Charity Robey

Off the fork: Sesame noodles for Chinese New Year | Shelter Island Reporter

CHARITY ROBEY | Long noodles, red ingredients and tender sprouts make Sesame Noodles full of good luck for the New Year.

My mother once taught English as a Second Language to a class of immigrants from Canton, China. I guess she was a popular teacher, because late one January our whole family was invited to a Chinese New Year Party.

Exciting food, gifts for all the kids, lots of merriment; it was the best party I’d ever been to.

Since then, I’ve celebrated Chinese New Year every year. This is the Year of the Horse, and it starts on January 31 — a two-week holiday right when I’m in the mood for some levity.

Although I think you are supposed to clean your home before the holiday starts, once it does, you are not allowed to so much as pick up a broom. Now that is a civilized rule. You celebrate mainly by eating (whole foods, like an entire fish or long noodles), giving treats to children and hanging out with friends and family. Sometimes there are fireworks and crazy relatives dressed in lion outfits, but that’s optional.

The dishes served during Chinese New Year often have some symbolic significance and easy, crowd-pleasing sesame noodles is no exception. The long, uncut noodles symbolize long life. Some of the ingredients are red for good luck (dried peppers, sweet pepper) and some should be young and sprouty to symbolize rebirth (scallions, cilantro).  Remember: don’t touch a broom, lest you sweep away all your good luck for the Year of the Horse.

Sesame Noodles
Serves 4 as a dinner, 6 as a side dish

2 cloves garlic, crushed and finely chopped
1/2 cup sesame tahini
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons hoisin sauce
2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 small dried crushed red hot pepper with seeds removed, about 1/2 teaspoon
8 ounces dried lo mein noodles
1 cucumber, peeled only if the skin is tough, and cut into matchsticks, about 1 1/2 cups
1 carrot, peeled and cut into matchsticks, about 1 1/2 cups
1 red bell pepper, seeds and white ribs removed and sliced into matchsticks
4 scallions, white and about an inch of the green part, cut diagonally, about 1 1/2 cups
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
1 tablespoon cilantro sprigs

In a large bowl, whisk together the garlic, tahini, soy sauce, hoisin, peanut and sesame oils and crushed dried red hot pepper.

Bring five quarts of water to a boil. Salt the water and cook the noodles about 3 minutes or according to the package instructions.

Drain the noodles, reserving 3 tablespoons of the water. Rinse the noodles with cold water to stop them from sticking and to cool them.

Whisk the 3 tablespoons of reserved water into the tahini sauce. Add the drained noodles, cucumber, carrot, red bell pepper and scallions and toss together until coated with the dressing.

Season with pepper and garnish with sesame seeds and cilantro sprigs. Serve at room temperature.

via shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com

Yonder come SteelDrivin’ men — and woman | Shelter Island Reporter

COURTESY PHOTO | Richard Bailey, Mike Fleming, Gary Nichols, Tammy Rogers and Brent Truitt are the SteelDrivers.

If it’s January on the Rock, it’s time for a bluegrass concert.

But this year we get more. Brace yourself for some muscular, improvisational American music on Saturday, January 18 at 7:30 p.m. in the Shelter Island School auditorium. The concert is co-sponsored by Sylvester Manor and the Shelter Island Town Recreation Department.

Fresh off the plane from Nashville, come the SteelDrivers, and opening for them, A Jazz Connection.

Nominated three times for Grammy awards, the SteelDrivers are more than a bluegrass band. Their sound is a gumbo of blues, country and contemporary rock, built on a base of traditional bluegrass.

Since 1994, Islander Tom Hashagen has been bringing the best bluegrass to Shelter Island. Mr. Hashagen described the SteelDrivers as “a departure from what we’ve done … they are not straightforward bluegrass.”

The SteelDrivers don’t go in for the “high lonesome” vocal style — the kind traditionally associated with Bill Monroe. Lead singer and guitarist, Gary Nichols, has a classic Muscle Shoals blues sound that is closer to Greg Allman than Del McCoury.

And there’s another thing that makes the SteelDrivers a different sort of bluegrass band — a female band member. Tammy Rogers grew up in bluegrass, playing in a family band. She has recorded with such greats as Iris Dement and Randy Scruggs and toured with Patty Loveless and Reba McEntire. Her harmony is traditional, yet totally fresh.

The SteelDrivers are veteran session musicians. Richard Bailey, a Grammy-nominated banjo player, has played with many of the greatest American musicians over the course of his distinguished career, including Bill Monroe, Vassar Clements, Loretta Lynn and Chet Atkins. Mike Fleming (bass and vocals) has appeared many times on Austin City Limits and the Grand Ole Opry. Brent Truitt picked up a mandolin to play with his father and grandfather when he was 10 and went on to play with Alison Krauss, Dolly Parton and the Dixie Chicks.

A hallmark of the band is the quality of their songwriting. According to band member Mike Fleming, developing a new song is a process that calls on the talents of every member of the band. Mr. Fleming said, “The songwriter has a tempo in mind and maybe a riff or a hook. We listen to it and see if we can make it work, if we can interpret it.”

Describing the creative process that resulted in one of the hits from their latest CD, “Hammerdown” — released in 2013 — he said, “Gary wrote a song with a lyric about burning a woodshed down. He started playing it and everyone just fell in. We added background vocals and harmony. It’s a collaborative process.”

The SteelDrivers’ set list will draw from all three of their CDs.

Unlike more typical bluegrass bands, the SteelDrivers rarely perform the traditional bluegrass classics. Mr. Fleming said, “A lot of us had done that forever. We have the luxury of having some very good songwriters.” he added, “We don’t do a lot of wholesome songs. Mike Henderson, a former band member, referred to our genre as ‘uneasy listening music.’”

In 2011, Adele covered a haunting, bluesy song from the SteelDrivers first CD called, “If It Hadn’t Been for Love.” In performances, she introduced it by saying, “It’s a song about shooting your wife … and I feel like shooting my ex.” Mr. Fleming said, “Her version, which I really like, is pared down. She made it real folksy. It was a great compliment.”

Setting the stage for this evening of American  music and for jazz lovers in the audience, A Jazz Connection will open for the SteelDrivers. The group features East End talents Dick Behrke on trumpet, Bryan Campbell on guitar, John Ludlow on alto sax, Stephen Shaughnessy on bass, vocalist Lisa Shaw and Dan Skabeikis on violin.

Lisa Shaw describes the group as “four jazz musicians who came together because the collaboration between them is so good.” Their set of American standards will feature improvisation by each member of the group. Ms. Shaw said, “They never sound the same, each performance is different.”

Tickets are going fast, so contact Sylvester Manor at 749-0626 for availability.
“We always strive to have a good time onstage,” SteelDriver Mike Fleming said. “We do this because we love it and we encourage the audience to sing along with us. If they feel like yelling because something’s got them stirred up, well, go ahead and yell.”

via shelterislandreporter.timesreview.com

Published on January 16, 2014 in The Shelter Island Reporter

A Blast of Vegetarianism From the Past- Meat-free meatloaf

Special K, onions and pecans are the key ingredients in this ersatz meatloaf

I first tasted this dish in the home of my then-boyfriend's hippy mother back in the 70's.   It's  representative of a certain category of vegetarian cooking, and surprisingly tasty. I have not made this stuff  since 1977, but I had to dust off the recipe for "The Making of Modern American Vegetarianism" with Adam D. Shprintzen, Monday January 13,  6:30pm at NYU, Food Studies, 411 Lafayette St. 5th floor.

The reception and lecture will be a fascinating, and tasty look at the history of American vegetarianism.

Tickets at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/535336

 

Country Ham-The Whole Hog

To prepare a cured ham for consumption is to participate in a ritual that has more in common with ancient purity rites than with frilly aprons and parsley garnishes.

 These hams are salt-cured, aged for months, and arrive—often by mail—hard as a rock and covered with mold.  The job of the cook is to clean, desalt and soften an object that looks as delectable as beef jerky that’s been wedged for a year in the sofa cushions.  This is the highest calling of the cook: to produce from a unlikely start a delicacy that has been part of the American larder for as long as there have been hogs on our farms.

 While attending a college in Virginia, I acquired my first salt-cured country ham, and wrote to ask my Kentucky-born father for instructions. 

 Here is my birthright.

 

Virginia Salt-Cured Country Ham

 1.The Bath

After weighing the ham (you’ll need to know the weight to estimate the cooking time) remove all of the wrapping, which may include a burlap bag, layers of paper and twine netting.

Use a stiff brush and cold water to wash the mold, and any other detritus off the surface of the ham.  Throw the brush away.

2. The Soak

Place the ham in the pot you will cook it in and fill the pot with water.  This pot must be large enough to hold the ham completely submerged in water.  Let the ham soak in the cold water for 24 hours, changing the water every six or eight hours.  The more frequently you change the water, the less salty the final product will be.  The soaking water is hazmat.  Dispose of it responsibly.

3.The Simmer

Put the ham (which will be much softer now) in the pot with fresh cold water. Add 10 bay leaves, two cups of cider vinegar, and a handful of mustard seeds.  Bring the water to a boil and then turn the heat down to maintain a slow simmer, with some bubbles every second or two.  During the simmer, the water should always cover the meat, so top it off with fresh hot water as necessary. 

Use a thermometer to monitor the temperature. Ideally the water should stay around 190 degrees for the duration of the cooking, which can be anywhere from 2 to 6 hours depending on the size of the ham.  Allow 15 to 20 minutes per pound. The ham is ready when it slips easily off a large fork, or when the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees in the thickest part of the ham.

4. The Flaying

Remove the ham from the cooking water and allow it to cool enough so you can handle it easily.  Remove the tough layer of skin from the ham, peeling it away where possible, and using a sharp knife to free the skin when it won’t peel off.  Leave a thin layer of fat on the ham as you remove the skin.

5. The Glazing

Score the fat into squares, by making a series of shallow, parallel cuts in the same direction, and then a second set of cuts perpendicular to the first set. Rub the entire ham with brown sugar, and press a whole clove into the center of each square.  Cook the ham in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until the glaze is browned and the fragrance of ham is causing passing motorists to pull over in front of your home.

6. The Carving

Country ham must be cut very thin.  Allow the ham to cool completely before carving and use a very sharp knife.  Start by carving a V into the meat, close to the thick end, and then make thin slices from there.

7. The Eating

If you are having a party, or feeding farmhands, you can serve thin slices of ham on split biscuits.  You can also serve slices with cornbread, and a side of red-eye gravy (made with drippings from the roasting pan and coffee). 

The afterlife of your ham is long.  Kept refrigerated, you can take a week to eat the rest of the meat, and even freeze the bone for a batch of soup a month from now.

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Living in the Time of Kale

Under a generous slab of pecorino cheese and a dribble of olive oil, Shelter Island kale, carrots, squash, cabbage and garlic make up this hearty ribollita.

 We live in the time of kale.  I once thought kale was useful only as a fall decoration, placed artfully next to a pumpkin or gooseneck squash on the front steps.  I knew it could be eaten, but only by people who ingest 500 calories a day believing that a restricted-calorie diet will allow them to live to 100.  Eating kale for pleasure?  That was left to the deer.

 Now kale is everywhere, eaten raw in salads, braised and stewed, and even made into snack foods.  Low in calories and high in nutrients including antioxidants, you really can’t eat too much kale.

 I recently encountered a wonderful Italian soup called ribollita, which means  “boiled again.”  This hearty vegetable soup is thickened with bread, and flavored with many of the late fall vegetables--starring kale-- that are available now at farms in Tuscany, and the East End alike.   Olive oil, and a generous grate of pecorino cheese turn ribollita into a stew worthy of dinner.

 There are as many variations on ribollita as there are cooks, including recipes that lean heavily on onions and tomatoes and others that spice the soup with nutmeg and dried red pepper.  This recipe is based on one that Faith Willinger includes in her classic book, Red, White & Greens with an emphasis on the ingredients that we can get locally.

 Kale is a fall crop, and it tastes best after the frost.  A substantial green, its leaves are tamed by slicing it very thin, and cooking it for a while.  It’s easy to find the tough curly kales in the grocery store, but many farms, including Sylvester Manor Farm have been growing a dark, tender variety of kale called Lacinato, or Tuscan kale.  The Fall CSA at Sylvester Manor includes kale as well as the cabbage, squash, carrots and garlic you need for ribollita.  Shares will be available through December, weather allowing.  Contact Farm Manager Julia Trunzo at [email protected] to check on availability.

 Ribollita

Serves 12, freezes well, and is even more delicious the second day than the first.

 1/3 cup chopped pancetta

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 leek, green top and root removed, sliced lengthwise, rinsed and coarsely chopped 3 coarsely chopped garlic cloves

2 stalks of celery, coarsely chopped

3 carrots, coarsely chopped

½ pound of kale, preferably Tuscan or Lacinato, stems removed, and sliced into thin strips

½ pound of cabbage, coarsely chopped

2 cups winter squash; acorn, butternut or Blue Hubbard, peeled, seeded and coarsely diced

1 russet potato peeled and coarsely diced

1 tablespoon olive oil

Up to 6 cups liquid: homemade broth, bean broth, and/or water

4 cups cooked cannellini (or any white bean.)

Sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary big enough that you can fish them out later

Bay leaf

Salt and pepper

4 slices of stale crusty bread cut into cubes

Grated pecorino cheese

 

1. Put the pancetta and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a heavy 5-quart pot with the garlic and leeks over a medium-low heat and stir until the leeks collapse and the garlic is fragrant. 
2. Add the celery, carrots, kale, cabbage, squash, potato and another tablespoon of the olive oil and cook over medium heat for 5 minutes.
3. Add 4-6 cups of liquid (chicken, the bean broth and/or water) until the vegetables are barely covered.  Add the herbs and bring to a full simmer. Turn soup down to low, and simmer very slowly for 1 hour, stirring and tasting every 20 minutes or so until the vegetables are tender.  As you taste, add salt and pepper as needed.
4. Remove the herbs and put 5 cups of soup in a blender with 1 cup of the cooked white beans.  Puree the beans and soup and pour it back into the soup pot along with the remaining 3 cups of cooked beans. Bring the soup back to a gentle simmer.
5. Add the bread to the soup, and continue to simmer and stir until the bread dissolves and thickens the soup.
6. Serve in soup bowls.  Drizzle each with olive oil and a generous grating of pecorino cheese.