How you like them Apples?

They may be ugly, but the price was beautiful!

Left, right, up, and down, fresh fruits where everywhere this summer and now, fall. Until our big windstorm a few days ago, there were apples all over for the taking. Might have seen some pears, as well. Pick the apples from the tree, ground fruit will always have at least one bruise. They will keep for weeks whole, use the fruits with holes or bruises for pie. Like the one in today’s recipe blog post. Be sure to check out the launch of the website redesign today. Good Stuff!

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Veal Stock

Bones roasted toasty brown for veal stock

Deglaze with water

Decided to braise some Osso Buco for my darling wife. Fortunately, the market had veal bones as well as the sliced hindshanks I was looking for. Throw the dry unseasoned bones on a roasting pan. The pan must have sides as the bones will create some amount of fat in the rendering. Roast at 400 or more degrees for an hour or more, until toasty brown. Lift the roasted bones into a large stockpot and add your aromatic vegetables to the hot fat in the roasting pan. Celery, onion, carrot, herb stems, parsnip, bay leaf… Roast until slightly browned and deglaze the pan with some water. Add all to the large stockpot and bring to a boil. According to Escoffier, only veal stock benefits from more than one hour of simmering, all other stocks should be removed from the heat after one hour. Simmer your veal stock for at least three hours. At the restaurant, we left it on overnight. Remove from heat, strain well, and rapid chill. We boil the used bones again creating a stock called the “remoulage.” This weak broth will be used to headstart the next veal stock. Check the recipe blog for the Osso Buco. Good Stuff!

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Crunchy Granola

Toasting granola

We’ve been making granola at home. Takes about as long as it does to eat lunch to prepare a batch. Use good oats, rolled, thick, and toast them for a short time alone before using them in the granola recipe. They can retain moisture. When choosing a recipe, look for what you like, but we like to stick to references we trust and adapt a recipe from there. Check the recipe blog for a short and sweet granola that is done in an hour. Good Stuff!

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Wrapping up the tomatoes

 

Peel the tomatoes

 

 

Remove all seeds

 

Mid-October and we are still picking tomatoes. Season is pretty much over, however. We’ve quarts of tomatoes in the larder, tubs of marinara in the freezer, and bowls of soup and salsa in the fridge. First step is usually peel and seed. Core the tomatoes and cut a shallow x score in the bottom. Immerse in boiling water for one minute, then ice water for one minute. Softer, smaller fruits cook shorter and firmer, larger fruits, longer. If you are canning them, chill for a very short time and handle them as hot as you can bear. Check the recipe blog for a cream tomato soup. Good Stuff!

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Montauk Striped Bass

 

Fresh caught - still kicking

 

 

Wrapped air tight and layed out flat to freeze

 

Big happenings at the beach. The fall run of striped bass is in full force. Fresh fish for everyone’s plate. And what we cannot eat we freeze for next week or next month. Remember, frozen food is not forever. Any of this fish left in my freezer in the spring will join the carcasses under the garden. Check the recipe blog for a cool cold sauce. Good Stuff!

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White Bread redux

Arisen

Lovely leavened lumps

There are so many ways to improve upon your breadmaking. Number one, keep doing it. We buy the occasional baguette, rare bagel, but nearly all our bread needs are satisfied in house. Two, additions, we always add wheat germ and wheat bran to the flour in the bread, notice the specks in the rising loaves at right. Three, note carefully, the times and temperatures you are operating at, environment and atmosphere are big parts of successful breadmaking. Good Stuff!

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Beach Plum Jelly

Beach plums prunus maritimis

Yet another champion performer this summer, the traditionally sparse beach plum harvest came around this year with fruit in every stand of plum trees in town. They are about the size of a cherry but do not have as much flesh as one, mostly pit. They make amazing jelly. Cook as for concord grapes with one cup less sugar than called for…and don’t get me started on the concord grapes! Good Stuff!

Cooking plum juice

sanitizing and preheating jars

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Cornmeal Pudding

Cast iron skillets, smoking hot.

One of the best companions to tender barbecue. Good cornbread. This one has no sugar and the corn is smoked alongside the pork for about two hours. Some sauteed onions and jalapenos for bite, and a couple handfuls shredded cheddar cheese. Good Stuff!

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