A Birthday Dinner Party

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It seems like just yesterday I swore I would have a monthly dinner party but I haven’t been doing so well on that project. But recently I did have three old pals over for dinner. The payoff of getting older is you have good friends like these. We all met in the early 1980s and food, booze and music have been constant themes.

As I was preparing and cooking, I thought that there isn’t much better in life than a good plan and a free day to cook for your friends. I managed to fit in a quick swim (it was during a heatwave.)

Cookingnopales

I’ve been reading recently about cooking cactus paddles (nopales) in copper so I brought out my special carnitas pan and cooked them in that, along with some onion and tomatillo husks. This supposedly cuts down on the goo but I don’t know. I’m glad to use the pan.

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I think it’s key to have a little something to drink and eat the second your guests arrive. Then they’re more forgiving of your little mistakes. A tray full of goodies for tequila and several bottles of the good stuff is always inviting.

Glasseschilling

I also had beer, water and an agua fresca made from cucumbers.

Chilerelleno

I’d almost forgotten about these chile rellenos from Diana Kennedy’s My Mexico. The marinated poblanos are stuffed with potatoes and sardines and then smothered in leftover marinade. I’ve written about them before but they’re really worth remembering, especially since you can make them earlier in the day.

Cactussalad

The cactus salad was nopalitos, tomatoes, onion, queso fresco and cilantro tossed in a vinaigrette made from my homemade pineaple vinegar. Oddly, this was my favorite dish of the evening.

Rabbitchilesauce

The "star" of the evening was rabbit in a chile sauce. I used anchos and pasillas because that’s what I had but I think some guajillos would have been better. Still, it was pretty great. Rabbits release a lot of water so you want to start with a fairly thick sauce right off the bat.

The rabbits and cucumber were from my neighbor, the other vegetables were from the farmers market and the nopales were from my back yard so it was a pretty local dinner.

I won’t tell you about the bad dessert. Dessert never inspires me. Do you have a suggestion? I’d like a simple thing I could do without thinking that still has a little drama.

More Book Photography and a Pot Pie

Most of the photography for Heirloom Beans: Recipes from Rancho Gordo has ended. Our last day was at Jimtown in the Alexander Valley during the height of a heat wave.

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Stylist and Queen of Jimtown, Carrie Brown, checks things out through Sara Remington’s lens. Sara’s friend Jay was assisting.

What must have been the hottest day of the year did nothing to dampen our enthusiasm for the pot pie created by Brian Streeter of Cakebread Cellars. Even without the  topping, this dish had everyone  drooling and ready to devour  it after the shot was taken.

Potpie

Here’s a shot of Carrie’s dog Moses. He looks like he’s left us, but he perked right up when we cut into the pot pie and followed us, looking for crumbs and scraps.

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Speaking of books, Ken Albala’s Beans: A History just arrived on my desk and it promises to be great. I can’t wait to dig in. I’ll report back but you can order it now if you can’t wait.

Don’t Mess with a Pregnant Woman and Her Beans

I mentioned Happy Girl Kitchen last week and then next thing you know, Jordan makes a rare appearance at the market. She’s very pregnant and let’s be frank, probably a little needier than usual. At the end of the day, we both had some sampling food leftover so I dumped some of my Cellini beans into the last bit of her salsa and it was a marriage of good taste.

I don’t remember watching anyone enjoy food so much for a very long time.

Quick Summer Dinner

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It’s hot. I’m tired and cranky. I want to eat.
The solution is to tastefully arrange some leftover beans, leftover poblano chile strips and some canned sardines on a plate. Smother in fresh cracked pepper. Accompany with good bread that’s been given a quick brush of olive oil and then popped in the toaster oven for a few minutes.

If the beans and chiles are coming straight from the refrigerator, zap them in the microwave for 30 seconds or so to bring them to room temperature.

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Add some cool wine or a beer. Everything is going to be OK!

One Reason Why Our Food Stinks

I recently was invited to a bean industry event that focused on field trials for beans. For hours, we toured acres of bean fields and heard the results. The beans were bred for uniformity, size, color, resistance to disease and bugs and of course, yields. I was having a grand old time until the end when it dawned on me that not one word had ever been mentioned about flavor.

The tour was followed by a luncheon prepared by the local health department and included a short lecture on the health benefits of beans. The prepared beans included three types of "chili", a salad and hummus, all designed to mask the flavor of the beans, or designed to mask the lack of flavor, I should say. No wonder people think they hate beans! This thick stodgy porridge they were passing off as chili would please no one.

Simplebeans

I then started thinking about how we’ve done the same thing to pork. It’s been bred so that it’s bland and nearly fat-free and when we cook it, we need to smother it in barbecue sauce to again hide the lack of flavor. What if the ingredients tasted like something and we wouldn’t need to buy the barbecue sauce? What if the beans were delicious and could be enjoyed by themselves, or perhaps with a fine piece of heritage pork?

I talk to a lot of people who are just getting interested in food. I also talk to a lot of self-described "foodies" and "gourmets". They can study Larousse Gastronomique until the cows come home or be as creative as Martha Stewart on a rainy day, but without quality ingredients, we’re all just running in place.

I’m not a culinary luddite and I know the worth of breeding to avoid disease and pests. I suppose there’s even a place for the kind of canned red kidney beans one finds on a salad bar. But if we demanded quality as loudly as we’re demanding economy and convenience, I think we’d be starting something worthwhile.

Molletes a la Rancho Gordo

It’s easy enough to make a breakfast of molletes north of the border. The heart and soul of the dish is the refried beans. I like to sauté red onion slices in bacon drippings until they’re almost disolved. I then add whole beans and some of their pot liquor, and some water if they seem a little dry. Using my bean masher, I slide along the bottom of the skillet so that the onions incorporate into the beans. I repeat the process until the mass is a glorious mess of refried beans. Be sure and leave some texture for interest.

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For the molletes, I toasted a slice of Acme Bread’s Pain au levain and topped it with a spoonful of the refried beans, a spoonful of fresh salsa and then topped the whole thing off with some grated Manchego cheese. The Mexicans make a fair Manchego but I prefer the Spanish. If the cheese and salsa are at room temperature, there’s no need to broil. It’s lovely as it is.

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Molletes for Breakfast

I’m not crazy for sweet breakfasts in general and in Mexico, I have to admit, I don’t care much for their pastries. I don’t despise them, but knowing there’s something else savory available, I tend to go for that.

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While my traveling companions are enjoying perfectly nice pancakes or sweet breads, I like to go for the molletes. These are generally white rolls with some of the filling scooped out to make way for a slather of refried beans. They’re then topped with cheese and broiled until the cheese is bubbling. Of course, like most good things in New Spain, they’re served with a searing salsa guaranteed to wake you up. You are now prepared for the day.

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Next: Molletes a la Rancho Gordo

The Big Sell Out: Garbanzos at Rancho Gordo

Our focus is New World Foods and heirloom varieties, so I have to admit I feel like a bit of a sell out offering chick peas. But they’re one of my favorites. One of my growers grew them this summer and I have a limited supply. The first time I made them, it took four hours in the slow cooker, unsoaked! When I’ve made commercial garbanzos, it’s taken a full 12 hours at times.

Garbanzo

A classic Mexican soup using garbanzo beans is Caldo Tlalpeño. There are several versions but the best are basically a chicken soup, seasoned with chipotle chiles and packed with garbanzos and garnished with cool avocado. This seems to be a typical recipe.