Getting Friendly With My Neighborhood Pawpaw

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On a recent trip to the farm I discovered the unusual fruit known as pawpaw. This is something I’ve never seen or heard of before so naturally, I had to investigate. I found the owner of the farm and he  told me a little bit about this fruit. The pawpaw is the largest fruit native to America and can be found in the south and eastern parts of the country. I’d describe it as a very bruised avocado-like fruit, with the texture of a thick custard and a flavor profile of a cross between a very sweet banana and mango.

The pawpaw you see above is of the Shenandoah variety, and once picked they ripen pretty quickly, to the point of you having to use them within 24-48hrs. Once I got these home I threw them in the freezer, not knowing what to do with them. Google didn’t really come up with too many ideas, so I figured since they are similar to bananas I’d find a recipe that I could adapt. And in true Britannia fashion, I introduced the fruit to my very good friend, alcohol.

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Culinary School Day One: Over Easy

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Editor’s Note: As you may remember, ES contributor forkitude has given up the corporate life to take the plunge into culinary school. Here are her thoughts from day one.

Day number one: Culinary Foundations.

  • Knife skills: my fingers are valuable. It is a bloody lesson, but one I have learned. Got it. My knife skills are a work in progress.
  • Mirepoix: 50% onion, 25% carrots, 25% celery. The basic building block of soups, stocks, and sauces. Simple enough.
  • Eggs: better known as the devil. Eggs are easy to make and easy to screw up, and I have screwed up my share of eggs. Therefore, I get excited to learn the correct way to do things because screwing up is a pain in the ass. Eggs were my favorite part of the day:
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Ignoring Butter

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The scene: Hannah G’s, Ventnor, NJ.

“Can I have the crab and artichoke dip and the Chamberlain salad (mixed greens, red onion, shredded swiss, cashews and apples with a sweet & sour vinaigrette) to share. I’ll have the spaghetti. Thanks.” (Whole wheat spaghetti, with butternut squash, fried fresh sage & organic spinach. And holy crap they ended up pan-frying the entire dish so the noodles were slightly crisp and the squash tasted like sweet potato fries.)

“And I’ll have the nut-crusted salmon with sides of snap peas and garlic mashed potatoes,” 80 excitedly said.

“Okay, I’ll bring out some bread and potato chips,” the waiter said as he walked inside.

Potato chips! Potato chips!

Of course I love bread and butter. In fact, I barely can tolerate bread and oil. I really only use the bread as a vehicle for butter. But, anyway, even though we ordered a fuck load of food, we were pumped for those chips.

Although, I was nervous for too crunchy, kettle-style chips. Instead we received crisp, yet slightly bendy, potato-flavored chips. Dipped in a garlic mayo.

And I ignored the butter. When was the last time you ignored bread and butter?

Put on Your Best Yogurt Face

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Don’t forget— it’s time to submit your best yogurt-y recipe and win 30 days of free yogurt from ES and Voskos. All you have to do is send us a yogurt-ful recipe (or link to a yogurt-y blog post).

Full details here.

(Photo: statelyenglishmanor)

¡Chilaquiles!

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I know I’ve mentioned it once or twice before, but I seemingly fall in love with a new dish every time I go on vacation or take a business trip somewhere new.  It’s only natural, then, that I want to come home and relive a little bit of the memories.

Sometimes, this leads me to an ambitious desire to create perfectly-crafted plates of spaghetti carbonara or a top-notch French press café au lait, knowing that it’s worth the effort if I can just recreate a bit of that greatness.  And then, sometimes, I’m just willing to raid my pantry for a cheap imitation.

The gears started turning for me a few weeks back when gansie shared her experience pairing a fried egg and some potato chips (hat tip Monica Bhide).  That took me back to my honeymoon in Mexico and my first exposure to chilaquiles.  In case you’re not familiar with the dish, it’s the ultimate hangover breakfast food:  leftover fried tortillas simmered in salsa and topped with whatever else you may have laying around.  And if one of those things happens to be an egg, all the better.

It’s a wonderful dish because it’s filling, it’s fried and it’s scalable, meaning you can include as much or as little above and beyond the basic ingredients of tortillas and salsa.  If you happen to have some pulled chicken or carnitas around, it’s a perfect way to take a snack or breakfast dish and turn it into a dinner entrée.

The preparation below is certainly geared to a non-Mexican kitchen, so please don’t trash me in the comments for being inauthentic.  I’m sure your abuela’s version is vastly superior.  I’m looking for something easy that I can assemble while nursing a pounding headache.

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Gail Simmons Talks Just Desserts

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As we bid farewell to  season 7 of Top Chef this week, we welcome the latest franchise in the TC series, Top Chef: Just Desserts. We got to chat with host and judge Gail Simmons on what to expect from the show.

How did Top Chef prepare you for hosting your own show, Top Chef: Just Desserts?
I have to say my job as host is completely different on Just Desserts especially because — and I’m the first to admit it — my role on TC until now has been pretty easy. I’m not saying it hasn’t been exciting and challenging and interesting. But my job really until now has just been to sort of show up, eat, talk about it and leave.  On Just Desserts, the hours are double the time, so now I’m in every single day shooting. And then also, being the host really forces you to make a different role because you are the person who needs to deliver the business, you’re the one who makes the plot go forward.

Can you tell us about the new judges?
Hubert Keller — is it not enough that he’s a total dreamboat? Not only did he start in the pastry kitchen but he actually grew up in a bakery. His family is from Alsace and his father was a baker, so he grew up above a bakery and watching bakers his whole life. It’s sort of bred in him, in his blood. Johnny Iuzzini is head judge, and I think without a doubt one of the greatest most talented young pastry chefs in this country right now. Johnny is a sort of wonder kid, he really is so talented and has such an amazing understanding of the processes of pastry, sugar, chocolate and butter. And he happens to be super attractive and stylish. And then there is Dannielle Kyrillos, who brings a totally fresh perspective through being the editor-at-large for DailyCandy. Dannille brings a brightness, a knowledge as a real diner, as a real person who’s passionate about pastry, who loves it.

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Thank You Uno: Chicken Tikka Masala Officially Jumps the Shark

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Chicken tikka masala already wins as the most inauthentic Indian dish of all time. The BBC calls it “synonymous with: breakdown in traditional British values and rise of multi-cultural Britain,” as it’s been crowned “Britian’s true national dish,” having been created there in the mid-20th Century.

In the United States we find this dish only at Indian restaurants and some UK-inspired pubs aggressively trying for authenticity. But that’s where the CTM deliciousness ends. Right?

That’s until I read about Uno’s “complete menu revamp.” Because of the volume of press releases sent to my inbox, I barely ever read all of them, especially when I have no interest in the subject matter. Now, I don’t have an interest in Uno’s, as it was my least favorite pizza chain (even over the despised Pizza Hut), but I was curious about how radically a pizza place’s menu could actually change.

The press release first mentioned a farro salad. I get this addition: ancient grains are having a serious moment and are seen as healthy, plus farro is deeply connected to Italy, as is Uno’s main draw, pizza.

But then it comes. Chicken Tikka Masala will join the cast with deep dish pizza and Rattlesnake pasta. I’m afraid chicken tikka masala now joins salted caramel (Uno also unveils a bread pudding with salty caramel sauce) as completely overexposed and a sure sign that a restaurant is totally fucking desperate with zero original ideas.

Original Jump the Shark (and its defender!)

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