Recipes: August 2008 Archives

Sure, it sounds deceptively carnivorous and a little barnyardy, but this standout sandwich, which we concocted for our most recent grilled cheese experiment, deserves an arresting name. A more accurate description might be "chevre-salad-sammich." See? Not as cool.

The above was the third sammy (the only goat cheese) in our four-cheese sammy series (collect the whole set!). Goat cheese goes famously well with sweet-tart fruits and fresh nuts, right? So we chose grapes and pistachios.. The grapes got a light pickling -- kissed with vinegar for a day or two -- while the nuts were toasted and blended into a fine dust. The real show stealer though was the cheese, naturally. Since Alex's latest obsession has been Haystack creamery, a goat-only regional powerhouse out of Boulder, CO, we centered this creation around their smoked goat cheese. Haystack's smokiness is rich, but controlled, more like hand-smoked nuts sprinkled on an otherwise snowy, rich cheese. Because the cheese comes from the mile high altitude of Colorado, the cheese is very smooth and rich-not nearly as acidic as chevre from France, and not crumbly or bland like so many American knockoffs.

1 cup red grapes
2/3 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/3 cup water
1/8 cup granulated sugar
1 Tbs. Whole black peppercorns.
1 jar

1. In a small pot, combine the sugar, water, vinegar, and peppercorns, and bring to a light boil, stirring all the while to completely dissolve the sugar.

2. Wash and slice each grape, gingerly, in half. (This will help the brine penetrate the grape's skin).

3. Place all the grapes in your jar, and pour the brine over the grapes, making sure the brine completely covers the fruit.

4. Let sit in the fridge for 1-3 days, keeping in mind that the longer it sits, the tarter the taste.

1/4 cup pistachio nuts, shelled
2 oz. Haystack smoked chevre
4 slices brioche
2 Tbs. butter (room temperature)
2 Tsp. Agave nectar
Freshly ground black pepper

3. Toast your pistachios on medium heat in a frying pan for about 5 minutes, shaking often. Remove and cool. Place in a food processor mixer and pulse until it resembles a fine green powder. Set aside.

4. Butter your bread. Make sure you spread butter over the entire surface area of each slice--this is crucial to a successful grilled cheese. We like to butter the bread, and then stack the un-constructed sandwich butter side to butter side, so you can stuff the sandwich without buttering your cutting board.

4. Portion your goat cheese into 1-ounce portions, slicing with a string of fine dental floss to cut pristinely (no mint-flavored floss!) If you are eyeballing it, you want five or six quarter-sized circles. Place on brioche, adding the pickled grapes to the mix and gently press together.

5. Heat a wide, flat pan on medium heat for 1-2 minutes for grilling the sandwiches. Add a sliver of butter to grease (it should slowly sizzle). Now add sammies to pan. Flip after about 2-3 minutes or until the bread is golden, short of brown. Repeat.

6. Once cheese is starting to get gooey and bread is slightly browned you are going to add a crust of toasted pistachios and agave nectar. Drizzle agave on the side that's facing up, and cake on about a tablespoon of the pistachio dust. Before flipping so nut-side is face down, lift sandwich and add more butter. Flip and repeat.

7. When the nut nuts have browned, remove from the pan and let rest for 25 seconds before cutting to let the cheese congeal. Garnish with pepper, and extra pistachio dust.

Beverage: Belhaven Wee Heavy
Soundtrack: Mountain Goats' "See America Right"

Still summer! Summer can be a season of plenty. For those of us with quant home gardens, "plenty" is no problemo. But for friends of ours like Aubrey White, who helps run a dozen-or-so acre community garden, plenty can mean a small conference room filled with zucchini. That makes summer the right time to dust off your bottling and pickling skills.

Aubrey and her Davis, CA crew did just that last month when they pulled a glut of green zukes from the ground and turned their plethora into relish. The recipe came via sweet karma: A nosy neighbor came by and asked if they wanted to give away any produce and was sent home laden with zucchini. The next day he came back with a 'thank you' note. The guy had apparently convinced his wife to pen their family recipe for sweet zucchini relish and hand it over to the farm hands. Aubrey has, in turn, handed it over to Hot Knives. On a recent trip to L.A. she coached us through it by leaving a hand-scrawled note and the groceries and letting us play with the quantities.

So, while this is our take on the recipe (for better or worse), we gotta give massive props to the unidentified fam for leaking their heirloom recipe -- and probably an apology for blogging it. This sweet stuff's just too good not to share. Right now we like to slather it tacos and squirt it on hot dogs.

Zucchini Relish

(Makes about 2 quarts)
4 cups zucchini
1 cup red onion
1/4 cup kosher salt
2 cups cane sugar
1 cup white vinegar
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. celery seed
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 large yellow bell pepper
2 jalapenos

1. Start by drawing out the water in the vegetables. Finely dice your zucchini and onion, so it looks about the size of a rustic pickle relish, and place in a large bowl. Add salt and let sit for at least 3 hours (overnight works too).

2. The zucchini should have released a fair amount of water, drain this out and rinse the veggies thoroughly to get the salt off. Set aside.

3. In a large pot, combine sugar, vinegar and spices but not the cornstarch. Put pot on medium heat and bring to a near boil. Add the cornstarch and stir slowly for 2-3 minutes or until dissolved. Liquid should thicken slightly. Now add your zucchini and onion and place on simmer, or very low heat.

4. Dice and add to the pot your yellow bell pepper and jalapenos.

5. Let everything simmer for about 30 minutes, watching carefully that it doesn't reach a boil. Set aside to cool. Use warm, room temperature or refrigerate. Will store for up to 2 weeks.