MUNCH SPRING 2014 - ISSUE 5
FEATURES P 12 CONVENIENCE FOOD - gas station grub P 24 FORAGED GREENS - a down and dirty guide to your edible yard P 36 ADVENTURES IN DUMPSTER DIVING from trash to mouth P 40 VEGETARIANS WELCOME - a rare look at Picasso Cafe 2 - MUNCH
RECIPES P6 gazpacho P8 empanadas P 10 spanish tortilla P 21 mackerel P 22 wasabi yogurt P 22 cuitlachoche grits P 28 sunbeam’s loot P 30 luminous stammer P 32 mist flower P 34 sweet et cetera P 46 migas P48 paletas
C O N T E N T S
EDITORS Kimberly Hickerson designer/editor
Lacey Elaine Dillard photographer/editor
Although I barely remember the second or fourth, my third grade teacher, Ms. Bershied, is easily recalled because she taught me how to write a recipe. It was seemingly a standard class activity. We were told to write, in as much detail as possible, how to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. On the day we read our recipes aloud, each student was assigned to bring the necessary ingredients. Ms. Bershied read the first recipe: “Put peanut butter on bread.” She took the jar of peanut butter and placed it on top of the still-bagged bread. The process continued and included the smearing of jelly on bread bags and torn pieces of bread, a wasteful (but very effective) mess. As we read over recipes and instructions for Munch Magazine, I often think back to this moment and try to weed out unnecessary verbiage and make sure to include the simplest things. Overall, Munch recipes are meant to leave room for a little margin of error, experimentation, and playfulness. One area that’s always challenging in its particulars is baking, the O.G. of food science. Even the ingredients, commonly used baker’s friends, sound more like an experiment then a recipe: glucose, baking soda and citric acid. One of my favorite bakers is Christina Tosi. I requested her cookbook last Christmas after reviewing it several times through library checkouts, and have been using my friend’s birthdays as an excuse to bake my way through the book. This past week I tackled Milk Bar’s stacked birthday cake. Although I was prepared for failure, I was able to complete a good facsimile that I gifted to my brother-in-law. I aim to give others that same feeling of satisfaction that her recipes give me. As you travel through this issue of Munch I hope you see that we’re aiming to make every issue a little better and every recipe a fun and delightful fix for a hungry tummy. Journey forth and know that we wish to assist you in kitchen success. We hope you have many flavorful adventures this Spring.
Jenny Kress Literature fan and cat lover, Jenny walked us through her alcoholic infusions at Cheever’s, where she is the Bar Manager. We enjoyed delving into her creative writing process, hatred of poor grammar, and obsession with True Detective. - concoctions begin on page 28 -
Taylor Vinson Pop punk aficionado, and skateboarding trivia enthusiast, Taylor also has a pension for illustration. He was kind enough to doodle some excellent dumpster-inspired images for this issue. - dive into dumpsters on page 36 -
Copy Editing: Hal Moncrief Thanks to: Cameron Epley, Andon Whitehorn, Lucas Dunn and Johnny Walker as well as our loyal #MUNCHMAG participants
CONTRIBUTORS
GAZPACHO by Lacey Elaine Tackett
2 parts grated tomato 2 parts diced red bell pepper 1 part diced yellow bell pepper 1 part diced yellow onion 1 part diced cucumber, peeled and seeded
2 parts tomato juice 2 parts zing-zang lemon juice, to taste kosher salt, to taste extra virgin olive oil, to taste
Halve tomatoes and using a box grater over a large bowl, grate the halves down to the skin, a trick I picked up from Alton Brown. You’ll be left with all of the juice, flesh, and seeds as a natural base for the Gazpacho.
processor and re-combine. Lemon juice adds much needed acid; use what you feel is appropriate. Taste and season if needed. A glug or two of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, delicious magical fat, helps to blend and carry the flavor of the Gazpacho.
Dice all other vegetables, being sure to remove the white ribs from the peppers to avoid bitterness. Mix tomato, diced vegetables, tomato juice, and Zing Zang. For a smoother Gazpacho you can pulse half of the mixture in a food 6 - MUNCH
Stir well and chill two to six hours before service. Don’t be afraid to save the leftovers! I’ve been known to graze on gazpacho for a few days and to incorporate it into other dishes, especially with eggs.
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EMPANADAS by Kimberly Hickerson
8-10 piquillo or sweet peppers 5 oz. manchego* cheese 1/2 ball of pie dough (see Munch Issue 4 for our recipe) 1 egg + 1 tablespoon of water, beaten (egg wash)
Filling: Roast peppers under broiler on high until charred. Piquillo peppers are naturally sweet, and roasting them will develop their flavor. Throw your peppers in a resealable bag or dish when finished. Cool to room temperature to help loosen their skins. Once cooled, peel and dice. You should have a cup of diced peppers. This can be done a few days ahead and refrigerated.
Preparation: Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Section your dough into 6 portions. Roll into thin rounds. Using a 6-inch bowl or pastry round, cut into circles. Be sure not to over-work the dough or allow it to become too warm.
Line a baking sheet with foil. Lay each round flat, and place 2 tablespoons of filling in the center. Brush edges with egg wash and Shred the manchego on a large close like a taco. Fold edge or use section of a grater and then mix in a fork to seal. Brush tops with egg a bowl with the roasted and diced wash. piquillo peppers. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool on pan *Manchego - Cacique Manchego, the for 5 minutes before serving. cheap stuff, is what is used here. It is usually next to the queso fresco in the cheese section. Alone, it’s nowhere near as tasty as the real stuff, but it’s a great melting cheese.
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SPAINISH TORTILLA by Kimberly Hickerson
8 eggs 4 oz. thick cut potato chips* 2 teaspoon smoked paprika salt and pepper to taste parsley to garnish *have to give props to Chef Ferran Adria for this creative use of potato chips, and Taylor Desjarlais for the tip-off
Beat eggs and add the smoked paprika and salt to the mixture. Set aside.
go for stainless. Heat the pan over medium-high heat until oil shimmers.
Take your potato chips and crush the hell out of them, not powdered but satisfyingly small, a very therapeutic process.
Heat your broiler to high and place rack in the top of the oven.
Dump your smashed chips into the egg mixture and mix together. Let rest for 5 minutes. Heat a 10-inch skillet and coat with oil. You may prefer nonstick for eggs, but if you’re daring
Pour the egg mixture into the hot skillet and cook for about 2 minutes. Remove and transfer to the oven and broil until the top of the Spanish Tortilla begins to brown. Garnish with a sprinkling of smoked paprika and parsley.
CONVENIENCE FOOD: fine dining at convenience stores, kwik-e-marts and gas stations by Cameron Epely
Don’t be afraid to eat something out of a convenience store. There’s a reason people wait 30 minutes for this stuff outside of peak lunch hours. I have no real advice other than to use your nose and salivary glands, not your eyes. These places are everywhere and I don’t want to give more than four suggestions. Half the enjoyment is gambling on them. I’ve eaten at convenience stores in every Oklahoma county. Out of about 77 gas-station meals in the last five months, only a handful were absolute shit. Oklahoma City is a convenience store food leader in my opinion. I want to recognize the cooks, counter-workers and owners of these establishments who in many cases is the same person. It’s not easy work and they are, without doubt, the masters of their particular craft.
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Han-D-Sak “Chop House” / Northeast 28th and Kelly in OKC, OK
Ninja Sushi Station at AM/PM MART / SE15th and Sooner in Del City, OK
Han-D-Sak - My friend, Donna Mason, who won’t eat meat without a bone, recommended it to me. She and I have a penchant for grease, soul food, and liquor so when she gives a recommendation I follow blindly. This is one of my favorite places to eat; It’s where I show someone that our bond is strong. The guy outside peddling burned CDs, packed red dirt where there was once grass, customers loitering out front and the number of people coming out with sacks so permeated with grease it makes a paper grocery bag damn near transparent - those are good indicators. A shroud of shady-ness always tends to loom where I find the best meals.
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Folks will drop a recommendation if I mention certain places, but usually people won’t suggest a place unless I let them know I’m willing to get shot for a chop. If you’ve had some of the cuisine from these places, you know getting caught 10-56 in a 10-35 area can be worth it. Remember to call ahead for chops especially if you’re planning on ordering a lot. Sweet Jesus I love this place. AM/PM Sushi - Finding this sushi place was kind of a fluke. I was going to eat at a soul food place or something, but stopped in to the AM/PM to use the ATM. There was this really nice guy preparing sushi! It was like three rolls and a drink with a bowl of miso for $10. How can I pass that up? Paseo Market - Paseo Market was an easy choice. It’s right next to a bar and the owner was outside
Paseo Market / NW 30th and Walker in OKC, OK
Happy Foods / NW Wilshire and Broadway in OKC, OK
smoking a Carnival and eating “Okie Caviar” out of a paper boat thing. Stumbling distance is a major factor in finding any place to eat. Happy Foods - I owe this find to Rayford and Belinda, lunchtime cohorts. This chicken is so good; besides Ray’s incessant lip-smacking, you can hear a mouse piss on cotton. We don’t fuck around when it’s time to grub. They also have fried rice which is a huge amount of food for $3. Happy Foods maybe my second-best choice just because we have it every Friday. Either way, get a Strawberry Fanta if you wanna set the meal off. No diff than Chateau Pape de Nueff with a filet, blue.
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mackerel & cuitlacoche on foraged greens by Andon Whitehorn
mackerel mackerel, 1 fillet deboned sugar, enough to cover kosher salt, enough to cover rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar, enough to cover kombu, generous amount butter, generous amount for basting probe thermometer
In a container large enough to comfortable fit the mackerel fillet, completely encase the mackerel in sugar. Move to refrigerator and let cure for 12 hours. After 12 hours gently rinse the sugar from the fillet and pat dry with a paper towel. Rehydrate the kombu by placing in warm water for 5 minutes. Clean your mackerel container and recover, this time completely encasing the mackerel in salt and scattered kombu pieces. Move to refrigerator and let cure for 2 hours. After 2 hours gently rinse the salt from the fillet, removing the strips of kombu, and pat dry. Again, clean the container, and then completely cover the mackerel in vinegar. Refrigerate for 30 minutes. Then gently rinse and pat dry. Portion mackerel into 6 oz fillets. In a sauté pan or skillet, heat a generous amount of butter over medium heat until it begins to
froth. Place mackerel fillets (one of two at a time) skin side down into the pan. Using a large spoon, begin to baste the frothing butter over the fillets, making sure to give fillets equal attention. After a few minutes insert a probe thermometer into the thickest part of the fillet for a few seconds. Remove the probe and check for correct temperature*. Repeat this process until fillets are finished. Once the fillets are cooked, immediately move them to a paper towel or other draining station, skin side up (to maintain the crunchiness of the skin.) Reserve. *A NOTE ON TEMPERATURES: According to FDA standards, the safe internal temperature for a fillet of fish is 145ºF. However, many people feel that this temperature often leaves it dry and without character. I find a cooking temperature between 125º-135ºF to be more to my liking as well do many professionals.
wasabi yogurt 2 cups of live/active culture full fat plain yogurt 2 tablespoons of fresh grated wasabi or prepared wasabi kosher salt Combine. Gradually add kosher salt, to taste. Reserve.
cuitlacoche grits prepared grits, 32 oz (2 lb) rendered bacon fat, 1 oz (2 tablespoons) fresh or dehydrated shiitake, or shiitake seasoning, 1 oz (2 tablespoons) cuitlacoche, 7 oz (他 cup + 2 tablespoons)
Prepare grits of your choosing (traditional grits, quick grits, etc.,) in a manner that will result in using 1 quart (4 cups) of water; for most preparations of grits, this requires 6 oz (他 cup) of dried grits. For best results, follow manufacturer's/producer's directions, using the option that requires 1 quart (4 cups) of water, or as near as possible. Once the grits are finished, add 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of both rendered bacon fat and dried/fresh shiitake or shiitake seasoning. Set aside. Gently simmer 7 oz (他 cup + 2 tablespoons) of cuitlacoche over medium low heat, stirring often,
until the cuitlacoche thickens up slightly and darkens and color. Combine the cuitlacoche with the prepared grits. To assemble: Using a spoon, lace a dollop of the wasabi yogurt into the bowl, and using the spoon or a pastry brush, drag the yogurt along the surface. Place the mackerel fillet, skin side up, into the bowl. Form and set a quenelle of the cuitlacoche grits next to the mackerel fillet. Dress the plate with your chosen greenery. Serve immediately.
wood sorrel
henbit
field violet
cleavers
narrow leaf stoneseed
yarrow curly dock
shepherd’s purse
red bud common blue violet
prairie sage
field mustard
lamb’s quarters
notes on foraged greens Choose seasonal, slightly bitter greens of your liking. For the Mackerel dish: arugula, chrysanthemum, perilla, Thai basil, kale, henbit, and wild onion are nice. The wild onions were cleaned and then briefly basted in butter, while the rest of the greens were cleaned and left raw. Foraging for edible greens and vegetables is a subject matter that really requires its own article, as its tenets of precaution, safety, and sustainability cannot nor should not be gleaned over. For more information, we recommend the following sources:
Oklahoma Wildcrafting - http://www.oklahomawildcrafting.com/ The Guide To Oklahoma Wildflowers, by Patricia Folley Eat The Weeds - http://www.eattheweeds.com/ The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center - https://www.wildflower.org/ The PLANTS Database - http://plants.usda.gov/java/ Oklahoma Prairie Country - http://www.okprairie.com/Flowers.htm The foraging subreddit - http://www.reddit.com/r/foraging Plants For A Future - http://pfaf.org/user/default.aspx
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INFUSION
OBSESSION by Jenny Kress
‘Keep it simple, stupid.’ I know
process meaning the work is half
it’s cliché but dammit it works on
done before you even go to make
so many levels, especially when
a drink. (Just like in a kitchen,
creating cocktails. You don’t
proper prep is key to success.)
need to muddle your beverage
They’re also extremely versatile.
with 17 ingredients and a
Someone needs to put this
flowering garnish. It’s incredibly
infused tequila in a Bloody Mary
easy to make an out-of-the-
(Maria?).
ordinary cocktail at home for entertaining purposes or just a
Okay, okay. Clearly I have an
nightcap on the couch.
infusion obsession. The idea is to take fresh ingredients and create
The beauty of these infusion
simple but thoughtful cocktails.
and syrup recipes is they can be
Don’t get me wrong, they each
scaled up or down. You don’t
have a trick up their sleeve -
have to commit an entire bottle
some herbal and some spicy but
of booze to one ingredient just
all very palatable even for the
like you can up the conversion
least adventurous of folks. So my
of a syrup recipe. I’ve made a
wish is that folks enjoy drinking
batch of raspberry syrup that I
them as much as I enjoyed
used on desserts, cocktails, and
creating them. And that maybe
drizzled over Greek yogurt. An
it makes them feel the same
equally great factor is that the
way this guy did: “I knew I was
majority of the flavor profile is
drunk. I felt sophisticated and
accomplished during the infusion
couldn’t pronounce it.” – Anon.
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Habanero-Serrano-Ginger Infused Tequila 1 liter tequila blanco 1 serrano pepper 1 ginger root “thumb” (approx. 1 inch) Slice ingredients and drop in your desired infusion bottle; add tequila. Let sit for 48 hours and strain. Keep refrigerated. If you want extra spicy, let those suckers hang out in there for longer. I deseed the peppers before infusion so it can focus on the pepper’s flavor rather than the heat. You can use seeds or keep an extra pepper on hand to shake with the ingredients to give you a real kick in the ass.
Sunbeam’s Loot 1.5 oz infused tequila .5 oz Canton ginger liqueur 2 oz orange juice 1.5 oz lime juice Ginger beer Build tequila, liqueur, orange juice, and lime juice in cooler glass or similar glass of your choosing. Fill with ice and roll a few times in shaker to combine ingredients. Top with ginger beer.
Luminous Stammer 1.5 oz infused tequila .5 oz Cointreau 2 oz Bright Citrus Juice* Combine ingredients in shaker and shake the hell out of it. Strain into martini or coupe glass.
bright citrus juice 1.5 oz pineapple juice .5oz lemon juice. Shake ingredients with approx. 6 mint leaves to achieve delicious results.
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Cucumber-Basil Infused Gin 1 bottle New Amsterdam gin 1.5 cucumbers 6 fresh basil leaves Slice ingredients and place in desired infusion bottle; add gin. Store in refrigerator for no longer than 10 hours; strain. Through unfortunate events, I once let a batch sit for 28 hours and which resulted in a very briny batch. Not so yummy.
Mist Flower 1.5 oz infused gin .75 oz Green Chartreuse .5 oz lime juice .75 oz lavender simple syrup Combine ingredients in shaker. Fill with ice and shake til it’s nearly too cold to touch. Strain into martini or coupe glass.
lavender simple syrup 1 cup sugar 1 cup water 2 stems lavender Combine ingredients in saucepan and heat to a boil. Once sugar had completely dissolved let cool and store in refrigerator when not in use.
Sweet Et Cetera 1.5 oz infused gin .5 oz strawberry simple syrup 1 oz fresh grapefruit juice club soda Combine infused gin, simple syrup, and grapefruit juice in cooler or similar glass of your choosing. Fill with ice and roll a few times in a shaker to combine ingredients. Top with club soda.
strawberry simple syrup 他 cup sugar 1 cup water 1 cup fresh strawberries Slice strawberries in half and combine with sugar and water in a saucepan. Heat to a boil. Once sugar is dissolved removed from stove. Let cool and transfer to blender. Blend until strawberries are thoroughly pureed. Strain into a storage container. I use a chinois to get a smoother texture but a fine mesh strainer would work fine. Just get those bastard seeds out!
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ADVENTURES IN
DUMPSTER DIVING
story by Lucas Dunn illustrations by Taylor Vinson
From your vantage–point around the corner, you see the backdoor swing open, shooting a narrow beam of light into the darkened gravel lot. A young guy with bad complexion and a black companyembroidered polo shirt lugs a bulging bag of trash behind him, lifts the lid to the dumpster, and swings it into the container. The bag lands with a soft thunk. It sounds like there’s a lot more trash inside. Bingo. Just as you make your move toward the rubbish bin, you see the employee linger. He pulls out a pack of cigarettes, lights one, and paces around the dumpster. Shit. You duck back around the corner of the building and wait for a few minutes, until you hear the back door bang shut. Peeking, you see the coast is clear. Thankfully, it is winter, so the stench of the trash isn’t so bad. The top lid lifts easily, but swings down quick and bangs the back of the dumpster when let go of. The sound is startling, and you look behind to see if anyone noticed. The coast seems clear, so you climb over the edge, into the trash. The smell is rank, but the bandanna over your face makes it easier to breath. Now is the moment of truth: Is there anything edible to be found here,
or will the wallow in filth be all for naught? To many readers, this scenario can be foreign - but maybe it shouldn’t be. Digging through trash for something to eat can be an enlightening experience. It’s shocking to see how much food gets thrown away every day, much of it being completely safe and edible. Chain stores, will toss things that are barely-too-old and for being slightly blemished. You wouldn’t normally pay for the goods, but for free, you can’t pass them up. I first discovered the thrill of dumpster diving in 2008 while on a road trip. A friend and I had driven from Oklahoma to the east coast with very little money. We traveled up and down the coast, going as far north as Cape Cod, MA down to Chapel Hill, NC. It was in the middle of winter, and we mostly slept in the car, panhandled for gas money, and scavenged for food. As bad as our condition sounds, it was one of the most fun and important experiences of my life. Learning to find discarded food became a skill that I utilized for the following year even after I had returned home. Two particular scores sustained us for a good portion of the trip. We hit 37 - MUNCH
a Panera bread in New Jersey that yielded a large trash bag full of dayold bread. The bread stayed fresh in our trunk thanks to the freezing weather. Soon after, we found a natural foods grocer that was going out of business in Chapel Hill. When we got to the dumpster, it was being picked over by a dumpster diver clearly more professional than us. He wore a miner-style headlamp and had already picked over most of the contents. Most of the good stuff he kept for himself, but offered us a ten-pound block of Havarti cheese that was still shrink-wrapped and ice cold. Score. After this adventure in destitution, I kept the ball rolling at home, supplementing my diet with salvage. It is possible to dumpster dive for many nutritious items, like damaged produce or dented canned goods. I did not go this route, however, sticking mostly to pizza and donuts. Dunkin Donuts will throw out bags of day-olds, leaving massive trash bags full of hundreds of stale baked goods. Some I would eat, but the majority would end up in creative forms of vandalism, stacking them on the antenna of a friend’s car, or throwing the jellystuffed ones out the window of a moving vehicle. Not very mature,
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I know, but all that sugar can make you do evil things. Pizza is another easy, greasy find. When an order is made wrong, many chains will just throw the whole pizza in the dumpster, still in the box. Little Caesars, famous for their cheap-o “Hot-And-Ready” pizzas, will toss old pies that have been sitting under the heat lamp too long. Take it home, reheat it in the oven, and you’ve got a pizza that is only marginally worse than the ones that they sell fresh. This diet only lasted long enough for me to decide to get a job again and stop doing under-the-table work for peanuts. If they’re only charging five dollars for the whole pizza, it should probably be avoided under any circumstance, salvaged or otherwise. Eventually, I went back to waiting tables full-time, and having cashflow made eating garbage seem not worth the effort. Dumpster diving is often made into a lifestyle by the crustier kids with Food Not Bombs backpatchers, but I was merely a tourist passing through. Like an urban version of hunting or fishing, it is a useful skill to learn at some point, at least for the knowledge that no matter how bad things get, you should never go hungry.
VEGETERIANS WELCOME
a look at picasso cafe’s once-a-month veggie dinners by Kimberly Hickerson
Picasso Cafe has been holding their Veggie Dinner every 3rd Tuesday of the Month for the last year or so. Each month features an individual menu and theme, hand-shaped by the Chef, drawing from both seasonality and personal inspiration and influences. “In the heart of the Arts District, we find ourselves frequented by many forward thinking individuals. An event of this sort just seemed like a natural fit.� - Johnny Walker, Picasso Cafe, Beverage and Services Manager
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When we arrived for our first group dinner experience, the lower level of the restaurant was packed with the first of two rounds of excited diners. Lacey started by grabbing a few crowd photos and I couldn’t help but sneak peeks at the food coming out of the kitchen. After saying hello to some friends, we stepped over to The Other Room to anxiously wait our turn. Over drinks, we squeezed in a quick Munch strategy meeting but our attention quickly turned to a discussion of the evening’s menu and our stomachs rumbled in anticipation. After the first wave cleared, we made it to a table hauling hungry stomachs and lots of photo gear. Johnny Walker, the sommelier for the evening, acted as our tour guide and started off by explaining that the menu was inspired by the National Food Days of the month of March: potato chips, peanut butter, cream pie and more. I had no idea there were so many days dedicated to food. In doing my diligent research for this article I found that April will be National BLT Month as well as Grilled Cheese, Florida Tomato, and
Soft Pretzel Month. Appropriate because Picasso Cafe’s house-made pretzels are bomb. Enough about the American Calendar and it’s eating habits; let’s talk about the food!
First Course: Grilled Brussels Sprout Satay with Chipotle Peanut Butter Tasty, playful, a good way to get a children to eat Brussels. Red pepper. The sauce was delicious, creamy simple and balanced with the red pepper and Brussels. Creative plating but nothing over the top. Still in line with the casual atmosphere that Picasso’s does so well on a regular basis.
Second Course: Artichoke Heart & Bamboo Shoot with Toasted Pecan Vinaigrette Offered complex and complementary flavors. Smelled of toasted pecan in a great way. I thought someone had brought us a smoked ham and then remembered it was a veggie dinner. Totally new take on bamboo shoots. I’m still trying to figure it out, what they did to those shoots and chokes? I 43 - MUNCH
was interested in this vegetarian dinner from the first bite but now that I have had this salad I’m sold.
Third Course: Chilled Vichyssoise with Truffled Potato Chip The chips added a nice crunch. I wanted a big chubby girl pile of them to dip in my soup, but they only gave me a respectable amount like two.
Fourth Course: Gorgonzola & Sautéed Spinach Ravioli with Strawberry Balsamic Reduction Pasta Pizzaz made special ravioli at Chef John’s request. Picasso Cafe works with local products and produce frequently. Pizzaz uses the communal kitchen at Downtown OKC’s Urban Agrarian. We could have licked the Balsamic Reduction off the plate.
Fifth Course: Chocolate Covered Raisin & Oatmeal Cookie Sandwiches with Banana Cream In the best possible way reminded me of Little Debbie Oatmeal Cream Pies. Now I’m considering throwing a Sleep Over so I have an excuse to make homemade oatmeal cream pies and right the wrongs of my youth.
What surprised me the most about our dinner is how little I thought about it being vegetarian. It’s easy to flavor food with bacon and animal fat, and I love my animal fats, but when someone can create deep rich flavors without them, I’m impressed. I feel better educated on what I can do to add flavor to my own food at home.
MIGAS by Kimberly Hickerson
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2-3 large eggs 1 tablespoon milk 1 tablespoon olive oil 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 1/8 cup salsa of choice 4 ounces chorizo (optional) 2 corn tortillas
1/2 cup chopped jalapeño (or green pepper for less heat) Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper 1/8 cup Queso Fresco 1/8 cup cilantro avocado slices lime wedges
Whisk eggs with milk and set aside.
If using chorizo, heat a separate pan on medium-high. Add chorizo and cook about 5 minutes, or until done. Set aside on a paper towel to drain. Serve on the side of your Migas or add to the scramble below.
(sliced into 1/2” x 2” rectangles)
Heat oil in a skillet over mediumhigh heat. Once hot, add tortilla strips and cook, stirring and tossing until they are golden and crispy. Set those babies aside on a paper towel to catch drips. You just made fresh tortilla chips. If you’re lazy, or hungover, you can skip this step and use storebought tortilla chips. When the chips are finished, add butter to the pan and allow to melt. Add as much jalapeño as you can handle along with salsa. (I love locally made El Rancho Green Chile Verde - it’s really hot - but for a mild version, substitute chopped onion and tomato with a bit of salt and black pepper.) Cook until tender, about 3 minutes.
After your jalapeño and salsa mixture is ready, add the whisked egg to the pan. Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add tortilla crunchies and stir to combine with egg mixture and salsa until most of the moisture is cooked out, then remove from heat. Top with Queso Fresco. Garnish liberally with chopped cilantro, lime and sliced avocado.
PALETAS by Kimberly Hickerson
1 pint strawberries, stems removed 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 cup of water 1 tablespoon fresh squeezed o.j. 5 tablespoons of heavy cream Paletas are a favorite spring-to-summer treat. Fresh fruit, sugar, water and occasionally cream are mixed into a delightful frozen dessert. This recipe is a great way to enjoy the first batch of bright and bountiful spring strawberries all summer long. Thinly slice and reserve three strawberries. Blend the remaining fruit to make a chunky purée. In a sauce pan, put purée over medium heat. Whisk in sugar and orange juice until completely dissolved, about 3-5 minutes. Set aside and let cool.
Freeze molds for about 1 hour then insert a popsicle or craft stick into each one. Freeze until solid, about 3 hours. Tip: Run the molds under water for 30 seconds to help smoothly “pop” the popsicles out of their molds.
In your ice-pop molds, pour in a tablespoon of cream and then the strawberry mixture. Add 2-3 reserved strawberry slices to each. 49 - MUNCH
MUNCH - SPRING 2014 - ISSUE 5 www.munchmag.com
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