other sausages you are using, put

the rendered fat in the bacon fat to keep. Allow to cool. Make sure your hard-boiled eggs

are cool.

After the 3 hour dough resting period, punch down the dough and add a few tablespoons

of the rendered fat as well as the bacon pieces. Knead this altogether for a while, adding

more flour as necessary.

Shape into a ball once the oil and bacon are all incorporated. Next comes the interesting

part. Using a knife, make slits in the dough and push in all the pieces of sausage, as well

as the whole eggs, into them. You may need to pinch the dough to create a “seal ”around

the eggs/sausage. The more filling you have, the better the bread.

Place the dough, pinched side down on a baking tray sprinkled with cornmeal. Flatten

the dough slightly and allow to rise for another hour in a dark, warm, draft-free spot.

It will double in size.

Place the bread on the top shelf of a 450 degree oven with a pan of water on the bottom

shelf of the oven, for 5 minutes. (Optional step: Remove the pan from the oven and mix

the egg  white with 1 teaspoon of water and brush on the bread.)

Continue to bake the bread for 15 minutes more, or until well browned.

Happy Easter!

Greek Easter

Making baklava is something I do at Easter (and Christmas) and this past week I made some for the coffee hour at my church. Baklava makes me think of Greece and many magazines this time of year often do whole sections on a Greek Easter. I decided to find out a little more about the Greek Orthodox Easter festivities.

Easter (Pascha) is the most celebrated feast in Greek culture. An Orthodox Easter is based on the Julian calendar, so it falls at a different time each year and usually does not fall on the time period recognized by other Christian churches.  However, this year it is on April 24, the same day western churches will celebrate Easter.

In Holy Week (Megali Evdomatha) evening church services focus on specific themes: charity (Holy Monday), forgiveness and repentance (Holy Tuesday), compassion and mercy (Holy Wednesday). On Holy Thursday a special morning church service commemorates the Last Supper. The evening church service commemorates Christ’s final hours before the Crucifixion. Red Easter eggs are dyed on Holy Thursday. They are used at midnight on Holy Saturday and for Easter Sunday celebrations.

Good Friday (Megali Paraskevi) is the most solemn day of the year and is a time of strict mourning and fasting. The church holds morning, afternoon and evening services and most Greeks attend at least one. In Greece Good Friday is a public holiday. You may have seen candle-lit processions following a funeral bier in the streets around local Greek Orthodox churches.

Many people take communion at the Holy Saturday morning service. Often a long queue forms outside the church. Holy Saturday is spent preparing meals to be shared after midnight mass. Many people deliver gifts to godchildren—clothing, or the traditional long white candle and dyed eggs.

The midnight service (the Anastasi or resurrection service) is the climax of the Orthodox year. People arrive at their church before midnight. Nearly all Greeks, religious and non-religious, attend this service. Inside the church participants hold candles. A few minutes before midnight all lights are switched off, the priest appears at the altar holding a lit candle, and he invites everyone to receive the light to glorify Christ, who has risen from the dead.

Easter Sunday (Pascha or Lambri) is a day of feasting. Lamb is traditionally cooked on a spit and a variety of other Greek dishes are eaten. This is where the Greek sweet of baklava comes in. It is usually one of the main desserts of the meal. Greek women spend days getting the baklava ready for the feast. In reality it does not take that long to make baklava; you just need to have all ingredients ready so you can use the phyllo dough before it can dry out. This new recipe from ‘Bon Appétit’, toasts the walnuts and pistachios before using. This is a good idea and one that I had never done. Toasting brings out the flavor of the nuts.

Whether you are Greek or not, baklava is really easy to do and will impress your friends this Easter.

Taken from ‘Bon Appétit’ April 2011.

Walnut and Pistachio Baklava

Prep: 1 hour Total: 4 hours (includes cooling time)

Makes 32 pieces

Syrup

2 cups sugar

2/3 cups honey (preferably Greek)

2 sticks cinnamon

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Baklava

3 cups walnuts (10-11 ounces)

3 cups natural raw unsalted pistachios (13-14 ounces)

¾ cup sugar

2 teaspoons finely grated lemon peel

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

½ cup finely diced dried apple rings (1 ½ ounces)

20 17x12-inch sheets fresh phyllo pastry or frozen, thawed (found in the frozen section of food stores)

1½ cups (3 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

Syrup: Combine all ingredients and 1 cup water in heavy medium saucepan. Bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring until sugar dissolves. Reduce heat to medium and boil until syrup is reduced to generous 2 cups, about 15 minutes. Transfer to bowl and cool completely. Do ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.

Baklava: Position 1 rack on top third and 1 rack in bottom third of oven and preheat to 350°F. Spread walnuts on large rimmed baking sheet. Spread pistachios on another large rimmed baking sheet. Place nuts in oven and toast five minutes. Cool nuts. Transfer nuts to processor. Add ¾ cups sugar, lemon peel, and ground cinnamon. Using on/off turns, blend until nuts are ground to medium-fine texture. Transfer nut mixture to bowl; mix in dried apples.

Place phyllo sheet stack on work surface; cover with sheets of plastic wrap, then damp kitchen towel. Brush 13x9x2-inch metal baking pan with some melted butter. Arrange 1 phyllo sheet in pan with half of phyllo sheet hanging over 1 inch side. Brush phyllo in pan with some melted butter. Fold overhang over to make two 12x8 ½ -inch layers. Brush with some melted butter. Repeat stacking and buttering with 4 more phyllo sheets, making 10 layers total. Spread 1/3 of nut mixture (generous 2 cups) over phyllo in pan to within ½ inch of edge. Repeat layering 2 more times with 5 phyllo sheets and 1/3 of remaining   nut mixture each time. Top with 5 more folded phyllo sheets. Using sharp knife, cut through top phyllo layers lengthwise (do not cut through to bottom of pan) to make 4 strips, then cut phyllo crosswise to make 16 rectangles. Bake until phyllo is golden about 45 minutes.

Gradually spoon cold syrup over hot baklava. Cool to room temperature. Do Ahead: Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover, let stand at room temperature.

Cut each baklava rectangle crosswise in half for total of 32 pieces. Transfer baklava to platter and serve.

Christos Anesti  (Christ is risen/ Happy Easter)

Haiti

Haiti has been much in the news this past year.  Even as I write this I hear on the radio that Haiti has elected a new president, the carnival singer, ‘Sweet Micky’ Michel Martelly.  We have had a connection to Haiti for many years.  My husband lived in Port au Prince with a Haitian ophthalmologist and in Aux Cayes with American missionaries back when Papa Doc Duvalier was President à vie.  He could never forget the place and we went back as a family a couple of times.  The boys didn’t like the place, the dirt, the poverty.  But our daughter became enamored.  She visited several times on her own going to Leogane, the epicenter of last year’s earthquake, with a medical mission group from Wilmington, NC.  We think the trips helped establish her desire to study medicine. (She graduates from Wake Forest Medical School this coming May.)

We have enjoyed the beaches, we have collected the art, we have toured the country but good food is not the thing one thinks about with Haiti---lack of food altogether is more likely, Haiti being one of the poorest countries in the world.  But I found these recipes recently in a magazine and liked them.  Why should this country of French and Africans not have good food?

The recipes are from the Ideal Restaurant in Haiti. One must remember this restaurant has had no electricity or running water since 1986!  I thought about that a lot when doing the chicken recipe. It would be so much harder to do the dish --- or any dish for that matter with what we consider to be basic necessities of cooking.  But such is the hard life for these people. The chicken was delicious and simple and had a nice kick to it from the Scotch bonnet pepper. I have not had time to do the snapper recipe so cannot comment on it. But I think it should be as good as the chicken since it has some of the same ingredients. It is topped with a salad of fresh and boiled vegetables to balance the flavor of the broth. These dishes would cost you $5.00 each at the restaurant.

From the March 2011 issue of Saveur.

Poisson Rouge

(Spicy Poached Snapper)

Serves 2-4

1 1-lb. red snappers, scaled

1 cup thinly sliced shallots

½ cup lime juice

1 tbsp. finely chopped scallions

½ tsp. mustard powder

1 spring thyme

1 Scotch bonnet, chili split

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

¼ cup canola oil

6 cloves garlic, chopped

1 tbsp. tomato paste

1 tbsp. sugar

Boiled sliced carrots and beets

Sliced tomatoes

Score sides of fish; place in a shallow dish. Whisk together half the shallots, lime juice, scallion, mustard, thyme, chili, salt, and pepper in a bowl and pour over fish; marinate for 30 minutes.

Heat oil in a 12’ skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook until it begins to caramelize, about 2 minutes. Add 1 cup water and bring to a boil, stirring until almost evaporated, about 8-10 minutes. Remove fish from marinade and set aside; add marinade and sugar to skillet and cook, stirring, until shallots are soft, 4-5 minutes. Add fish and ¾ cup water and cover skillet; cook, turning once, until fish is cooked through, 8-12 minutes. Transfer fish to a large serving platter. Season cooking liquid with salt and pepper and pour through a fine strainer over fish. Garnish with remaining shallots; serve with carrots, beets, and tomatoes.

Poulet Creole

(Haitian Stewed Chicken)

We used this amount of chicken for 3 meals.

(Serves 6-8)

1 3-4-lb. chicken, cut into 8 pieces

1 tsp. kosher salt, plus more to taste

3 cloves garlic

2 scallions, roughly chopped

2 sprigs parsley

1 sprig thyme, stemmed

1 Scotch bonnet chili, split

Juice of 2 limes

1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced

2 tbsp. canola oil

1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced

½ red bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and thinly sliced

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

2 tbsp. tomato paste

Place chicken in a shallow baking dish. Purée salt, garlic, scallions, parsley, thyme, Scotch bonnet chili, lime juice, half the green bell peppers, and ½ cup water in a food processor and pour over chicken. Chill 4 hours.

Heat oil in a 6-qt. Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Scrape marinade from chicken, reserve marinade. Add the chicken to pot and cook, turning once, until browned, about 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to a plate and set aside. Add remaining green bell peppers, onions, and red bell peppers to pot, season with salt and pepper, and cook, stirring, until soft, 8-10 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Return chicken to pot, along with reserved marinade and 1 cup water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and cover pot slightly; cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is tender, 25-30 minutes. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper.

You could use another kind of chili if the Scotch bonnet is to hot for you. The Scotch bonnet is so closely related to the habanero that the two are often confused. Typically red, orange, or yellow when ripe, the Scotch bonnet is shorter and rounder than the habanero.

It is 60 times hotter than the jalapeño, but it has flavor and also the heat. It is widely used in Haiti and Jamaica, because of its distinctive floral and fruity character, which goes well with the spicy-sweet curries of the Caribbean.

Tapas

In Spain, a passion for food is part of everyday life. With a rich history driven by the influence of colonial invaders, avid exploration of the new world during the 16^th century, its shared borders with France and the exchange of goods with its Mediterranean neighbors, Spain has developed a captivating and uniquely diverse cuisine.

What I like about the Spanish way of eating is the tapas. Tapas are a variety of small bites served at bars throughout Spain. They can range from a simple bowl of olives or almonds, to elegant dishes of Serrano-wrapped shrimp or Proscuitto-wrapped figs. When it comes to tapas, there are very few rules. In fact, the whole spirit of tapas revolves around two concepts: flexibility and conviviality.

The tapas concept has taken hold in the States. Many restaurants are offering small plates. It is a perfect way to try new flavors and to sample a variety of foods, rather than filling up on one dish. We were recently in New Orleans and ate at a new bar called Bouligny, created by John Harris, who also has the restaurant Lilette which we like a lot. Small plates were served at Bouligny and we got to sample 5 small plates which made for a delightful evening.

It is a great way to entertain at home. It is like a long cocktail hour without having to serve the whole sit down meal. I think it is a great way to entertain in the summer. Everyone does not eat as much because of the heat, and you can get together some easy plates to please everyone.

Here are some easy tapas to serve to your guests. I’ve included some hot and some cold dishes, so you can pick and choose what pleases you.

Paprika-Spiced Almonds

1 cup whole blanched almonds

¼ teaspoon olive oil

¼ teaspoon coarse salt

¼ teaspoon paprika or smoked paprika

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Spread the almonds in single layer in shallow baking pan. Bake 8-10 minutes or until almonds are lightly browned. Transfer to bowl. Cool 5-10 minutes.

Toss almonds with oil until completely coated. Sprinkle with salt and paprika; toss again.

Tip: For the best flavor, serve these almonds the day they are made.

Citrus-Marinated Olives

1 cup (about 8 ounces) large green olives, drained

1 cup kalamata olives, rinsed and drained (these are the Greek olives and can be found in all stores)

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

¼ cup orange juice

3 tablespoons sherry vinegar or red wine vinegar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated orange peel

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

½ teaspoon ground cumin

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

Combine all ingredients in medium bowl. Cover and let stand overnight at room temperature; refrigerate up to two weeks.

Makes 2 cups

Spanish Tortilla

Tortillas are “flat cakes” in Spain.  In reality, Spanish tortillas are omelets filled with flavorful ingredients.

1 teaspoon olive oil

1 cup thinly sliced peeled potatoes

1 small zucchini, thinly sliced

¼ cup chopped onion

1 clove garlic, minced

1 cup shredded cooked chicken

8 eggs

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 plum tomato, seeded and diced (optional)

Salsa (optional)

Heat oil in 10-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.  Add potatoes, zucchini, onion, and garlic; cook and stir about 5 minutes, turning frequently, until potato is tender.  Stir in chicken; cook 1 minute.

Meanwhile, whisk eggs, salt, pepper and red pepper flakes in large bowl. Carefully pour egg mixture into skillet.  Reduce heat to low.  Cover and cook 12 to 15 minutes or until egg mixture is set in center.

Lossen edges of tortilla and slide onto large serving place. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting into wedges of 1-inch cubes. Serve warm or at room temperature. Garnish with diced tomato and serve with salsa, if desired

Serves 10-12.

Two Tomato-Kalamata Crostini

8 sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil)

5 ounces grape tomatoes, finely chopped

4 ounces baguette bread, cut into 20 (1/4 –inch thick) slices

12 kalamata olives, pitted and finely chopped

2 teaspoon cider vinegar

1 ½ teaspoons dried basil (Use some fresh if you have it)

1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 garlic clove, halved crosswise

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place sun-dried tomatoes in small bowl. Cover with boiling water. Let stand 10 minutes. Drain, chop tomatoes.

Place baguette slices on large baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes or until golden brown around edges. Remove from oven; cool.

Meanwhile, combine sun-dried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, olives, vinegar, basil, oil and salt in medium bowl, mix well. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Rub bread with garlic. Top each bread slice with 1 tablespoon tomato mixture.

Makes 10 servings.

Cooking for Friends

Our good friends from North Carolina came and spent several days with us here in Louisiana and Mississippi. We picked them up at the airport in New Orleans and on Friday tried to have lunch at Galatoire’s…well never try having lunch on Friday because all the locals have their big day there.  You need to get in line early.  Some people pay to have someone wait in line for them. Well, what do you do in New Orleans? Go to another GOOD restaurant. We ate in the courtyard at Bayona’s, starting with sazaracs of course, and having sweetbreads for our main course.

Upon returning to our home in Mississippi, we had the wonderful surprise of a new calf. Our Mildred had produced while we were gone overnight and we had a wonderful little bull that we named Duncan (after the builder of our house).  Now I know a calf is really no big deal but I had been waiting for her to have this calf forever, it seemed. Our city friends were impressed that we could produce such excitement for them!

Since I had been gone I had to have my Friday night meal pretty much prepared in advance. I chose a sausage, chard, and lemon lasagna. (Recipe given below).  I used the kumquat salad given in last week’s article, and for dessert I did chocolate cakes that had been done ahead and only needed to be cooked at the last minute. It was all wonderful, if I do say so myself.

Saturday night I cooked Indian. I have used some of these recipes in articles in the past, but my main course was spicy kafta (meatballs) over rice, along with spinach with paneer, cabbage Kerala style, and carrots Gujarati style. I made my own Indian bread, naan, which I just think makes the meal.  These were all done ahead except the bread which is best just out of the oven.

Sunday was church and then we took the ferry over the Mississippi for lunch at a restaurant in New Roads, Louisiana where we had really good fried oysters on the deck overlooking False River.  A snake sunning himself in the bushes below provided some entertainment. Sunday night we had a picnic on the back porch.  We were eating near dark and decided not to go down to the lake.

Monday we took our friends back to New Orleans where we had lunch at the Palace Café on Canal Street (We all think that they have the best sazaracs.) and then dinner was in the courtyard of our place in the French Quarter. We ordered food that night from Mona’s (Lebanese food). We were exhausted but had several days of food and fun.

These recipes are taken from ‘Martha Stewart Living’, March 2011.

Sausage, Chard, and Lemon Lasagna

Serves 4

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup all-purpose flour

3 cups whole milk

1 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (about 4 ounces)

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

5 cups coarsely chopped Swiss chard (about 1 bunch)

1 pound sweet Italian sausage, casings removed

1 lemon, very thinly sliced

6 no-boil lasagna noodles, preferable Barilla

Melt butter in a saucepan over high heat, Stir in flour; cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat. Simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in ¾ cup cheese, ½ teaspoon salt, and ¼ teaspoon pepper. Stir in chard.

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Cook sausage in a skillet over high heat, breaking up pieces, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

Cover lemon slices with cold water by 3 inches in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel lined plate using a slotted spoon.

Spread ¼ cup sauce in an 8-inch square non-reactive baking pan. Top with 2 noodles, half the sausage, and 1cup sauce. Repeat. Top with a layer of lemons, 2 noodles, then remaining sauce and lemons. Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, for 27 minutes.

Remove from oven. Heat broiler, Uncover lasagna, top with remaining ¼ cup cheese. Broil until bubbling, 2-3 minutes.

Sink a fork into these cakes to find a pudding-like filling.

Chocolate Cake

Serves 6

1 stick plus 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for ramekins

½ cup all-purpose flour, plus more for ramekins

5 ½ ounces bittersweet chocolate (70 percent cocao), chopped (1 ¼ cups)

5 large eggs, room temperature

¾ cups sugar

Pinch of salt

Butter and flour six 6-ounce (2-inch-deep) ramekins.

Melt butter and chocolate in a double boiler or a heatproof bowl, set over a pan of simmering water. Meanwhile, whisk together eggs and sugar until pale and thick, about 4 minutes. Sift flour and salt into another bowl.

Fold egg mixture into chocolate mixture. Immediately fold in flour mixture. Divide batter evenly among ramekins, filling each three-quarters full. Transfer to a rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake until just set, 14-16 minutes. Let cool for 3 minutes. Turn out cakes onto plates.

For making ahead: Filled ramekins can be refrigerated for up to 2 days before baking.

Kumquats

Kumquats have been in season all winter and like other citrus they will keep if left on the tree.  I have been growing kumquats for years.  My tree is in a pot and produces well every year.  Put it outside your door and grab one for a treat when you pass.  One eats them whole, and when fully ripe they are just the right blend of sweet/tart.  I used to decorate breakfast plates with sliced kumquats when I did my bed and breakfast.  Most people were not familiar with them and they often were just decoration as people were reluctant to eat them.  If you like citrus, you will like kumquats.  I once used the tree as a Christmas tree with the fruit as ornaments as well as some added lights and other ornaments.  But citrus don’t really like our warm dry indoors for very long.  The fruit along with the leaves can be a nice decoration for a mantle or table.

Kumquats contain a good amount of potassium and vitamins A and C.

Kumquats, which look like an olive sized orange, are native to Southeast Asia.  They were introduced to Europe by Robert Fortune, a plant hunter for the London Horticultural Society, in 1846 and shortly thereafter came to America.

Kumquats are frost tolerant to 14º being even hardier than satsumas.  I have always had mine in a pot to move into the garage if the weather is severe but they should survive all our winters.  If you want to grow citrus, this is a good starter plant.  Fertilize like other citrus in February.  Citrus in pots should be in well-drained soil.  They are not as sensitive to a missed watering as some pot plants.

They are great eaten raw off the tree, but can be sliced and used on salads, in tea, or in cocktails.  We used them recently instead of olives in a martini.  They are often candied or made into marmalade.

Brandied Kumquats

Place the kumquats in a jar with 2/3 of their volume of sugar.  Add brandy to cover, seal tightly, and store in a cool, dark place for 1 month, turning the jar occasionally.  Then use as a topping for ice cream or yogurt or add to a fruit salad.

Jesse Schenker has been nominated for the James Beard Foundation ‘Rising Star Chef of the Year’ award and his New York eatery, Recette, is up for the foundation’s ‘Best New Restaurant’ title.  He was recently on CBS’s “Early Show on Saturday Morning” where he shared the following recipe.  I had never thought of roasting kumquats---but then I am a cook and not a chef.

Wild Arugula Salad with Ricotta

½ pound (about 10 cups) arugula or baby rocket (lettuce or mixed greens will work as well)

¾ cups hazelnuts, toasted and crushed (I used pine nuts)

¼ cup fresh mint, washed and picked (It is now greening up in the garden)

¼ cup lemon vinaigrette (recipe below)

¾ cup roasted kumquats (recipe below)

½ cup ricotta salata or pecorino romano, shaved into long strips with vegetable peeler or crumbled

Lemon Vinaigrette:

2 cups extra virgin olive oil

¾ cups Meyer lemon juice

Pinch of salt

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Reserve.

Kumquats:

¾  cup kumquats

¾ teaspoon extra virgin olive oil

Pinch of salt

Drizzle olive oil on kumquats and season with salt. Bake on sheet tray at 325 degrees F for about 10 minutes.

Place arugula, nuts, mint, lemon vinaigrette, ricotta salata and kumquats in large bowl Mix until evenly dressed. Add salt to taste. Serve immediately.

Pork Belly

In the last few years, pork belly and bacon have been making a comeback. Everywhere you turn, you see bacon dipped in chocolate, bacon mayonnaise, pork belly sandwiches, braised pork belly, and bacon ice cream. (Perhaps a little much, although I have said bacon makes anything taste better.) You perhaps can blame David Chang, who has added to the pork belly craze. David Chang is the owner of several noodle bars in New York, but is also the author of the cookbook, Momofuku. I bought the book last year but never got around to reading it or cooking from it until this year. My daughter, who does more oriental cooking than I do, did some recipes from the book on her visit over Christmas and the use of pork belly was the main ingredients for her recipes.

Jamie Oliver thinks pork belly is the new foie gras. Foie gras is so 2000. (My husband still and has for years always ordered the seared foie gras if on the menu.) Pork belly could use a new name or some brand marketing. For those who have never tried it, the thought of trying it may just seem unappealing at best and disgusting at worst, but I say, get over it—you are missing one of the culinary pleasures of the world.  Actually Southerners have known this all along.

Getting back to David Chang of Momofuku; David uses the best part of the belly in the most popular dishes at his restaurant, which are ramen and pork buns. The layer that settles at the bottom of the pan after you chill it is called jellied gold. David labels this “pork jelly” in his restaurant and uses it in broths or vegetable sautés---or anything that would benefit from a meaty flavor. To harvest it, decant the fat and juices from the pan in which you cooked the pork belly into a glass measuring cup or other clear container. Let it cool until the fat separates from the meat juices, which will settle to the bottom. Pour or scoop up the fat and reserve it for cooking. Save the juices, which will turn to a ready-to-use meat jelly after a couple of hours in the fridge. The meat jelly will keep for 1 week in the refrigerator or indefinitely in the freezer.

You need to buy pork belly without the skin. I bought a 5 lb. pork belly at Whole Foods for about $4.95 a pound and then another 3-lb. pork belly at a farmer’s market for $5.99 a pound. They were both delicious, but  I had the satisfaction that the pastured pork from the farmer’s market was healthier. If you get pork belly with the skin on, don’t fret. If the meat is cold and your knife is sharp, the skin is a cinch to slice off.

Recipe from Momofuku, by chef and author David Chang.

Pork Belly for Ramen, Pork Buns and Just About Anything Else

Makes enough pork for 6 to 8 bowls of ramen or about 12 pork buns

Ingredients:

One-3-pound slab skinless pork belly

¼ cup kosher salt

¼ cup sugar

1. Nestle the belly into a roasting pan or other oven-safe vessel that holds it snugly. Mix together the salt and sugar in a small bowl and rub the mixture all over the meat; discard any excess salt-and-sugar mixture. Cover the container with plastic wrap and put it into the fridge for at least 6 hours, but no longer than 24.
2. Heat the oven to 450°F.
3. Discard any liquid that accumulated in the container. Put the belly in the oven, fat side up, and cook for 1 hour, basting it with the rendered fat at the halfway point, until it’s an appetizing golden brown.
4. Turn the oven down to 250°F and cook for another 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes, until the belly is tender—it shouldn’t be falling apart, but it should have a down pillow-like yield to a firm finger poke. Remove the pan from the oven and transfer the belly to a plate. Decant the fat and the meat juices from the pan and reserve (see above). Allow the belly to cool slightly.
5. When it’s cool enough to handle, wrap the belly in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and put it in the fridge until it’s thoroughly chilled and firm. (You can skip this step if you’re pressed for time, but the only way to get neat, nice-looking slices is to chill the belly thoroughly before slicing it.)
6. Cut the pork belly into ½-inch-thick slices that are about 2 inches long. Warm them for serving in a pan over medium heat, just for a minute or two, until they are jiggly soft and heated through. Use at once.

We used the pork belly in pork buns. My daughter made the pork buns, which uses the rendered fat. The dough uses yeast and takes a while to rise but then can be divided into around 50 balls, rolled out and steamed. The bun recipe is for another day!

Inside the pork bun we would put a tablespoon of Hoisin sauce, some chopped green onions, then a slice of pork belly. Talk about good!! This is the same idea as Peking duck which is just one of my favorite dishes. The duck is usually served on a small flat pancake but the pork bun would be delicious with the duck as well. The buns once steamed, can be frozen and just steamed quickly again when needed. This would make a very impressive appetizer or first course.