Cabbage Gratin

It was a dreary and rainy Halloween. But I really didn't mind. I had the oven on with this gratin in it. Dinner was pork chops, tomato-apple chutney and this crispy topped goodness. There was apple cider (will it be hot, spiced or with rum? see below to find out what we did!*) and a lot of candy. This year we trick-or-treated in our own home. My son, who is now in kindergarten, was given the choice to go out to our friend's house to trick or treat like we've done for the past few years, or stay home. He picked home, and home it was.

It's funny how it takes you a while to really know who your kids is. I mean, you've always known, of course, but at this age they can talk and make choices, and they might even know themselves a bit more. I always find that my son knows himself so much better than I do. So I try to listen. After a few years of taking him out for trick or treating (and I'm not hugely into Halloween, but I thought that's just what you do, right?) he can finally tell me, "No, I'd rather stay home." So, we stayed in: put on the Monster Mash, carved another pumpkin, lit some candles, and yes, ate some candy! I got a huge bowl of all different kinds of candies, and we had our own trick or treating fun knocking on the porch door and then going to the front door for more. We had so much fun!!

This gratin was real winter time fare. So hearty! I used this recipe from the NY Times as a guideline. While I was searching for a recipe, I found this one that looks promising, as well, which had cornmeal and dijon mustard in it.

Cabbage Gratin
adapted from this recipe from the NY Times

1 head of cabbage, sliced
1/2 cup water
olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 large cloves of garlic, smashed
salt

2 eggs, beaten
1 cup brown rice
1 cup buttermilk
handful of chopped flat leaf parsley
3/4 cup (or .25 pound) shredded gruyere cheese
grated parmesan cheese
nutritional yeast flakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 3 quart glass dish. (It will fit in a 2-quart dish if you squish it in like I did, but I will now be shopping for a 3-quart dish.)

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil. Add cabbage and slowly wilt, adding the water as needed so there's just wilting and no browning.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs with the rice, buttermilk, parsely and 1/2 cup of the gruyere. When the cabbage is looking good (to me this means a mix of really wilt, almost yellow-y cabbage, and some still crisp, bright chartreuse) add it to the egg mixture and toss gently. Put the mix in your prepared pan, and sprinkle with the rest of the gruyere, a liberal amount of parmesan, and the nutritional yeast flakes.

Bake for about 40 to 50 minutes, until browned and bubbly.

NOTE: This makes a large amount of gratin. It's great for a group, but it also works well in leftovers. We had it the next night fried up in the cast iron skillet, for a crispy hash that was served with some bratwurst and mustard. Then I used to riff on this recipe for Italian Cabbage Bread Soup. Instead of the veg and cheese, I layered this gratin on the bread. It came out really very good!

I hope you had a Happy Halloween!



*Note: We ended up having hot toddies. They were SO good. Heat two cups of apple cider with a cinnamon stick (a little orange zest would be good, but I forgot it!) When it's just simmering, turn off the heat and add 3 ounces of applejack and one ounce of the King's Ginger. Throw in some crystallized ginger, pour in a Liberty mason jar mug and cheers!

Bigos, or Polish Hunter's Stew

Winter solstice is here, and the shortest day and longest night is upon us. I love celebrating this event, because it means we are on the way back to longer and warmer days. Even though it won't feel like it's happening for a long time, it's still happening. The days will soon be getting longer.

As we dip into the thick of winter, I have noticed that now is also when the freezer and cupboards start to take a hit. The freezer is already low, and I will have to start looking for good prices on good local meat, in large quantities, which is how I generally work it. I was hoping for a friend to get a doe or two this season, and I was going to help her break it down. I was really excited for this: venison kielbasa, venison salami! But it didn't happen. Deer season came and went. That's when I thought I might make rabbit. I've been thinking of rabbit for a while now. And I searched high and low, but no luck.

What I was looking to make was buttermilk fried rabbit, a recipe from Georgia Pellegrini's new book, Girl Hunter: Revolutionizing the Way We Eat, One Hunt at a Time. An advance copy was recently sent to me by the publisher and I inhaled it, as fast as I could, ready to make one of these recipes.  But, the only place that had rabbit, had it frozen and $10 a pound, and I just couldn't pay $30 for rabbit. It seemed ironic to me that driving home the other day I passed a rabbit on my street that had been hit by a car. It's not a common sighting in my neighborhood, although we do have rabbits around. I couldn't help but to think, as it was quite fresh, hmmm. Is that my rabbit? But, I'm not that hardcore, and I do have a couple of squeamish bones in my body, so I declined the free meat. My fear made me think of Georgia, and her book, and what she does. One of the notes I wrote to myself as I read the sneak peak at her book was this: that woman does not look away. She is incredibly brave. She does it in a very subtle manner, so that you don't notice her grit, but once you start thinking about it you see it everywhere. There's also this: she's a great writer, of stories and recipes.

The book is laid out, somewhat similarly to her first book, Food Heroes, as journeys that focus on a type of game that she learns to hunt. There are colorful characters, mostly men, and Georgia  holds her own among them. It's a gripping and solemn book despite the somewhat tongue-in-cheek title, mostly because she takes it so seriously, both the hunting and the ethics behind what she's doing. There is some fun, a hunt across the pond that sounded like a lot of fun, and lots of whiskey drinking (though it seems no one gets drunk). I did wish I heard about some other women hunters, because they are out there. But, it's not a how-to or an overview, it's one woman's personal foray into the world of hunting,  and how it takes over her life. Let's not forget: there are many fine recipes, both for the game she hunts and their accompaniments, brines and sauces, etc. The last thirty pages or so of the book are really a quite fabulous cookbook.

As I continue to make my way in a life that favors a peasant-y, home made and home grown foods, I have often wondered when I might consider hunting. One of the things I want to start with is fishing. I'll be honest and say that I'm not sure I could be a good hunter. But I do know I am a decent home butcher, so maybe that's a start. Hunting seems to have gotten a bad rap over the past fifty years, and I wish industrialized meat had gotten it instead. Maybe we can work on that.

In the meantime, instead of rabbit or venison, today I'm making Bigos, the Polish hunter's stew, I think it's a fitting meal for a short, cold day and a nod to the hunter. Traditionally, Bigos was a winter dish, sometimes left on the stove to cook for a week, new ingredients added as they were taken out. It was also something served on the 2nd day of Christmas, so I am close. There is no set way to make it, or at least according to me, you may disagree if you are Polish! Lots of meat and lots of cabbage is the general rule. Some folks use tomatoes, I never do. I used only ham hocks for this one, but pork shoulder, sausage (kielbasa, of course) and bacon is the norm. I found that the ham I made over the summer goes very well in this, too, which is good because I've got a ton of ham steaks in the freezer.

Bigos

2 medium onions, chopped coarsely
2 carrots, peeled and chopped in two (go ahead and dice if you like, I prefer large chunks of carrot)
2 medium potatoes, peeled, diced
1 medium head of cabbage, sliced finely for a nice shred
1 to 2 cups of sauerkraut
meat: kielbasa, bacon, ham hock, ham steak, venison, etc., fresh or cooked, chopped how you like it
salt and pepper to taste
secret ingredient: 1-2 tablespoons of candied pickled apples (recipe from Liana Krissoff's wonderful book, Canning for a New Generation. I can't live without this stuff!)

Sauté the onions in olive oil (or bacon fat, if you have it) until golden brown. Add the meat, and brown it. In my case, I used one large ham hock, so I just put it in on top of the onions and started adding everything around it. After browning---less if the meat is cooked already, like ham or kielbasa, a little more if it needs to be cooked---add all the rest of the ingredients. (It will be cooking for an hour or two, so no worries about being cooked through.) At this point you could take the whole shebang to a slow cooker to finish it off, which I sometimes do, with great results. Otherwise, keep it in your pot or Dutch or French oven, and cover it, keeping it at a low simmer. The cabbage will release it's water and create a great broth. You don't want too much liquid, as bigos is a dry-ish stew. Cook it for about an hour and a half. The potatoes and carrots should be tender. If you are willing to last longer, go for three hours. That's why the crock pot is nice.

Traditionally, bigos is served with mashed potatoes. Obviously, I don't do this, and instead put my potatoes right in the stew, making this a one pot (or maybe two) dish. When it's ready, I just serve hot bowls of it, with some warmed rye bread and butter.

Cabbage, Apple, Carrot Sauerkraut

Sauerkraut is amazingly simple, delicious and incredibly good for you. Once you get comfortable making sauerkraut, you can, to an extent, adjust and play. But there are a few things to keep in mind.   It's amazing what can go right with simply cabbage and salt. You get sauerkraut! Staves off scurvy! But even if you've done it a bunch of times, it could go very wrong:

When you see mold that is a.) black and b.) fuzzy or both, like I had, you want to dump the whole lot. Which is always sad, but hey, it's cabbage. And hey, it's your stomach/life. You know? I knew something was up because the batch wasn't bubbling like normal, and it smelled off. You can really trust your nose, you know? 'Cause the nose knows.

This was the second time I had this problem, and I was horrified because I thought there was something in my basement that was causing it. However, it only happened when I used this particular crock that I got from my family this last summer. When I went to clean it out, I realized the problem was my fault. I turned over the crock, and on the very bottom was a nice patch of black mold. Lovely! I had been lazy and didn't clean scrupulously. Case closed, and yet another reminder to not get lazy.

Still wary of the new (old) crock, I decided to go back to my good old crock pot.

Isn't she a beaut? I got her in some garage sale years ago for a pittance. In the winter, we make hot spiced cider and mulled wine in it. In the summer, it doubles as a fermenting crock. I also decided to keep the crock in the kitchen, because the colder it is the slower the ferment. This batch came out beautifully. Phew! For all of my sauerkraut info, I check in with The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich, which you really should own if you love pickles. There is just an incredible amount of wonderful recipes and tons of information, clearly outlined. Below you'll find my recipe, but not directions. For that and a wealth of information on how to make sauerkraut, check out Sandor Katz' excellent site, Wild Fermentation, where you will get in depth info on sauerkraut and a whole lot more of the wonderful world of fermented foods.

What to do with all that kraut, one wonders, when you've made a ton? I don't like to can it, and instead keep it in the fridge. Making smaller batches is nice, so you can vary your sauerkraut, adding different spices or vegetables. Did you know that you can freeze sauerkraut? I've never done it, but it's possible and some say it will keep the beneficials as opposed to canning, which can kill off all that lively stuff that's good for you.

This is how I like to eat my kraut:

Sauerkraut sandwich: especially on a soft onion roll, with a smear of strained yogurt made with raw milk. But I would be equally happy with a dollop of mayo. Think hot dog without the meat. Or, also delicious, on a falafel sandwich.

Sauerkraut on top of a hot bowl of jasmine rice. Lunch today. Sprinkled with some sesame seeds.

Sauerkraut side, next to some braised short ribs in red wine. That was dinner tonight. It's a perfect foil to a rich, fatty dish.

My father can't abide by a roast turkey without sauerkraut on the side.

How do you like to eat your sauerkraut?

My most recent sauerkraut:

1 pound of finely sliced cabbage
1 pound of peeled, grated carrot
1/2 pound of peeled Ida Red apples
3 tablespoons of kosher salt (Ziedrich uses pickling, Katz recommends sea salt, I like kosher)
a few juniper berries
a teaspoon of coriander

Slightly sweet and fresh tasting. For directions on how to make sauerkraut, see Wild Fermentation.

Pulled Pork and Slaw

I'm cleaning out the pantry (still!) and was wondering what to do with the two pints of green tomato chutney left from last year's blight-y tomato season. You know, I like green tomato chutney as much as the next gal, but there is a limit to what you can put that stuff on. So, what did I do? Got a nice, big picnic shoulder and busted out the crock pot, or slow cooker, if you will, to do a little bit of pulled pork. Why hide your crock pot during the winter? Not only can you make fruit butter in it, as I learned from Marisa at Food in Jars, but it makes for good overnight cooking when the house is at its coolest. The only down side is that I'm not particularly fond of waking up to the smell of pulled pork. Coffee is more like it, you know? But I'm always psyched that dinner is made, and I'm free to do other things.

All I did was pour the two jars in the pot, lay the meat on the sauce, and set the cooker for ten hours on low. When I got around to it, I shredded the meat with two forks. It needed some doctoring flavor-wise, but you know what that was? Some brine from the spicy garlic pickles I made recently! More jar-judo! (No, I don't entirely know what that means, but it sounded good. Come on, you know what I mean!)

Then, to round out the meal, I sliced some slaw and tossed it with the last jar of Carrot and Daikon Radish Pickle. I let it sit for an hour so the cabbage softens. A few ears of fresh local corn, and you have quite a hearty meal just by opening a few jars. And it's still all homemade!

Savoy Cabbage and Beet Salad

I've been eating my vegetables, really! But sometimes it gets hard to be inspired. After about a week of a bare cupboard (due to a bit of interstate traveling) I finally went shopping and felt re-invigorated. I was thinking some kind of winter salad. I bought this huge beet, which was a challenge to grate. My food processor wouldn't really budge on it. So, I did what I knew I should have done in the first place: use my old school Mouli grater. I love this thing.

Then, after lightly toasting them, I went old school on the walnuts.

While doing so, I imbibed: kitchen gin with grapefruit syrup and seltzer.

And then I sat down to this:

After slicing the cabbage, I blanched it and put it aside. After grating the beet, I tossed it with olive oil and pomegranate balsamic, salt and pepper. Put the beets on the cabbage (I kept them separate because you know how beets are) and topped with feta and walnuts. There were other things I was envisioning, but I just didn't have the time. Between teething and a looming bedtime, having a cocktail while making this was all I could do. But you know what? That's pretty good, all in all.

Cabbage and Radish Kimchi

Last week I started some kimchi, which I had been craving. I found a nice head of Chinese (napa) cabbage and a large daikon radish. Both of them were two pounds, so I had to double the recipe I used, which was from The Joy of Pickling by Linda Ziedrich. I love kimchi, but I am embarrassed to admit I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to tolerating heat in foods. I used half cayenne and half paprika for this (suggested in the book), and it's still a tad hot. But boy is it good! Maybe that's the lure for people who love spicy stuff---the sado-masochistic side of it. Not being able to stop even when it hurts. I stop. I'm such a baby!

This will last in the fridge for a super long time. I'll probably try to foist some on a friend, because I did make 2 1/2 quarts of it. Last night we had potatoes, apples and kielbasa (all local!) and we didn't have sauerkraut, so I served it with the kimchi and the rest of the pickled onions at the bottom of the jar of bread and butter lemon cucumber pickles. What a great wintry meal!


I doubled this recipe, and used paprika and cayenne instead of Korean dried hot pepper.

3 tablespoons pickling salt

5 cups water

1 pound Chinese cabbage, cut into 2 inch squares

1 pound daikon, peeled and sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

5 scallions, sliced

1 1/2 tablespoons of Korean ground dried hot pepper

1 teaspoon sugar

Dissolve 2 T plus 2 t of salt in the water. Reserve 1 teaspoon for later! Combine vegetables in large crock and cover with the brine. Weight the veggies down, and let stand for 12 hours. I used the lining of my crock pot. Works great for pickles.

Drain and reserve brine. Combine vegetables and the rest of the ingredients with the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt. Pack mixture into a 2 quart jar. (I used three quart jars.) Cover with reserved brine, then put a freezer bag in and fill it with more brine to weight down the vegetables. Seal the bag. Let it ferment for 3 to 6 days, at a temperature no higher than 68 degrees (my basement does the trick). When it's done, remove the bag, seal the jar and keep in the fridge. It will keep for months.

N.B. This is brilliant. A recipe for Kimchi pancake: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/13/dining/131vrex.html?ref=dining

Grilled Cheese, Potato Nik, and Cabbage, Leek and Blue Cheese Slaw

It was a rainy Halloween yesterday, and we ate some super soft grilled cheese sandwiches with Emmentaler on potato bread. What can be better than a grilled cheese sandwich? Sad to say I eat way too many of them. Alongside I had some sauteed cabbage, the healthiest vegetable on the planet, they say. Good for me! you say. Well, not entirely. Said cabbage was a leftover from the night before. We had Potato Nik (essentially a large potato pancake, recipe from Mark Bittman from his minimalist column in the Times, which I have always enjoyed) with this hot cabbage slaw of my own invention. What was deleterious about the "healthy" slaw was that, in actuality, it was coated in a nice, thick cheese sauce. Blue cheese sauce, to be exact. So, I had a grilled cheese with a side of vegetables smothered in cheese. Sad, really. At least it didn't have two sticks of butter like that cabbage strudel I was going to make...

Two leeks, cleaned and sliced

Half of a large cabbage, cored and sliced thin

Saute in olive oil until cabbage wilts. Salt and pepper. A copious handful of crumbled blue cheese. Toss until cheese melts and it looks gooey and delicious enough to eat.