How-To

HOW TO: Pickle, the lazy way

POSTED: Friday, June 24, 2011, 10:53 AM

Filed Under: How-To

Confession: I hate pickles. I know, I know. It's unfathomable.

"How can you hate pickles?!" people shout incredulously when I say this, as if pickles are puppies or hundred-dollar bills. Then their eyes roll in the back or their head and they make blowjobby noises as they tell me how wonderful pickles are. Please stop, all of you.

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Posted by Adam Erace @ 10:53 AM Permalink | Post a comment

HOW TO: Make seasoned salt

POSTED: Wednesday, May 18, 2011, 4:15 PM

Filed Under: How-To

Salt is so elemental in cooking, it needs no improvement. But sometimes you have a riot of lavender chive blossoms whipping around in your garden like the pom-poms of possessed cheerleaders. And then, you make chive flower salt.

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Posted by Adam Erace @ 4:15 PM Permalink | 5 comments

HOW TO: Candy violets

POSTED: Friday, April 22, 2011, 2:26 PM

Filed Under: How-To | Recipes

Roses are red, violets are blue, but only one of these flora are in season now, flashing regal purple petals in container gardens and shaded woodland right this very minute. Should you come across a carpet of violets while ramp foraging or be lucky enough to have a hook-up at Green Meadow Farm, which just began harvesting the flowers from their wild patch, GET THEM! Subtly sweet, herbaceous and floral without smelling like Great Aunt Gloria's boudoir, violets have been a personal favorite since tasting the violet ice cream Cathy Ansill used to spin back when her husband, Ladder 15 chef David Ansill, had his restaurant. (I still think about it from time to time ... ) The blue buds are a fave in France, where they're often candied. Make like a confectionaire extraordinaire with this easy recipe.

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Posted by Adam Erace @ 2:26 PM Permalink | Post a comment

A word about commenting on Meal Ticket

POSTED: Tuesday, March 22, 2011, 12:02 PM

Filed Under: How-To | Meal Ticket

Hi everyone! It's Drew Lazor, your friendly neighborhood Meal Ticket editor. First off, I'd like to thank everyone for bearing with us here at City Paper while we transition our web presence over to this spiffed-out new site. Like any major shift of this nature, there are plenty of unforeseen wrinkles we still need to take care of moving forward. We're making some sweet progress so far, but there's still much work to be done.

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Posted by Drew Lazor @ 12:02 PM Permalink | 5 comments

Cooking classes with Marc Vetri and Jeff Michaud

POSTED: Tuesday, March 1, 2011, 7:51 PM

Filed Under: Chef Salad | Food Events | How-To

In past months, Marc Vetri and Jeff Michaud have opened their kitchen at Osteria (640 N. Broad St., 215-763-0920) to a few lucky/eager learners for some hands-on education. Beginning today, these sessions become a weekly occurrence. Basically, the chefs want to teach usable technique, so these classes focus on pastas and pizzas. As of a few hours ago, there will still a handful of slots left for tonight's pasta-making class, which kicks off at 6:30 p.m.; at $175 a ticket, you'll learn from the masters how to roll your own handmade pastas while maintaining the rustic integrity of your gnocchi or tagliatelle. Filled pastas are almost always covered, as well. Pizza-making classes, meanwhile, focus on perfecting your dough, Osteria-style, and sourcing ingredients to perfect your at-home pies. The pizza/pasta sessions go down each Tuesday this March; tickets can be purchased in advance at eventbrite.com.

Posted by Laurel Rose Purdy @ 7:51 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Simple syrup, the simple answer to herb overload

POSTED: Thursday, December 30, 2010, 8:23 PM

Filed Under: How-To

Photo | Adam Erace

purple shiso sorbet

Unless you grow your own, cooking with fresh herbs often involves buying a huge bunch that winds up dying a slow, grisly death in a Ziploc tomb. When extra greenage ails you, turn to the saucepot and make simple syrup, my method for dispatching the purple shiso surplus I had from my Christmas Eve crudo. Herbal syrups can be used to sweetened tea or cocktails, or, in this case, as the base for slammin' sorbet. Try tapping your fave sushi spot for fresh shiso the minty cinnamon-flavored Japanese herb is most often an edible garnish for scallop sashimi or try this sorbet recipe with basil, mint or cilantro. It's easily adaptable. Your herbs will never go to waste again.

Purple Shiso Sorbet

Go Get This:

1 bunch purple shiso, plus 1 teaspoon finely chopped leaves 2 cups white sugar 4 cups water 2 oranges, juiced and strained of pulp 1 lime, juiced and strained of pulp 1 kaffir lime, zest and juice (optional) Pinch kosher salt Now Do This: Make the simple syrup by combining shiso, water and sugar in a sauce pot and bringing to a boil. Simmer over medium heat 10 minutes, allow to cool and strain twice through a cheesecloth (or wet paper towel-lined sieve) to remove all particles. Make the sorbet base by combing the shiso syrup with the citrus juices and zest and salt. Whisk to incorporate and pour into ice cream maker, according to manufacturers directions. During the end of the cycle, add in the chopped shiso leaves for color. Eat immediately or transfer to a container and freeze.

Posted by Adam Erace @ 8:23 PM Permalink | Post a comment

HOW TO: Roast an oyster

POSTED: Tuesday, December 28, 2010, 7:14 PM

Filed Under: How-To

Photo | Adam Erace

I wont disagree that the best way to prepare an oyster is to not prepare it at all. Fresh, quality pearl-makers need little more than firm twist of the wrist and a jet of acid of reach their pinnacle of deliciousness, but when you want an oyster thats richer and more substantial, roasting, my preferred method this Christmas Eve, is the way to go. Roasted oysters are easy (especially if you have your fish dude do the shucking), versatile and cook in five minutes flat. The recipe that follows makes enough for 50 oysters, so adjust accordingly. Go Get This: 50 shucked oysters with shells (I like small East Coast specimens like Cape May salts) 4 slices staled sourdough bread 2 sheet pans filled with kosher salt

For the compound butter: Half a pound of salted butter 1 Meyer lemon, juice and zest 1 teaspoon fennel pollen (use ground fennel seed as a substitute) 1 teaspoon fennel fronds, chopped 1 garlic clove, minced 1 teaspoon Sriracha 1 star anise pod, toasted and ground Salt and pepper to taste

Photo | Adam Erace

Now Do This: 1. Make the compound butter head of time by softening the butter overnight in a mixing bowl. Fold in all ingredients except the lemon juice with a rubber spatula. Add the juice a little at a time, spreading the butter against the side of the bowl to incorporate. Chill.

Photo | Adam Erace

2. Pulse the staled bread in a food processor until fine crumbs form.

Photo | Adam Erace

3. Arrange the shucked oysters in rows on the sheet pans. (The kosher salt keeps them from wobbling.) Remove the butter from the fridge and, using two spoons, add a teaspoon of butter on top of each oyster. Then, pack each oyster with breadcrumbs, pressing them down gently with your palm. Add butter again, a small pat on top of each, to help the bread brown. Place in the oven under a low broiler for 5 minutes or until golden brown. Serve immediately.

Photo | Adam Erace

@foodsyoucaneat

Posted 2010-12-29 11:10:36

I'm stealing this

Posted by Adam Erace @ 7:14 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The secret to great roasted peppers has nothing to do with peppers.

POSTED: Friday, September 24, 2010, 8:46 PM

Filed Under: How-To

Get the flash player here: http://www.adobe.com/flashplayer

Roasted peppers, that staple of the Mediterranean pantry, are an easy way to preserve the taste of summer for the coming months, but the secret to great ones has nothing to with the peppers themselves. Red, yellow, orange or green; charred in the oven, on the burner or the grill; it doesnt matter. What really sets roasted peppers apart is the what you pack them in. But first, lets get roasting. ROASTING. Roasting peppers on a grill imparts the most residual flavor, but for ease, I typically do mine in the oven. Preheat to 400, and wash and dry the peppers. Arrange them on a sheet pan foil-lined if youre lazy like me with a couple cloves crushed garlic still in their paper. Drizzle liberally with olive oil, add salt, pepper and dried oregano and roast until blackened on both sides, about 30 to 40 minutes, turning the peppers once. STEAMING. When the peppers look good and blackened, remove them from the oven. Reserve the roasted garlic and transfer the peppers to a mixing bowl; cover bowl with plastic wrap. The heat from the peppers creates steam that's trapped in the bowl, helping the skins to separate. This takes time, so walk away. Go to the gym. Fly a kite. When you return in two hours or so, the peppers will be ready to peel. PEELING. Even after steaming, peeling peppers can be tricky and time-consuming. Its also messy, so do it over the sink. Start by popping out the stem and opening the pepper. Wipe out the seeds, then find a crinkly corner of papery, oil-slicked skin and slowly peel it back, separating it from the peppers flesh. Transfer peeled peppers to a clean mixing bowl. If youre processing a large batch, at some point it will seem logical run the peppers under water, removing seeds and loosening skin. Fight this temptation! Water will wash off all the charred taste the oven has given the peppers. Tenacious skin or obstinate seeds wont kill your roasted peppers, but rinsing off their flavor will. FLAVORING. What you do after the peppers are roasted is the secret to their greatness. Most commercial jars are packed in olive oil. Yawn. Packing the peppers in an herbaceous, sweet-and-sour vinaigrette impacts their flavor thirtyfold. The foundation of this vinaigrette is the leftover oil you see sitting in the first mixing bowl, now infused with pepper and garlic. Pour it into a clean bowl, add an equal amount of red wine vinegar, a tablespoon of honey, salt and pepper. Whisk to combine and pour over the peeled peppers. Herbs are next. Add whatever you have on hand this batch contains parsley, two kinds of basil, thyme, lavender, mint, lemon verbena, oregano and garlic chives and leave the leaves whole unless theyre (a) huge or (b) woody like rosemary or lavender. Give the peppers a good mix, taste for seasoning, adjust as desired and move onto the last step ... PACKING. The science of canning and jarring evades your boy, so I just pack my peppers in recycled plastic containers. Add the peppers, plus red pepper flakes or dried chile for heat I used Market Days cucarachas plus the roasted garlic cloves. Pour the vinaigrette over the peppers. If you come up short, top with straight olive oil so all peppers are covered. Attach the lids, give a shake and refrigerate up for six months though these guys are so good, they wont last past Halloween.

Rachel Burgos

Posted 2010-09-27 13:08:56

Wow, this is great! I'm definitely bookmarking this for future pepper roasting  adventures.

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Sept. 20-24 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-09-27 08:32:04

[...]  [...]

Michelle

Posted 2010-09-24 16:51:59

What a great tutorial, I really want to make some roasted peppers now!

Posted by Adam Erace @ 8:46 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Along Came (Fennel) Pollen: How to harvest your own

POSTED: Tuesday, September 21, 2010, 8:15 PM

Filed Under: How-To

Inked individuals say once you get one tattoo, you immediately want another. Same goes for gardening, at least by my experience. One heirloom tomato plant is never enough. Why limit myself to a single strain of sage when I can have six? The rub is we live in a city, not on a farm, and urban gardening is a hobby fraught with growers indecision. This season, I went back and forth on fennel. Id never grown it before and my containers were maxed, but the young seedling (a bronze breed) just looked so sexy and regal sitting there outside at Terrain at Styers (914 Baltimore Pike, Glen Mills). Of course, I bought it, and four months later Im really glad I did. Aside from territorial herbs like mint, bronze fennel was the hardiest and least demanding thing I grew all summer. In less than 6 inches of soil, this attractive workhorse shot up 2 feet in a month, its antennae-thin extremities exploding with umbrellas of tiny buttercup-colored buds. Fennel pollen. Stalk, seed, frond and flower, every part of the fennel plant is edible, but the pollen is my favorite part: sweet, woodsy, intriguingly musky. When dried, this fragrant dust adds unparalleled dimension to pork dishes, pizzas, risottos and more. (With a going rate of about $20 an ounce, it better.) I wondered: Could I dry these buds like other herbs? It seemed logical, so I tried, and now Ive got a little jar of homegrown fennel pollen tucked in my spice cabinet for the fall and winter. If youve got fennel growing, you can have it too. Heres how. 1. Use scissors to snip the flowering branches of your fennel plant. 2. Gently rinse in cool water and blot dry with paper towel.

3. Transfer flowering branches to a sheet pan or plate depending on amount. Leave them alone until dry and slightly shriveled, two to three days.

4. Over a bowl, gently roll the flower clusters between your thumb and index fingers to separate the pollen from the branches. Transfer to a jar and store in a cool, dark place.

rascal b. schuylkillian

Posted 2010-09-21 16:58:15

very cool post.  I grew one fennel plant this year after my sister successfully grew a number of seedlings I gave to her the previous year. My plant is now nearing 5ft. tall (if it wasn't sagging over)!  Other than admire its hardiness and using some fronds in a few dishes, I've let it grow unmolested.  

I am actually considering pickling part of the bulb and hardier lower sections as an experiment.

Something to think about...

Adam Erace

Posted 2010-09-24 13:49:08

Pickling the bulb sounds brilliant. Let us know how it goes!

Tweets that mention Along Came (Fennel) Pollen: How to harvest your own :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-09-23 15:29:09

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by The Yarden, J.J. Wolf. J.J. Wolf said: Along Came (Fennel) Pollen: How to harvest your own: Same goes for gardening, at least by my experience. One heirl... http://bit.ly/aG6XkV [...]

Notes from the Weekend: Nov. 22 :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2010-11-22 23:17:10

[...] vegan detention, but it made for such a delicious Friday lunch. Dusted the surface with a little of my homegrown fennel pollen. [...]

Posted by Adam Erace @ 8:15 PM Permalink | Post a comment

SUPPER: Lari Robling's out-of-season tomato trick

POSTED: Monday, April 26, 2010, 3:02 PM

Filed Under: Chef Salad | How-To | Recipes | SUPPER

Cookbook author, writer and producer of WHYY's A Chef's Table radio show, Lari Robling graced Facebook last week with one of the only useful pieces of advice I've ever seen cross its global gossip network. When a friend bemoaned the long wait for local tomatoes to come into their own, Robling offered up a trick that takes standard plum tomatoes and turns them into a treat akin to "tomato candy."

Have you ever tried roasting your own? Once you split the plums lengthwise, scoop out the innards (I save for soup stock but you don't have to) toss with olive oil, salt, and maybe a little basil you put 'em on tray lined with parchment in a 225 oven then forget about it except for the occasional look and turn for 5 or 6 hours. Cool and if any of them make it past the next hour (seriously, it's like candy) store in the fridgie. It makes the house smell great, too. Oh.. and if you want to go whole hog (or tomato in this case) I once made yogurt from the goat milk at FairFood, drained and put a dollop on each tomato half. Fresh ground pepper and a drizzle of good olive oil. The only problem is you wish you'd done more tomatoes-not matter how many you've made. I've never tried anything but the plummies, but often thought cherry tomatoes would do well by that method, kinda like a tomato raisin.

Learn more from Lari Robling in her cookbook that revives home cooking from the past, Endangered Recipes: Too Good to Be Forgotten (Stewart, Tabori & Chang).

Posted by Felicia D'Ambrosio @ 3:02 PM Permalink | Post a comment

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5

Now Serving: Lil' Pop Shop
Notes from the Weekend: June 17
Rock Star cheese dinner at Di Bruno's
Happy National Martini Day!
Afternoon Snacks: Party Pizza, Empellon joins tumblr, Giant bibimbap (!), Snickerdoodle cobbler
Vetri opening in the Navy Yard, plus a nod to Le Bec
Dolcissimo! Pastry classes with Le Virtu's Angela Ranalli
The Lite Choice Opens Flagship Store on 16th Street between Walnut & Locust
Gone Fishin'
Free stuff for Father's Day

About this blog

Founded in October 2008, Meal Ticket is a City Paper blog about food, drink and assorted other things that make you go mmm. We do recipes, interviews, restaurant news, commentary and much more. We don't do restaurant reviews here — those are handled in print, mostly by our critic (and Meal Ticket contributor) Adam Erace. Got a tip, question, thought or concern? Just want to say hello? Please shoot a note to caroline@citypaper.net.

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