a devil of an egg

by aliceknisleymatthias

Some friends were talking about the deviled eggs they ate at a party. They didn’t care for them. The reason? There were pickles mixed in with the yolks. A deviled egg with pickles, is not the deviled egg they knew, and they weren’t interested in a new version.

The deviled egg starts with a hard-boiled egg. The goal is to get a sunny center of a yolk that has been cooked through. Our method for a hard-boiled egg starts with taking the eggs from the refrigerator and running them under some warm water to take the chill off them.

If you’re boiling one egg, or a few, place in a pan of water. Light a flame under the pan and bring to a boil. When the water starts to come to a boil, let it roll for about 60 seconds.

Cover the pan with a lid and turn the flame off. Wait exactly 10 minutes and remove the eggs from the hot water with a spoon. Run the eggs under cool water from the faucet.

Tap the egg on top to release the seal between the egg and the shell. You can then return to the faucet and run cool water over the egg as you peel. The idea behind using the cool water, is to lower the internal temperature of the egg, to stop the cooking of the yolk.

The shell should easily release in almost one entire piece.

Deviled eggs are mayonnaise, combined with the cooked yolks and a dash of Dijon mustard, mixed together. Do you like the taste of your mayonnaise? Not spread on a sandwich. Just the mayonnaise on a spoon.

That’s basically what you get with a deviled egg since it’s the yolks, mustard, and mayonnaise, that fill the hard-boiled eggs. A creamy cloud of these ingredients, with a hint of salt for flavor, nestled in the center of the hard-boiled egg.

http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/food/miracle-whip-mayonnaise-10000000674215/

After reading Melissa Clark’s views on mayonnaise some years ago, we switched our brand of mayo. There really is a difference in flavor with brands of mayonnaise.

Today was clear and crisp for our hike through the woods. We snacked on trail mix as we followed the paths through the trees holding on to the last leaves of the season.

Once we were back home, we decided to make some deviled eggs for a snack out on the patio. Our version uses sprigs of chives, with a mild onion flavor, from the plants we brought inside last weekend for the winter season.

http://www.parade.com/food/

Thanksgiving is right around the corner. Get inspired with some of my ideas for cranberries over in the Food section at Parade.  Enjoy.

running on empty and a year later

by aliceknisleymatthias

This time last year we had no power. Hurricane Sandy plunged neighborhoods into darkness. We were living without everything we take for granted.

During the day we added an extra layer of clothing in a house where everything was cold to the touch. When the sun started to go down, we knew we were headed for another night of trying to stay bundled and warm. There is something surreal about the sun setting, the last bit of natural light fading, knowing you’ll be in the dark until morning.

We played countless games of Monopoly and never really wandered too far from the roaring fireplace. We used the grill outside, or matches, to light what is, thankfully, a gas stove to cook.

There was talk of how the New York City Marathon should go on as planned. Reason finally triumphed and it was cancelled for the first time. Many runners took the Staten Island Ferry across the water to help those who lost everything to the surging sea.

There was no school for one week. There was no Halloween. It was a really good life lesson for my children to know what it’s like to have all your creature comforts taken from you in an instant. They also got to see people helping others. People had prepared for a storm. No one expected the results.

A year later, and here we are making cupcakes for our second grade class for their Halloween party. We baked a batch of cupcakes and made sure there were orange and black sprinkles on each one. We saved a few for big brother and little guy licked the spoon when we were done.

We walked around the garden yesterday and found a rose bush that had a single bloom. When you stumble across little surprises like that, it’s a reminder of how the rhythm of nature is on a cycle we are simply here to witness and appreciate.

It was so fragrant on what was an unseasonably warm day. It seemed so out of place and gave off a scent we associate with summer. We know we will experience the scent of that rose again. That’s how the changing seasons mark the passing of time.

Tonight, we make some magic happen with a cheese pumpkin. The inspiration? We have some cheese pumpkins. Also, the sage in the garden is the perfect fall ingredient to use with anything pumpkin.

The woodsy sage leaves mixed with pumpkin and Gruyere cheese make a savory side dish. Take a look at how to make it in my post over in the Food section at Parade. The link is below.

This morning the runners lined up at the starting line on Staten Island for the New York City Marathon. There are businesses and homeowners who are still struggling with issues. Time moves forward. Tonight, we will have dinner by candlelight to remind us that we did just that, for over a week last year, because we had no choice.

http://www.parade.com/218453/aliceknisleymatthias-2/bake-a-cheese-pumpkin-for-an-autumn-side-dish/

boo! scare up some pumpkin seeds

by aliceknisleymatthias

Halloween is right around the corner, but the partying has already started. We had the annual Boo Bash at school. Costumes, cupcakes, candy and chaos. My younger guy was all fired up for it. We made cupcakes with sprinkles and he got in character to be a vampire. It served as another reminder that my older guy really graduated from the elementary school last June. Sigh.

This is the surprise in the garden that showed up this week. A few dianthus flowers decided they needed one more showing.

It’s usually the middle of October when we carve a jack-o-lantern for the front steps. We place a lit candle inside the pumpkin creation and watch from the living room window as the carved pumpkin glows and flickers. Cleaning out a big pumpkin to prepare for carving takes some work.

You can have some fun, carve a jack-o-lantern, and make a healthy snack all at the same time. The inside of pumpkins contain pumpkin seeds that should never be thrown out. Rinse them off, pat dry, and toast in the oven.

Pumpkin seeds are good for you and you can use a wide variety of flavors to create a snack to your taste.

You can use salt, smoky paprika or a combination of good dried herbs. It’s easy to make your own dried herbs. The taste is much different from what you get in glass jars at the store. Who knows how long the spices have been in those jars before they started spending time in your kitchen cabinets?

Follow these directions from my post in the Food section at Parade and make your own dried herbs. http://www.parade.com/157078/aliceknisleymatthias-2/how-to-make-your-own-dried-herbs/

Scatter pumpkin seeds on a sheet pan and toast in the oven at 350 F for about 7-10 minutes.

Season the pumpkin seeds when they come out of the oven and are still warm. That’s when the seeds are going to absorb the flavors you’re adding.  Mix the seeds with other nuts, like peanuts and cashews, and make your own party mix.

Store toasted pumpkin seeds in an air-tight  container for about one week. See if they’re even around that long. You’ll grab the toasted pumpkin seeds by the handful and they’re sure to disappear quickly.

By the way, herbinkitchen.com  was launched one year ago with the help of Molly O’ Neill, former New York Times food writer and all-around great person, in one of her writer workshops at her website Cook n Scribble.

I say thank you to her, once again, for listing my blog in the blog roll at her site with writers who are at the top of their game. http://www.cooknscribble.com/blogroll/

Be sure to head over to Food at Parade for this week’s topic.  http://www.parade.com/221460/aliceknisleymatthias-2/one-easy-step-for-the-creamiest-hummus/ Oh, and trick or treat.

columbus day risotto

by aliceknisleymatthias

We had a little fun with dinner the other night after a day of sunshine and puffy clouds outside. We noticed the sedum is starting to go to seed which means the end of the season is on its way. There are still little surprises to be found though. Like the rose bush that burst forth with two new ruby-red blooms.

We have been following a meatless Monday schedule which usually means a pasta dish for dinner. Any excuse to eat more pasta works for my guys. Last week we had a roast chicken so there were leftovers in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. The vegetable bin had some vegetables that needed to get used so we made chicken stock. Try using the green carrot tops in your stock.

Homemade chicken stock is the perfect way to use leftovers and it is so easy to make. We make batches of it for the cold weather season and store in the freezer.

The first person to get a cold can benefit from the homemade stock being ready to go from the freezer to the stove and soothe cold symptoms with some noodles for a fast chicken soup.

Our dinner was a risotto made three different ways. The aborio rice is vacuum packed for freshness. The guys think it’s funny to watch the solid block immediately deflate and change shape when pierced with a knife.

The homemade chicken stock can add flavor to the risotto. To be truly meatless we should be using a pure vegetable stock. The chicken stock has a richer flavor. We do what we can.

It’s always something magical to watch kitchen scraps and water turn into a deeply flavored chicken stock.

This stock is perfect for a risotto since the aborio rice slowly absorbs the stock and takes on the flavor. The better the stock – the better the risotto. It starts out with a base of onions and garlic. Then, for the next 30 minutes the stock gets added a ladle at a time to allow the rice to soften.

At the end of cooking time a generous amount of Parmesan cheese is added. For our Columbus Day risotto it was a nod to the flag of Italy. The risotto was split three ways. One pot got a shot of tomato paste from a tube. The other a basil pesto. The third remained as prepared.

The three different versions of risotto were spread in three rows on the plate. We had our Columbus Day risotto as we shared fun facts like Columbus was never actually looking to discover anything when he originally set sail. Sometimes, that’s when you make the best discoveries.

Be sure and head over to Parade Food for this week’s pumpkin flan dessert ideas. http://www.parade.com/212328/aliceknisleymatthias-2/enjoy-the-seasons-flavors-with-pumpkin-flan/

from the pumpkin patch to the soup bowl

by aliceknisleymatthias

The leaves are turning golden and dropping to the ground. Pumpkins and mums line the front steps of homes in our neighborhood. We picked up some pumpkins and flowers this weekend along with a bale of hay that sits by the front door to usher in the fall season.

Some of the mums you buy at stands in the fall are perennials. They most likely will not be labeled as perennials so do your own test. When the first hard frost signals the end of the growing cycle for the mums, place them in the garage or a shed for the winter. If you see new growth in the spring you have a perennial. If you don’t, put it in the compost.

When you purchase pumpkins, decorate with some, and bring some others into the kitchen. Pumpkin pies aren’t the only reason to cut open those orange squash and get cooking. Try your hand at making a batch of pumpkin soup.

You can make this soup in about 1 hour so it could be the perfect vegetable serving on the dinner table for a meal during the week. With a few ingredients, you can make a creamy and satisfying soup that’s rich in flavor and boosts your beta carotene intake. This soup has a squash flavor, with hints of fresh thyme, and a bit of light cream.

You can feel good about cooking with pumpkins as they are packed with nutritious vitamins. If you want to do a vegetarian version of pumpkin soup, use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock.

When selecting pumpkins for cooking, go for the smaller pumpkins called sugar pumpkins or pie pumpkins. Don’t worry about them tasting sweet like pumpkin pie. Pumpkins are actually a very neutral flavor. It’s the ingredients you add that can take it in the direction of sweet or savory.

You think the vibrant orange color of the fall’s crop of pumpkins looks good on the front steps? Make this soup and see how inviting it is in a bowl on your table tonight.

For how to make your own pumpkin puree and other ideas check out my latest post over at Parade Food. http://www.parade.com/172459/aliceknisleymatthias-2/make-your-own-pumpkin-puree/

Find the recipe for pumpkin soup below.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

1 sugar pumpkin

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon butter

1 onion diced

2 cloves garlic chopped

1 1/2 cups of stock (this will vary according to the thickness of the soup)

6 sprigs of fresh thyme, leaves removed

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

kosher salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup light cream

Remove top of pumpkin and stem. Turn the pumpkin over and slice in half with a good knife. Slice the halves so you have quarters and remove seeds.

Place pumpkin pieces on a baking sheet skin-side-up or down and roast in a pre-heated 350 degree oven for 45-50 minutes. A knife should easily pierce the skin of the pumpkin after cooking time. Allow to cool.

When pieces are cooled, remove flesh from skins.

Sweat onions and butter in olive oil in a pot. After 1 minute, add the garlic and stir for another 30 seconds.

Place pumpkin, onions, and garlic in a food process and puree until smooth.

Transfer back to cooking pot and add all ingredients except the light cream. Simmer on a low flame for 15 minutes. Stir in light cream.

Serve with a dollop of crème fraiche, or sour cream. Sprinkle soup bowls with some more thyme leaves.

a bit of heat and picky eaters

by aliceknisleymatthias

We turned the calendar to October and pulled some shorts back out for another round of warm weather. Nature’s little game of keeping us guessing.  That includes the weather and what is growing in the garden. It’s a reminder to always look around at what grows all around you. We made a discovery this weekend. The huge purple butterfly bush re-seeded in a pot with the blueberry shrub.

How did the lemon get such a bad rap? As in “When life hands you lemons, make lemonade.” Or a lemon law to protect us from car clunkers. We’re plucking some lemons from the Meyer lemon tree this afternoon and making lemonade because the bright yellow fruit is ripe and it’s heading up to 85 degrees later.

http://www.parade.com/170060/aliceknisleymatthias-2/trying-to-feed-picky-kids-check-out-the-picky-eaters-project/

The guys love homemade lemonade. This week’s topic over at Parade is about picky eaters. If you have a child who fits that description head over to Parade Food and see what Food Network personality Melissa d’ Arabian is doing with her family in a new web series for Food Network called The Picky Eaters Project.

see you september

by aliceknisleymatthias

September. The cooler air moves in and the leaves begin their show-stopping parade of color. The first race of the cross-country season was held this weekend.

The runners followed the course and the sunshine highlighted the slightly orange canopy of leaves in the park. Little guy is racing this year and found out the course is not as easy as it may look to a confident second grader.

The growing season for most of the herbs and perennials is slowly starting to come to an end. There are some perennial flowers lingering longer this fall since they escaped a scorching August heat.

Right now there is the last lemon on the Meyer lemon bush. The bush didn’t do so well in the house last year. Then, all of a sudden it came to life in March. That’s the beauty and the mystery of growing anything.

The hydrangea bushes had one last new bloom that appeared. The hydrangea flowers, that spill through the picket fence, dry their own buds on the bush. These will get cut and placed in a vase for the next few months.

The rosemary, in our growing zone of the country, will have about another few weeks before it goes inside to continue to provide some woodsy flavor in the kitchen. Many herbs can be used in dishes to reflect the changing seasons. The rosemary sprigs, placed on the pork chop on the grill this summer, waiting to be paired with a fruit salsa, will now add some rosemary perfume to richer sauces and stews.

The basil leaves are coming to the end of their growing season. Use up every last bit of the basil plants and freeze. Wash and dry the basil leaves. Spin in a spinner or let them be patted dry for an extra bit of time. Slice the leaves into ribbons. Place them in ice cube trays with a good quality chicken or vegetable broth and freeze. When you’re making a sauce, stew, or soup this winter, pop out one or two of the basil and broth cubes to melt into your cooking pot.

Taking care of a garden makes you always think forward to the next growing season. There’s nothing more rewarding, after watching the flowers and herbs yield to fall, and then winter, return the following spring. That’s what we love about sedum. It’s the last to say good-bye in the fall and the first to say hello in the spring.

For more ideas about using your freezer for preserving fresh flavors, check out this recent post of mine over at Parade Food. Be sure to look for next week’s topic.

http://www.parade.com/154389/aliceknisleymatthias-2/use-your-freezer-for-summer-flavor-this-winter/

See you soon.

say cheeseburger!

by aliceknisleymatthias

Do you know what today is? It’s National Cheeseburger Day!

You can scroll back a few posts for our tips on a better backyard burger. Like how using the trapped steam at the end of cooking time helps make a really juicy burger.

Here’s your challenge for National Cheeseburger Day. Break out of the rut of putting the same kind of cheese on your burgers when you’re out at the grill. Check the cheese department at your store and explore some new possibilities. Do you like cheddar? Try cheddar tonight. Or, take it a step further and use a sharp cheddar. Combine the two cheeses for a combination of mild and sharp. It’s your mix.

There are cheese manufacturers who are already playing with combinations of cheese to make it even easier for you. A Colby and Monterey Jack is a pairing that works well together. Pick up a package where they’ve combined it in one easy-to-slice cheese. It’s all ready to be used for your grilling session.

Here’s another twist. Try putting the cheese inside the burger. Take a patty and split in half. Place the cheese on the first patty and cover with the second one. Seal the edges and this burger delivers cheese in every bite that melts out as you enjoy.

Make sure the toppings are as fresh as can be. Red onions sliced thin. Chilled crispy lettuce and juicy tomatoes help you build a burger your family will enjoy. Remember the aioli we talked about months ago? It makes a great condiment for a burger. Mix equal parts mayonnaise and ketchup and slather on a hamburger bun. Now, add some chopped basil or chives. Salt and pepper to taste.

Enjoy your burgers. The post for the Food section in Parade goes up tomorrow. Please stop by and leave a comment.

Update. Here is the link for Parade Food.  http://www.parade.com/157078/aliceknisleymatthias-2/how-to-make-your-own-dried-herbs/

corn chowder calling

by aliceknisleymatthias

What word comes to mind when you think of corn? A good ear of corn is naturally sweet.

As we’ve said here before, boiling corn pulls the corn flavor into the boiling water. The corn gets drained in a colander. Now, the water and all that flavor gets washed down the drain. Do yourself a favor and always oven roast or grill your corn.

Wrap it in foil or keep the husks intact. Corn husks are like nature’s tin foil. They are already tightly wrapped around the ears of corn and ready to retain the heat during cooking time. It keeps all the flavor in the corn. Not the drain in the sink.

Paying for pre-shredded or pre-sliced food items is a choice. Most markets carry pre-chopped pancetta. The pre-chopped pancetta tends to be a little dry which is fine for this corn chowder since it gets cooked with some onion and garlic. It doesn’t work so well in an uncooked dish.

Start by grilling your corn. There are two methods for grilling the corn. Leave the corn in the husks and place the corn on the side of the grill without a direct flame. Cover the grill for about 30 minutes.

Or, you can remove the corn from the husks and place over direct flame for a few minutes. This will caramelize some of the corn’s sugars in the kernels and give a smoky layer of flavor. Finish on the side of the grill with indirect heat (no flame) and cover for about 25 minutes.

Allow corn to cool and remove husks. Use a knife to cut off corn kernels with a knife and scrape the corn cobs with a spoon. This will get the milky juices out of the corn. Reserve half an ear of corn kernels.

Begin to render some cubes of pancetta in a pot. As you stir, the oils from the pancetta will begin to coat the bottom of the pot. Once the pancetta is crispy, remove with a slotted spoon and drain on a paper towel.

Add some chopped onion to the pot and stir until translucent. Now, your chopped garlic and continue to cook for about I minute. Stir in the kernels and chicken or vegetable stock. Use your wooden spoon to get the brown bits on the bottom of your pot left behind from the pancetta.

You can make this a vegetarian corn chowder by using vegetable stock. Place pancetta cubes in the pot and simmer on a low flame for about 30 minutes. In a blender, puree the reserved corn kernels. Stir into the soup. This will add as a thickener for the chowder. Use salt and pepper to taste.

Stir in some light cream and chopped scallions and chives. To take this soup into the fall, swap out the chives for some fresh sage leaves. Serve your creamy corn chowder warm, room temperature or chilled.

Check out the posts by me over at Parade.com in the Food section.

http://www.parade.com/154389/aliceknisleymatthias-2/use-your-freezer-for-summer-flavor-this-winter/

Your ingredient list for the chowder is below.

Corn Chowder

6 ears of corn

1 cup chopped pancetta

1 large onion chopped

2 garlic cloves chopped

4 cups chicken or vegetable stock

3/4 cup light cream

4 scallions chopped

3 tablespoons fresh chives chopped

salt and pepper to taste

hot off the panini press

by aliceknisleymatthias

Hey, didn’t she say she had a big announcement tomorrow? Last week? She did. It has been a few more tomorrows. Here is the news.

Continue following the conversation here at herbinkitchen.com and join me over at PARADE.com where I will be posting once a week in the FOOD section. Today was the first post and it has to do with what is on all of our minds. Getting ready to start packing lunches for the school year once again!

Get ready for school and head on over to PARADE.com for some lunch ideas.

http://www.parade.com/151537/aliceknisleymatthias-2/7-tips-for-a-more-exciting-school-lunch/

The new school year is almost here. Get your game plan ready.