How to Dress Up Your Vegetables

 

That’s a question I am asked quite frequently. And for a long time, I too, struggled with what to do with our side dishes. I mean, I could only take so many nights of steamed broccoli or basic green salads. I needed variety! In time, I learned that there are many simple ways to make veggies interesting as a side. You don’t have to follow some complicated recipe or create a whole new dish. Instead, you just have to be creative about how you cook the vegetables and then think about the flavors you want to go with them. 

FIRST: CHOOSE A COOKING METHOD

 

Grilled Vegetables, summertime in our home brings lots of grilled vegetables, especially if I find myself grilling our main dish. It’s easy to add the vegetables and it helps keep the mess outside. Larger vegetables can be placed directly on the grill grates without needing skewers, but you can also use one of those grilling trays made for vegetables, or wrap the vegetables in foil. Grilled Red Potatoes with Rosemary in a foil packet is a favorite summertime side of ours. Last summer I experimented with Grilled Baby Artichokes and cooked these directly on the grill.

 

Roasted Vegetables, with the cooler temperatures of fall and winter, I’m often looking for more reasons to turn the oven on to add warmth to the kitchen. Roasting vegetables becomes my method of choice. Roasted vegetables acquire a nice subtle, sweet flavor that enhances the vegetables without adding a lot of fat or calories. You can simply toss a vegetable with oil and roast it. If you want to be more creative, you can add other flavor elements like I did with a new vegetable on my lamb in the restaurant, Honey Balsamic Roasted Carrots. Although I tend to rely on roasting in the cold weather months, you can easily roast vegetables in a large toaster oven in the summer without worrying about overheating the house. Try Roasted Sweet Potato Fries with Parmesan as a side with your burgers in the summer.

 

Sauteed or Stir-Fried Vegetables, When I want to cook my vegetables stove-top but don’t want them steamed or boiled = yuck. I sauté them in a cast-iron skillet or large stainless steel frying pan. Brussels sprouts that are sautéed with bacon and shallots are so much better than steamed sprouts.

 

Fat and Acid, Adding fats and acids to a vegetable, it can be steamed, roasted, grilled or sautéed, adds a lot of flavor. I especially love to grill summer squashes and drizzle them with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. It’s fun to experiment with different acids flavored vinegars, soy sauce, and citrus juices work great and fats oils, butter, browned butter, bacon drippings are all complimentary to many vegetables.

 

Fresh Herbs and Spices, Fresh herbs and bold spices can bring out flavor and complexity to the simplest of vegetable sides. Cumin and Chili Powder are surprisingly good with roasted sweet potatoes for a Mexican side.

 

Partner Vegetables, Vegetables can often be made more exciting by pairing them with a partner. Try pairing two complimentary vegetables together, such and zucchini and tomatoes in the summer.  In the winter, caramelized shallots go great with broccoli, green beans, Brussels sprouts, and more.

 

Add cheese, that’s pretty simple. Mozzarella, parmesan, blue cheese, feta, and goat cheese there are so many choices. Nuts are a great way to add a little more excitement and texture to a vegetable. Toss toasted almonds or pine nuts with roasted broccoli.

 

As you feel more confident in the kitchen, you will definitely want to experiment with a combination of the above choices, and maybe you’ll think of more options and add-ins that work for you. Here are a few of my favorite add in ideas, but you can certainly experiment beyond this list. 

The Flavor Bible is a great resource for coming up with unique flavor pairings. Just look up any ingredient and check out their “matches.”

What’s more carefree than watermelon in the summer? Eating a wedge so big you can’t see out the side, splashing yourself with juice .Well, if you’re standing outside in 103-degree heat, hoping to buy a watermelon good enough to justify living in whatever hell you do that gets this hot, things suddenly become a lot less carefree. Stakes are high for this watermelon, son! On a day when it was in fact 103 degrees in the shade, I stood in front of the swimming pool-size bin of watermelons at my supermarket watching people go through their selection rituals. One man insisted that he could tap-and-listen his way to juiciness and, as if to impress the pretty woman next to him, proceeded to refine his technique until it looked like he had to do nothing more than touch the fruit, like a spiritual laying on of hands. It seemed a bit silly, all this hocus-pocus, but I understand the need for belief: What’s sadder than cutting into a mealy, bland watermelon? So here are the Tim Jones Guide to better watermelon picking .ShapeYou want a symmetrical shape. If the watermelon is narrower on one end or misshapen, it means it grew in fits and starts, and was probably water-starved at one point. I don’t even really know what it means for a melon to be water-starved, but it sounds a little too Gitmo for comfort.Color and spottingColor itself isn’t a great indicator (some heirloom varieties are particularly gorgeous, and aren’t even green). But look for melons with a bright skin; dullness may indicate that it’s been sitting around.More important, look for the “field spot,” a large-ish splotch of creamy-to-yellow or even orange color. This indicates that the melon was allowed to sit in the field for a good long time, maturing and producing sugar. Avoid melons where the field spot is white, pale green or nonexistent.Pick it up!One of the best tests requires a bit of effort - you want to choose one that is heavy for its size, indicating that it’s full of juice. If you don’t know how much a watermelon should weigh, pick up a few that are the same size in the bin. Keep the heaviest one.Red or yellow? Seeded or seedless?As a man of prejudices, I spit watermelon seeds at seedless watermelons and look at yellow watermelons with a jaundiced eye.. Until recently I would have preferred seeded over seedless, but new seedless varieties can be plenty delicious. And of course there are wonderful heirloom varieties, but to learn about those you should ask the market or grower directly.Storage and shelf lifeWatermelons can seem to last for weeks in the fridge, but keep them just a bit cooler than room temperature, eat them as soon as possible and refrigerate them only after they’re cut, or only for a few hours before serving if you want to serve them cold.The cold fridge degrades their flavor and texture even as it keeps them from rot, characteristics that already start to deteriorate the moment they’re picked.Any grower will tell you that the very best watermelon is the one that you break while harvesting and end up eating, So buying local watermelons is ideal if it means they get to your market from the field more quickly.Serving it: warm and salty?Most people, me included, like to refrigerate their watermelons because they’re so refreshing cold. But serve it warm .It allows its true flavors to come out, It’s like a totally different fruit, aromatic, more along the lines of some tropical fruits. They get almost a mango flavor. While we’re on that subject of odd serving suggestions, I am actually fond of lightly salting watermelon for a taste contrast.A final word of warning: All the above said, choosing a good watermelon does involve a fair deal of hoping for the best. You can’t sniff them very successfully because their skins are so thick, tests like tapping for sound are inconsistent and the single biggest factor in quality is how long the fruit has stayed in storage, something you can’t really tell until tasting it.But if you can trust your market and go through the above steps, you’re well on your way to burying your face in sweet fruit.

While taking inventory of the dry storage area in our kitchen, one of my cooks over to me at one point carrying a jar.  “What’s this mint jelly stuff for, chef?”  That jar had been sitting there for quite the time.  We’d had one before, then gloriously chucked it in the can one day… and there was much rejoicing.  Soon afterwards, another one somehow appeared there.  It sat there for another long extended period of time in an old fish box mixed with some other miscellaneous pantry items.  Now, it begged to be seen again, but only so to raise my awareness of its long obscurity. It occurred to me that it had been at least 3 years (or more) since I could recall anyone requesting a ramekin of that nasty stuff to accompany their order of lamb chops.  Those cooks working in free-standing restaurants may not be aware of this and in fact a whole new generation of cooks may be spared this bit of culinary digression, but there was once a time when almost everyone who ordered lamb… and this is regardless to the preparation or ethnic flavor combinations… asked for some damned mint jelly to spread all over it.  This usually caused the chef to cringe in disgust… partly due to the nastiness of that sweet crap and also because it was a slap in the face to the preparation that the chef had created which probably did not compensate for a quarter cup of mint jelly smeared on top a la minute.  For some reason, I have been exposed to this phenomenon many many times in my career, and I whole-heartedly believe that it’s because hotel restaurants attract a great deal more of these by-gone diners than the hip cool restaurant in the down town areas of the  District.  Plus, a few years back it was difficult to find a hotel that didn’t have an executive committee comprised of more than a handful of these older guys hooked on the jelly.  Times are a changing.Now, I am well aware that there was once a classic ‘mint sauce’ that was traditionally served with lamb… like all the freakin’ time.  The strange thing is how this mint-flavored green food-colored apple jelly substance was deemed the appropriate and necessary topping to all things lamb in this world, and was allowed to shadow out it’s original self.  It’s like ordering a steak of A5 wagyu and spreading Heinz ketchup all over it… no wait, it’s actually far worse than that.Some spontaneous internet hopping reveals some interesting aspects of lamb’s place in our culinary history.  Why isn’t lamb popular here as it is in the slightly-more eastern portion of the globe.  If we’re so entranced with such things as blasting a royal wedding over every channel, paper, and internet site then why don’t we eat the lamb as well? Yes, people here do eat and enjoy lamb, but it never shows up on the school lunch menu or on the McDonald’s marquis as a lamb-burger… or is that all just kangaroo meat anyway?.  We’re talking mainstream here.  It seems this break is the result of all or some of three factors:  1) in the 1800’s cattle ranchers often used violent means to protect their grazing grounds against sheep herders to much success  2) American servicemen returning from those World Wars had more than their fill on the cheap flavorless dry mutton that was fed to them in Europe and placed a moratorium on the meat in their homes once they returned  3) the cattle lobby for the beef industry is very very powerful and has done a great job at making beef “What’s for Dinner.”Whatever the reasons, lamb is not so taboo anymore.  Thank God that mint jelly did not hitch an unwanted ride along the woolen coat-tails of lamb’s resurgence.  Good-bye mint jelly.  You really do suck.  Perhaps you quietly dissappeared while we weren’t looking.  Maybe as pork bellies were on the rise and veal chops started vanishing from every menu in the United States, you slipped away undetected… without so much as a slimy neo-green trail.  You did it without hoopla and fanfare and I’m glad you at least had the respect to spare us a second coming.

Whenever I read one of those Thanksgiving stories about how wonderful it is to cook a fabulous meal for a huge crowd of friends and family, the first thing I think is, “How heartwarming! How generous!”And then I wonder, “Don’t those people have jobs?”Because the reality for most of us is that the Thanksgiving feast is no longer a one-cook show. Given our hectic schedules, it has to be a collaborative effort, one in which everybody pitches in and makes a contribution.It’s a meal where everyone comes together to cook together. And actually, I think it’s a lot better that way, or at least it can be. Thanksgiving is one of our most communal holidays, probably for the simple reason that it’s one of the few that is defined by sharing food.The key to any community is shared responsibility, and the dinner table is no exception. Of course, even in the most democratic of groups, there has to be one person who can keep everything organized, and in the case of Thanksgiving dinner, that is you, the host. Indeed, compared with this job, other traditional host tasks, such as making sure the house is spotless and roasting the turkey perfectly, are a breeze.
A holiday host is a combination greeter, psychologist, cook and traffic cop, with a little bit of efficiency expert thrown in. Remember: It is not possible to be too organized when you’re expecting a house full of cooks. Don’t be afraid to be a nerd; make as many lists and charts as it takes. Assign dishes well in advance in fact, you probably ought to do that by tonight, or Saturday morning at the latest. Ask the cooks not only what course they want to bring but what dish ,the more specific the description, the better. Not only does this help avoid repetitions parsnips in soup, parsnips as a side dish, it also subtly obliges the cooks to honor their promises. If you’ve been assigned something as general as “an appetizer,” it’s quite easy to justify sliding the definition over just a bit if at the last minute you decide you really want to make a salad. And that’s how you wind up with a dinner table loaded with variations on a single dish. That kind of switcheroo is a lot harder to alibi when you’ve promised to make, say, mashed potatoes .And remember that, as a host, you’ve got a full menu to fill out. When it comes to Thanksgiving dinner, cooks tend to think like Kobe Bryant with the clock winding down. Everybody wants to make the show stopping centerpiece dish.But the plain fact is not everyone can be a star, and the host has to be the grownup who tells them that. Somebody’s got to make the soup, and somebody’s got to fix the green vegetable. Somebody else — you probably know who — is a lot better suited to bring wine or flowers than cook. You know: that whole “from each according to their ability” thing.The host is the one who has to not only make those assignments but also juggle a half-dozen other menu related issues at the same time. For example, some dishes simply are not appropriate for collaborative meals. That favorite pumpkin risotto may be a magnificent dish, but do you really want one cook commandeering the stove for an hour right before dinner?Obviously, the more food that can be prepared in advance the better. That doesn’t mean reverting to the old potluck days of covered casseroles; plenty of great dishes can be prepared most of the way the day before except for a few last-minute finishing touches.Map out the day.Once you’ve assigned all the dishes, take a realistic look at your kitchen and figure out how it’s all going to happen. Start with the most vital elements  time and space. Establish when dinner will begin and then count backward, allowing for how long each dish will need on the stove or in the oven and when they’ll need to be started.Remember to allow 45 minutes to an hour for the turkey to rest after it comes out of the oven. This not only lets the cooking finish and the juices redistribute through the meat, it also frees up the oven for last-minute warm-ups.Stove time is not the only resource you’ll need to coordinate. Figure out work spaces and make sure you have enough cutting boards for everyone. This may sound silly, but do you really want a kitchen full of people with knives fighting for a little room at the counter?Speaking of knives, it can’t hurt to make sure you have enough for everyone or that folks know to bring their own. The same goes for serving dishes. Many times, food that’s prepared in advance will be served in the same dish in which it is cooked. But when that’s not the case or if you’re particularly picky about presenting a perfectly coordinated table, you’ll want to be sure you’ve lined up your own pieces.It should go without saying that if you’re inviting a crowd for dinner, you’ll want to make sure you have an adequate supply of linens, silverware, dishes and glassware. But these are the holidays, and sometimes the most obvious things slip by, so we’ll say it anyway.Equally obvious, setting the table is not something that needs to be done at the last minute  have everything laid out and in place the night before and then keep the pets out of the dining room.Think about how you’re going to get the food around. One of the best home cooks I know serves all of her dinner parties buffet-style. It’s a brilliant alternative to the cumbersome passing of the platters, particularly when one of them is likely to be loaded down with 20 pounds of carved turkey.If you want to serve this way, take a couple of minutes to figure out in which order you want the dishes presented and make a chart. Here’s a hint, and I hope it doesn’t sound too cheap Place the turkey at the end of the line. As people fill their plates, they’ll naturally take more of the items at the start when their plates are empty and then take less as they go along and run out of space. That’s when you want them taking turkey.Not that playing traffic cop is all you’ll do this Thanksgiving. Oh, there’ll be cooking aplenty for you too. Being the host means you’ll almost certainly be doing the turkey unless you’re inviting a complete turkey obsessive .That’s not the end of your cooking duties. One of the primary obligations of the host is making sure that everyone can keep cooking .  and even more important, remain upright. If your house is anything like mine, where some sort of liquor  is the lubricant that keeps the holiday kitchen machinery moving, it’s good to have a variety of small bites on hand as soon as your co-cooks show up, in order to keep them standing up.Small bowls of olives and almonds, a plate of sliced salumi, these are all good, but considering it’s the holidays, you’ll probably also want something a little more special. No matter how busy our workaday lives might be, there’s no reason Thanksgiving dinner shouldn’t be a feast. It’s just that to make it happen we all need to pull together. But in a way, that’s just one more thing for which we can be thankful.

Boiling water is essential to many recipes. If you have never cooked before, don’t worry. It is not as difficult as it may appear. This recipe will guide you through the process, even if you have never set foot in a kitchen.Special equipment: 12-quart stockpot

Ingredients

serves 48, cooking time 5 minutes, total time variesWater

Procedures

Open your cupboard or wherever it is you store your cookware. Locate a 12-quart stockpot. If you do not have a 12-quart stockpot, you may use whatever size pot you have; in that event, keep in mind that serving size here is 1 cup and there are 4 cups in a quart. Do the math. Place your pot in the sink under the tap. If you have never used a sink before, it is the large depression in your counter top.

If you live with someone else, they may have filled it with dirty dishes; in this case, wash them or simply remove them from the sink and place them in the oven. Someone else will eventually discover them there and wash them. Turn the cold-water knob to the “on” position. Some people prefer to let the water run a little bit. This is optional but encouraged if it’s a hot day or someone has previously used the “hot” water knob, the warmer water will eventually be replaced by truly cold water. Fill stockpot to within a couple inches of the rim. Lift stockpot from sink and transfer to stove.

Although appearances may vary, the stove is the thing with 4 or more circular metal bands on top of it; alternately, it may be a completely flat black glass surface. If you are unsure, ask your family, roommate, or neighbor for guidance. Find knob on stove that corresponds to the “burner” you have placed your pot on. In addition to words like “Right Front” or “Left Rear,” there are usually little pictures near the knobs to indicate position. Turn knob to “High” and wait until water boils. Depending on strength of your stove and amount of water, the boiling time may vary.  

Note: DO NOT WATCH THE POT; it will never boil in the event that you do. Boiled water may be used for any number of applications. Serve hot but do not drink.Alternate methodsDepending on water application, you may want to salt the water. Do this after the water has come to a boil. Placing a lid on the pot will help it boil faster, with the additional benefit of blocking water from your line of sight, which, as stated above, inhibits the boiling process. 

I’m always looking for new ways to heighten flavor in dishes, but especially in summer, when spirits and appetites flag. It’s the best possible time to pursue light, sprightly tastes and surprising combinations and to go easy on fat, sugar and salt.

Which is why I use the fresh, fragrant herbs from my garden and local markets as often and as creatively as I can. As the best cooks know so well, herbs provide an array of weapons in the never-ending culinary battle against blandness.  Just a few fresh snippets of the right herb can brighten a dish, offset oiliness, add zip, increase complexity, refresh, and clear the head.

If you’re a newbie, the starting point for tapping into the power of herbs is simply to spend time tasting and smelling an assortment of them. You’ll immediately notice for instance, that rosemary and oregano have an assertive pungency and an invigorating, almost piney scent. Parsley, in contrast, goes low profile with a subtle, clean-green aroma and taste. If you’ve always relied on dried parsley as well as the dried versions of basil, cilantro and many other herbs, the fresh forms will be a revelation. The mints and dill are cooling, which is partly why they appear in mojitos, raitas and cucumber salads. Basil is a complex, aromatic blend of peppery, spicy, bitter and sweet.  No wonder it’s a key component in pesto, a brilliant recipe for transforming a plain bowl of pasta into a feast. Once you get to know each herb’s distinctive properties it’s much easier to take advantage of its appeal.

Initially, I gained insights into how to use fresh herbs just by trying out traditional pairings: tomatoes with oregano, salmon with dill weed, baked potato and sour cream with chives, beef bourguignon with thyme. The next step was riffing on those combinations: Because oregano enlivened tomato sauces and salsas, I guessed correctly that it would be dynamite in a salsa featuring the tomato’s cousin, the tomatillo. Because chives perked up baked potatoes, I successfully threw the herb into potato soups and salads, and then branched out by tossing chives into other starchy dishes such as breads, crackers and biscuits.

Gradually I’ve gotten bolder, especially in exploring what has become downright trendy: the use of herbs in sweet baked goods, fruit dishes and desserts. I took a cue from a luscious truffle made by a chocolatier friend and paired chocolate with tarragon and grapefruit in a sorbet. The citrus and anise flavor notes are not only unexpected but utterly addictive. I had originally assumed that lavender was for soaps and sachets but after experimenting, realized its slight zest and sweet spiciness add dimension to cooked blackberry and raspberry sauces and apple compotes. I’d thought that the resinous qualities of rosemary made it better suited to savory than sweet dishes but have found that flour somehow tames it, yielding pleasing cookies and sweet muffins and breads.

Here are some ideas for using the herbs I love most that can usually be found in their fresh form.

Basil: Try it with sautéed spinach, braised broccoli, mild white
beans, pasta dishes, mixed vegetable soups, Thai- and
Vietnamese-style soups and stir fries, simple fish and chicken
entrees, nontraditional oyster stew, tomato and cheese dishes and, of
course, pestos and pizzas.

Chives: The loveliest, most versatile oniony herb. Use them to
enliven cream cheese, cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt, ricotta,
raitas, vegetable dips, compound butters, mustard cream sauces and
vinaigrettes. Sprinkle them over cooked veggies and frittatas and in
omelets. Stir them into pasta, rice and mixed vegetable salads. Fold
them into potato, tomato, root vegetable and creamy onion soups,
broths and wherever you need a substitute for the flavor of green
onion.

Dill: It has a pleasing presence when accompanying cucumbers,
pickles, slaw, potatoes, cauliflower, carrots, beets, summer squash,
smoked and fresh salmon, lemony and mustardy salad dressings, briny
sauces and deviled eggs. It ratchets up flavor yet soothes and
refreshes in raitas, dips, chilled tomato soup, carrot soup, muffins,
quick breads and savory yeasted loaves.

Oregano: A must in many pasta sauces, salads, salsas, full-bodied
meaty soups, minestrones, lasagnas, pizzas, hearty bean dishes,
chilis and spanakopita. A nice addition to lamb, pork and,
occasionally, beef.

Rosemary: This highly aromatic herb teams beautifully with lemon or
orange in cookies, muffins and other sweet baked goods. It brightens
up focaccias, breadsticks, rustic boules, stuffings, roasted
potatoes, bean and lentil dishes, pork, lamb, beef and even venison.

Tarragon: Use it to spark vinaigrettes, wine vinegar, bearnaise
sauce, herb butters, heady mustards and even some tapenades. Good
with chicken, turkey, fish, lamb and vegetables. Adds a pleasing
anise accent to chocolate ganaches, sauces, buttercreams, ice creams
and sorbets.

Thyme: The herb I most often reach for, it brings out the best in
mushrooms, beets, cooked tomatoes and nearly all red-wine dishes.
Adds depth to stocks, broths and ragouts; vegetable, meat and seafood
soups; Indian-style curries, beef stews, gumbos and fricassees. Zips
up seafood, lamb, pork, beef, poultry, bread and rice stuffings, corn
bread and other dishes too numerous to mention.

 

It brings to food additional layers of flavors and aromas that harkens back to a more primal time in humankind’s history.  While our ancestors, both ancient and not so ancient, relied on live fire to cook, we no longer have to mess with it.  Yet every summer people across the

US spend countless hours standing over grills and barbecues doing just that.  Not because we have to but because we want to.  While much of the world still relies on open fires for cooking, modern Western man does not.  Instead, through the marvels of electricity and natural gas, all we need to do is turn a knob and/or push a button to heat up an element that we can then cook over. 

Live fire cooking has become a “luxury” for us and not a necessity like it has been for everyone up until the early parts of the 20^th century. For some of us, grilling has become an art form, while for others, they are just lucky to have not charred the food beyond recognition or to have burnt down the house.  This series is devoted to the latter person, though even the grill jockeys among us might learn a thing or two. While there are many good places to start, in a discussion of grilling, we will start with the first decision everyone, who wants to grill, needs to make. 

 Should I choose gas or charcoal?  Contrary to what many grill masters, who most often prefer charcoal, will tell you, the decision is not quite as simple or cut and dried as it seems.  There are various factors to take into account, from flavor, to time invested, to environmental impacts. 

My recommendation would be to have both as it gives you the best of both worlds, but I understand that for many people, that isn’t an option due to space constraints, budget constraints or merely trying to explain to your significant other just why you need two grills.  Some people just don’t understand!    

It should be noted that when I speak of “gas” grills I am speaking of those that run on liquid propane that is contained in a small tank, usually attached to the grill.  Some gas grills run on natural gas, but those are built-in jobs that have been connected to the house’s gas line.  These can be expensive, thus not seen terribly often.  In general though, with some exceptions, most statements I make about gas are relevant to both.   Let’s face it, when it comes to the time issue, gas beats charcoal hands down.  With charcoal, one has to light the fuel then wait for 20-30 minutes for the charcoal to burn down until it is covered in ash and only then is it ready to use.  With gas, a few turns of a couple of knobs, the flick of a button and a short, 5-10 minute preheating time and you are ready to cook. 

After a long day of work, when all you want is a quick burger on the grill, you can’t beat the speed of gas. There is also less clean up involved in gas grills as there is no build of spent ash that needs to be removed from the grill on a regular basis, though occasional cleaning is necessary.    

 In terms of flavor, the best choice is charcoal.  Gas is inherently flavorless.  The flavor created cooking on a gas grill is provided by the charring action of the hot grates and any smokiness comes from the burning and vaporizing of melted fats and meat juices.  Gas is also a moister heat since, when propane burns is creates carbon dioxide and water, which can somewhat inhibit getting a good carmelization on the meat.  On the other hand, charcoal not only provides flavor from the above reasons but, being made from wood, also provides its own smoky character.  In addition, charcoal oftentimes burns hotter allowing for better charring and caramelization. 

Flavor is the number one reason grill jockeys prefer charcoal over gas.     When it comes to controlling your heat, both gas and charcoal have their advantages and disadvantages.  With gas overall heat is much easier to control.  Turn the gas up for more heat and down for less.  It is much more complicated with charcoal and involves lowering or raising the grill grate, removing or adding more charcoal, etc.  But where charcoal shines is its flexibility.  With gas you are bound to the way your burners are set up.  There are only so many options and configurations open to you if you have a gas grill.  Charcoal on the other hand is almost infinitely variable.  You can move charcoal around your grill to give you hot spots and cool spots.  You can create various configurations for indirect grilling, or by moving all your charcoal to the sides, create a more oven like environment.    

While I could go on and on about the differences between gas and charcoal, I have listed the most important differences between the two.  As you can see, each has its good points and its drawbacks.  My gas grill gets lots of use due to the convenience of it, but there is just something so primal about cooking over the live “flames” of charcoal that draws me in, and the flavor just can’t be beat.  In the end though, it doesn’t matter whether you choose gas or charcoal.  What matters is getting out there and grilling!

The term “sushi” is often synonymous with “raw fish“ in many diners minds but it in fact refers to the vinegared rice in the dish, not the topping or filling which may or may not consist of raw fish. Just like Spanish jamon, French confit or Korean kimchi, sushi was originally created as a means of preservation. At some point before the 16th century, it was discovered that salted fish packed in rice underwent a particular form of fermentation that not only preserved the fish, but created a whole host of the savory flavors prized by the Japanese and now identified as umami.

Fish would be preserved for a period ranging from several months to several years. The rice was discarded, and the fish was consumed either thinly sliced, or as a flavoring in other dishes. By replacing the fermentation process with a splash of vinegar and sugar and using fresh fish instead of fermented, modern sushi was invented in early 19th century Edo (modern day Tokyo).It’s really the Japanese version of the sandwich.

Now, now, I know you’re asking what’s meat between a couple slices of bread have to do with raw fish and rice? Well, just like sandwiches, sushi is a convenience food intended to be eaten directly out of your hands. In fact, when modern sushi was invented, it was served primarily out of street pushcarts, as theater concessions, or as snacks in gambling halls. Indeed, tekka-make (tuna rolls) are named after the tekkaba (gambling halls) where they were commonly served. Though there are regional specialties from every corner of Japan (and even

Korea!),

The Rice

Vinegared rice (sumeshi) is the most important aspect of any form of sushi. It’s made by combining rinsed and steamed short-grain rice, rice vinegar often flavored with kombu, or sea kelp, sugar, and salt. Balancing the sweet and sour flavors and achieving the perfect rice consistency are the challenges. The process for making sumeshi may seem a bit fussy at first, for anyone who appreciates sushi.  The results are worth it, and the steps become simpler and simpler as you go on.

• Step 1: Rinse the rice. Use a high-quality short grain rice (koshihikiri is the most respected variety) specifically labeled for making sushi. My favorite homegrown brand from California is Tamaki Gold. Measure out the rice, place it in a strainer, and rinse it under cold running water until the water coming out runs clear. This extra starch would make the rice far too sticky if left on the grains.
• Step 2: Steam the rice. The easiest way by far is to use a rice cooker. Add the rice to the machine, add water in a ratio of 1.1 cups of water per cup of rice, turn it on, and forget about it. If you want to do it the hard way, bring the rice and water to a simmer over high heat in a pot with a tight-fitting lid. Place the lid on the pot, reduce the heat as low as it’ll go, simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat, and let it sit until all the water is absorbed, about ten minutes longer.
• Step 3: Make the vinegar. Combine vinegar, sugar, salt, and a strip of konbu in a small saucepot and heat until the sugar and salt are dissolved. The ratio of this mixture may vary according to taste, but I generally use 1/4 cup of rice vinegar, 3 tablespoons sugar, a teaspoon of salt, and a 2×2 strip of konbu per cup of uncooked rice.

• Spread the rice. Here comes the fussy part. You need to transfer the rice into a non-reactive container that will allow it to sit in an even layer no more than 2 inches thick. There are bamboo containers called sushi oke specifically designed for this task, but any container will do really. I suggest a glass Pyrex casserole dish, or a plastic lexan container.
• Fan and season the rice. If you’ve got someone willing to sit next to you and fan your rice as you mix in the vinegar solution, you are a luckier man than I. I resort to attaching a clip-on fan the my kitchen cabinet door and have it blowing across the rice as I sprinkle it with the vinegar solution and gently fold it into the rice with a cutting motion using a rice paddle. The goal here is to season the rice without crushing and cutting the grains, all while removing as much excess steam and moisture as possible.

If all goes well, your sumeshi should come out slightly sweet and tart, full of distinct grains, and have a texture that holds together when compressed, but is not overly sticky. If it all seems to go south, don’t despair. Just remember that in

Japan, there are young apprentices who take two years perfecting their sumeshi preparation!In the meantime, I promise your results will still be perfectly edible, and probably delicious. Excited yet? You’d better be, because we just passed the point of nori turn! 

Growing up in the 1980s, I was pretty sure what made Jell-O Pudding Pops so delicious was that every batch had been lovingly made by Bill Cosby, naturally. Now that I’m older and wiser, I know that the secret behind that singular texture and flavor isn’t Bill’s secret family recipe. But what I didn’t know was that these sweet summertime treats are, seriously, the easiest thing ever to make. Even better? At home varieties also offer the freedom to showcase less celebrated pudding flavors like butterscotch or rice pudding pop, anyone?

Or to create your own new flavor by making two tone pops in complementary flavors. I had great success with the popsicles I made for our pool party I figured I’d share this .

Homemade Pudding Pops

1 package (3.9 oz.) Jell-O Instant Pudding, in the flavor of you’re choosing (or for a two-tone variation, see note below)
1 cup cold half and half
1 cup cold milkNote: To make the two-tone variation shown at the top of the post, make two batches of the above, using different flavors of Jell-O pudding; fill the bottom half of each cup with one flavor, and let set for about 5 minutes; pour the second flavor on top, insert popsicle sticks and cool as specified below.  The two-tone pops will yield 12 popsicles.1. Beat ingredients with a whisk until smooth and incorporated, 1-2 minutes by hand.2. Pour into 6 paper or plastic cups. Insert wooden pop stick or plastic spoon in center of each cup.3. Freeze for 5 hours or until firm. Peel off paper cups before serving.

One day in culinary school, I watched a friend’s mom, an Indian home cook, roasting spices in a ladle over a gas flame. I was transfixed, both by the novelty of the technique and the scent that wafted towards me. So much of what I learned in those school years has been forgotten but I still think of that moment at the stove every time I marvel at the nuanced layers of spice in Indian cooking.

Roasting spices is one of several ways of coaxing flavors out of spices. You can also steep them in hot liquids or fry them in oil. For example, each one contributes something different to a dish. The thing that is special about toasted spices is the way the dry heat transforms them both drawing out their aromas and adding a mellow, toasty complexity.

They can be used to finish a curry or other spiced dish adding a final layer of spice and rounding out the dish in much the same way some brown butter or toasted nuts would. They also add a mellow spiciness to baked goods, pickles, dressings, rubs, marinades, sauces, compound butter, or added to your favorite hot beverage.

Just for fun I compared the flavor of several roasted and unroasted spices. I found that cinnamon developed a deeper, woodsy flavor, not quite as spicy as before roasting. The bitter notes of cumin were diminished with roasting, highlighting its earthy qualities. Fennel got my vote for most improved with roasting. The seeds took on a beautiful toasty yellow color, pleasant crunch, and the scent of fresh straw and toasted marshmallows, I have been smelling on them all week.

Finally, I am a huge cardamom fan but without roasting. I will admit this spice can have a somewhat numbing menthol-y quality. Roasting mellows it out and brings out its warm sweetness. It is really easy to experiment with roasted spices in your cooking. I would love to hear your favorite uses for toasted spices. And if you have any favorite places to buy spices, please chime in and add to this post with your recommendations!