From time to time on this blog, I write that I will try a recipe a different way in the future. Sometimes I do. Sometimes I don’t. Occasionally, I take a very long time to get around to the new attempt.
When I wrote in May 2010 that I would try a different tack making my asparagus refrigerator pickles, I had no idea it would take me nine years to get around to it. Luckily, when I finally made them the better way (this month!), they were terrific.
I made them for a class and re-made them on Mass Appeal with the show’s new co-host, Alanna Flood. If you watch the video, please note that the salt and sugar are supposed to be boiled with the vinegar and water, not added to the jar later. I was so happy contemplating (and talking about) asparagus that I forgot to read the recipe!
We also remade the rhubarb cobbler I made on my very first visit to the program six years ago. It was as tasty as I remembered it.
So … here is the asparagus recipe, followed by the videos. Enjoy this wonderful time of year, full of produce and possibilities.
Asparagus Refrigerator Pickles
Ingredients:
1 pound fresh asparagus 2 small cloves garlic (or 1 large clove) a generous branch of dill 3 to 4 peppercorns 1 cup water 1/2 cup white vinegar 1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher or sea salt 1 pinch sugar
Instructions:
Clean and sterilize a pint jar. After snapping the ends off the asparagus, trim the stalks so that they will fit in the jar and not quite reach the top. (You may add the trimmings to your cream of asparagus soup!) Place them in the jar, and stuff the garlic, dill, and peppercorns in around them.
Combine the water, vinegar, salt, and sugar in a nonreactive pot. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cool it for a few seconds; then pour it over the vegetables.
If the jar isn’t quite full, add a little tap water to fill it. Let the pickles cool to room temperature; then place them in the refrigerator and wait 3 to 4 days before serving them. Makes 1 pint.
I couldn’t let National Rhubarb Day pass without a recipe from Love, Laughter, and Rhubarb! This is a short recipe, although it takes a long time to be ready since it has to sit for weeks.
In
fact, it will take an even longer time to be ready NOW because National Rhubarb
Day falls in January, when there is no rhubarb available … unless you want to
import frozen rhubarb, which I have done! (Somehow or other the rhubarb I
freeze at home doesn’t seem to last through the winter.)
My source is Frank Farms in Michigan. The rhubarb costs as much to ship as it does to buy, alas, but it’s good rhubarb.
Of
course, you may certainly wait until rhubarb season to make this simple
cordial. It’s great in goopy desserts like a trifle. Or you may drink it as an
after-dinner liqueur, what my Francophone mother used to call a “digestif.” I
can’t guarantee that it will aid your digestion, but rhubarb is known for its
medicinal properties.
When
I become famous enough, I will work on moving National Rhubarb Day to a more
appropriate time of year. Meanwhile, I assure you that the rhubarb roots are
still there beneath the snow, waiting to be celebrated….
Rhubarb Cordial
Ingredients:
2 cups rhubarb 1 cup sugar vodka as needed
Instructions:
Place the rhubarb in a 1-quart Mason jar. Pour the sugar in over it and stir well; then fill the jar with vodka, cover it, and place it in a cool, dark place. Gently shake and/or turn the bottle twice daily until the sugar dissolves.
At the end of 6 weeks, strain out your cordial. This recipe makes 2 cups, more or less, depending on the juiciness of your rhubarb.
It took me a while to figure out whether to include this recipe in my forthcoming rhubarb cookbook. It’s based on a popular cranberry recipe that isn’t actually a pie, more a cross between a cookie and a cake. I think it’s called a pie because it’s baked in a pie pan—but I really have no idea. I just know that it tastes good and comes together in no time at all. I really don’t need more information than that!
When one makes the pie with cranberries, those little red gems rise toward the top of the pie and make pretty bumps on the surface. Rhubarb is wetter and therefore heavier than cranberries so it doesn’t actually rise; consequently, the rhubarb version of the pie is less attractive than its fall cousin.
Taste always trumps appearance for me, however, so I decided to give readers the opportunity to try this delectable combination of sweet and sour. And of course I prepared the recipe on TV!
2 cups relatively finely chopped rhubarb
1-1/2 cups sugar, divided
1/2 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) sweet butter, melted and then allowed to sit for a few minutes to cool
2 eggs, beaten
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions:
Generously grease a 9-inch pie plate. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Place the pieces of rhubarb in the bottom of the pie plate. Sprinkle them with 1/2 cup of the sugar and the nuts. Make a batter of the remaining ingredients, first combining the butter and the remaining sugar and then adding the eggs, the flour, and the vanilla. Pour the batter over the rhubarb.
Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Top with whipped cream. (Ice cream works well, too. Or just serve it alone.) Serves 8.
And now the video (in which I underestimate the pie’s baking time—ouch):
I write this on May 12, the birthday of Edward Lear. In addition to many other works, Lear wrote (and illustrated!) “The Owl and the Pussycat.” My late mother started reciting this poem early in life—and it was one of the last things she forgot as she succumbed to dementia.
I thought about the owl, the pussycat, and my mother this morning as I drove to Chicopee, Massachusetts, to cook on Mass Appeal. Appropriately, today’s show was devoted to Mother’s Day.
It was one of the most delightful editions of Mass Appeal I can remember; the mothers of both of the hosts participated (and got makeovers!), and a happy spirit reigned.
I prepared two dishes that struck me as suitable for Mother’s Day. The first was a biscuit recipe from Southern Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart. I discovered the book and the recipe while trying to satisfy my southern sister-in-law’s craving for biscuits earlier this year.
It’s a simple, satisfying formula that produces puffy, delectable biscuits. Thanks to Nathalie for giving me permission to reprint it here.
Since rhubarb is just starting to pop up in my area, I also made a recipe from my forthcoming rhubarb book. This salad combines sweet and tart flavors and provides the mouth with a lot of satisfying textures: crunchy nuts, soft rhubarb, creamy cheese.
Happy Mother’s Day to all my readers—those who are mothers, and those who have or had mothers. (That should take care of pretty much everybody!) Enjoy the day—and these recipes….
about 2-1/4 cups self-rising flour (I use White Lily)
about 1-1/4 cups heavy cream
melted butter for finishing
Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a baking sheet with silicone, or brush the sheet with melted butter.
Whisk 2 cups of the flour in a wide, large bowl. Make a hollow in the middle of the flour with the back of your hand. Slowly stir in 1 cup of the cream with a rubber spatula. Use broad stokes to pull the flour into the cream. Mix the batter just until the dry ingredients are moistened and the sticky dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. If there is remaining flour, add more cream.
Lightly sprinkle a board or silicone sheet with some of the leftover flour. Turn the dough out onto the board—it will be messy—and sprinkle the top with more flour. Using your floured hands, gently fold the dough in half and pat it into a 1/2-inch thick rectangle. Flour the dough again if you need to, and fold it in half again and pat it out again. If it’s still clumpy fold it for a third time—but don’t over work it.
Dip a biscuit cutter in flour and use it to cut out biscuits, starting from the outside edges. Transfer the biscuits to the prepared baking sheet.
Bake the biscuits on the top rack of the oven for 6 minutes; then rotate the pan in the oven and bake until the biscuits are light golden brown, another 4 to 8 minutes. Remove the biscuits from the oven, and brush them with melted butter. Serve warm.
Makes about 8 to 12 biscuits, depending on how big you cut them.
strawberries (don’t use too many at a time or this will take forever)
enough distilled white vinegar to cover them
equal amounts of sugar and water
for the salad:
1 cup chopped rhubarb
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon strawberry vinegar
salt and pepper to taste
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups spinach
toasted pecans to taste
feta cheese to taste
Instructions:
The day before you want to eat your salad (or any time up to a year before!) start the vinegar.
Place the berries in a non-aluminum pan. (A porcelain dish is great.) Cover them with the vinegar, and leave them to soak, covered, overnight. If you forget them for a day and wait 2 nights, they will still be fine.
The next day (or the day after that), gently strain the juice through cheesecloth. You may squeeze the berries a little, but don’t overdo; letting the juice drip out on its own is best.
Measure the juice. Then measure a little under 1-1/2 times as much sugar and water as juice (i.e., if you have a cup of juice, use just under 1-1/2 cups of sugar and 1-1/2 cups of water) into a saucepan.
Cook the sugar/water mixture until it threads. Measure the resultant sugar syrup. Add an equal quantity of berry juice to it, and boil the mixture for 10 minutes. Strain this boiled vinegar through cheesecloth, and decant it into sterlized bottles. Cork or cover. Stored in the dark, strawberry vinegar should keep its color and flavor for up to a year.
When you are ready to start your salad, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. While the oven is preheating toss the rhubarb and sugar together in a bowl, and let them sit for at least 10 minutes.
Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil, and place the sugared rhubarb pieces on it. Bake until the rhubarb just begins to soften, about 5 minutes. Remove the rhubarb from the oven and set it aside.
In a small bowl or jar combine the vinegar, salt and pepper and oil.
Place the spinach in a salad bowl. Add the rhubarb, the pecans, and the feta; then remix the salad dressing and toss it over the salad. Serves 4 as a side salad.
This recipe appears in my Pudding Hollow Cookbook. (If you don’t have the book, feel free to order it!)
I had forgotten about the tea until last week when I was pondering what to prepare on my next segment on the show Mass Appeal. It was a hit with friends when I made it a few days ago—and it was a hit yesterday when I made it on the show. (See video below.) It is lovely to look at and refreshing to drink.
In case you skip over the recipe and go straight to the video, be aware that I made rhubarb crumble first! And … you should know that I forgot to mention on the air that one should cover the raw rhubarb with water BEFORE cooking it for the tea; otherwise the rhubarb will burn long before it simmers! (One does get a little carried away on live TV, but one is learning.)
The recipe originally came from my neighbor Florette, who is mentioned in the video. I have written here before about Florette. She was glamorous, eccentric, and occasionally maddening. She taught me a lot about rhubarb and a lot about life, and I’m grateful for those lessons.
2 pounds rhubarb stalks chopped (about 6 cups)
3 cups water
1 pinch salt
for the sugar syrup:
2 cups water
3/4 cup sugar
for assembly:
1 quart strong black tea
Instructions:
In a stainless steel or enamel saucepan, cook the rhubarb in water, partially covered, over moderately low heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until tender. Stir gently occasionally to keep from boiling. Cool slightly. Drain the rhubarb in a sieve placed over a bowl and discard the pulp, reserving the liquid. Add the salt.
In another saucepan, combine the ingredients for the sugar syrup. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring and brushing the sugar crystals from the sides of the pan until the sugar is dissolved. Cook the syrup for 5 minutes, undisturbed, over moderate heat and let it cool.
To make rhubarb tea, combine 2 parts black tea, 1 part rhubarb juice, and 1 part sugar syrup. (You may change these proportions slightly according to your taste.) Serve in a tall glass over ice. As indicated, 4 cups tea, 2 cups rhubarb juice, and 2 cups sugar syrup make 2 quarts of rhubarb tea.
Store any leftover juice or syrup in the refrigerator. If you need a double amount of sugar syrup, make 2 separate batches.
And now the video:
If you’d like to see the quick asparagus dish I made yesterday before the rhubarb (one always eats one’s vegetables BEFORE dessert), here’s that video as well:
