I’ve been on a bit of a Latin kick recently and the other other day I decided to try my hand at making Pupusas. Pupusas are a snack popular in El Salvador and Honduras, that can best be described as a stuffed tortilla, though that description doesn’t quite do the dish justice. Traditionally, the pupusas are stuffed with either cheese or chicharron, or a combination of the 2, though it can be filled with many different things. I chose to fill my pupusas with cheese and shredded pork that I had braised in beer and salsa.

Making pupusas is easy, perfecting them is difficult and takes lots of practice. It’s fun to watch them being made by someone who really knows what they are doing, and it’s mind blowing that they can do it so quickly without allowing any of the filling to poke through. While mine turned out well, they could have been a bit thinner, bigger and rounder, but these issues didn’t affect the taste one bit.

Pupusas are usually served with curtido, a type of cabbage slaw that adds a wonderful, fresh crunch to the dish and a nice hit of acidity to liven it up. I didn’t make any this time and was sorry I didn’t as it really adds to the dish.

Finally, if you are not familiar with Latin foods, you must seek out Masa Harina, a type of corn flour, for this dish. It has become pretty common in most supermarkets nowadays as our Latino population continues to grow. Regular corn flour or corn meal is not an acceptable substitute as it doesn’t have the same flavor and doesn’t seem to hold together the way masa harina.

Pupusas

Filling:
1 pound Pork Stew meat, cubed
1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
6 oz. Beer
1/4 cup Salsa (homemade is preferable)
1/4 cup Ketchup

Dough:
2 cups Masa Harina
1 cup Water

Cheese (A good Queso Blanco if you can find it, if not then use Monterey Jack)

Heat a skillet over high heat and add oil. When oil is hot add pork, season with salt and pepper and brown on all sides. Add beer, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover. Cook for 30 minutes. Add salsa and ketchup. Cover again and cook until pork is tender, approximately 20 minutes more. Uncover, and mash the pork with a spoon or whip to shred it. Continue to cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. Allow to cool to room temperature. Once pork is cool make the dough by combining the water and the masa harina. Allow to sit for 8-10 minutes to allow the dough to fully hydrate. Divide into 8 portions. Pat each portion into a circle approximately 6 inches in diameter. Take 1 1/2 Tbsp. of the filling and 1 Tbsp. of the cheese and place it in the center of the dough circle. Bring the dough up around the filling, completely encasing the filling and sealing any cracks. Using your hands press the filled ball into a 6 inch circle again. It should be just under 1/4 inch thick. This takes practice to get them perfect, but is pretty easy to make a passable product. Heat a skillet (cast iron works the best) over medium high heat and cook, without adding any oil, for approximately 4-5 minutes minutes on each side. Serve immediately as these are best when hot and still crispy on the outside. Garnish with curtido or with a salsa of your choice.

Curtido

1 medium head cabbage, shredded
4 cups Water, boiling
2 small carrots, grated
1 small onion, sliced
1 each Jalapeno, seeded and minced
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1/2 cup water

Pour boiling water over cabbage and allow to sit for 5 minutes. Drain off water and squeeze most of the water out of the cabbage. Combine with all the other ingredients and stir to combine. Place in the refrigerator and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours before serving.

I remember 10 years ago when hardly anyone knew what ceviche was.  Unless you were well versed in Latin American cuisine or were following the pioneers of Nuevo Latino cuisine in the US then it was not a word or a dish that you came across.  Nowadays, the dish is everywhere and on the verge of being passe.  Just look at the last few episodes of “Top Chef.”  There have been numerous ceviches offered up.  It’s too bad that the dish is in danger of becoming a cliche because it is a wonderful, light dish, full of vibrant, fresh flavors.

At its heart ceviche is seafood that is marinated in an acid, most usually some form of citrus juice, lime juice being the most popular.  The seafood is diced into small pieces and allowed to marinate in the citrus juice (acid) which denatures the protein in the flesh, “cooking” it.  While this is typical, it is not the case across the board.  Most shellfish ceviches start with cooked shellfish, though not always and ceviches that include octopus usually use cook the octopus first.  The preferred method for cooking the shellfish is usually poaching though grilling can bring new layers of flavor to the dish.

Additions to the ceviche are numerous and regional variations are endless. Some countries like to use coconut water or cream of coconut in their ceviches, others wouldn’t dream of making it without American style ketchup. Chile peppers range from jalapenos, in Mexico, to Aji peppers of Peru and the Andes mountains, to fiery habaneros, across the region. Some ceviches are white, some red, and others a cacophony of colors and can include the addition of avocados, tropical fruits, onions, garlic, etc. The list is virtually endless.

Grilled Shrimp Ceviche

6 oz. Shrimp, peeled, deveined, tail off
1 each Lime, juiced
1/2 each Orange, juiced
2 Tbsp. Red Onion,
1/2 each Tomato, ripe
1/2 each Avocado
1/2 each Mango
2 each Jalapeno, seeded
Salt
Pepper

Skewer the shrimp on bamboo skewers that have been soaked in water for 1 hour (you don’t have to do this but it makes grilling the shrimp much easier). Place on a preheated grill and grill just until barely cooked through, about 3-5 minutes depending on the size of your shrimp. Remove from skewers and chop into 1/2 inch pieces. Place in a bowl and toss with the lime and orange juice. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate at least 1 hour and not more than 3 hours. Just before serving dice the onion, tomato, avocado and mango into 1/4 inch pieces. Finely mince the jalapeno. Toss these with the marinating shrimp and season with salt and pepper. Taste and add a little more lime juice if necessary. Serve alone, with tortilla chips or as they do in South America, accompanied by popcorn. This makes enough ceviche to serve 2 as a first course or about 8 people as part of a spread of hors d’oeuvres.

It’s been a week since I last posted, an unusually long time for me, but I had a good excuse.  For the better part of last week I have been on Isle Royale, or traveling to get there and home again.  If you are not familiar with Isle Royale-don’t be ashamed, most people aren’t-it is a large island in the middle of Lake Superior.  To access the island one must travel to the northern most tip of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan then take a 3-5 hour ferry ride out into the lake.  It is truly one of the remotest places in the continuous 48.  As such it is the least visited National Park, making it a haven for those seeking solitude and nature.  It is also an important research center for many scientists wishing to study wildlife, their interactions with their environments and mankind’s impact on that environment.  It is also amazingly beautiful!  It is no wonder that, although it is the least visited National Park, it also has the highest return rate. So what prompted this journey to this remote island?  A wedding of course!  Both my brother and wife have spent numerous summers working on the island as park rangers.  They met on the island, got engaged on the island and felt that the island was the most appropriate place to exchange their vows.  It was a small, intimate wedding held on the shores of one of the 400+ smaller islands that surround the large one.  I’ve been in weddings large and small, extravagant and simple, but this one was one of the most perfect ceremonies I have ever had the pleasure to witness.  For those of you thinking what a great idea for a wedding, please realize that the park discourages larger groups due to their impact on the environment and you won’t find any amenities.  Remember this is first and foremost a nature reserve and everything they do revolves around that. (continue reading…)

This month brings another three sites that I have come across that I think would be of interest to everyone out there.

Local Harvest
I often talk about buying and eating local. This site has become an invaluable resource in my search for local foods. It lists farmers, CSAs, Farmer’s Markets, etc. all on an interactive map so that you can search out places close to you. Anyone serious about eating local needs to have this as one of their reference guides.

All About Apples
I just recently discovered this site, just in time for apple picking season. This site is full of more info on apples than you would ever want to know. The site includes an interactive map to help you find orchards in your area and has brief profiles of hundreds of varieties of apples. You could waste a lot of time on this site.

Beer Advocate
If you are a beer lover and haven’t discovered this site then you need to follow the link to this site immediately. Forget about reading the rest of this entry, get on over to Beer Advocate! I have spent way too much time exploring all this site has to offer. This is your one stop shopping for all beer related information. Once you get caught up in the site, just remember to come back and visit me every once in awhile.

I don’t often eat breakfast. On days that I work I leave the house too early to even think about eating. It’s not that I dislike breakfast fare, it’s just that I’d much rather spend the extra few minutes in bed than take the time to eat breakfast, besides, if I eat too early I just feel sick to my stomach. That’s not the case on weekends though, when I can get up at a decent hour and slowly adjust to being awake. Then I’m ready for breakfast….well brunch, considering the time, but let’s not split hairs here!

To me, peaches and bourbon are a great combination. They just seem to go together. Besides, what better way to start the day than with a little bourbon to get you going.

French Toast with Bourbon Peach Sauce
serves 2

3 medium Peaches*, peeled, pitted and sliced
1 Tbsp. Butter
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1/4 cup Granulated Sugar
1/3 cup Bourbon
2 Tbsp. Butter

4 slices Texas Toast or Brioche, cut thickly
2 each Eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups 1/2 & 1/2
1/2 tsp. Ground Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Granulated Sugar

3 Tbsp. Pecans, chopped and lightly toasted

To make the sauce, melt 1 Tbsp. butter in a saute pan, over medium high heat. Add the peaches and cook for 2 minutes. Add the sugars then carefully add the bourbon, away from the stove. Return to the stove and cook until the peaches are tender but not falling about. Remove from heat.

To make the french toast combine the eggs, 1/2 & 1/2, cinnamon and sugar. Mix well. Dunk each slice of bread in the mixture, soaking both sides. You should have just enough of the custard for the 4 slices of bread. Place the soaked slices of bread on a tray and allow to sit for 5 minutes to allow the custard to penetrate all the way through. Meanwhile heat a griddle to medium heat. Add the french toast and cook until golden brown and set all the way through. When just about finished return peaches to the heat. When they come to a simmer add the last 2 Tbsp. butter, stirring constantly to make the butter doesn’t separate out. Cut 2 pieces of french toast in half, diagonally, place on a plate, and top with 1/2 the bourbon peach sauce. Garnish with 1/2 the pecans. Do same with the second plate.

It won’t be long before another corn season is behind us, here in Wisconsin. Then we will have to rely on frozen corn or corn that was picked thousands of miles away and shipped to us. I won’t even mention the canned stuff. The frozen stuff isn’t bad, in fact it often is a better choice than the “fresh” stuff in winter. At least the frozen stuff is picked at its peak of ripeness and processed within days of picking. The ears of corn you see at stores, in winter, were shipped thousands of miles to make it to the local megamart, and who knows how long ago it was picked. With corn that time is very important and crucial to the sweetness of it. Once corn is picked the sugars start converting to starches immediately. There’s some truth in that old saying that for the sweetest corn you need to cook it in the field! Within hours this process starts and within a few days the process is complete, turning a sweet, vibrant, ear of corn that’s full of flavor into something rather bland and boring. The last couple of weeks, I’ve been stuffing myself with fresh, locally grown corn with the knowledge that I won’t have that privilege much longer.

My favorite way to eat corn is grilled, on the cob. It’s a simple enough process, just soak fresh ears of corn in water for a few hours, then grill for about 20 minutes over a medium grill, turning constantly. Remove and allow the carryover heat to finish cooking it, in the husks for another 5-10 minutes. Peel, slather with butter, salt and pepper and enjoy.

Another one of my favorite ways to prepare corn is this Corn and Bacon Relish. This wonderful dish can be made year round as it doesn’t require absolutely fresh corn. Sure, with fresh, local corn, this dish is sublime, in my opinion, but there are enough other flavors going on that frozen corn makes a perfectly acceptable dish also. This relish makes a great garnish for fish (especially salmon and trout), pork or chicken. It works great on its own, as a side dish. It’s great stirred into mashed potatoes, and makes a wonderful garnish for a number of soups such as pumpkin or squash soup. The list of items it goes well is almost endless.

Corn and Bacon Relish

1 each Red Pepper, roasted, peeled, and diced
3 cups Fresh Corn
2 slices Bacon, chopped
1/2 each Red Onion, small dice
1 clove Garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. Thyme, fresh, leaves only, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp. Chives, fresh, minced
1 Tbsp. Cider vinegar
1 Tbsp. Sugar
Salt
Pepper
Veg. oil

In a large sauté pan render bacon until crisp. Remove bacon, but leave bacon fat in pan. Add a little veg. oil if necessary and sweat the onion and the garlic. When soft add the corn and sauté until done. Toss this in a bowl and add the bacon, peppers, herbs, vinegar, and sugar. Season with salt and pepper.

I have always been a pet lover. I got my first cat when I was 2 years old and had her until I was 15. As a kid I also had gerbils (can’t count how many or how many the cat got) a few fish, a dog, a lizard and various toads we captured. That love of animals has extended into adulthood. When I was single and living in Chicago I had ferrets. Man, are those little creatures a blast! We used to go “ferret bowling,” sliding them down a long, hardwood floored hallway, trying to knock them into each other or various obstacles, usually socks. They loved it and would coming running back and wait to get slid down the hallway again. We often tired out long before the ferrets did. When I met my wife, she added her to cats to the household. Currently, our house is home to not only three humans, but 2 dogs, 2 cats and an aquarium full of fish. It makes for tight quarters, sometimes, in our small house, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.

We try hard, to treat our animals well, and that means keeping table scraps and feeding them “human” food to a minimum. Of course we don’t always succeed and our 2 dogs have become pizza hogs, willing to do almost anything to get their grubby little paws on a slice or 2, or whole pizza. They have also quickly learned the joy of having a 2 year old around. She often walks around with food dangling from her hand that just screams to be snatched or she will often walk away from a bowl of snacks, leaving it unguarded, and in the dogs minds, fair game. As treats we usually try to give them dog biscuits (aka Milkbones), usually store bought, but on occasions we have made treats for them. Luckily the web is full of recipes for healthy dog treats. Just make sure that the recipes don’t include a lot of added sugar or salt, which can be unhealthy for dogs. The recipe below is one my wife found a few years back. We haven’t made them in awhile, but when we have the dogs go nuts for them. In fact, when I came up with the idea for this post it reminded me that it was time to treat the dogs to these again, besides I think the 2 year old would enjoy cutting them out.

Cheddar Dog Biscuits

1 cup boiling water
1 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup butter
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup milk
1 each egg, beaten
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 teaspoon chicken or beef bouillon granules
2 1/2 to 3 cups AP flour or whole wheat flour

Stir together water, oats, and butter and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Add cheese, cornmeal, egg, sugar and bouillon to oat mixture. Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well after each addition, until a stiff dough forms. Knead dough for 5 minutes, adding more flour if sticky. Roll out to 1/2″ thick. Cut into desired shapes (of course dog bone cutter cutters are cute, but your pooch won’t care what shape you cut them into) and place on a greased baking sheet, 1″ apart. Bake at 325 for 35-45 minutes, until golden brown. Allow to cool and dry on wire racks.

While somewhat bland by our tastes your dog will love them. Heck, you might even like them too. They’re not bad, and they are definitely a good source of fiber. So go ahead and try one yourself!

For many of my friends, Labor Day weekend signals the end of summer, and with that, the end of many summery pasttimes. For some of them that means closing up the cabin, winterizing the boat, emptying the pool, and for some that even means contemplating the end of BBQ’ing for the season. Me, I’m just getting started. While I grill throughout the summer, I look forward to cooler temperatures, when I can enjoy sitting outside, tending a slow fire, without having to worry about passing out from heat stroke. Okay, that might be an exaggeration, but I really do prefer BBQ’ing in the cooler weather when I can enjoy being outside, not when it is 90+ degrees and all I want to do is jump in a pool. For me, summertime is a time for quick grilling of burgers, steaks, chicken wings, etc. while spring and fall are when I enjoy spending hours nurturing the long slow fires required by true barbecue and smoking. This weekend I was hungry for some ribs and it being Labor Day weekend, it just seemed right to spend a part of it outside tending a grill. I the rub and the sauce I present to you today are just 1 of the many I have in my arsenal of rubs and sauces, many of which I hope so share with you in the future. When it comes to sauces, I have many that I make completely from scratch and others that start with a base of BBQ sauce that I then modifiy beyond the point of recognition. This sauce is one of those. Don’t be put off by its start as a bottled product. The end result is damn good.

Barbecued Ribs with Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Dry Rub
3/4 cup Sugar, granulated
3 Tbsp. Kosher Salt
2 Tbsp. Paprika
1 Tbsp. Black Pepper
1 tsp. Ground Cumin
1 tsp. Curry Powder
2 Tbsp. Chili Powder
1/2 tsp. Dried Thyme
1 tsp. Dried Mustard

4 racks Baby Back Ribs

Mix all ingredients together and set aside. Flip the ribs so that the bone side is facing up. Using a paring knife, start to peel the thin, tough membrane from the bones. Once you have it started you can just grab it with your hands and pull it off. Generously rub half the dry rub into the ribs. Flip them over and use the rest of the rub on the tops of the ribs. Place in the fridge and allow to marinate for 3 hours for more.

Meanwhile make the sauce.

Bourbon BBQ Sauce
1 Onion, peeled and thickly sliced
1 Jalapenos (1 to 2)
1 cup Bourbon
1 qt. BBQ Sauce (your favorite store brand)
1 1/2 cups Coke
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire Sauce
1/2 cup Yellow Mustard
2 Tbsp. Bourbon

Grill the onion slices until lightly charred. Grill the jalapenos until the skin is blackened, then using a paper towel remove as much of the skin as possible. Don’t worry about removing it all. Roughly chop the jalapeno and onion, removing the jalapeno seeds first if you want a milder BBQ sauce. Place in a nonreactive saucepan with a little vegetable oil and cook over medium heat until the onions have wilted. Carefully add the bourbon, using extreme caution as it might flame up. Add the coke and the remaining ingredients. Simmer over medium low heat for 20 minutes or until the sauce has thickened again. Remove from heat and stir in the remaining 2 Tbsp. of Bourbon.

20 minutes before you are ready to start cooking. Light 20 charcoal briquettes or the equivalent amount of lump charcoal and allow to burn until coated with a light layer of grey ash. Set the grill up for indirect cooking by placing the charcoal along 2 sides of a kettle style grill. Place the ribs in the center, between the the charcoal. Add about 1/4 cup of soaked wood chips to the coals, and cover, adjusting both top and bottom vents to maintain temperature and good airflow so that the smoke doesn’t sit in the chamber too long. As the heat starts to wane add 20 more briquettes that have been burnt like the first, until covered in a light layer of grey ash. Continue adding charcoal as necessary to maintain a temperature of approximately 220-225 degrees, the optimal temperature for BBQ’ing. Add fresh wood chips every 15 minutes for the first hour and then whenever you add more charcoal. Flip the ribs occasionally. At this temperature the ribs will take approximately 2-2 1/2 hours.During the last 20 minutes brush the ribs with the sauce, glazing both sides of the ribs.

I remember that this time of year was always a busy time when I was a kid. Of course, school was starting, which was always exciting and busy, as my parents hauled my brother and me all over to buy school supplies, new school clothes and new school shoes. Growing up in a small town in Vermont, this usually proved to be quite a production with a big family trip down to Burlington, an hour away, and the closest mall in the area. In addition, there was plenty to do in the garden with harvesting all the late summer produce and watching after the vegetables that would be harvested later in the fall. On top of all this there was lots of canning and freezing going on. Corn needed to be removed from the cob before freezing and green beans needed to have the strings removed before they could be processed for canning. While I am sure that there were a number of items my parents canned, I can only vividly remember three of them: tomatoes, green beans and peaches. What I remember most about the green beans is the boring job of having to snap off the ends and pull the strings. After canning I can remember listening for the “pops” as the jars cooled and the lids were pulled tight by the vacuum created.

The tomatoes were the worst, from what I remember. While Mom and Dad may have canned whole and diced tomatoes, what I remember most was the tomato juice they canned. I loved the tomato juice, but I remember just hating the way the house smelled as my parents cooked, peeled, pureed, and processed those tomatoes. If I was lucky, it was nice outside and I could escape the odoriferous confines of the house. If luck wasn’t on my side it rained on the days my parents canned and my brother and I were stuck, having to bear the assault on our olfactory nerves all day long. (continue reading…)

Late Harvest (or Fall) raspberries are just starting to make their appearances here in Wisconsin. If you’ve been following my blog, you know that I love raspberries and the fact that they are harvested twice a year thrills me. While the nights are getting cool, days can still be warm so I still, occasionally, enjoy an entree salad for dinner. This salad is bright, refreshing, and a great reminder that summer isn’t over just yet.

Spinach & Raspberry Salad

1 1 1/2 pounds Baby Spinach
6 slices Bacon, thick cut, diced
2 each Chicken breast, cut into strips
1 each Leek, white and light green parts only
3/4 cup Raspberries
1/3 cup Raspberry Vinegar
1/2 cup Vegetable Oil
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/4 cup Pecans, toasted and chopped

If spinach is large, remove the stems. If it is tender baby spinach you can leave the stems intact. Place spinach in a large bowl. Place bacon in a saute pan and cook over medium high heat until rendered and crisp. Remove from pan, pour off all but 1 Tbsp. of bacon fat and and saute the leeks over medium heat until tender and just slightly browned around the edges. Remove leeks from pan and add the chicken. Again saute until until done then remove from pan. Add the raspberry vinegar to deglaze the pan, scraping up all the browned bits stuck to the bottom of the pan. Turn off heat and stir in the vegetable oil. Season with a few grinds of black pepper. Add the bacon, leeks, and chicken to the spinach and drizzle with the warmed raspberry vinaigrette (you may not need all of the vinaigrette). Toss to mix and divide among 2 plates. Garnish with the fresh raspberries and toasted pecans.