Today’s At Home preview — Chapter 9 — is the final chapter in Section 3–Easy Entrees & Condiments. It’s about the Condiments.
Condiments are to food as pearls are to the stylish, but otherwise simple dress. Condiments add sparkle and personality. Without exception, our condiments are do ahead and easy to make. The chapter begins with Using Condiments: A Cheat Sheet that makes suggestions as to what each of our 25 condiments is good with…. Included are three recipes for pickles — among my favorite and the most underutilized condiments. And I am not referring here to Kosher dills. I mean Vietnamese Pickled Carrots & Daikon, Sandwich Pickles made from zucchini and my very favorite pickle, Red Onion Pickles a la Zuni Cafe — printed with permission from Judy Rodgers’ landmark Zuni Cafe Cookbook.
Every recipe includes little icons at the bottom that suggest the ideal season to make and serve the recipe. Over the next several weeks until the first serious frost we will be at the peak of green tomatoes–those tomatoes that started too late to fully mature and turn red. If your own garden has some of these, this is one of two recipes in At Home that features green tomatoes. Chapter 16–Sandwiches & Lighter & Vegetarian Entrees includes my recipe for Fried Green Tomatoes with a nice spicy remoulade sauce. If you have friends with a garden-full of green tomatoes, forward this post to them.
Here are free samples from Chapter 9:
Green Tomato Marmalade
Try this tangy-sweet spread on pork or burgers.
do ahead Marmalade can be made up to two weeks ahead and stored in the refrigerator, or up to four months ahead and stored in the freezer.
1 medium jalapeño, seeded, ribbed and finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped ginger
2 pounds green tomatoes
4 limes
2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 Core and cut away any blemishes from the tomatoes. Cut into 1⁄2-inch slices. With the tip of a vegetable peeler, poke out the seeds into a bowl. Strain out the seeds and discard, reserving juice. Cut tomato slices into large pieces, about 4-6 per slice.
2 Finely grate zest from limes and reserve zest. With a sharp knife, cut the skin away from the limes and discard. Cut the peeled lime into large pieces.
3 In a pot, combine tomatoes, reserved juice, lime zest and lime flesh, jalapeño,
ginger, sugar and salt. Cook over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, for 40-50 minutes. Place a little marmalade on a small plate and chill to see if it is jelly-like. If after chilling it is still liquidy, put it back on the stove and continue cooking.
yields about 1 quart
Ingredients
Grilled Anything Over Jasmine
Rice with Pickled Carrots and Daikon
One of my favorite simple meals is a hot bowl of jasmine rice topped with something marinated and grilled—chicken, salmon, beef, whatever—with the addition of pickled carrots and daikon. To further dress up this elemental dish, add some diced scallions, chopped peanuts or toasted sesame seeds, and some torn cilantro leaves. Jasmine rice can be made ahead, as it retains its heat for some time—or better yet, invest in an inexpensive rice cooker that keeps the rice warm for an extended period. For the protein, you can use any of the Asian marinades here, or just some garlic, ginger and oil. My preference is for the Vietnamese marinade on page 187. Serve your rice bowl with a bottle of sriracha sauce and/or a few sliced Thai chiles in rice vinegar on the side.
Tomorrow: We previously previewed Chapter 10: Casseroles, Braises & One Dish Entrees so that I could share my Holiday-Ready Brisket recipe in plenty of time for Rosh Hashana. So tomorrow we jump ahead to the second chapter of Section 4: More Elaborate Entrees — Chapter 11–Fish & Seafood Entrees
At Home by Steve Poses: A Caterer’s Guide to Cooking & Entertaining is due to ship from the printing plant in Kentucky a week from Friday–September 25. Our current plan is to begin shipping and launch At Home Online some time between October 2 and 5. Once we begin shipping, signed, limited first editions will no longer be available. If you have not yet ordered your book or books or know of friends and family who you just know would have wanted to do so, you’re running out of time. Order now.
At Home By Steve Poses Blog 