Delicious History

Like so many culinary greats, the Key Lime Pie has been cheapened, mass produced, and complicated.  Even when on sale, bad pies are just not worth the money or calories.  My mother recently told me of a recipe handed to her from a colleague: One 14-oz can of sweetened condensed milk and one cup of fresh Key Lime juice.  That’s it.  Blend thoroughly.  Have a beer, wine, or cocktail if possible.  It is only right to celebrate the small triumphs.  Pour over a pie crust (I like graham cracker) and put in freezer until it sets, about 3 hours.  Eat whenever and wherever you can.

You may find this version much more sour than your are accustomed to, especially if you can use real Key Limes, which are small and quite tart.  Use whipped cream to balance the dessert.  Here, I used fresh pineapple, cinnamon, and a little whipped cream.

This experiment was too good to end, so the Janer, the sister I never had, tried an orange and chocolate fudge pie.  Instead of artfully decorating her noble Florida orange pie, she smothered it with The Fudge Madness.  She mixed condensed milk with melted dark chocolate.

It began innocently enough…  Then it was find of fun…  Then it got out of hand and Jane was completely out of control, with an insane gleam in her eye.  Chocolate is truly the devil’s food.

Although the fudge tasted good, it was far too thick and chewy, and overwhelmed the orange flavor.  I made a pie a couple weeks later with half oranges and half tangerines and poured the filling over an oreo crust.  Bingo— it was perfect.  No Fudge Madness required.

I also experimented with a “Mojito pie”: using key limes and adding fresh mint and a shot of rum before blending.  It turned out great, and the rum doid not prevent the pie from setting.  I’m tempted to try two shots next time…  but then I may succumb to the Rum Madness….  Pray for me, baby.

Without a doubt, picadillo is one of my favorite Cuban dishes.  It is easy to make, packs a lot of flavor, and is ideal for parties in a number of ways: it is relatively cheap, can be served as an entree over rice, in a sandwich on Cuban bread, in empanadas, and so on.

Like so much great food, picadillo is a simple dish with unclear origins.  One of the first times it was served was to the new emperor of Mexico in 1821, a fruity version with spicy pork served with walnut sauce inside a poblano pepper.  I’m not sure which detail was more surprising: that the dish was made with pork and walnuts or that the leader of Mexico ever held the lofty title of emperor.

Versions of the dish spread around Latin America.  It is especially popular in Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Cuba.  Today, we’re dealing with the Cuban version, which is replete with the tangy flavors of olives, capers, white vinegar, red wine, and capers.  I used the Columbia Restaurant’s recipe long before I became involved in documenting the restaurant’s history.  I tweak it to maximize my favorite flavors (the Columbia’s recipe does not call for capers) and cut down the fat content.

Once again, I bypassed the robbery taking place at a supermarket near you— Publix is a flagrant offender, regularly charging $3.99 a pound for red/yellow/orange bell peppers.  This dish requires a good deal of peppers, especially when you triple or quadruple the recipe as I usually do.

I went to the Sanwa market on Hillsborough Avenue, where prices are as low as three red peppers for one dollar.  Take that, Publix!

Start by cooking 2 pounds of ground beef until just done.  Drain pan of all but 1-2 tablespoons of grease and juices (add vegetable oil if necessary) and cook 1 cup diced onions and 2 bell peppers.  When they are soft but not brown, add 2 cups canned whole tomatoes, drained and chopped (or 6 medium fresh ones), and 2 tbl minced garlic.  I just added those ingredients in the photo above.  Stir and cook until most liquid in the pan has evaporated, about 5-10 minutes.

Now the beef comes back into play, seasoned with 6 bay leaves, 1 tbl dried oregano, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp black pepper, and 1 tsp red pepper flakes.  Throw all into the pot with the vegetables.  Stir and cook for about 3 minutes, long enough for the spices to wake up.

Next, we really start layering in the flavors.  Add 1/2 cup of pimiento-stuffed olives, 1 tbl white vinegar, 1/4 cup raisins, 1 small jar of capers, and 1/4 cup burgundy wine, cooking over low heat for about 15 minutes.

I usually add very little salt, as the olives and capers bring plenty of brine with them.  In fact, if i want to add salt, I just drizzle some of the olive brine in.

Simple and rustic, but full of balanced and sophisticated flavors, picadillo is a great reminder that most good food percolates from the bottom up.  This is not the stuff of fancy bistros, but is a respectable dish for company.  For a hearty variation, add some additional liquid, like tomatoes, beef broth, and wine, and simmer the picadillo with cubes yucca, potato, or mix in a little sweet potato.  If you want to go over the top, fry the potatoes.

I once ate a sandwich in Key West, in which picadillo had been encased in a large hollowed-out bun, sealed shut and dipped in egg batter, and deep fried.  I had to at least try the thing, but i didn’t expect it to be awesome.  It wasn’t.  Lame picadillo, and the deep frying  may have been novel, but it added nothing to the sandwich but a bunch of grease.  I probably had two or three bites, and ate a real dinner instead.

I’ve been putting the finishing touches on my book, The Columbia Restaurant: a Century of History, Culture and Cuisine.   I’ve been kept plenty busy with home projects as well, but it will soon pass.  The other night, I felt jolly and grilled some fine NY strip steaks with a teriyaki pan sauce with onions and mushrooms; I sauteed some green beans with garlic and sesame oil, and served brown rice on the side.  Sadly, I didn’t have a camera around.

That night’s food is not a good example of what I’ve been eating lately.  I’ve been driven by expediency, such as my concoction of frozen pierogies (potato and onion) topped with sauteed onions, Granny Smith apple, and ham.  With a little whisky thrown in with some melted butter, those toppings take on a nice flavor.  It may not be much to look at, but it works as a decent meal in under ten minutes.

Eating packed lunches at work doesn’t have to be a chore.  I try to make things that keep well and I want to eat, lest I be tempted to go out for lunch.  On this occasion, I wanted noodle bowls with stir fried vegetables, fresh herbs and veggies, and grilled teriyaki chicken.

First off, I strongly urge anyone who likes teriyaki to make the real thing.  It is very flavorful and a snap to make.  Combine 1/2 cup soy sauce (I use the dark stuff from asian markets) with 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger, and 2 minced garlic cloves in a small saucepan.  While the liquid heats up, whisk together 2 tablespoons mirin (a sweet Japanese cooking wine), and 1 tsp cornstarch until smooth.  Mix with  liquid in saucepan and bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until thickened to a syrup.  I adapted the recipe from America’s Test Kitchen, which is perennially skimpy with garlic ande culinarily conservative in general.  I also added more cornstarch, as the sauce never seemed to thicken quite enough.

I then stir fried broccoli slaw with onions to toss with vermicelli noodles.  I added a bit of teriyaki, probably just a couple tablespoons, and a little vegetable oil with a kiss of sesame oil.

I grilled bone in chicken breasts that had been rubbed with a little salt and pepper.  Boneless chicken doesn’t hold up well to the intense heat of a grill and tends to dry out.  Kepe the meat moist is especially important if you plan on using it for leftovers.  A little glaze of teriyaki makes this bird special.

The finished product is part noodle bowl, part salad, with our cooked chicken, vermicelli and vegetables, and raw shredded cabbage, bean sprouts, red pepper, green onion, and a drizzle of teriyaki.  Although it looks a bit chaotic on the plate, it is a great meal that is great at room temperature.  Nice for a fancy dinner or a packed lunch you’ll actually want to eat.

For entertaining, there is nothing better than a one pot meal to make life easy.  I had been using a recipe that called for a lot of oil and fat, so I found a better recipe, cut the amount of shellfish (crawfish/shrimp) and meat (especially sausage), used chicken breast instead, and employed brown rice.  Mortal middle aged men can’t eat meatballs and sausage all the time.

Of course the recipe begins with the holy trinity of New Orleans cuisine, onions (2 cups), celery (1 cup), and bell peppers (1 cup) with 1 tsp cayenne pepper and 1 tsp salt in 2 tbl vegetable oil until tender.  Then throw in a half pound of smoked sausage and cook 2 minutes.  Add 5 bay leaves, 2 tbl minced garlic, and 2 cups peeled and seeded tomatoes.  Then add 2 cups brown basmati rice and stir for 2 minutes.  This will make it thirsty for the next ingredient.

Add 5 cups chicken broth and 1 pound chicken breast, cut into pieces.  Bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to low/medium low and simmer for 35 minutes.  Turn off heat and rest on stove for 15 minutes.  Trust Jesus for a good jambalaya.

For such a simple recipe, this jambalaya boasted a great flavor.  The chicken was cooked perfectly, so tender it seemed poached.  The rice cooked up nicely, and the brown rice worked surprisingly well in this recipe.  Garnish with chooped green onions and copious hot sauce.  Only a good football game will divert your glance from your food.

I’m in the final throes of writing and editing the Columbia Spanish Restaurant’s Centennial history and cookbook, but it isn’t all solitary toil. I tried out a few of the restaurant’s recipes at a recent cookout, and the results were impressive. For a simple gathering, I chose to make the Mojito Chicken and Rice and Corn, with grilled asparagus on the side.

For the rice, simply cook onions in a little bacon fat and add the corn and rice. Use the liquid from the canned corn with broth.  When the rice is finished, add the crumbled bacon and stir. I made the mistake of trying to stretch the recipe a bit by adding 50% more rice. While it was tasty, I will follow the recipe next time.

The chicken’s marinade is mojo with plenty of lime juice and fresh mint added. While the chicken got started on the grill, I made the simple glaze of sugar, water, mint, lime, and rum by boiling and thickening it. The sweet, fragrant, and sour mixture heightens the grilled chicken flavor admirably. It is easy to see why the dish is a popular special at the Columbia restaurant.  I gave the cooked chicken a final brush with the glaze before serving. The grilled chicken has a caramelized mojito crust.

I finally got a grilling basket for fish and vegetables. It sure helps with the asparagus. The bottom of the basket sheltered the veggies from the harshest heat and I toss them as if they were in a pan, making it much easier to cook them la dente.

Wake up your chicken with the Columbia Spanish Restaurant’s great recipe. My centennial history of the restaurant (kind of like the Sopranos, except with less bullets and more food) is due out in Summer/Fall 2009, to be published by the University Press of Florida. I’ll leave it at that tonight and discuss it in more depth another time.

For some men (and women), food passions especially flare up during football season. Once aroused, these passions are best satisfied with simple food, preferably something you can stuff into your face with your bare hands. The fare must also work as good drinking food, so salads— which do not absorb alcohol— need not apply.

Let’s face it, most food that we associate with sporting events and public gatherings is not the stuff of nutritionists, and should probably only be consumed by athletes themselves, whose metabolism demands massive caloric doses. But dedicated sporting fans generously take one or two for the team. Cheeseburgers. Chili dogs. Fried Chicken wings. Nachos. Pizza. You know the drill.

I’m a Buccaneers fan, but I’m often more excited about the food than the games. It is no wonder that football fans eat and drink so much—- the games last forever and over 2/3rds of the time is devoted to stupid commercials aimed at stupid people. But most football fans are not stupid— at least at the beginning of the game. That’s where the drinks come in. They are especially necessary to tune out or tolerate some of the game hosts and announcers, who are convinced they are MVPs with microphones. The pre-game, in-game, half time, and post-game commentary is so long and exacting as to baffle one’s patience. (remainder of rant deleted) So drinking beer, wine, or liquor at one in the afternoon is perfectly acceptable.

Since football fans are hungry and bored 2/3rds of the time, if i invite friends over to watch a game, we get take out or I cook, and we sometimes feature certain cocktails. (Just ask me about the Gin Rickey incident some time.) So for the 2008-09 football season, I will post game day suggestions for face stuffing and guzzling.

In this first installment, I present marinara subs two ways: sausage or meatball, both hot off the grill.

To make memorable subs, begin by making a fresh marinara sauce. In many cases, canned whole tomatoes have the best flavor, unless you have access to good ripe fresh tomatoes. Drain the canned tomatoes and remove the pulp and seeds.

For a proper Aztec human sacrifice, you must remove the heart while it still beats. Crushing the tomatoes in your hands helps make them more manageable in the pan and works out any extra liquid to shorten your cooking time.

After sauteeing onions and green peppers, add the tomatoes and garlic. Cook until thickened. The photo above shows a thickened sauce. When i push it aside at the top of the photo, it is not runny enough to flow back into place.  After adding some red wine and simmering about ten minutes, I pureed the sauce with an immersion blender.

For good Italian sausage, I went to the Cacciatore brothers’ store on Armenia. I go with sweet or hot, no chicken sausage allowed.  I prefer Castellano and Pizzo’s.  To maximize flavor, I grill peppers and onions for the sandwiches as well. It is amazing how much of the smoky grilled flavor the vegetables can hold. To make their handling much easier, I use skewers. Otherwise, flipping the peppers— and especially the onions, which sometimes fall apart— can be a chore.

My brother Tim mixed up a nice batch of meatballs, using chef Rocco Dispirito’s mother’s recipe. A mild, classic mixture of beef, pork, and veal with some egg, cheese, bread crumbs, and parsley. For a little added flavor, I cooked them gently on the grill. Cooking with too much heat would have left the meatballs with a hard crust and without their tender texture. Besides, they did not have to be completely cooked on the grill— they would simmer in the sauce briefly before serving.

After a quick slumber in the sauce, the meatballs are ready.  For a side dish, I sauteed fresh spinach with raspberry vinegar, small cubes of fresh (”wet”) mozzarella, and pecans.  I serve the subs on Cuban bread, but a more tender bread also works well. They work well as sliders.  A larger, more dressed sandwich is also great, piled with some grilled vegetables and a little parm.

For dessert, Peterton Crackers brought the making of banana splits. A man of appetite, Peterton is known for eating well during the first half of the game, and sleeping during the second. Just one of many ways for football fans to deal with intermittent games swarming with the vain utterances of commercials, hosts and announcers.

Most of the meals you see here are not prepared with the idea that they are glorious. Sometimes you just need something to get you through the week. I wasn’t inclined to cook this time around, but I did anyway. I wanted lentil soup that I’d eat all week long.

I sauteed Italian sausage made with chicken and set it aside (left). To the right, I sautee celery, carrots, and onions in olive oil. I added tomatoes, lots of garlic, coriander, cumin, bay leaves, thyme, salt and pepper. Once the mixture cooked down, I added a little vermouth to the pot. The chopped potatoes in the picture’s center were added when the vermouth had cooked off, and the lentils shortly after. Then came the broth and cheap beer. I also pitched in the leftovers of my experimental peach salsa. It added a nice touch of sweet heat.

Bring on the lentils and drop the beats! I could bathe in this stuff if I didn’t want to eat it. I added the cooked chicken sausage at the very end of the process, cut off the heat, stirred, and served 10 minutes later.  In retrospect, I should have cooked the potatoes earlier with the celery and carrots, as it still seemed a bit stiff at cooking’s end.

This version of lentil soup could feed and army. Or a horse. Or an army of horses.  Or me: an army of one.  Good enough to eat again.  And again.

My neighbor and friend Starr had a dinner party last night, where the food and company were excellent.  Kathleen’s fruit salad was beautiful and delicious. The papaya was at the height of sweet juiciness.  Francis made a wonderful green salad with herbs, mozzarella, tomatoes, and a great balsamic vinaigrette.  Starr basted chicken breasts with barbecue sauce and gave them a turn on the grill.

With careless nonchalance, the bachelor Starr announced he would make the sweet potatoes and turned on the oven. They had already been prepped with onions and garlic.

Grilled chicken, wine, fruit, and champagne. My peach salsa lurks in the background. It comes on sweet but also brings a persistent spicy heat.

Kathleen’s cheese plate was wonderful. And Starr always demands postprandial chocolates. Some of us chose fine cigars from my father’s humidor, dipped their tips in rum, and retired to the yard to puff in the unseasonably cool weather. I also swirled a rum rickey (rum, lime, and seltzer). I felt so relaxed, I may as well have gone to a spa for the day. Congrats to Starr and company for a great evening.

I stitched together a couple old musings from 2001 or so about cooking in a smoker. I was really stuck on my smoker for a good 4 or 5 years. These days, I like to cook in the kitchen, too.

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I love slow-cooking anything for anybody in my smoker. There is nothing more festive than smelling that smoke for hours before digging into a grand feast. I can turn my back on my smoker with no worries— unless i’ve done something rash or dumb, nothing will burn and the food will only improve.

I usually begin smoking anything by quickly searing it directly over the fire first (on a grill). This locks in the juices and speeds the cooking time for larger cuts. It also keeps the meat firm— slow cooking can sometimes result in TOO gentle preparation. After that, i put in the water dish and let it go. Unless i’m cooking something delicate like pork chops, fish, or skinless poultry, the smoker is on auto-pilot. I just check the state of the fire after that. Temperature is everything.

As for fave dishes, the smoked meatloaf is definitely one for great flavor and ease of preparation. Glazed pork chops are always a winner. Smoked turkey breast is among the best. Pork loin always impresses. A london broil stuffed with chiles and chorizo is exciting and easy.

In the end, grilling can make a chef seem better than they really are. Smoked onions in French onion soup makes one seem a genius. Smoked bratwurst can make one beg. Smoked hamburgers or even hot dogs will make you think you were a sucker to eat themn any other way. Smoked shrimp marinaded in lime and chiles… need i say more?

one more thing: it seems altogether more acceptable for a cook to have a few more drinks when grilling. always a bonus.

Just a couple years ago my roommates and i would have vast sleepover parties. I’d cook up some stuff in my smoker for dinner, and something big for brunch the next day. This time, we cooked 3 boneless pork shoulders for brunch, about $35 of beautiful meat rolled up with string.

I smoked them all afternoon and all night after rubbing them with spices. Late in the night, the entire drunken party migrated down to the smoker to watch me take the roasts off. They looked and smelled so good that we passed one of the roasts around and each of us took a big barbarian bite off of it.

The pork was moist, smoky, and immensely flavorful. At long last, we had found the holy grail of BBQ. We all wondered at how something could taste so good. Brunch was shaping up to be an earth-shattering culinary event.

Then, the buddy that bought the roasts in the first place decided that it would be a good idea to stew the roasts all night long with vinegar-based BBQ sauce in a crock pot. I immediately advised against it. I had smoked the meat for 8 hours, cooking it any more would be a moot and dangerous move. He insisted. I continued to protest, but finally let him have his way, as he had paid for it (though i was the one who smoked it lovingly all day). He coarsely chopped the meat and stewed it.

Late that night, when i was up from bed, i looked at the crock pot. It was boiling fiercely. I turned it off, hoping to save a bit of flavor. That morning, there was no holy grail on our plates. Instead, we found, dry, stringy, tasteless BBQ that seemed two weeks old. A priceless meal denied. My friend was so apologetic that he bought more roasts the next weekend, but they just didn’t taste the same. One golden moment had been lost forever!