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Recent Delights, Vol. XII
It’s been a while, but yes, I’ve been eating food. Here’s proof.
Alexandra is now in kindergarten so hopefully that’ll mean more time for some cool cooking and shooting.
Ah, I’ll probably just go fishing. Here’s some stuff anyway.
My first try at tamales. I kept the corn husks off of some very large corn cobs recently and put them to work for this classic Mexican treat. A simple mix of masa corn tortilla mix, water or chicken stock and salt, which is spread on the husk, layered with some good stuff like chicken, onion, peppers and mole sauce, then closed up and steamed for 40 minutes. Remove husk, top with a fresh salsa and ram into face.
The finished tamale just before it was rammed into my face.
A little plug for the Saint John Ale House here. Their new cheesecake dessert, a creation of Chef Jesse Vergen, is really great. The portion size (that of not being two pounds of cake) is one of many great things about it. Served in a little jam jar! Neat.
2.7 lb Smallmouth Bass, caught in Cassidy Lake, south of Norton. Finally getting some fish that are big enough to keep and eat, I managed to haul this ferocious fighter into my kayak after a lengthy struggle that tested the limits of my fishing rod and line.
My smallmouth bass, simply coated in flour, seasoned well with salt and pepper and pan fried. So fresh and clean tasting. Truly a delight. Smallmouth bass season ends September 15 so get out and get some!
Fried chicken. Oh baby. It was as good as it looks. Brined for a few hours then battered up with aromatic herbs and spices, then carefully deep fried for about 14 minutes per batch. The Colonel would be jealous if he wasn’t stone cold dead.
My version of fast food. Pan seared steak with quick-braised onions and blue cheese on top of a microwaved-and-mashed potato. Faster than you can say burger and fries. Okay, significantly longer, but still.
Homemade smoked slammin’ salmon gravlox with black pepper and cream cheese on a homemade bun. A regular filet of Atlantic Salmon is just two days of curing away from becoming smoked salmon. Smoked paprika is the trick to adding smoked flavour without actually smoking. Delicious stuff.
I’ve been noodle crazy lately and yakisoba is a dish I’ve regularly turned to for lunch. A simple mix of vegetables, tofu or Chinese sausage and a flavourful mix of Asian sauces and sake and lunch is served.
A potato, beans and an egg. Magic.
This was actually Alexandra’s lunch for one of her days at theatre camp this summer. A BLT, made with local tomato and local bacon. The bun came from Cookie Crumb bakery in Rothesay, my second favourite place for bread products after my own kitchen.
Another quick dinner using ingredients many will have on hand. An onion and zucchini-laced frittata topped with local tomatoes and parmesan cheese. Baked in cast iron. Yum!
A simple meatball and tomato sauce with penne. Hey, it doesn’t always have to be spaghetti, especially when you’ve already got the water boiling and realize you’re completely out of spaghetti. Then, penne is perfect.
A burger. A carrot. Can you tell the difference?
Patrick, thanks for that! I just kind of winged it on the technique based on a few sites I found and as well, a technique that would work for the small corn husks I was working with. It seemed that in Mexico, people had access to much larger husks. Anyway, yeah there definitely should be some fat in the mix. I just used a couple of good knobs of butter I believe, rather than going out and getting some lard. I was also concerned about the amount of saturated fat in lard but I’m aware it is indeed the right thing to use for tamales. It’s also great for making fried chicken but oh man, a killer for the arteries.
Jenn, out here in remote New Brunswick, Sobey’s now carries Maseca mix. This stuff:
http://www.norecipes.com/ingredient/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/masa-1-500×334.jpg
I used to have to buy in bulk at the Scoop & Save store in Fredericton but now it’s at all the Sobey’s. Should be easy to find in Ontario.
Nice work, Hawk! Lots of good-looking stuff here. You seem to use a tamale-wrapping technique I haven’t seen before. I’ve always put the dough down the middle of the husk, rolled up one side, folded up the bottom, then folded the other side over to make a cigar-like package with one open end (which is left at the top when you stand the tamales in the steamer). They end up looking like this:
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/The_Trick/tamale.jpg
http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c205/The_Trick/UnsortedMar24-10052.jpg
There’s also one other key ingredient you didn’t mention: the lard! I’ve tried substituting veggie shortening, but it’s flavourless by comparison. The lard truly is key to a tamale’s flavour.
K – now I just need to know where you buy the masa!
Your food porn is amazing. I just finished lunch (leftover bounty-o-veg stir-fry followed, unaccountably, by six steamed NB oysters) and now I’m hungry again!