Pickle Jar Pickled Veggies

Here's a quick, you-barely-need-the-stove recipe for your weekend, in case you live in a part of the country with temps currently pushing 100. If you are so unfortunate, let me offer you these cooling, refreshing veggies!

Pickles are one of those foods that seems so much scarier to make in theory than it actually is in reality. There's just something so seemingly mysterious and almost magical about dunking some veggies in an acid bath for a few weeks and having them emerge transformed into preserved, tangy treats.

(Also, frankly, botulism terrifies me, so I stay away, even though acid and salt are not friendly to the bacteria. We are all safe here, I promise.)

Quick pickles are good cheat, and here, I'm offering you even more of a cheat with the option to re-use your leftover pickle brine! You may be tempted to use that brine for pickleback shots, and you do you, but if you want a way to use up that brine with less painful after-effects, come this way instead!

You get the flavor of "real" pickles and way to stretch your food budget a bit, without the hassle of sterilization that comes with canning. Here, just boil your old brine for a few minutes, pour over some veggies, refrigerate, and enjoy! The recipe almost writes itself. 

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Pickle Jar Pickled Veggies

Method adapted from Jeff Mauro

• leftover pickle juice from a large jar of pickles (reserve the jar)
• veggies of choice (carrots, cucumbers, green beans, red onions, etc), sliced into sticks or spears or slivers
• 2 garlic cloves
• pickling spice (optional)

1. Bring pickle juice to a boil on the stove and add a pinch or so of pickling spice if using, boil for a few minutes then let cool a bit.
2. Add veggies and garlic to the jar and pour hot juice over the top. Let cool before refrigerating. Let sit for at least 5 hours (longer is better). Keeps in the fridge for about a month.

San Francisco Birthday Weekend!

What do you do when you spent your last birthday at Hogwarts, thus raising the bar to Hungarian Horntail heights? 

The only thing you can. 

Buy Hamilton tickets and get your sister to fly out to SF to join you in a long weekend of eating, hiking, eating, eating, drinking, eating, and a bday evening performance of America's favorite musical. 

Did I mention the eating?

Apart from the bliss of finally seeing LMM's genius on stage, it was a full weekend focused mainly on stuffing ourselves with wine, dairy, and carbs. Is there anything better? I even kicked off the carb-loading festivities a little early, securing my bagel supply from Bagelsaurus in Boston (where someone suggested 3 bagels + a baker's dozen for home was maybe a tad too embarrassing to order. That someone was wrong and now I can have the good bagels whenever I want!) 

Once back in SF with my stash secure in the freezer, we headed out. Claire earned her first Mission burrito among the scrum at La Taqueria, and we devoured champagne and a tater tot waffle thing at The Riddler for a pre-dinner snack.  

On Saturday, she and I completed a 10 mile hike along the SF coast in some sort of vain attempt to even the scales, but any benefits were likely erased by the bookends of brunch and a burrata margherita pizza we demolished in approximately 5 minutes, or approximately 30 seconds for every mile we walked. It wasn't a pretty sight to behold, though maybe impressive, if the stares from the guy at the next table were any indication.

In between, there was an absolutely amazing birthday dinner at August (1) Five, where the fun, modern, Indian food blew us all away (hehe).

On Sunday, we rested (our feet).

We binged on pastries from b.patisserie before a trip to Salt and Straw for too much ice cream, and then I made a steak. I'm disgusting even myself as I write this.

Honestly I was a little relieved as I sent Claire to the airport stuffed full of ribeye, because if she stayed here, obviously neither of us will live to see 32.

Yeasted Buckwheat Olive Oil Waffles

I'm going to start having nightmares soon about my pantry situation.

I've gotten to the point where my purchasing of dry goods has far outpaced my use of them, and my stash has long outgrown the tiny kitchen cabinet space I allotted.  Bit by bit, items are migrating to my hall closet, to shelves previously reserved only for infrequently used kitchen appliances, board games, and extra linens. Now, my bulk container of chili powder lives next to Settlers of Catan and my cocoa butter is stashed awkwardly between my waffle iron and my popsicle molds. I involuntarily shudder every time I walk by.

Why do I even have that much chili powder? I can't remember, but I should use it soon, right? I've become alarmingly ok with random baking supplies falling on my head when I open cabinet doors, and I don't think I can get worker's comp for food blog related concussions.

Hey, but at least I found the cocoa butter when I pulled out the waffle iron to make these waffles! Who wants a chocolate recipe?

These waffles, I might add, that I decided to make to use up my buckwheat flour and the last bit of cherry jam I made back in 2015. I'm happy to report that I was successful in using up one of those items. Which one? Well, the excessive amount of jam in these photos should clue you in to that answer.

The waffles, I'm happy to say, are happy, fluffy, yet crisp pillows of yeasted breakfast joy, no matter their dark, hoarder origin story. The buckwheat gives them a slightly nutty flavor, and its gluten deficiency lends the waffles enough pseudo-healthfulness that you can justify a second helping, should you be so inclined. These waffles have barely any sugar in them, and so are excellent topped with a generous pour of maple syrup. Or, if you also need to clean out your refrigerated condiment collection, they go equally well with the above-mentioned jam and a creme fraiche rapidly approaching its expiration date (or slightly past, I didn't let myself look). 

They take a tiny bit of pre-planning for the overnight rise, but that just means less work for your weekend morning breakfast prep, and more time relaxing on the couch with a giant mug of caffeine and an indulgent stack of deeply flavored carbs, ancient jam topping not mandatory.

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Yeasted Buckwheat Olive Oil Waffles

Adapted from Epicurious. I made half the recipe,  if you want to make more waffles just double! These are best made intentionally, meaning make the dough Friday or Saturday night, enjoy for weekend brunch!

• 1 1/8 tsp (1/2 package) active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup lukewarm whole milk
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 tbs sugar
• 2 1/2 tbs olive oil
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/4 tsp baking soda

1. Mix yeast with 1/8 cup lukewarm water and 1/2 tsp sugar, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Add milk and salt in a large bowl, then add yeast mixture and then add flours. Let sit overnight (if it's hot or summertime, let rise overnight in fridge).
3. In the morning, add 1 tbs sugar, baking soda, egg and olive oil, and stir to combine. 
4. Heat a waffle iron, brush with butter (or clarified butter or coconut oil), and cook according to manufacturer instructions.
5. Serve immediately or keep warm in 200 degree oven. Top with cherry jam or other jam if using, and creme fraiche mixed with a little vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste. Or douse in maple syrup.

Lambs in Blankets

Like the pigs, but better! And spicier.

I spent the long weekend in Tahoe, where my friends and I put away a truly obscene quantity of German sausages at Himmel Haus, so how I can even stand to look at these photos is beyond me. Maybe it helps that I didn't also stuff schnitzel in blankets?

But, I must prevail.

Did you know how many variations on pigs in blankets there are? 

Answer: a lot.

I did a quick google search to check if I'm even allowed to suggest my sausages here are "in blankets" because I was pretty sure that could mean pancakes as well as croissant dough, but I wasn't 100% on that. Turns out, yes, the "blankets" are sometimes pancakes too, but I was not prepared for the endless variations world wide on this dish. 

In the US "pigs in blankets" is usually hot dogs wrapped in croissant rolls. I think we've all seen these, yes? But apparently it's also ok to use biscuit dough or pancakes (phew!), and the "pig" can be Vienna sausages, cocktail sausages, or breakfast sausage.

I have an aversion to Vienna sausages since eating them for almost every lunch for a year in first grade. Cold, out of the can. With that gross jelly still on them.  

Ew.

But the rest are ok.

Germans use sausage wrapped in puff pastry, and call it, wonderfully, Würstchen im Schlafrock, which means "sausage in a dressing gown." That may more accurately describe the situation I've got going on here, with their little belted waists. 

The Danes sell them out of "sausage wagons" and the American style is called "sausage horns." Alrighty.

In Mexico they use tortillas and deep fry it. I can definitely get on board with that.

The Brits, smarter than all of us, dispense with any extra carbs and just wrap their sausages in bacon to party with pork on pork. 

Horrifyingly, Israelis cover puff pastry with ketchup before rolling and baking, and I can't get over what a soggy mess that must be. I guess it's appropriate then that the dish name, Moshe Ba'Teiva, translates to "Moses in the ark."

And as for me, I swapped out the hot dogs for merguez, my favorite spiced lamb sausage, and wrapped it in the most delicate, buttery, yeasty pancakes I know how to make. For good measure, I drizzled the whole pile with a simple sauce of butter + honey, and the result is a delightfully messy, delicious finger food snack perfect for your next breakfast hour cocktail party (aka brunch).

Or, if you don't want to wait for the excuse of company, you could just make these and hoard them for yourself. Sometimes not sharing is self-caring.

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Lambs in Blankets

Pancakes adapted from Julia Moskin via Mourad Lahlou. They are a little extra work, yes, but trust me, the flavor is worth it. Plus, you can make the batter in advance. Makes a pile. I had plenty of leftover pancakes, so the more sausage you use, the more Lambs in Blankets you get! Or, make half the batter.

For the pancakes:

• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup semolina flour
• 1/2 cup almond flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 1/8 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup whole milk, warm
• merguez sausages, at least 1 lb
• 2 tbs Honey
• 2 tbs unsalted butter

1. Combine yeast and sugar in a bowl, stir in 1/4 cup warm water and let rest 10 minutes until foaming. In another bowl, whisk together the three flours, salt and turmeric and set aside.
2. In another small bowl, combine baking powder and 3 tbs warm water and stir to dissolve. Pour into a blender and add 1 1/2 cup warm water, the milk, and the yeast mixture. Blend on low to combine, then as the blender runs, gradually add the flour mixture.
3. Pour the batter in a bowl, cover with a towel, and let rest 1 1/2 hours or until doubled in size. Either use right away or refrigerate overnight.
4. When ready to cook, heat oven to 250 degrees and heat a skillet over medium high. Cook sausages until well browned and cooked through. Drain on paper towels, then transfer to foil lined baking sheet and keep warm in oven.
5. Make the pancakes. Stir the batter to deflate. Heat a non-stick or well-seasoned cast iron skillet over medium heat. Melt a little clarified butter in the pan (if needed) and pour 1/8 cup batter into the pan, and cook about 3 minutes, unitl top is covered with holes and set. Repeat with remaining batter, as many as a time as you can manage without crowding the pan. Keep warm between kitchen towels on a baking sheet while finishing cooking.
6. Assemble the lambs in blankets: cut each sausage into 4 small pieces (or into roughly 1-2 inch pieces) and roll in a pancake. Tie with kitchen twine or spear with a toothpick to close. 
7. Combine butter and honey in a microwave save bowl and heat until hot and pourable, 15 seconds at a time. Stir, then drizzle over the lambs in blankets. Serve immediately.