The Cartoon Kitchen: Okra and Mint
This week's Cartoon Kitchen features Serious Eats' cartoonist in residence Larry Gonick's spin on okra. —Ed Levine
Our Favorite Recipes, Curated and Collected
September 8, 2008
Sunday Brunch: Cape Cod Scones
There are so many bad scones in the world that it's easy to forget how good a scone can be. These scones, adapted from Lora Brody's nifty book Cape Cod Table, are light, moist, and addictive. It takes a great deal of willpower to eat just one.
Sourdough Hamburger Buns
- makes 12 medium or 8 large -
Adapted from The Texas Cowboy Cookbook by Robb Walsh.
Ingredients
2 cups sourdough starter
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 5 cups all-purpose flour
Procedure
1. Preheat the oven to 375°F. Lightly grease two cookie sheets.
2. Mix the sourdough, 1 cup water, the sugar, oil, egg, and salt in a large bowl. Add the flour, 1 cup at a time, until the dough becomes too stiff to stir. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth, adding additional flour as necessary.
3. Form the dough into a ball and place it in a greased bowl. Turn the dough once to coat lightly, and place a clean cotton cloth over the bowl. Let the dough rise until doubled in size.
4. Once the dough has risen, punch it down and then let it rest for 15 minutes.
5. Pinch off pieces about the size of golf balls, shape, smooth, and flatten until each is about 3/4-inch thick. Place the buns 2 inches apart on cookie sheets and let them rise until almost the desired size.
6. Bake until the edges and tops are golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.
Sourdough Starter No.1 "Yogi"
Ingredients
2 cups lukewarm water (100°F)
1/3 cup plain yogurt
2 cups all-purpose flaur, plus 1 cup ta feed starter
1/4 cup dry milk pawder
Procedure
Whisk together the water and yogurt, then add the 2 cups flour and the dry milk powder, blending until smooth. Transfer the mixture to a 1-quart bowl, ceramic crock, or plastic container. Cover with a double thickness of cheesecloth and let stand in a draft-free spot indoors for 48 hours. When it bubbles and a gray or yellow liquid forms on the top, stir it back in. (If the liquid is red or green, throw the starter away and start over.)
After stirring back the liquid for 2 days, add 1 cup flour to feed the starter.
Sourdough Started No. 2 "Cheater": If you are impatient, or you have no fermentation after 2 days, be a "Cheater" and add a pinch of active dry yeast on the second day.
Gilley's Texas Cafe Burgers
- makes 2 servings -
Adapted from The Texas Cowboy Cookbook by Robb Walsh.
Ingredients
1 pound ground beef
Salt and freshly ground block pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 Sourdough Hamburger Buns or kaiser rolls
2 pats of butter
1 tablespoon creole or Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
6 dill pickle chips
2 thin slices from a large sweet Texas 1015 onion or other sweet onion
2 thick slices from a large ripe tomato
2 iceberg lettuce leaves
Procedure
1. Season the beef with salt and pepper, sprinkle with the garlic powder, and knead to mix. When the spices are evenly mixed in, divide the meat into two equal portions and form into patties. Cook the meat patties over medium heat on a griddle or gas grill or in a frying pan, turning several times. Resist the temptation to press down on the patty with the spatula—this squeezes out all the juices and results in a dry hamburger.
2. When the burgers are halfway done, split the buns and butter both sides. Lay the buns on the griddle or grill, and toast them until they are nicely browned along the edges. Then place the buns on top of the burgers to steam. Half-pound burgers should be cooked to medium (140°F) after 12 to 15 minutes. Check the level of doneness with a meat thermometer.
3. When the patties are done to your liking, spread half a tablespoon of mustard on each bottom bun and half a tablespoon of mayonnaise on each top bun. Place three pickle chips and an onion slice on each bottom bun and add the burger patties. Then put the tomato and the lettuce on top of the patties and finish with the crown halves of the buns. Serve immediately.
The USDA recommends that ground meat should be cooked well done (160°F) for safety's sake.
Variations
Cheeseburgers: Place American, pepper Jack, or Colby cheese slices on top of the patties after you turn them for the last time, and cook until the cheese melts. Proceed as above.
Bacon burger with cheese Follow the directions for a cheeseburger, then place two strips of bacon, fried crisp and cut in half, on top of the tomato.
Jalapeno cheeseburgers Place pickled jalapeno slices and American cheese slices on top of the patties after you turn them for the last time, and cook until the cheese melts. Proceed as above.
Grilling: Chili Rubbed Pork Chops with Corn Salsa
With September now upon us, I've been feeling that dreaded sensation that summer is coming to a close. In these last fleeting days I wanted to make good use of the seasonal harvest still around, deciding on a grilled corn salsa to spotlight the delicious tomatoes and sweet corn about to be replaced by their tasteless, winter counterparts.
Not satisfied with merely grilling corn, I also stopped by my butcher and picked up two beautiful one and a half-inch thick thick pork rib chops. After a quick molasses brine, I rubbed the chops down with a chili rub, took them to the grill, then topped them with the corn salsa. The combination of the juicy, spicy pork and sweet corn salsa was excellent. It brought together the freshness of summer vegetables with the taste of the grill, keeping the season alive just a little bit longer.
Time for a Drink: Clover Club
Let's start the weekend right—with a cocktail recipe from Paul Clarke (The Cocktail Chronicles). Need more than one? That kinda week, eh? Here you go. Cheers!
In the world of drinks, as in politics and entertainment, spectacular collapses are a frequent occurrence. Remember the Harvey Wallbanger? One of the landmark drinks of the 1970s, this ungodly concoction is now a punchline, and it plunged from popularity with breathtaking suddenness and a speed.
So it went with the Clover Club. Originally named for a Philadelphia social club with roots tracing back to the 1880s, the Clover Club was, for decades, one of the marks of the sophisticated boozer, a manly drink (despite its pink hue) shaken by the bucketload in the wood-paneled lounges of the early 20th century.
Then, by the time the 1950s rolled around, it was gone—done in by the dry martini, as well as the swelling popularity of its close relative, the Pink Lady. Due to the Pink Lady's name and appeal among what was then known as the fairer sex, no captain of industry would be caught dead drinking it. That’s too bad. The Clover Club is a wonderful drink, and thanks to the ongoing classic cocktail renaissance, it’s getting a second wind.
Dinner Tonight: Cremini Mushrooms with Pureed Chives and Pasta
It had everything in a pasta I could ever want: high heat and minimal ingredients. The mushrooms were to be grilled until nearly blackened, then everything would be perfumed with pureed chives. I was expecting great things. I even found the recipe in the 150 Best American Recipes, a powerful-sounding book. They pulled this recipe from High Heat by Waldy Malouf.
My biggest problem came with the actual pasta. It deserved a creamier sauce. The bulky mushrooms got lost in the silky pasta, hanging out towards the edge of the bowl, never getting involved with the dish. The chives were a nice touch, but not enough to save the dish.
Cook the Book: Pistachio and Almond Cake with Orange Salad
Pistachio and Almond Cake with Orange Salad, excerpted from this week's Cook the Book selection, A16 Food + Wine, is one of those incredibly simple recipes that always yields dependable, delicious results. When do loaf cakes ever not turn out?
This rustic version is reminiscent of the nut and lemon trees that stud the coasts and hills of Italy. The batter is made primarily from ground pistachios and almonds, and is then flavored liberally with fresh citrus zest. A salad composed of Valencia oranges, blood oranges, and marmalade adds a refreshingly elegant touch. Serve the cake with small glasses of grappa or Limoncello.
Win 'A16 Food + Wine'
In addition to excerpting a recipe each day this week we're giving away five (5) copies of A16 Food + Wine. Enter to win here.
This Week in Recipes
Ramekins Full of Sweetness: Larry Gonick shares a lighthearted, illustrated version of corn pudding, to make great use of the corn still at the local farmers' market.
Fresh and Italian-inspired: Whether tossed with homemade tuna or olive oil packed tuna from the grocery store, Lucy Baker recommends this delicious tuna conserva, tossed with potatoes and radicchio for a perfect light lunch.
Melty Cheese, Crispy Bacon: Ed Levine decides to grill some serious bacon-cheese hot dogs over Labor Day Weekend, reinventing what foods qualify as brunch.
Perfectly Unripened Tomatoes: Though it starts with a healthy tomato, this BLT stuffed with a fried green tomato and slathered with mayonnaise is an easy sandwich with a down-home Southern twist.
Nutty Notes: Nick Kindelsburger spices up a recipe of sauteed cauliflower and green beans with fresh ginger, cumin, and mustard seeds and surprises his taste buds.
Dinner Tonight: Cold Corn Summer Soup
I found this corn soup buried in an eGullet forum about what to do about the abundance of summer corn. Unlike many of the other suggestions, this one is all about the corn. There's no stock or potatoes to bulk things out. Which means it's not the most substantial meal of the season. But it is cold, light, and oddly thirst quenching. I drank my helping from a paper cup.
In fact, it's so light I kind of wondered what happened to 5 ears of corn I wasted on the soup. It barely made enough to feed the two of us, and we were very hungry afterwards. So it fits the description very well. If you need a recipe to get rid of a lot of corn, then this might be the one for you. Just think of it as an appetizer.
Featured
Grilling: Thai Beef Rolls with Sweet Chili Sauce
I'm known for going a little overboard with the food when I grill—actually, make that a lot overboard—leaving my guests little incentive to make their own. I need to learn to cut back, because when people do come with their own creations, they tend to be eye-opening, like a Thai basil wrapped beef that graced my grill recently.
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