more RHUBARB!

Aarrgh, Eli. You've made me obsess about rhubarb now. I already left two comments on Eli's post, and I feel ridiculous posting a 3rd comment, so here's my own post.

Eli, I think one solution to rhubarb soupiness may have to do with the way it's cooked. (Another solution of course is pectin or gelatin.) Christopher Kimball suggests sauteeing rhubarb before including it in pie, and here's someone else--the Wednesday Chef--who has a roasted rhubarb recipe. And as you can see in the picture, her rhubarb retained it's shape and didn't go all gooey on her. Of course you'd need some gooey-ness in preserves, but perhaps you could mix the two to get the right consistency?

A Rhubarb Weekend

When I was 15, I participted in an exchange program that led to a long time friendship with a French woman -- Claire Lise. For years, we'd split the summers -- she'd spend 3 weeks with me in small town Connecticut and I'd spend 3 weeks with her travelling from Paris to Port Croix to Normandie.

Normandie was my favorite -- her family had a farm house that would accomodate Claire's grandparents, parents, siblings, aunts and uncles, and cousins. Her Grand Mere nourished a magnificent garden -- from which I learned to eat tomatoes like apples, right off the vine, giving rise to my summer addiction. Her rhubarb patches were thick and productive -- and every year I'd go home with jars of rhubarb jam. It was green, fresh, and only slightly tart.

I've tried for many years to immitate it. Which was why I was thrilled when Megan called to let me know her rhubarb is in abundance and her kitchen is free this weekend. (Incidentally, she needed someone to play with her dog this weekend as she bikes 100 miles.) Megan lives 45 miles north of Portland, which in Maine easily qualifies as the middle of farm country no where, and we often refer to her farm house as George's country home (as she tends to spend a lot of time there when I'm otherwise on the road.

I love making jam -- its cathartic the way rolling your own pasta is relaxing. I preserve the old-fashion way, boiling my jars. I've gotten creative too as I've gained in experience -- mixing wild cherries with apples, cranberries, and blue berries. I've made elegant jams from plums and thyme and pears and mint.

But I've never been able to properly produce Claire's grandmother's rhubarb jam. My aesthetic issue is that its not green -- and there isn't much that I can do about that. American rhubarb has more pink in it than that of France. So I'll igore that and move on to my bigger issue, which is that I can't mimick the freshness. Getting the jam to set requires enough sugar that it adequately squelches that taste. I've tried cutting down on the sugar and ended up with a syrupy ice cream topping (especially good when served slightly warm). I've tried cooking it longer and ended up having to throw out a pan. I've tried cutting back on the water and the sugar and ended up with nothing at all.

Any French jam makers out there with some Rhubarb expertise?

Calling spice aficionados in the DC area!

So for those of us on this blog in the DC area ... did you notice that Penzey's has opened a store in Rockville MD (near the Woodmont country club, so pretty far up north)? I've only purchased spices from them online, so I can't wait to make my way up Rockville Pike to smell everything in person. Please post if you make it there, and give us a scout report ...

Dinner for a mixed crowd

So fellow bloggers, I have to cook up a dinner for Sunday night this weekend, for 8 people that includes 2 vegetarians. I need to make sure there's enough vegetarian fare without making the non-vegetarians feel deprived or too challenged. I'm wavering between two menus:

Menu 1:
Porcini tart
Grilled asparagus/spring onions
Chickpea with carmelized onions and escarole
Baked ziti

Menu 2:
Vegetarian curry (chickpeas, cauliflower, green peas, tofu)
Brown rice
Okra sauteed with ginger, cumin etc.
Raita like cucumber salad

Any thoughts, suggestions, modifications? ...

Eli and Dorie Greenspan

Just saw a posting in BlogHer (more about Blogher below) about an interview with Dorie Greenspan, baker extraordinaire, and Eli's one-time neighbor. Dorie is the reason I started obsessing about macaroons and other egg white based desserts earlier this year, and according to Eli, Dorie is the reason Eli is a foodie.

And BlogHer is a great site. I first found out about it when I was asked to jury a prize for women who did extraordinary things for women in science/technology, and Elisa Camahort, one of BlogHer's founders, was nominated for the prize. And I've been a faithful reader ever since. I think it does a fantastic job of bringing all the different aspects of women's lives and interests and concerns together ...

Asparagus from Seville and lamb from Bon Appetit

So two quick recipe shares. One is from a bodega in Seville, the other from Bon Appetit.

Roasted asparagus--everyone has had it, right? Lightly coated in olive oil, a bit of kosher salt, roasted in the oven for 15+ minutes. Quite good. But much much better when roasted with some spring onions. To keep the roasting time equivalent, cut the spring onions to about the same size of the asparagus. The spring onions will carmelize a bit, and it was really surprising to me how much of a difference it made to include them. I kept the ratio of asparagus to spring onions about 3:1.

Second recipe tip from Bon Appetit. Now I have to confess, I got a gift subscription and didn't find a recipe that called to me in the first 3 issues so I was beginning to think I was in the wrong audience for this. But then I came across this recipe (full recipe) for a lamb marinade, and it was amazing. You will see that the full recipe includes a sauteed asparagus dish--I actually substituted the Seville asparagus instead since I had the oven on anyway, and the timing worked to cook both together (though you have to be vigilant on both the lamb and the asparagus when the oven temperature is as high as 500F).

For those of you who just want the marinade recipe, here it is:
Charmoula
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
1 1/2 cups (lightly packed) fresh Italian parsley leaves
1/2 cup (lightly packed) fresh mint leaves
1/2 cup (lightly packed) fresh cilantro leaves
2 large garlic cloves
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika (pimentón dulce)* or sweet Hungarian paprika
1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Roast cumin lightly in a frying pan, put all the ingredients (except for the olive oil and lemon juice) in a food processor, chop fine, then drizzle in 2 Tb of the oil. Then set aside 2Tb of the mash to mix with the rest of the oil and lemon juice and reserve to use as a relish after meat is cooked. The rest of the marinade use to marinade the meat, 4 hours minimum recommended. Worked great with lamb, but I think it would be also fantastic for chicken and fish.

Challenge -- a Foodie's Baby Shower

I realize that there is already an answer to this challenge, and it is: Catering. But that won't do, so I throw out my challenge to this universe of creative foodies. Last June, I hosted a wedding shower for my foodie friend Molly. Molly didn't really want a shower -- she thinks they are cheesie by nature, but knowing her family and his, it was in the cards. I did my best to make it as non-shower-like as I could, specifically focusing on the menu. It was simple, but good. A few of the particulars included shrimp & cilantro summer wraps, dumplings, and curried chicken salad. Molly loved her wedding shower, finding great pride in it being the only wedding shower she's ever been to where people raved about the food.

Nine months later (I do love the timing), I find myself hosting a baby shower for Molly and the one thing she has requested is that people rave about the food. I could do a repeat performance, given that the items worked well in quantity, but Molly, being a foodie, would notice (no one else of the crew would, but Molly would and that's all there is too it).

A few ideas I'm toying with are: mini-crab souffles (shockingly simple to prepare and cook), shrimp salad in wonton 'bowls,' Asian eggplant spread, and cupcakes (cocunut, cardomon-orange, and cinnomen devil's food). As you can tell... none of these items stick together in a 'menu' form. Any suggestions?