Holiday at Rancho Gordo – Page 2 – Experiments in my New World Kitchen and Garden

Holidays at RG: Hot Sauce Gift Box

It’s such a cliche to get hot sauces for That Special Guy In Your Life but after doing the farmers markets for years, and now hanging out in our stores, I think it’s safe to say there is a certain fellow who just loves hot sauces. He uses them and he collects them, obsessively.

What’s even funnier is that I am that fellow.

Our set of four sauces includes La Paloma, mild and flavorful, Rio Fuego, full of fire and thickened with toasted pumpkin seeds, Gay Caballero with cinnamon and clove, and Felicidad, with chipotle chiles and fruity vinegar. We’re proud of all four and with the nice box, it’s a safe bet that your gift will be a hit. And no guilt if you’re purchasing for yourself. I sure would.

Order the Hot Sauce Wooden Gift Box today at Rancho Gordo.

Holidays at RG: Cassoulet Gift Box

Normally this blog is personal and about what I’m cooking up or playing in the dirt. Please indulge me a little as I show off some of our newer and more interesting items for the holidays. I’m not giving up on the chatty entries, but I know a lot of you like knowing what we’re up to.

I’ve talked about it already but the hot ticket this season appears to be the Cassoulet Gift box.

This sampler features two pounds of new-crop Cassoulet beans, grown in the USA from French Tarbais seed, and a copy of the new book, Cassoulet: A French Obsession by Kate Hill, published by Rancho Gordo Press.

Rather than suffer French prices, which can run up to $30 a pound when out of season, we took seed from France and produced this bean with our distinct terroir here in California. Tarbais beans were developed by generations of farmers in Tarbes, France. The original seed is a New World runner bean (Phaseolus coccineus) and most likely originated in Mexico. Out of respect for the French farmers and terroir, we’re calling the bean Cassoulet Bean. We think in order to call it Tarbais, it should be grown in southwestern France.

Just in time for our Cassoulet bean harvest, Cassoulet: A French Obsession is a wonderful book full of lore and recipes so that you can have the most delicious winter yet. A great holiday fantasy is to sit around a table with selected good friends, approved family members, good wine and a huge cassoulet, piping hot from the oven. With Kate’s book in hand, this fantasy is within reach.

Order the Rancho Gordo Cassoulet Gift Box now.

Advice from a Reader: Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens

I’m such a lucky fellow to have such smart customers and readers.

Paula was reading about my adventures with our new Black Eyed Peas and sent the following. You’ll want to take notes and make plans to head straight to the market and pick up some collard greens after you read this:

Hey out there in bean land!
I was thinking about your article on Black Eyed Peas and wanted to
share a couple more things with you. First, black eyed peas make
fabulous hummus. Use them instead of garbanzos in your favorite recipe
and substitute balsamic vinegar for the lemon juice. Put some parsley
or cilantro on top for color and you have something good, especially
with corn tortilla chips.



Also, part of Southern tradition on New Year's Day is collard greens.
Whereas black eyed peas are reputed to bring good luck, collard greens
bring prosperity (money) in the new year. Now even though I grew up in
the South, I can't stand those overcooked greens cooked with half a
hog's worth of fatback. For one thing, they smell up the kitchen, for
another all the food value/vitamins go out the window with the awful
odor. But I had some great collards at a South American restaurant in
DC once and am now a convert to this method of preparation:

First, get the freshest, tenderest bunch of collards you can find.
Strip the leaves from the stems. Cut up the stems into small pieces.
Stack up the leaves, roll them up and with a sharp knife, cut the roll
into thin slices making a chiffonade of the leaves. Heat a little
olive oil, sauté some garlic and maybe some sweet Vidalia onion, when
that's transparent, add the stems for a few minutes and finally the
leaves. Toss to cook until the greens are bright green but definitely
not too limp. You may need to cover the skillet for a few minutes
until you the greens can be brought under control, they will seem
huge. Salt and serve for a delicious, nutritious green vegetable, and
if served on Jan. 1, the promise of great riches---OK, maybe not great
riches but it's a good thought.

Enjoy,
Paula

The Glory That Is Posole

Like a lot of you, I make Posole over the holidays. Last year I made mine for New Year’s Eve and as I was making it, I started laughing at the smells that come out of the kitchen. How can anything smell this wonderful? How can anything be this easy?

I soaked the pozole in water overnight and on the morning of the dinner, I added it to my slow cooker and covered it by about 3 inches of water and then went to work. When I came home, the whole house smelled of nixtamal and the individual kernels had popped open like wet popcorn. This isn’t an experience you get from a can of hominy, which has all the charm of bland chicken cartlidge.

I poached an entire chicken in water with some aromatics and after it was cooked, I let it cool. The broth was strained and I shredded the chicken meat back into the stockpot and when I was finished, I added the strained, cooked posole from the crockpot. I also added about 1/2 a cup of our New Mexican chili powder. Guests then could add garnishes like raw onion, oregano, cilantro, cubed avocado, chile powder, etc.

I’m now wondering if I can’t figure out a clever one pot, all slow cooker version. Have you had any luck or does it taste murky?

Our prepared hominy/pozole is here.