Welcome to Fare Exchange, faithful friends. We are still looking for cookies known as Brookies, for pork roast with a crust of mustard and for any recipes made with coconut flour. And where locally may one purchase ready-made oyster stew?
ChattAnon opened a recent package from Amazon with pleasure. "We received two Butter Bells as a gift. I have always wanted one, and now I need to know how to use them correctly, please."
If you're not familiar, they are intended as a way to safely store butter out of the fridge.
SUMMER'S BEST SAUCE
Georgia Nelson sent a favorite fresh tomato recipe and explained one of the main reasons she favors it every summer.
"This sauce is good made with any tomato, but is best, of course, with a fresh, local summer tomato.
"The late Kathryn Choate was a dear, and I think of her each time I make this versatile sauce. She served it with chicken breasts. I sometimes add shrimp, and serve it over Parmesan cheese grits." Ms. Nelson's source: "Cookin' With Love" from Dayton's First United Methodist Church.
Kathryn Choate's Fresh Tomato Spaghetti Sauce
I serve this hot the first day with chicken breasts, then I keep the remainder in the refrigerator and serve the next day as a cold salad.
6 medium tomatoes, peeled and chopped
2 medium green onions, minced
3 tablespoons minced parsley
2 teaspoons red wine vinegar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon chopped basil
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
3 garlic buds, sliced
8 ounces linguine pasta
Mix first 8 ingredients and let stand 3 hours. You may do this the night before; it saves time. In a saucepan, heat oil and garlic until garlic is golden brown. Discard garlic. Pour hot oil over tomatoes. Let stand 2 hours more.
Cook linguine. Pour sauce over the pasta, and mix. Heat over warm heat. Serve with Parmesan cheese and French bread.
APPLE BUTTER IDEAS
Elizabeth Clossin directs Odell Waddell to check the October Southern Living for apple butter ideas - "eight recipes using apple butter. Have not tried them but some look good." Here is one of those good-looking recipes.
Breakfast Sausage Meatballs With Apple Butter Dipping Sauce
These pork sausage meatballs are more festive than sausage patties and easier to eat too. Meatballs are a great go-to recipe for brunches and parties. You can serve meatballs and an accompanying dipping sauce as an appetizer, or prepare a pot of rice or egg noodles and serve the meatballs as a main course. This is a useful item to have in the freezer, so set aside some time to bake a batch or two of meatballs, let them cool completely, then freeze in freezer-safe containers."
1 pound hot ground pork breakfast sausage (such as Jimmy Dean)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup apple, grated
1/4 cup onion, grated (from 1/2 medium onion)
1 ounce Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1/4 cup)
2 teaspoons fresh sage, finely chopped
1/2 cup dry, fine breadcrumbs, divided
Dipping Sauce
1/2 cup apple butter
3 tablespoons sharp honey mustard
Garnish
Fresh flat-leaf parsley
Prepare the meatballs: Heat oven to 400 degrees. Coat a 24-cup miniature muffin pan with cooking spray. Place sausage in a large bowl, and let stand at room temperature 15 minutes. Gently stir in egg, apple, onion, Parmesan, sage and 1/4 cup of the breadcrumbs. (Mixture should be well-combined but not overworked.) Using gloves or hands dipped in ice water, gently shape sausage mixture into 24 (1 1/2-inch) balls. Coat balls lightly in remaining 1/4 cup breadcrumbs; place 1 ball in each prepared muffin cup.
Bake in preheated oven until browned on the bottom and beginning to sizzle around the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and, using tip of a knife, turn meatballs over. Return to oven, and bake until cooked through and well browned, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and let stand 5 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare the Dipping Sauce.
Stir together apple butter and mustard in a small bowl. Place meatballs on a serving platter, and, if desired, garnish with parsley. Serve warm with Dipping Sauce.
TIPS ON SOUS VIDE
Mr. and Mrs. Sunday weigh in on the topic of sous vide. For serious - or lighthearted - practitioners, they offer much insight.
"The most important thing to remember is that it's only complicated if you let it be," they write. They explain:
Sous vide started among people who had access to laboratory-grade circulation baths and vacuum-chamber sealers, so folks started to think that was required. Not so.
Sous vide is 1) a water bath that is at the temperature you want the finished product to be at when you're done; 2) some way to keep the food out of the water while it's cooking while still in close contact with the water.
You can get started with a beer cooler, thermometer, zip-top freezer bags and some patience. We did, back in 2010. Here's a link: https://www.seriouseats.com/2010/04/cook-your-meat-in-a-beer-cooler-the-worlds-best-sous-vide-hack.html.
If you go the beer cooler route you'll be doing the temperature regulation by hand, adding either ice or boiling water as the temperature varies. One reason you want a beer cooler rather than any old tub is to slow down temperature changes to keep the workload light.
The higher the temperature, the more you have to fool with it. We stayed with steak, lamb and fish while we were using the beer cooler method.
A circulator does that job for you so you don't need a cooler; any pot or tub the circulator fits will do.
Don't worry excessively about the power of the heater. Fill your tub with hot water from the tap, and add boiling water to get close. Most any heater power can hold the temperature.
Vacuum sealing was primarily to eliminate air from the bag so it doesn't get between the food and the water and thus keep the food from being in contact with the water. If you fill the bag and dip it in a sink of water and seal the zip-top bag just as the zip is about to be submerged, you'll be fine. We use Ziploc brand freezer bags (not zipper-topped).
You don't need Bluetooth, wireless, an app or a timer - those can be useful, but they're mostly frills. Sous vide takes time but it's mostly time you can do something else. The ability to cook a dish perfectly every time with little hassle is what keeps us using it about once a week.
Reminder: Sous vide doesn't usually produce a finished dish; you'll still need to sear the outside. We've used broiler, Searzall blowtorch attachment, standard grill and a gas grill fitted with GrillGrates configured as a griddle. This griddle gets up to over 800 degrees and sears a steak beautifully in under 1 minute per side, but it's overkill for fish.
This season, this six-months-so-far season, can be wearying. I for one am most grateful that you all don't stop offering succor through good food. Thank you - and thanks in advance for the Wednesdays to come.
REQUESTS
* Brookies cookies
* Mustard-crusted pork roast
* Recipes using coconut flour
* Ready-made oyster stew
* Proper use of Butter Bells
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.
Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
Email: chattfare@gmail.com
Jane Henegar