Ginger Gifts--On and Off a Desert Isle

We couldn't possibly complete an exploration of love and ginger without a reference to Ginger Grant, the "movie star" stranded with Gilligan et al (played by actress Tina Louise).  Thanks to Catherine Signorello (she of the famed cookies) for bringing this omission to our attention.  Despite our determined attempts, youtube would not allow us to post the vid directly, but we couldn't resist sharing the link to Ginger vamping it up on the uncharted desert isle along with this pic of her glam self flaunting her many gifts. 


And speaking of gifts,  'tis the season.   As we began to consider the holidays, we uncovered some interesting gift notions about ginger--both the comestible ingredient and the vessel, pictured here:

A ginger jar is a Chinese porcelain jar, traditionally used to store a variety of goods. The jars acquired the name "ginger jars" because they often contained ginger when they were exported to the West.

 In China the jars have a variety of cultural roles. Some were made as gifts to emperors. Others--and you knew we'd circle back to love eventually--were traditional wedding gifts to grooms. 

If porcelain jars are not on your groom's wish list, (or appropriate for your mailman, hairdresser, babysitter, or mechanic), try one of the following ginger-rific delectables, both sent by readers, one savory, one sweet...

Photograph by Elizabeth J. Colaianni,

Jessie Burns's Ginger Miso Dressing

1/4 cup golden miso
1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whisk with wild abandon, pour into jar, beribbon attractively and hand over to delighted friend.

Paula Fein's Ginger-rific Chocolate Squares

3 bars Green & Black’s Ginger chocolate, broken into pieces (available at Jonathan Best)
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into 5 or 6 pieces
3 Tbsp  agave nectar (also called agave sweetener)
2 cups all natural mini marshmallows
3 cups ginger snaps

In a 3-quart heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine chocolate, butter and nectar.  Stir constantly until most of the chocolate is melted.  Turn off the heat, continue stirring until chocolate is entirely melted (ginger bits will remain solid). 

Place gingersnaps in a large baggie; crush with a rolling pin.  Leave some larger chunks.

Remove ½ cup of chocolate mixture and set aside.

Add ginger snaps and marshmallows to the chocolate mixture in the saucepan.  Mix thoroughly.  Turn this mixture out into a 9X9 ungreased square pan and press down with a spatula.  Use the remaining ½ cup of chocolate to smooth over top.  Cover the pan with foil and refrigerate overnight.

When chilled, cut into 25 squares.  (Optional:  dust with confectioner’s sugar, place in pretty box or cello bag tied with festive ribbon.)

Dinner Tonight, Starring Ginger

After Thanksgiving dinner and the ensuing leftovers, we were thrilled to bid the turkey adieu and sample something ginger-rific.    Visit the Market to provision for this marvelous meal.

We are grateful to our friend Peter Angelides, a strict Reading Terminal Market for-all-things grocery shopper, who generously shared his famous flank steak preparation.

Ginger Soy Flank Steak

1.5 pound flank steak (from your favorite Reading Terminal Market butcher--Marica recommends Martin's)

Marinade:

2 Tbs of soy sauce
1 Tbs of white vinegar
2 Tbs fresh squeezed lemon juice  (visit your favorite produce merchant)
2 inch piece of fresh ginger root, grated
1 large garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs of honey (Bee Natural is a great source)

Mix all marinade ingredients.  Marinate meat overnight.  Broil meat 6 minutes on the first side, 5 minutes on the second.  Let it sit for 10 minutes before slicing against the grain. 

We also thank our friend Paula Fein for sending us her ginger cake recipe which was most welcome after too much pumpkin pie.  

 

Paula's Spicy Ginger Cake

4 oz fresh ginger root

1 cup mild molasses

1 cup vegetable oil (preferably grapeseed oil)

2 ½ cups unbleached all purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground cloves

                                                       ½ teaspoon  black pepper

                                                       1 cup water

                                                       2 teaspoons baking soda

                                                       2 eggs at room temperature

1.     Position the oven rack in the center of the oven.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 9 by 3-inch round cake pan or a 9 ½ inch springform pan with a circle of parchment paper.

2.     Peel the ginger and grate it very finely, preferably with a microplane grater. 

3.     Mix together the molasses, sugar, and oil.  In another bowl, sift together the flour, cinnamon, cloves and black pepper.

4.     Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan, stir in the baking soda, and then mix the hot water into the molasses mixture.  Stir in the fresh ginger.

5.     Gradually whisk the dry ingredients into the batter.  Add the eggs, and continue mixing until everything is thoroughly combined.  Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and bake for about one hour, or until the top of the cake springs back lightly when pressed or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  If the top of the cake browns too quickly before the cake is done, drape a piece of foil over it and continue baking.

6.     Cool the cake for at least 30 minutes.  Run a knife around the edge of the cake to loosen it from the pan.  Remove the cake from the pan and peel off the parchment paper.

7.     Dust the top of the cake with confectioners sugar.  For a professional presentation, you can place a decorative cutout on the cake before you dust it with the sugar.  Use a piece of tape to pick up the paper cutout.

8.     Serve with a dollop of tart lemon curd, lightened a little with whipped cream and fresh berries.

Bon Appetit!

Ginger: Insider Baking Tips from Paula Fein

Paula Fein, loyal Reading Terminal Shopper since 1992 (pictures don't lie) is our go-to-girl on all things ginger. She is a former apprentice pastry chef at Le Bec Fin,  a serious foodie, baker extraordinaire, and ginger aficionado.

"Ginger is one of my favorite ingredients.  I use it to spice up dessert.  It adds heat and an interesting depth to sweets, which after a while can become one-dimensional and a bit boring.   I generally include various types of ginger in one recipe:  crystallized, fresh, powdered and stem ginger in syrup."  I use ginger in many savory dishes, too.   Ginger, soy and garlic form the basis of my family's dinner several times a week.  Because it is a flavor combo that everyone enjoys and no one calls "gross" (or worse), the ginger/soy/garlic theme is a repeat performer in the Fein household.  (Watch  for future post featuring Fein's Friday Night Flank Steak.)

Paula suggests the following ginger-centric, quite impressive, seriously no-fuss dessert:  chop a few pieces of  Stem Ginger in syrup, sprinkle over vanilla ice cream, drizzle some syrup from jar, stick a wafer cookie in the side.  Delicious and deceptively simple. Paula confesses to swiping the oh-so-irresistible pieces of stem ginger straight from the jar when she needs an indulgent pick-me-up in the midst of a trying day.  Personally, I go for a spoonful of Nutella. 

What's your guilty secret food vice when no one is looking?

For a ginger-tastic selection of ginger in all its various guises, stop by speciality grocer, Jonathan Best, at the Reading Terminal today.