Camp Pumpkin Pie

October is awesome here in the northeast, a perfect day to participate in a scout cook-off out in the woods.. woods that are in the throws of changing from green to orange and yet the weather here is still mild, shirtsleeves, did I say perfect?  So how could I resist the scout leader category of Dutch Oven Dessert?  It has been a long while since I made a pumpkin pie from scratch and I have never attempted a scratch dutch oven pie so it was game on. Okay, due to time constraints at the cook-off, I cooked and pureed the pumpkin last night at home (I love that Blendtec), but otherwise the crust was mixed, kneaded and baked in the cast iron dutch oven using only charcoal for top and bottom heat. Also I used 4 Rhode Island Red eggs from Stone Barns in the filling which is a whole separate story... the eggs of these free ranging chickens are awesome.
Finally I had my scouts as horsepower to whip my unsweetened cream up.. using a mason jar with a white wine cork placed inside, they took turns and in 7 minutes had a perfect consistency, this was topped with ground nutmeg.
 If you fancy the 6 buck costco pies that are out now, then you would not like this one..and I would not call it the end-all of pies, but it is from scratch out in the woods and came out to my liking, really nice. Subtle, sweet, fattening and organic..what is there not to like? Food Sylists need not answer this.

What flavor is your Sundae?

Diversity is a good thing..well in some things, the concept is good but in hot fudge sundaes?  not really to my taste.
I don't usually do sundaes, but if in the mood,  likely a chocolate related mood, I like a traditional vanilla hot fudge sundae.. without the whip cream, without the nuts and candied sprinkles and sans that fake looking cherry, just some vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce.  Per client/agency request, this shot required nine scoops of different flavors the only one you can't see is behind the thin-mint, all real ice-cream, nothing fake here except the coloring in the Marichino cherry.  I am not sure what food dye is pumped into those things but real it isn't, nor is this forced diversity of flavors real, but a concept
that sounded good on paper.  
Food styling:  Susan Brouchard  Client: Dryers

Their Zucchini my recipe.

It's mid August, who is baking?? I was not thinking about firing up the oven for a couple of hours today but...
My neighbor, feeling sorry that we have only one vegetable bearing plant ( in a pot too) handed over some monster zucchinis, like 3 pounders.  So here you go my late summer Zucchini bread recipe.

3.5 C all purpose flour..today I used up my unbleached white then added whole wheat.
1TBSP ground cinnamon
1 TSP salt
1 TSP ground ginger
1 TSP baking soda
.5 TSP nutmeg
.5 TSP ground cloves
.25 baking powder
2 C  Sugar  I used 1 C brown and 1 cup white
3 large eggs
1.5 OZ Grand Marnier.. or brandy.. to keep it plain vanilla, 1 OZ plain vanilla
.5 LB salted butter softened
3 C shreaded Zucchini
1.5 C mixed nuts and dried fruit.

Pre-heat oven to 350
mix together flour, spices, soda and power and put aside
mix in large bowl the eggs, booze, sugars and softened butter til smooth
(if like me and without mixer, having the butter soft makes it blend easier!)
add in the flour mix until absorbed then add in the zucchini and nut mix.
oil or butter the 4x10 loaf pans and pour batter in.
Cook at 350.. mine takes about 55 minutes.
cool 15 minutes

Calamari Mood

August, beach, novel, calamari..they all seem to fit so well together.  This is where my head is at while I sit inside watching a summer rain shower.  People always mention the benefits of east coast living like the change of seasons..well within a season you have a range of weather as well, unlike California where a spring day can be very similar to a summer day or a fall day.  Days here in the east are like moods and August rain puts me in the mood to share a plate calamari.

This shot was done for Hilton, specifically for their Finn & Porter restaurants and styled pretty much as they serve it up. There have been some negative press on calamari because lets face it, not everyone can handle the idea of squid, or seafood in general.. but squid seems to be the breaking point for a large group.  I find raw squid a bit hard to down but I will ingest just about anything battered and deep fried.  If you find yourself near a Finn & Porter or staying at a Hilton try it, they do it well, not too oily or over-battered.
This goes down very well with a not-to-sweet Riesling..now I am really in the mood.

Mysterious Ramekin

Empty dishes can tell a story...and a photo of one creates a historical article, but one with many open questions.  What did this ramekin hold? Was it shared or liked..not in the world of Facebook, but in the traditional sense?  What made that color?  Can you feel the intrigue building?
Sadly this was a recovered image from one of my first hard drives that crashed, all the contents were either damaged or lost..this is one of about a thousand that I recovered somewhat in tack but lacking any original ID. So it will remain a mystery until I uncover the shots before and after and see if some legible story takes form.

Blackstrap Brisket revisited

My slowcooked Blackstrap Brisket about 3 hours into cooking, yes I peek about this time to check out the liquid content and give it a stir, at this point I can alter heat or go topless with the dutch oven to reduce down the liquid.

PAUL’S BLACKSTRAP BRISKET

This is a slow cooked brisket recipe I have been tweaking for a few years,

never the same, all the extra spices/flavors can be used, subsituted or omitted

as desired. The best results I have found are from making up a rub paste/

marinade and letting sit for 10-24 hours. Cooking times vary depending how

well your dutch oven seals and how loaded up it is..these are my times based on

my dutch oven..your time may vary.

Ingredients:

7-8 lbs Brisket ( I cut brisket into chunks about the size of the dutch oven..12” )

~4 lbs Yellow Onions ( 3 really big ones )

Paste / Marinade:

½ cup brown sugar

2 oz rum

2 oz maple syrup

1 tbs ground sea salt

1 tps black ground pepper

1 tps ground cayenne pepper

1 tbs sweet ground paprika

1 tbs smoked ground paprika

1 tps granulated garlic

Cooking stock:

juices from marinade

3 oz Blackstrap Molasses

2 double espresso shots ( or 3oz really strong coffee)

3 garlic cloves, mashed and chopped

Mix up the the marinade paste, it should be like a thick milkshake, throughly

rub, spread and massage the paste onto your brisket, cover / seal and leave

refrigerated for up to 24 hours.

When done marinating, there will be a few oz of liquid marinade pour and set

aside for cooking stock.

Preheat your dutch oven to med-high on your cooktop adding 1 tbs of cooking oil.

Cut your brisket into chunks approximately the size of your dutch oven lid.

Sear both sides of each chunk of brisket, slightly longer on sides with fat.

Remove brisket from dutch oven and turn off cooktop. Preheat oven to 300F.

Cut up onions, I like to slice these like longitude line on the globe. Mix into

dutch oven with brisket. Mix up your cooking stock and dump-in. Do a few

grinds with sea salt and dust with some sweet paprika, cover and put in middle

of oven. Leave covered for 3+ hours, take out stir, poke and taste, cover again 2

+hours.. you can eat now or turn oven off and let coast for when you want.

Pointless objects

my 3 a day... trying to get through this supply so I can move on to a better, more natural brand..I don't have an issue with a one a days but this brand seems pretty artificial to me, not sure where they get their ingredients or what they are.  I never have been a vitamin popper but see that as the aging process kicks in they have their place.  Still unsure of fish oil effects..they are in my drawer so I will keep popping before they get older than me. When I intake large amounts of veg and fruits I'm not sure what the point is to pop these things?.. but since I bought them they will be used up.