We enter the August kitchen, the end-of-summer dining room, together, and how did it happen so fast?
Champ, a foodie with a bent toward Mexican food, subscribes to a daily newspaper from Mexico and has been reading about the sweet-sour condiment chamoy and has ordered several bottles. “I am interested in how to use it, and even in a recipe for making it at home.”
Today’s second request came from the owner of a Breville waffle iron. “Has anyone ever tried to cook bacon in a waffle iron? If you have and it worked, can you tell me how to do it?”
But let’s not stop there. What can one do with a waffle iron besides the obvious? Have you made hash browns? Sandwiches? Eggs? Don’t waffle on this query.
If you get all the way to “Just a Dash” at column’s end, you will find mention of a fried egg on a sandwich. But the FOTB is not sure of how to get the just-cooked, not-crusty but just-right runny yolk fried egg. If you’ve got the secret, please make it known.
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There are some little people currently in residence at our house, and they reveled in a new delight not available in their grocery in Italy: little cups of Jell-O. There is just, sometimes, something about Jell-O.
Marcia Kling, one of our city’s beloved public and private figures, corroborated this with her letter today.
“I know many people look askance at congealed salads; in fact, I wasn’t brought up on them. But, as a working mother, I came to appreciate them for unanticipated holes in my daily menus, and fortunately, my family enjoyed them. Even today, I try to keep a fruit salad, in whatever form, in the refrigerator for essentially the same reason … to fill in a menu blank.
“The recipe that follows we have found to be very refreshing and easy to assemble. I hope some of your readers may enjoy this salad as much as we have.”
Imperial Pear Salad
1 small package Jell-O
1 cup hot pear juice
6 ounces of cream cheese
2 tablespoons milk
1 cup Cool Whip (I have used more)
2 cups diced pears
Dissolve the Jell-O in hot pear juice.
In another bowl, blend milk with cream cheese. Combine Jell-O with cream cheese while still warm. Fold in the Cool Whip and the pears. Pour into an 8-inch square glass dish and chill. (You can also use an 8-inch square aluminum cake pan.)
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Tim Threadgill picks up the tomato conversation thread with a pasta recipe from Serious Eats that first makes a sauce from burst cherry tomatoes, enhanced “due to the lemon, the caper topping, and using a rotini, rather than linguine or spaghetti. As always, when you finish cooking the pasta in the sauce, it is a much more flavorful dish.”
Lemony Pasta With Blistered Cherry Tomatoes and Crispy Caper Crumbs
For the Topping:
2 tablespoons (30 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/3 cup capers (55 g), rinsed and patted dry
1 anchovy fillet, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
1/2 cup (35 g) panko breadcrumbs
1/4 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt; for table salt, use half as much by volume
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup (12 g) minced fresh parsley
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest from 1 lemon
In a small saucepan or skillet, heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add capers and anchovies and cook, stirring frequently, until capers have darkened and shrunk, 3 to 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer caper mixture to a paper towel-lined plate; set aside. Leave oil in skillet and return to medium heat. Add panko, salt, and pepper, then cook, stirring constantly, until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer panko to a medium bowl. Stir in parsley, lemon zest and reserved caper mixture.
Make-Ahead and Storage: The topping can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days before serving.
For the Pasta:
6 tablespoons (90 ml) extra-virgin olive oil, divided
3 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
2 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry, and minced
2 pounds (920 g) cherry tomatoes
4 1/2 teaspoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt, divided; for table salt, use half as much by volume
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 tablespoon lemon juice from 1 lemon
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
12 ounces (345 g) fusilli or your preferred pasta
1/2 cup (16 g) fresh basil leaves, roughly torn into 1-inch pieces
In a large pot, bring about 4 quarts water to a boil. While the water comes to a boil, in a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup (60 ml) oil, garlic and anchovies over medium heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until the anchovies break down and the garlic is browned, 4 to 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, lemon zest, and pepper flakes to skillet and stir to combine. Cover and increase heat to medium-high. Cook covered, without stirring, until tomatoes are mostly broken down into a sauce, with a few remaining intact, about 8 minutes.
Meanwhile, add pasta and remaining 1 tablespoon salt to boiling water and cook until al dente. Reserve 1/2 cup pasta water, then drain pasta. Add pasta and remaining 2 tablespoons oil and lemon juice to tomato mixture, then stir and toss to combine over low heat to form a light sauce that coats the pasta, 2 to 4 minutes. Adjust consistency with reserved pasta cooking water as needed. Stir in basil and season with salt to taste. Sprinkle crispy topping over individual bowls before serving. Makes 4 servings.
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Just a Dash: Father of the Bride is thinking simple sandwich fare, but ramping it up:
“BLTEA. I topped my bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich with a fried egg and sliced avocado. Whole meal.”
Whole meal, simplified methods and ramped-up taste: That’s us Fare Exchangers. Please add your methods and good taste in the days ahead.
Requests:
— How to use chamoy or a recipe for homemade chamoy
— How to cook bacon in a waffle iron
— Other uses for a waffle iron
— The secret to a perfect runny egg
To reach us:
Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send, and know we cannot test the recipes printed here.
— Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
— Email: chattfare@gmail.com
