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Elephant Garlic Scapes (round 3)

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  Who would have ever thought that something as simple, yet unknown as garlic Scapes, would allow me to escape into another wonderful Foodie Find ... For my third attempt at preparing Scapes, I came across a recipe for asparagus by Chef Jenn Allen, and thought "Elephant garlic Scapes" instead... Oven Roasted Asparagus with Mascarpone: The Elephant garlic Scapes are a wonderful substitution, when they are seasonally available. With my final bunch of Scapes in the fridge, I'm off to tinker with this wonderful recipe. Thanks Chef Jenn Allen. Below is my slightly modified recipe specifically for Elephant garlic Scapes. I chose to add a little more heavy cream (to thin the mascarpone more), and used pre-packaged roasted pistachio nuts. Since I could not find raw pistachios to roast in the allotted time I had. Additionally, I decided to chop the nuts slightly to make them easier to chew, and not overpower. The results were very good. The mildness of the roasted Elephant garlic ...
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Persian Star Garlic Scapes

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  were a pleasant surprise for me to cook with. After experimenting with the Elephant Garlic Scapes, I was not sure what to expect. What I found out was that the flowers, as with the Elephant Garlic, were mild and flavorful. The Persian having more of a garlic taste, though not over whelming.  Persian Star Garlic Scapes The biggest difference was the stalk. Raw, the Persian has a very strong/sharp garlic almost hot finish. In my opinion they are too strong to use (raw) prominently, they could easily overpower a dish. I decided to use them as a spice to help flavor the meal I was going to prepare, Fried Rice. I used all of the flowers I had (trimmed) and 1 Tbsp. (+/-) of the stalks (diced) as an accompanying flavor in the dish.  Persian Star (top) Elephant (bottom) After dicing the Scape stems, I put up the excess in two smaller air tight glass containers, froze one and put the other in my  fridge door spice rack for later use.  Fresh & frozen diced Scape ste...
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Garlic Scapes

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  are not something you usually come across. The season is short (late spring into early summer) and often these tasty morsels are tossed out... Or left on the garlic plant to flower and wither away. We came across Scapes at our Saturday farmers market while talking with a local vendor ( Ballard FarmStead ) that specializes in garlic, and elephant garlic.  Persian Star garlic Scapes (top) Elephant garlic Scapes (bottom) Depending on how they are harvested, some trimming is suggested. The flowers should not be open, trimming the fibrous end off just past the flower bulb top. The stalk end should be trimmed enough to eliminate the chewy end (think of asparagus) and any sheath should be removed.  For the smaller bulb garlics, such as Persian Star, trim the stalk an inch (+/-) just before the shoot starts its natural bend/curve. With any new ( to me ) ingredient I like to season and cook it simply. This way I can decide if it will become another ingredient in my ever increasi...
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Gone fishin' Tuesday

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brought us another local specialty. Locally harvested (yesterday afternoon) "Longneck Clams". We have been waiting for about 3 weeks for the season to begin. Our fishmonger said that they need to grow after summer spawning season, and it has to get cool enough for them to be harvested .  Locally (Murrell's Inlet SC) there is a clam chowder recipe that I want to give a go at, and then add my own tweaks combining another step from a different recipe that I think will make a wonderful " Poppy's Chowda '.  In the freezer The local chowder recipes do not use a cream or tomato base, though potatoes, onion, salt pork, bacon, or fat belly all can be used. Each chef has their own take on a Chowda '. Longnecks are large and heavy. My index finger is 3.5 " long We bought 50 local longneck clams this morning for $36, so I can start experimenting with them. The fishmonger said to just freeze them as they are, and then thaw them when your ready to use them. Pop th...
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Roasted chicken skin

is not what you would expect to find on a normal menu.   I was watching one of my favorite foodie shows and low a behold they were making roasted crisp chicken skins. Can you say heaven? My first test was acceptable, though it needs a few adjustments for the final  menu. Sometimes you just have to take a step back and say, Damn that sounds good ... The recipe is actually simple, I made a few tweaks and have formed the basis for my new tasty endeavor.  The basic recipe is as follows; marinate your skin on, bone in, chicken thighs or breasts as you ordinarily would. Cook them as you normally would, till about half way through the cooking time. This will allow the meat to absorb the chicken fat and flavor from the skins. Remove the skins from the chicken parts, apply your favorite fat (duck fat for me) to the skinned meat and continue with your chicken recipe.  Next put the skins on a half baking sheet pan that has been greased, add spray duck fat to the top of the skin...
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Lobster tails

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are one seafood delight that I usually shy away from. Reason being the cost is usually out of our food budget. When they are on sale at the local grocery store, the 4 ounce size, we usually splurge and buy 3 or 4 and I cook a nice dinner. Okay, so when you can get a locally caught, fresh 1 pound spiney lobster tail for free, you just can't pass it up, right? Our fishmonger has a club that when you purchase fish and other products from his store, you earn points. We have been " goin' fishing " here for a couple of years and earned enough points for a free 1 pound fresh, local lobster tail. Our fishmonger picked us out their first choice and off we went.  ain't it pretty Already I was scared that I would not cook it properly, even with all of the fishmongers suggestions. I've only cooked a tail this big twice, I get shaky just thinking about it. This time I did not have them prep the tail, I did it at home. Meaning, splitting the shell, lifting the meat out, clo...
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Today's project

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was to replenish my chicken stock reserves. Generally I make chicken stock one or two times a year. Freeze the results and live off of it for 6 months up to a year. Today's efforts got a little carried away, as I ended up with about 9 quarts of this amazingly rich stock. I even called one of my foodie friend neighbors and asked if she would take a couple of pints off my hands since I did not have the freezer space for all that I had made. She was happy to oblige my offer ... An all day project, and the results are an amazing stock that is so rich and flavorful that its uses are unlimited. The color of the stock shows how rich it is, kind of  looks  like mud ? Chicken stock The fat content appears to be about 2 (+/-) % with no added salt, and the additional ingredients list is long and tasty... Yummy, yummy good for my medium sized tummy. W 
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