Thin, crisp on the outside, sweet flavors on the inside

The Husband is Jewish, so through marriage I’ve been pulled into the mystique of the latke. It is truly an irresistible food — so easy, really, but I was always timid about making them. After all, shouldn’t there be a bubbe somewhere in my kitchen, teaching me the ins and outs? Do I have the exact right grater? Flour or matzoh meal? I mean seriously! But the Husband has no demands latke-wise, and my mother-in-law lost the knack years ago in the shuffle of living in places like Seoul, Amsterdam, Manila, and Dallas. I’m on my own here.

I have made latkes in the past, but with regular potatoes. I have failed, however, to absorb the technique, so every year is like a new start — how long do you drain the potatoes? Well, Daughter #2 has been coming home every year from her school’s “Yam Festival” raving about the sweet potato latkes, so I decided to give them a try. Less pressure since they are less traditional. She was right, they are delicious, especially with some homemade applesauce and sour cream. And these are made with a lot less oil (shhh, don’t tell the bubbe!). So Happy Hanukkah, or heck, just make ‘em for any day of the week.

Granny Smiths and a couple of Honeycrisps

Homemade Applesauce | 2 cups

You may be wondering why in the world you’d make applesauce from scratch. The answer is that it’s fast and it couldn’t be simpler. You can season it, sweeten it, cook it down, leave it chunky, add herbs, add wine — all in under a half hour. Here’s the short version of the recipe: Peel, core, chop 8 apples, throw in a pot with sugar and seasonings and small amount of water, cook gently 25 minutes. Done.

8 tart apples
2 heaping tablespoons sugar or to taste
Cinnamon stick
1-inch chunk of fresh ginger
Small pinch of thyme (optional)
1/4 cup water

Peel and core apples and cut into large chunks.

I use a paring knife but if you prefer a peeler that's fine -- whatever is fast

I just cut the apple around the core into 4 hunks (rather than search the drawer for my apple corer)

Apple chunks, cinnamon stick, and ginger chunk (leave some peel on it so you can identify and remove it at the end -- !)

Put the apple pieces, sugar, cinnamon stick, ginger, thyme and water in a pot. Cover and cook gently for 25 to 35 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the apples are tender and mostly falling apart. Let cool, remove the cinnamon stick and ginger, and serve.

This is cooked on the shorter side to make a chunkier applesauce

Sweet Potato and Leek Latkes | makes 24 to 28 latkes

Might as well invite people into the kitchen to eat these as you make them — it’s more convivial, and they are so good right out of the pan!

1 large leek
2 large sweet potatoes
3 tablespoons chopped chives (about 12 long chive stems)
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1 egg, beaten
4 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup canola oil, more or less
Olive oil

Trim the root from the leek and cut off most of the green tops. Cut in half lengthwise and rinse between the layers. Drain well and pat dry. Cut the leek into a fine lengthwise julienne.

Grit tends to collect between the leek layers, especially toward the top end, so rinse well

Cut the leek first into julienne strips...

...and then chop it down a little further for a fine shred like this

Scrub the potatoes and pat dry. Halve and coarsely grate. Chop the chives.

I didn't bother to peel the potato -- the extra color and nutrients are nice!

Nice color and flavor in the latkes

Combine the shredded leeks, the grated sweet potatoes, and the chives in a large bowl. Add the salt a little at a time, mixing well as after each addition. Mix in the beaten egg. Sprinkle in the flour, tossing the mixture to coat evenly.

Sweet potatoes are "dry" enough that they don't require draining for latkes like regular potatoes

Make sure the egg and flour are evenly distributed throughout the potato mixture

Preheat the oven to 200°F. Line a baking sheet with a rectangle of a paper bag, inside facing up.

Heat a thin layer of canola oil along with a few drops of olive oil in a large skillet over medium to medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, form the latkes: on your hand, put a blob of potato mixture about the size of a golf ball. Flatten it against your fingers, and drop that right down onto the hot pan. Form another one and drop it in, repeating until you fill the pan. The latkes should sizzle but not smoke.

Cook the latkes on the first side until deeply browning and crisping, 2 to 3 minutes. The latkes cook fastest on the first side since there is more oil. Flip them carefully and cook on the second side until nicely browned, 4 to 5 more minutes.

They should hold together but be fairly thin

A nice, deep flavorful brown -- the sweet potato caramelizes beautifully

Place the cooked latkes on the paper bag-lined baking sheet and keep warm in the oven.

The bag keeps the latke crisp, and still absorbs the excess oil

This is a great way to keep latkes warm — that is, if you have any that haven’t been snatched right off your spatula!

Happy Hanukkah.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

From a "head" of garlic come "cloves" -- a large clove of garlic on the left, and small clove on the right, and some of the "paper" of the garlic head has been peeled off

I love garlic. Just the right amount of garlic, that is. There is a restaurant nearby (or 100 restaurants) that has taken the public’s love of garlic to the extreme — they are quite simply overdoing it, and that gives garlic a bad name. They have gallons of pre-chopped garlic on hand, so the temptation to slop just a little more each time into that pasta dish or onto that pizza has resulted in a garlic knock-down, and you come out smelling like the stuff.

Rules of thumb: mince, chop or whatever you’re doing to the garlic just before using it. It’ll be fresher and less bitter. Resist the urge to go wild with it, and exercise restraint if you’re using it raw. Rub your fingers with a lemon wedge to get rid of the smell, unless you like it on your hands!

Raw garlic can have a caffeine effect on some folks, so keep it to a dull roar. I had just discovered the wonderful technique of rubbing the cut side of a garlic clove onto toasted and oiled bread, but I wasn’t given the instruction to use one clove of garlic for, say, 12 to 15 pieces of bread — maybe not even a whole clove is needed. Just a brush-by, not a grind. Anyway, I must have used several cloves, and wow, those crostini were crazy-strong. We ate ‘em up, and then I was awake all night with a very stimulated heart rate and some breath that would have been enough for any vampire.

Moderation = Love.

Roasted garlic = Passion.

I really want one to myself, but I will share

How to Peel, Chop, Mince, Paste and Roast Garlic

Regular garlic has smallish cloves, 12 to 15 of them per head. Look for a compact, firm, non-sprouting head for the freshest flavor. Elephant garlic is something between a leek and garlic, bearing some flavor resemblance. Its big cloves are milder but can be used in the same way.

If you need only a clove, peel away some of the paper and snap one off of the outside of the head. To break up the head, turn it to angle down against the board and give it a good whack. One way is to hold the heel of your hand against the garlic, and use the other hand as the “hammer.”

Turn the head at a downward angle to the board and give it a good smack with the heel of your hand

The cloves will easily break off the root. They can be used just like this — with the paper on — to roast with chicken or meat. Then you will squeeze the pulpy garlic out of the paper to eat with the chicken.

To remove the paper from an individual clove, place the flat side of a chef’s knife on top of the clove and give it (again!) a good whack to crack the paper. Depending on how hard you’ve whacked it, the clove will either be whole or impressively smashed.

Just a firm pop with the heel of your and will crack the paper

Trim off the root and pull away the paper.

This one I gave a mild whack, so the garlic clove is fairly intact but the paper peels right off -- when you trim off the root the paper will come away completely

Four degrees of strength applied to the whack on the knife gives you cloves ranging from intact to smashed

A whole, intact garlic clove can go right into a stew or sauce, which can be removed before serving. I like to split them so that the oils come through but they are still easy to find when I want to take them out. Cook whole cloves gently in butter and cream for half an hour to mash and add to mashed potatoes. Slice whole cloves for the basic Italian aglio/olio combination, which I use for pasta, boiled potatoes, and countless other dishes that would be good with some garlicky oil.

Make the classic pasta sauce, aglio, olio e peperoncino, by gently cooking sliced garlic and red pepper flakes in olive oil

Cook it gently because garlic gets bitter if overcooked

From here, depending on how far along the initial smash takes you, you can chop (large dry chunks), mince (small dry chunks), or mince to a paste (gooey and pasty). The helpful ingredient in any of these processes is salt, which makes the garlic a little sticky and prevents the little bits from flying around on the board.

This is a medium-smashed clove of garlic -- sprinkle just a tiny pinch of salt on it before chopping

The salt makes it a little sticky and helps the garlic cling to the knife -- this is chopped and can be used in any recipe that calls for chopped garlic

Use the knife to "gather up" the garlic as you keep chopping it -- this is minced at this stage

To move to the paste stage, smash the minced garlic against the board with the side of the knife, breaking the chunks down, and then continue to chop it, alternating between the two

This is pretty pasty, and will melt nicely into a dish where you don't want the garlic to have an obvious presence

Roasting garlic renders it so tame and mild and sweet, a delicious condiment for a hunk of great Italian bread. Hard to say how many to make, but I would easily eat half a head of it, with no adverse effects.

Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line custard cups or muffin tin cups with foil (for easier cleanup). Use fresh, whole, intact heads of garlic. Peel away the outside papery layers, but leave the cloves attached. Trim just the top of the garlic head, leaving most of the cloves covered with their paper.

Some recipes instruct you to cut a lot off the top, but I like to let the garlic cook inside its own paper

Place the garlic in the cup and drizzle it with a teaspoon or so of olive oil, aiming for the spaces between the cloves. Rub the outside layers to coat. Sprinkle with sea salt and place a rosemary sprig under the head if desired.

Try to drizzle between the cloves

After rubbing with oil, sprinkle the garlic head with sea salt and tuck a rosemary sprig underneath

Cook the garlic for 34 to 45 minutes in the preheated oven, checking to make sure it isn’t getting burned. Cover lightly with foil if it’s getting too brown.

Remove and serve on plate, drizzled with the olive oil that has collected at the bottom of the cup.

Garlic = Life.

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

This was playoff game #1, then there was that crazy game #2 and now I'm saying Go Saints (but it would be Go Vikings...)

Uh huh. Yup. That’s right. I do watch the Super Bowl. Where I come from that would be considered a given (Oklahoma, home of reluctant but loyal Cowboys fans). But where I live is another matter. People in these parts approach the Super Bowl apologetically — put it in quotes. This might be different if we had a team in this megalopolis, but no. Did, don’t. Might, don’t yet. So we’re a fan amalgam of where we’re from, places we love, dream teams, underdogs. One constant, though, is that there must be a Super (Size Me) Sunday array of snacks. And in my little circle it’s wings.

Another name for this sports bar snack is Buffalo wings (so named for a restaurant in Buffalo, NY, where they are reputed to have been “invented”). And it’s perfect that Calvin Trillin, known for his love of anything that requires him to lick his fingers, was lurking somewhere in that area circa 1980, interviewing and eating, when this snack hit the big time.

I love wings but not the big franchise kind. They just don’t taste personal, and often come with either indifferent barbecue sauce or ranch dressing, a newer substitute for the classic accompaniment, blue cheese dressing. So I’ve taken on the wing, and the sauces as well. I used a dry brine and kept the wings in the refrigerator overnight to tenderize and flavor them. Once you’ve made your own you’ll be required to bring them to every Super Bowl party you ever attend — even in the NFL-free zone of Los Angeles.

Roasted Chicken Wings with 3 Sauces | 50 pieces

If you have lots of other food, allow 5 pieces per person. I’ve seen some hungry snackers go at it, though, so plan accordingly. I bought 5 pounds of wings, or 16 individual wings, which yielded 32 pieces. I also bought 2 1/2 pounds of drumettes at a considerably higher price per pound, and that was 20 pieces. I recommend buying whole wings and cutting them up yourself — it’s fast and simple and cheaper by a long…pass.

7 1/2 pounds chicken wings
For the dry brine:
2 tablespoons salt
2 tablespoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dry mustard
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon cumin
Oil

Cut the whole wings into two pieces, discarding the tip end.

Whole wing on the left, drumette -- the part closest to the breast -- on the right

With the tip of the knife, identify where the joint is between the drumette and the flat center piece of the wing

Cut firmly between the two ball joints

Trim off the wing tip -- it's a little harder to find the natural cut point, but it is below the joint where the two bones of the flat piece come together

Trim off any excess skin.

Sometimes the drumettes, especially, have a little extra skin

Arrange the chicken pieces in one layer.

All in a row...

Mix the dry brine ingredients together in a bowl and sprinkle over the chicken, turning to coat the underside.

Most important ingredients are the salt and the heat -- the salt "brines" the chicken and the cayenne determines the spiciness

If you are making more than about 50 wings be sure to increase the amount of dry brine

Place the wings in a couple of large, open plastic bags and leave them in the refrigerator overnight.

Just leave the top open, and if you remember, turn the bag over a couple of times

When you are ready to cook the chicken, preheat the oven to 425°F. Arrange the wings in one layer on one or two lightly oiled baking sheets. Cook for 50 minutes to 1 hour, trading shelves if you use more than one pan, and turning once while cooking.

When the wings are done, let them sit for 5 minutes to cool before removing them from the pan -- they will "unstick" more easily

Bourbon Bacon Barbecue Sauce | 2 cups

Oh, yes, very good.

3 slices good quality bacon, cooked crisp, drained, and minced
1 1/2 cups ketchup
1/2 cup bourbon
1/4 cup molasses
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons espresso or very strong coffee
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon onion powder
Tabasco or other hot sauce, to taste

Combine all the ingredients in a non-aluminum saucepan.

I prefer not to use uncoated or untreated aluminum pans with tomato-based sauces

Bring to a gentle boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, very low, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and cool before serving.

Nice smoky flavor from the bacon

Curry-Ginger Yogurt Sauce | 1 1/2 cups

1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
1 tablespoon cream or half & half
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon sugar1-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely minced
6 or 8 sprigs of cilantro, leaves minced (about 2 heaping tablespoons)

Combine all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

This sauce is great on chicken salad, too

Not the usual Super Bowl fare, admittedly

Herbed Aioli

Serve wings with herbed aioli made from homemade mayonnaise — a wonder of garlic, olive oil and herbs. You may have to switch out the beer for a white Rhone.

Garlic & herb deliciousness

Now all I need is a couple of dollars ridin’ on the Saints…

Kelly McCune © 2010

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.

Almost all the ingredients -- plus a secret one -- of a great salsa

You can’t really make a mistake when making fresh salsa and there are hardly any secret ingredients. After all, you can see nearly everything that’s in that blob on the chip. Well, almost everything.

In my post Black Beans with Roasty Green Chiles, I mention Lulu, my sometime instructress in the ways of Mexican cooking. I had made fresh salsa often, but sometimes found it lacking a little something. I like tomatoes, but not a tomato-ey salsa. But I do like it to have a binding — something that holds it all together and thickens the tomato and lime juices. I had to pester Lulu for the answer to this problem, and finally one day she let me in on her secret: tomato paste.

Now that’s disappointing. It’s difficult to see tomato paste as the secret ingredient of anything, let alone salsa. I tried not to let her see me roll my eyes, and I dutifully chopped things, waiting for that undramatic moment when we would add the…tomato paste. All I can say is, this is one time when that lowly ingredient can wear a tux and jump in the spotlight, because it really emcees all the other ingredients.

From this basic recipe for salsa come all other variations. Substitute chopped mango for the tomato or add black beans. Switch the black beans out for avocado or add cooked corn kernels. Use pickled jalapeño, serrano, or habañero for more heat, Anaheim, poblano or pasilla for mild, or chipotle (smoked jalapeño) for a deep, earthy taste. The basics to retain are: onion, garlic, lime, tomato paste, some kind of chile and salt.

Fresh Salsa | 4 cups

Let the salsa sit for an hour or more to develop its flavors. It will keep about a week in the refrigerator.

4 large tomatoes (or the equivalent), any color, chopped and juices retained
1/2 large red onion, chopped
4 green onions, white part and half the green, chopped
1 fresh jalapeño chile, seeded and minced
1 mild green chile, such as Anaheim or pasilla, seeded and minced
1 small garlic clove, minced to a paste
Pinch of sugar
Pinch of salt
Drizzle of olive oil
Juice of 1 lime (use 2 if the lime isn’t juicy)
1 heaping tablespoon tomato paste
Optional: Hot chiles or hot sauce to taste (see below)
1/4 bunch cilanto (about 10 sprigs), leaves chopped

In a large bowl combine the chopped tomatoes and their juices, the red onion, green onion, jalapeño, mild chile, garlic, sugar, salt, olive oil, and lime juice.

That's a red jalapeño and a green one as well on the right -- I used half of each

I like my reamer for quickly juicing the lime

Add the tomato paste and mix well, adding more if the juices need a little more body. Add hot sauce or hot chiles to taste if you want it spicy. Stir in the chopped cilantro.

Mix this into mashed avocados for a quick guacamole, but please, pass the chips

If you’re into some serious heat: add your favorite killer hot sauce or you can add minced hot chiles, such as habañero or serrano (shown in the top photo on the bottom left, the squat orange chile is the habañero and the long green one is the serrano) or other hot chile. Take extreme care when handling the chiles, though. In fact, wearing latex gloves is your best protection. If those aren’t available, handle the chiles under running water. What’s hot is the juice and the ribs of the chile — its waxy skin keeps that at bay until you cut it open. The heat is concentrated in the whitish to yellowish ribs of the chile, which should most likely be trimmed away. Seeds too, which are hot because of their proximity to the ribs. Where the ribs join the stem top of the chile is the inferno. Wash your hands well with soapy water after handling chiles, and for heavens sake, don’t touch your eyes. Not a good moment to dash away a tear…

©2012 Kitchenelly. All Rights Reserved.