Playing with Fire: Polenta and Beans from the Fireplace

It’s been freezing here in the Napa Valley and the fireplace has been very busy. My Inner Puritan can’t enjoy the fireplace without thinking I’m not worthy and I should at least find another use for the flames.

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I’d made the Good Mother Stallard Beans the night before. I just added some garlic, onion, and olive oil to the bean and water and put the clay pot on top of the wood-burning stove. As the fire dwindled, I put the pot inside, resting on the embers.

Last night, as I was about to go to bed, I remembered polenta. I used three cups of water and 1 cup of polenta with a dab of butter. I whisked them together until somewhat combined and the placed the pot, with lid, in the embers.

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The photo makes it look like a roaring blaze but the fire was on its way out.

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In the morning, as I was drinking my piloncillo and canela sweetened coffee, it dawned on me that I had made the polenta. This is what I was greeted with:

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The polenta had solidified into a cake and pulled away easily from the sides of the pot.

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I think I could have added more liquid, reheated and made a warm, indulgent mush but I thought it would be more fun to heat the wedge and smother it with the Good Mother Stallards.

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What a great breakfast! I added a wee touch of grated dry cheese (OK, a ton of it.)

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Carnivores could add some bacon, pancetta or even leftover roast chicken but this was perfectly swell and I’d eat again in a heartbeat.

Mole Verde with Ayocote Blancos

I had some very fresh pumpkin seeds and was wondering what to do with them when the idea of pipian hit me. I normally like pipian but it’s never knocked my socks off. Doing more research, I came across a great looking recipe for Mole Verde, which seemed like a pipian with some bitter greens thrown in.

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A little more hunting through all my Mexican cookbooks and noted Mexico City chef Alicia Gironella’s seminal Larousse de la Cocina Mexicana suggested mole verde with fat white beans, much like our Ayocote Blancos. Oh, happy day!

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The dish may or may not seem that appealing (the photo got very mixed reactions here at the office) but it was a knock out and one of the kids was literally licking the bowl.

After toasting about 3/4 cup of pumpkin seeds, I added them to a blender with 1/2 cup water, 4 romaine lettuce leaves, a serrano chile, a pinch of cumin, salt, 10 small tomatillos, some radish leaves, some cilantro and some hoja santa (this is hard to find commerically and you can omit it if you don’t have access to it). After blending well, I fried the pumpkin seed mixture in a little manteca until if was very thick. Meanwhile, I poached some chicken breasts until done. I added about a cup of previously cooked Ayocote Blanco beans and added the poaching water from the chicken to the warm pumpkin sauce and thinned it out until it was a medium thick consistency and let it cook another 20 minutes or so. Then I added the chicken and that was that. Served with corn tortillas.

Mushroom Tacos

It’s always nice to see Connie Green from Wine Forest come through our doors at Rancho Gordo but I think she’s especially attractive when she arrives with mushrooms for me!

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I sauteed onions and garlic until translucent and then removed them and turned up the heat and added the seperated mushrooms. When they got soft, I lowered the heat again, added a big spoonful of chile sauce and a cup of chicken stock. I then salted and added some epazote and let it cook for awhile.

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This was a great taco filling, especially when I added some queso fresco.

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Speaking of Connie, be sure and check out her new line of dried mushrooms and powders. I know that using them has made me a better cook.

Taking Vanilla Ice Cream to the “Next Level”

As I typed “next level” I cringed a little. It’s a phrase that’s turning into a cliche, isn’t it? Oh well, I’m not above anything so I think I’ll use it here.

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What are you looking at is some premium vanilla ice cream and a Milano cookie (chosen by my son Nico. I think would have done the Bordeaux cookies instead.) The twist is I followed the lead of the pastry chef at Meadwood Resort here in Napa Valley and made a sauce of about 1 part piloncillo and 2 parts plantain vinegar. It sounds weird but think of balsamic vinegar on strawberries. It’s odd but it works.

Of course, our piloncillo is made using no sulpher and comes in a more than handy granular form. We distribute the plantain vinegar from Veracruz and it’s become a kitchen staple for a lot of you. I think adding dessert to the list makes it essential.

How I Came to Love Radishes

I like the idea of radishes but they really don’t thrill the way a carrot can. Sometimes they’re too bland and sometimes they’re too peppery. I like them with hot food as a balance but I hate them when they’re old and woody.

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The French dip them in unsalted butter and then salt them. This is very good but I think bread would work better. And it seems to undermine the freshness of the radish, and of course it massacres the low calorie status.

Last month in Mexico I was an unexpected guest of some very kind and patient people. Mexicans would not know what to do if they didn’t have something to offer a guest and normally a guest does very well there, planned or not. My hostess whipped out a bowl of thinly sliced radishes that had been sitting in lightly salted water. It sounds so simple but it was delicious. And easy.

Just slice some radishes as thin as you can. It’s good practice for your knife skills! Add to a bowl with water to cover and a teaspoon of salt. Mix and then add an ice cube for good measure.

 

Vegetarian Baked Beans on Martha Stewart

Author Margaret Roach was recently a guest on the Martha Stewart show promoting her new book, And I Shall Have Some Peace There and sharing her recipe for baked beans. She was really generous and told the producers about Rancho Gordo and we sort of made our debut on Martha Stewart.

Here is Margaret’s recipe, taken from the Martha Stewart website. I added links to our beans.

You can see the segment here.

Ingredients

Serves 6.

  • 1 pound dried cranberry, navy, or yellow eye beans
  • 1/4 cup molasses, preferably organic
  • 1/4 cup grade A medium-amber maple syrup
  • 1/4 cup grainy mustard
  • 6 fresh, peeled, or canned whole plum tomatoes
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 2 medium onions, peeled and quartered
  • Boiling water
  • Coarse salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
  2. Place beans in a large pot and add enough water to cover; let soak overnight. Drain and return to pot; add enough water to cover and simmer over medium-high heat for 30 minutes. Drain and transfer to a large bowl; stir in molasses, maple syrup, mustard, and tomatoes. Set aside.
  3. Coat the bottom of a Dutch oven or a 9-by-13-inch high-sided baking dish with olive oil. Add onions and top with bean mixture. Add enough boiling water to cover bean mixture by 1 inch. Cover Dutch oven with lid or baking dish with parchment paper-lined aluminum foil. Transfer to oven and bake until beans are softened, about 1 1/2 hours, checking water level and adding more as necessary.
  4. Uncover beans and continue baking until thick and syrupy, about 45 minutes more. Season with salt and pepper and serve.

First published February 2011

Copyright 2011 Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, Inc. All rights reserved.

 

Fish and Seafood Grilled in Corn Husks, Again. Better? I Think So.

Did you have a swell weekend? I hope so. I had some guilt about not coming into work on Saturday but then decided two full days off was pretty key to my happiness. And I was right! Me and my mini-me team are working on a Sunday Supper plan and cooking together has turned out to be a great way to spend time. This past Sunday night we revisted wrapping fish in wet tamal husks and it was better than ever.

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I had three bowls of fillings ready. Rockfish, shrimp and steamed crab, all tossed in olive oil and some of our Oregano Indio. I also had some great chile sauce. The great thing is everyone can make what they like.

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The kids’ favorite was just fish and crab.

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The hardest part of the whole evening was buying a whole crab, shelling it and then not eating big hunks of it. I’m not saying I was completely successful but the kids didn’t notice.

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Each tamal gets tied up nicely. We used shorter or funkier wrappers to rip up as strings.

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The master at work. At this point both sons are pretty over me and my camera so while this looks like a joyless occasion, you have to trust me there was laughter, Uno card games and Mountain Dew.

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I’m not great with coals and we would have eaten very late so we decided to cook half of them on a comal inside. In the end, the grilled packets were superior and more evenly cooked, but you can do this inside in a pinch. Burnt wrappers aren’t a problem.

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Served with some lovely Bolita beans from a potential new Rancho Gordo farmer in New Mexico, it was a great dinner for everyone from the Very Picky to the Easy to Please.

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Dinnertime and everyone is happy. Victory!

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Making Wild Rice

Having wild rice back in stock has been a real treat. I think the wild rice industry has promoted it as a special occasion grain but I think this is unfortunate. It’s great everyday and you can make it ahead and use it throughout the workweek.

I find it’s nice to chop up some aromatic vegetables and saute them in olive oil. Celery, carrot, onion, garlic or any combination works.

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Once the vegetables are soft, add your wild rice and a bit of salt. I like to stir it well and make sure each grain is coated with the vegetable mixture but it probably doesn’t really make a difference.

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Now add three parts water to your one part rice and bring to full boil. Once boiling, reduce your heat to low, cover and allow to cook for about an hour. The rice should have absorbed all the liquid and the grains should have split. Now you’re ready!

Some recipes call for chicken stock but I think this is a waste. The rice has a stong nutty flavor and the stock would be wasted, in my opinion!

 

A Great Sidedish For Thanksgiving Dinner

I keep hearing about Thanksgiving plans and I’m always surprised that this New World holiday always lacks beans, the most New World of ingredients. I think part of this is because Thanksgiving is a nostalgic meal and most cooks want it just like mom’s. I would hope more innovative cooks realize it’s a great time to celebrate the Americas along with family and football. All this reminded me of this post from 2007 and I would love you to consider some variation for your table! – Steve

I mentioned making this in the Rancho Gordo newsletter but I thought it should also make an appearance here. I love flageolet beans a lot and often have to justify them to Francophiles who insist that a cassoulet must be made with Tarbais beans. Those folks will be happy we now grow Cassoulet beans, which would also be great for this dish. My LaRousse Gastronomique just calls for dry white beans while others call for Haricot de Castelnaudery specifically. What to do? Maybe relax a little, I’d say! I’d worry more about the correct sausages or good duck confit.

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After reading several recipes, I experimented and took the confit I had from The Fatted Calf and put the skin on the bottom of my clay gratin. I then added a layer of cooked Flageolet (but Cassoulet or Alubia Blanca would also work), followed by the shredded meat of the confit, then another layer of beans and the whole mess is topped off with bread crumbs. This went into the oven at 350F for about 45 minutes and developed a nice crust.

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I would never pass this off as authentic or even French but readers, it was out of this world! I can’t wait to experiment more with this bean gratin idea. It would make an ideal side dish or work on its own with a salad. Jill Nussinow, author of The Veggie Queen: Vegetables Get the Royal Treatment likes sun-dried tomatoes and thyme with her flageolet. You could easily skip the duck and try Jill’s version instead, just try it with bread crumbs and then report back.

Black Runners with Chanterelle Mushrooms

We’ve had a very mild, almost cool summer here in Napa and now it’s raining and cold. Everyone is complaining but I’m fine with it since it seems like it’s all work and no play these days. Since it wasn’t a banner tomato year, I’d just as soon as start cooking winter things and when my buddy Connie Green handed me a huge bag of chanterelles, I went to work.

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I sauteed some Italian sausage and when cooked, rendered the meat and got rid of most of the fat. Then I added onion and garlic, our Oregano Indio and when soft, added some very roughly chopped chanterelle mushrooms that had been tossed in Nudo mandarin olive oil and salt. I turned up the heat and once the mushrooms were cooked, I added back the reserved sausages and added some cooked farro pasta and previously cooked Ayocote Negro (or black runner) beans. I spashed some more oil over the whole mess for good measure.

It was a great dish but to be honest, I don’t think I would have liked it any less if I’d omitted the sausage, which would make the dish vegan. The secret ingredients are the beans, which are big, bold and ready for love (just like me!) and the Nudo oil. I don’t care for flavored olive oils in general but when my friends at Cube gave me a can I felt obligated to try it. It’s amazing. The flavor is Mandarin but it’s not overt. They have other varieties and I plan to order each one although I don’t see how they can beat this. And at $12 I think it’s a real steal.

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Speaking of things Connie, her new book is incredible and I recommend you take a look at it.