#33 Workin' Blue!

Shownotes for #33 Working Blue!

The music for the opening and ending of the show is Fast Food Rampage by the The Touch Ups, courtesy of the Podsafe Music Network.

Stuff you need to know for this show's recipe:

All the recipes here are an hour or less. Total preparation time for these snacks is less than 30 minutes.

Talk Back! We are a Snacking Community. Go to the end of these Shownotes and click on comments. Leave your thoughts and experiences. Or email me at [e-mail].

The podsafe music used in the show:

This week, I'm featuring "The Good Stuff" by David Ipollito. Known as "That Guitar Man from Central Park" since 1992, he has played to hundreds of thousands around the world, but is most at home on sunny weekends on a little patch of grass in NYC's Central Park with a guitar on his shoulder. Check out his website and go listen to him the next time you are in the Big Apple in warm weather.

Here is the lead recipe I describe in the show:

(photos for first 2)

CHILLED FRESH BLUEBERRY SOUP (Adapted from Chef Lou Piuggi, United Nations Delegates Dining Room)

4 quarts fresh blueberries
1 cup apple juice
3/4 cup or to taste honey
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel (yellow part only)
2 teaspoons ground cardamon
1 cup vanilla yogurt or crème anglaise

In a blender or food processor, combine blueberries, apple juice, honey, lemon juice, lemon peel and cardamon; strain through a fine sieve. Chill mixture. Serve soup in chilled large wine glasses or bowls, with a swirl or dollop of yogurt, and cardamon sugar cookies, if desired.

TROPICAL BLUEBERRY, PINEAPPLE AND JALAPEÑO SALAD (U.S. High Bush Blueberry Council website)

2 pounds blueberries, fresh or (partially thawed) frozen
2 pounds pineapple, chunks fresh or canned
1/2 cup rum or 2 tablespoons rum extract
3 tablespoons chopped fresh jalapeño peppers
2 tablespoons grated lime peel
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Combine blueberries, pineapple, rum, jalapeño peppers, lime peel and pepper sauce; mix well. Serve on a bed of mixed salad greens, if desired.

Jasper White's Gratin of Fresh Berries (Adapted from Jasper White's Cooking from New England)

1 1/2 pints fresh blueberries
2 cups sour cream
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp lemon rind
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup brown sugar for glazing

Preheat the broiler in your oven.

Pick over the berries for stems and leaves and wash them. Divide them into six separate gratin dishes, or make one large gratin in a baking dish.

Mix the sour cream with 1/2 cup brown sugar, rind and lemon juice. Spoon the topping evenly over the berries. Sift more brown sugar over the topping. Wipe around the dish to remove any juice, topping or brown sugar on the edge of the dish because they will burn.

Place under the broiler and broil until the brown sugar caramelizes (3-4 minutes). The topping will begin to bubble at this point and the berries will be warm. Serve at once.

Blueberry Crisp

Crisp topping
6 tbs butter
3/4 cup brown sugar
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1 tsp ground cinnamon (optional)

6 cup blueberries, picked over and washed
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp grated lemon or lime zest

Preheat oven to 375 F/ Gas Mark 5. Make the topping by mixing all the ingredients together. Toss the blue blueberries with the brown sugar and the citrus zest. Arrange the fruit in a 2 quart gratin dish and top even with the topping. Set the dish on a sheet pan to catch any drippings. Bake until the berries are bubbling and the topping is brown, about an hour and ten minutes.

Here are some additional recipies I didn't include in the show:

Here is the shopping list for next week:

Next week I'm going to tell you about how to get the most out of fresh salad greens available now in your local farmer's market. But I'll also include several dressings that will become your favorites all year. You'll need a selection of fresh green from your farmer's market including lettuces like red leaf, green leaf, bibb, oak leaf, Boston or romaine, and mildly spicy greens like arugula, mizuna, tatsoi, komatsu, baby kale, baby collards, watercress and frisee. Feel free to throw in some baby spinach too! You will also need a head of iceberg lettuce from the supermarket. Buy a firm one that isn't soft, like a pillow when you lightly squish it. You might want to print the list from the web page and bring it with you when you go shopping. You'll also need some shallots. These are small oval shaped onion-like bulbs with a slightly different flavor. It is a nice onion type to get to know. And summer is a good time to do so. Buy five or six good sized ones. The larger ones are easier to peel and handle. You'll need some cider vinegar, catsup, pickle relish, a few stalks of celery, two medium tomatoes, a cucumber, a bunch of scallions, two hard boiled eggs, some pepper sauce, some Worcestershire sauce, some Dijon mustard, some fresh basil, olive oil, a few fresh lemons, some orange juice and 1/2 a cup of golden raisins.