Recipes

Testing: The KitchenAid Gourmet Grilling Skillet

POSTED: Tuesday, May 31, 2011, 12:10 PM

Filed Under: Recipes | Testing

Glanced from Target's "outdoors" aisle of stringable lotus-blossom lanterns, garden-hose charmer boxes and mammoth fire pits, the KitchenAid Gourmet Grilling Skillet seems like just another trifle of HGTV's four-car garage/in-ground pool set. I had to have it.

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Posted by Adam Erace @ 12:10 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Testing: Good Bean roasted chickpeas

POSTED: Thursday, May 26, 2011, 2:32 PM

Filed Under: Recipes | Testing

Tired and peckish in Northern Liberties the other night, we wandered into the Foodery (837 N. Second St.) and bought some promising-sounding Good Bean roasted chickpeas. The Berkeley-based garbanzos come in four flavors (sea salt, sweet cinnamon, smoky chili & lime, cracked pepper). We copped the first two. Crispy chickpeas, we figured. What could go wrong?

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Posted by Adam Erace @ 2:32 PM Permalink | 2 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

Rotten Apple Recycling

POSTED: Monday, March 7, 2011, 11:03 PM

Filed Under: Recipes

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NOTE: This post was originally published on Friday, March 4, at 3:03 p.m., but was written too late to make the official transition to CP's new site, which went live this past weekend.

By this time of the year, no matter how much you lovelovelove apples, chances are you’re sick of them and have a stash rotting away in the bottom of your crisper drawer. If you leave it closed, perhaps they’ll just go away. But I say no! Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses of Galas, Grannies and Goldens. It’s time to make applesauce.

Applesauce is an easy way to use up bruised, busted or otherwise unappealing apples. With a little bit of prep, it practically makes itself. I use the illustrious Ina Garten’s base recipe of peeled apples (plus a few skins for color), butter and brown sugar, then add in whatever citrus and spices I have on hand. I deployed a dozen or so ugly Fujis to today’s batch, flavoring it with the zests and juices of a Minneola, a blood orange, a Meyer lemon (plus the zest of a kaffir lime; juice is bitter) and cinnamon, allspice, clove, vanilla bean and lavender. If you can get your hands on lard or bacon fat, a spoonful stirred in after the applesauce has cooked is ridiculous. Full recipe follows.

Homestyle Applesauce

Go Get This:

3 lbs. any apples

1 Minneola, juice and zest

1 blood orange, juice and zest

1 Meyer lemon, juice and zest

1 kaffir lime, zest only

1 tsp. clove, toasted and ground

1 tsp. allspice, toasted and ground

1 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. dried lavender

Half 1 vanilla bean, scraped, plus pod

Half-cup brown sugar

4 tbsp. butter

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 tsp. lard

Now Do This:

Preheat the oven to 350.

To a big mixing bowl, add the citrus juices and zests and whisk to combine.

Peel, core and quarter the apples, reserving the peels of two red apples, which will give the applesauce color (Thanks Ina!). Add the sliced apples to the citrus and toss to coat to keep them from oxidizing. Add the cloves, allspice, cinnamon, lavender, brown sugar, cracked black pepper, salt and vanilla beans and scraped pod. Toss to distribute evenly and transfer to a deep-bottomed ovenproof pot. Add the butter, cover and bake for 1.5 hours* until apples are soft.

Remove from oven, cool slightly and stir in lard. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Serve when cooled to room temperature or pack up and store in the fridge up to two weeks.

*After 1.5 hours, I still had a lot of liquid left over in this batch, so I put the pot on the stove and reduced the liquid by half.

Posted by Adam Erace @ 11:03 PM Permalink | Post a comment

The Aerogarden Experiment: Day 35

POSTED: Monday, February 14, 2011, 6:02 PM

Filed Under: Product Placement | Recipes

Holy basil! It's been a little more than a month since I planted my Aerogarden, and I need only ogle the seasonally implausible snapshot above to answer my original question: Does this thing work? Uh, yeah. Of the seven varieties of basil the Aerogarden grew (with virtually no help from me except for refilling the water and adding nutrient tablets twice), my favorite is the Marseilles, a breed I'd never known, with insanely fragrant leaves. (I don't think my dog agrees; she nuzzles the plant and promptly goes into a sneezing fit.) Now that my basils have all matured, I'm thinking one thing: pesto! Peep my Grandmom Jo's recipe (with a tweak or two) after the jump.

Grandmom Jo's Pesto

Go Get This: 1 big bunch fresh basil leaves 1 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1/2 cup grated Locatelli cheese 1/2 cup raw pignoli nuts 1/4 cup raw almonds Zest of 1/2 a lemon Splash red wine vinegar Freshly ground black pepper, to taste Now Do This: In a food processor or blender, pulse the basil, cheese, nuts, zest and vinegar to combine. Then turn it on low speed, streaming in the olive oil slowly until a loose, green paste forms. Voila! Pesto. (If you prefer a smoother pesto, let the processor rip another minute.) Use immediately, tossed with hot pasta, as a dip for garlic bread or dabbed on fish, or transfer to airtight containers and freeze indefinitely.

Posted by Adam Erace @ 6:02 PM Permalink | Post a comment

RESTAURANT REMIX: Bistrot La Minette's cassoulet

POSTED: Wednesday, February 9, 2011, 8:56 PM

Filed Under: Recipes

I was recently invited to take part in a "Bean Swap" that involved a bunch of friends cooking hearty bean-based recipes and trading them to stock up fridges and freezers. Since Philly's been colder than Dame Judi Dench's countenance in Notes on a Scandal these past few months, my thoughts fixated on cassoulet, the soulful, soporific French white bean stew. Few places in Philly do this dish better than Bistrot La Minette (623 S. Sixth St.), where chef/owner Peter Woolsey offers a traditional Toulousain version swimming with a veritable barnyard of ribcage-insulating proteins — lamb, bacon, duck confit, sausage, pork belly. MEAT PARTY!

While factors like time, equipment and (distinct lack of) kitchen skill required that I craft a far less ambitious cassoulet, I feel the Woolsey-guided version Friend of Meal Ticket Kibby R. and I ended up with tasted pretty damn good. We dialed it down to feature just two meats, slab bacon and lamb shoulder (there is still duck fat in it, though — vital). Keep in mind that this recipe, while straightforward, requires patience — a rushed cassoulet is a sucky one. Check out the recipe, which feeds about eight hungry heads, after the jump.

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 8:56 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Crab gravy, a family tradition, now available in a jar

POSTED: Wednesday, February 2, 2011, 2:47 PM

Filed Under: Recipes

Photo | Adam Erace

It's right about this time of year that summer, humidity and all, starts to look really, really good. Alas, shore-birds, we're still a few months away from 85-and-sunny, but a taste of the summer (of an Italian summer, anyway) can be had at Iannelli's (1155 E. Passyunk Ave.). We told you about their cupcakes last week, now comes the word on their magical crab gravy. Crab gravy is what happens when Atlantic crabs are simmered long and slow in tomato sauce, a tradition at my grandparents' Ventnor flat every summer. Ideally, family fisherman/my cousin Joe Erace traps the crustaceans in the morning, Grandpop Mike preps them in the afternoon and Grandmom Ceil sautes and cooks them through in a bubbling vat of marinara by the time everyone's home from the beach and hungry for dinner. The scuttlers' ocean-y sweetness gives the gravy an uncommon complexity that's irresistible over spaghettini or angel hair with a big pinch of red peppers. (The actual crabs, stingy on meat, are cracked and picked through only after the pasta has been eaten.) It's a process, and no matter how many batches are frozen for winter, it's never enough.

Photo | Adam Erace

Aunt Lu's Crab Gravy

Great Aunt Lulu Erace-Williams (that's Pop's younger sis) occasionally makes crab gravy in the off-season with crustaceans she'll pick up in the Italian Market, and we were there for dinner not too long ago. Lu lives on the same Ellsworth block she, Mikey and their 14 siblings grew up, around the corner from Iannelli's. She's a fan of their tomato pie, but would probably rather quit smoking than buy anyone's jarred gravy, even theirs. I'm not that proud, and while I won't say Iannelli's crab gravy is as transcendent as my fam's, it is pretty close and satisfies a summertime craving in a flash with its pulpy body, bright tomato flavor and crabby sweetness. Eat it over pasta or use it in a braise for vegetables in it, as the pancetta/zucchini recipe indicates below.

Photo | Adam Erace

Crab gravy-braised zucchini with pancetta

Go Get This:

1 thick slice of pancetta, diced

1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 onion, thinly sliced

1 clove garlic, smashed

1 sprig thyme

2 large zucchini, sliced into thin discs

1 teaspoon sherry vinegar

2 cups crab gravy

Red chili flakes, to taste

Salt and pepper, to taste

Now Do This:

In a large nonstick skillet, render the fat off the pancetta over medium-heat, turning occasionally to brown. Once evenly crisped, remove the pancetta and reserve.

Add the olive oil, garlic, thyme and onion and saute until onions are soft and translucent. Add zucchini and saute 5 minutes. Deglaze with sherry vinegar and add crab gravy. Cover and cook 15-20 minutes or until zucchini is tender. Serve garnished with crispy pancetta.

Ticket Stubs: Meal Ticket Weekly Recap, Jan. 31-Feb. 4 :: Meal Ticket :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-02-07 11:13:41

[...] Adam Erace shares the Erace Clan’s crab gravy recipe. His grandmother has subsequently disowne... [...]

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Posted 2011-02-02 14:29:37

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Meal Ticket, Meal Ticket. Meal Ticket said: Iannelli's crab gravy, now available in jars for your home gravy-ing pleasure: http://ow.ly/3OSrY [...]

Julie

Posted 2011-02-02 10:40:50

I used to tag along with my best friend's family every summer to their shore house in Sea Isle. The best part was always the food, most notably his dad's spaghetti and crabs. That brininess from the crab does SOMETHING to the gravy that's just unreal. I would forgo the crab meat altogether-the sauce was glory enough.

Posted by Adam Erace @ 2:47 PM Permalink | Post a comment

I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was chunkier

POSTED: Thursday, December 16, 2010, 6:57 PM

Filed Under: Food and Web | Recipes

Independence Blue Cross may be the citys largest health insurer, but its unless April through October, when their catchy aging-is-fun! commercials set the soundtrack to our Phillies season, we tend not to spend much time thinking about them. Their recently launched Healthy Steps program might change that. In an effort to prevent Philadelphia from coming down with all sorts of unhealthy lifestyle-related ailments (some of which Meal Ticket is directly responsible for), IBX developed a nifty Facebook page loaded with healthy recipes, cooking tips and videos from Phils dietician Katie Cavuto-Boyle. Just Like it for access; 1,130 other people already have. Eating right is the first phase of Healthy Steps, soon to be followed by a focus on fitness and exercise. We feel healthier already. Now please pass the rillettes.

Tweets that mention I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was chunkier :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-12-16 15:05:20

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lisa Chan-Simms, Lisa Chan-Simms. Lisa Chan-Simms said: RP's Cooking Update I wish that I knew what I know now, when I was chunkier http://bit.ly/hhbbeS #cooking #recipes [...]

poncho

Posted 2010-12-18 14:03:50

Love the title of this post

Posted by Adam Erace @ 6:57 PM Permalink | Post a comment

RESTAURANT REMIX, ORGAN EDITION: Marc Vetri's tripe stew

POSTED: Wednesday, December 1, 2010, 10:00 PM

Filed Under: Recipes | Weird Regional Foods

Photo | Drew Lazor

We're resurrecting our recurring Restaurant Remix feature, this time with a food-nerd twist: All the "Organ Edition" recipes we share will be offal-based. If there's a dish you'd like us to try and recreate, email drew.lazor@citypaper.net. Happy eating! A watched third cow stomach never boils. I learned as much pacing my kitchen floor as I attempted to recreate the tripe stew I first encountered at Marc Vetri's Amis (412 S. 13th St.). I've always been fond of tripe a broad term mostly used to describe any of the three stomachs of a cow but my exposure to it prior to digging into this dish was far from elaborate: some thin-sliced omasum in a bowl of pho, some rough-chopped hunks off a dim sum cart. Amis' tripe stew, the recipe for which appears in Vetri's 2008 cookbook Il Viaggio di Vetri, was so compelling to me because it did not seem like it was supposed to have tripe in it. A shallow, searing-hot gratin dish comes out, baked to a crusty golden brown on top; each forkful produces homey hunks of tomato, carrot, white beans and celery, and each forkful just so happens to be supplanted by supple, intensely savory strips of stomach. It's like if Fergus Henderson had sneaked into your mom's kitchen and spiked her Wednesday night casserole with quivering handfuls of tummy before slinking off into the nasty-bits night.

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

Back to watching the stomach boil. This was my first time cooking tripe at home, and I learned quickly that much of the cooking time is dedicated to beating it into submission rinsing it to expel the natural funk, then boiling it in salted water for hours until it's the consistency of a beat-to-death jellyfish. This will require some patience, but I think the soulful end result is more than worth the toe-tapping. Reticulum, aka honeycomb tripe, is the variety you should use for the recipe. It looks a bit like a shower cap. You can purchase it for very cheap (less than $4 for 2+ pounds) at Hung Vuong Supermarket at 11th and Washington. It's shockingly white when you get it, but after working it in that salted water, it turns a sort of sallow straw color. This is what you want. Vetri sent me the original version of his stew recipe (it makes 4 quarts and serves 8 PDF here), but I edited it down slightly to produce about half the amount originally intended. The one thing I realized is that the canellini beans need plenty of time and plenty of liquid to cook properly, which is why I recommend holding onto all of the cooking liquid from the boiling process, just in case. Marc Vetri's Tripe Stew, slightly tweaked (Makes 4-5 servings) 1.5 pounds fresh tripe 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium carrot, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1/2 medium onion, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 1 stalk celery, cut into 1/4-inch cubes 3-4 cloves garlic, cut into 1/8-inch cubes 1 cup canned peeled tomatoes (with liquid) 1/4 cup dry canellini beans 1 sprig fresh rosemary 1/2 medium potato peeled and cut into 1/4-inch cubes (about 1/2 cup) 1/4 cup finely chopped Italian parsley 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (optional: grated pecorino and breadcrumbs) Rinse the tripe under cold running water for about 30 minutes. Bring a large saucepan of salted water to a boil. Add the tripe and boil gently, partially covered, until the tripe can be easily pierced or torn apart, about 2 hours, adding water as necessary to keep the tripe completely submerged. Remove from the heat and let the tripe cool in the liquid. Once it is cooled, remove the tripe, but do not discard the liquid. Cut the tripe into thin strips about 2 inches long. Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the carrot, onion, celery and garlic, and sauté slowly until the vegetables are glossy and soft, about 5 minutes. Add the tripe and continue to sauté for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the reserved cooking liquid (enough to just barely cover the ingredients), canned tomatoes, dry beans and rosemary. Simmer over low heat, partially covered, until the beans are tender yet firm, about 2.5 hours. Check the saucepan periodically to see if the liquid has cooked down, adding more when necessary (you will have liquid left over). Add the potatoes and cook until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes more. Remove from the heat and let cool, then mix in the chopped parsley. To finish: Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Ladle the stew into a medium-size gratin or ovenproof dish and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. (We added some pecorino and an extremely light dusting of breadcrumbs, as well.) Bake until the top is golden brown, about 15-20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Tweets that mention RESTAURANT REMIX, ORGAN EDITION: Marc Vetris tripe stew :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper -- Topsy.com

Posted 2010-12-01 18:22:16

[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Lisa Chan-Simms, Sharon Draughon. Sharon Draughon said: RESTAURANT REMIX, ORGAN EDITION: Marc Vetri's tripe stew: We're resurrecting our recurring Restaurant Remix feat... http://bit.ly/i8uWtV [...]

Sam J

Posted 2010-12-01 19:35:57

It will...I promise it will! 

(Assuming Drew didn't balls it up of course.)

Felicia D'Ambrosio

Posted 2010-12-01 17:21:08

This could possibly cure me of my tripe-aversion.  It sounds good.

Michelle

Posted 2010-12-01 23:24:18

It really does look like a shower cap, or a cap 1950's era synchronized swimmers would wear.

brian

Posted 2010-12-02 15:45:04

tripe aversion?!  you're missing out!

drew, this sounds fantastic.  i should try this out if i ever find the time.

Gerry

Posted 2010-12-03 11:22:13

Most Polish grocery stores in Port Richmond have fabulous tripe soup (flacki).  My favorite is at Super Deli on E. Allegheny Ave. between Thompson & Almond.  Great cold weather treat!

Drew Lazor

Posted 2010-12-03 11:23:42

Gerry, I LOVE flaczki! I did a post awhile back asking for suggestions on who does it best. Thank you for the Super Deli tip.

Zachery Romani

Posted 2010-12-09 10:35:36

Thanks very much for that. I was looking for a warming stew recipe to help me get through the christmas time, and this seems just what I wanted. I found an entire stew recipe site here too that seems to have lots of good ideas, maybe you can get some more inspiration there. Anyway, thanks again, I will bookmark and read more another time ;)

Meal Ticket’s 2010 in Pictures: December :: Meal Ticket :: Food Blog :: Philadelphia City Paper

Posted 2011-01-02 20:04:33

[...] - RESTAURANT REMIX, ORGAN EDITION: Marc Vetri’s tripe stew [01dec10] [...]

Posted by Drew Lazor @ 10:00 PM Permalink | Post a comment

Pumpkin cupcakes, courtesy of Twitter

POSTED: Thursday, October 28, 2010, 4:21 PM

Filed Under: Recipes

Photo | Rachel Burgos

On Saturday I was lazily perusing my Twitter feed to see what the eff was up for a gorgeous weekend afternoon. I found that RealSimple had posted a recipe for pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, and decided to make them. First I had to recruit someone with an oven (mine doesn't work) as well as someone who could walk me through the intricacies of baking, which you can't really wing. (I've tried that and ended up with burnt treats.) My friend Carla was up for the challenge, so we went over to the SuperFresh on Delaware Ave. to stock up. We also stopped in at The Dive (947 E. Passyunk Ave.) to get some Miller High Life, because it was the freakin' weekend, baby, and we were about to be having some fun. I love this recipe because it's incredibly easy and delicious. All you really do is follow the directions on boxed yellow cake mix and make a few simple substitutions: instead of water, use canned pumpkin puree, add some pumpkin pie spice and that's it. The icing was even more simple, literally just cream cheese and confectioner sugar whipped together until creamy. When we were done, no spoon was left unlicked. The entire process took under an hour, and the results were wonderful pumpkin cupcakes, perfect for any fall occasion. (I had even my closest friends thinking I'd labored over an oven all day mixing and whipping and wearing an apron. Ha!) I tried to somehow decorate the cupcakes in an anti-Martha way (upside down crosses, curse words, etc.), because really, candy corn and dainty cupcakes don't make for a very evil or spooky vibe. I'll absolutely make these cupcakes again, not only to prove I can bust out a little Susie Homemaker once in a while, but because they were easy, quick and tasty as hell.

urmoms

Posted 2010-10-30 22:42:42

I hope you saved me one...they look so pretty!

Joshua Ramos

Posted 2010-10-29 15:07:16

Congrats cuz, these look absolutely delicious!!!!!

Jim Stem

Posted 2010-10-28 13:04:28

I snagged the last one of these. It ruled!

Saeed

Posted 2010-10-28 13:02:08

These were hands down the best cupcakes I've had in years, possibly ever! Make more plz!!

Posted by Rachel Burgos @ 4:21 PM Permalink | Post a comment

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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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