Philly's Own Galloping Gourmet?

We take exception to the term "amateur chef." It seems to imply a lack of competence or professionalism on the part of some cooks, simply because they don't work in restaurants. We were pondering this term as we prepared to profile one of our favorite foodies who could be (in)accurately described as such. Rodney is not paid to cook, but he is no amateur. His braises are legendary. His lemon curd sublime. And while we occasionally rue the fact that he does not showcase his culinary prowess to a wider audience, we relish the fact that this grants us more access to it.

As a frequent, dare we say, constant habitue of Reading Terminal Market, it was only a matter of time before Rodney was corralled into collaborating with us.

We thank him for sharing a chili cocktail recipe that he invented just for Philly Food Lovers:

Hot Mango Mess

2 parts vodka (he recommends Grey Goose; we concur)
5 parts mango juice
1 part lime juice
1 part chili simple syrup (recipe follows)
sweet spice for dusting (recipe follows)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker of ice.  Shake well and pour into martini glass rimmed with sweet spice. 

Chili Simple Syrup
1-2 chilies, seeded (depending on desired heat)
juice of 1/2 lemon
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups water

Bring ingredients to boil in saucepan.  Let boil until reduced to syrupy consistency.

Sweet Spice
1/2 cup raw sugar
dash cayenne pepper
double dash chili powder

Blend all ingredients; pour into dusting tin or flat dish to rim chilled glasses. 

Maybe Rodney will snag a gig as the millennial version of the Galloping Gourmet....Unlike Graham Kerr in the clip below, we're sure he can get his souffle out when the time comes...





And for this week's contest: Come up with the successor's name--what WOULD we call Rodney if he succeeded Graham Kerr (aka The Galloping Gourmet) with his own special brand of food and entertainment?  Post entries on our Facebook page.  The winner will be announced Monday October 25, Rodney will cast the deciding vote, and yes there will be a prize.

India's Secret Weapon

 

Some like it hot.  And some like it scalding hot.

According to Wired magazine, India is investigating the use of the ferocious bhut jolokia chili pepper as a replacement for tear gas in its weaponry.   On the chili heat index, the bhut jolokia is over a million times hotter than its cousin - the unassuming Bell pepper and over 100 times hotter than a Jalapeno. Phewee.

Turning away from the subject of War, we return to our preferred topic, of Love.  And Jalapenos.  Thanks to our neighborhood friend, Farah, for confiding to us her secret weapon: Jalapeno Pakoras.   Farah recollects how in Singapore she bewitched her fiance, now husband, by customizing this recipe and marrying the flavors of East and West...Of course, we know that her boundless beauty, limitless charm, and mad sex appeal contributed to his ardor, but the pakoras are pretty great, too.  (Farah, who is a former Miss Singapore, is the one on the right...)

Jalapeno Pakoras (or A Mexican Starter with an Indian Twist)

1 dozen jalapenos, poblanos or any peppers good for stuffing


Filling:
8 oz Paneer  or Feta, Cheddar, or any mild cheese
1 tbs mild chili powder or paprika
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
Salt to taste

Batter:
1cup all-purpose flour   
1 tsp cumin powder 
2 tbs garlic powder 
2 tbs paprika
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper
water 
Breadcrumbs

Partially slice open the top of each pepper and remove the seeds keeping the top still attached.

Crumb or grate the cheese into a bowl and mix in the chili, coriander, cumin powders and salt to taste.

Massage all the spices into the cheese and mold the cheese into 12 equal balls.  Stuff the peppers with this mixture.

For the batter, combine the  flour and seasonings in a bowl.  Add water, a bit at a time until you get a thick and sticky batter.

Dip the stuffed peppers into the batter and coat with the breadcrumbs.

Place the peppers onto a baking sheet on a baking tray. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 for 20-30 minutes until golden brown or fry in hot oil for a few minutes on each side.  


We can't guarantee that these will lasso you a spouse, but we promise they will taste great.

All this talk of food and love put us in mind of the old adage, "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach," and of the irreverent and amusing Robert Byrnes version:  "Anyone who says that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach flunked geography."    Also reminded us of this bizarrely erotic food/seduction scene in 9 1/2 weeks.  You won't believe what Mickey Rourke looked like before he started wearing chihuahua ashes around his neck...

Choosing Your Chili

There are literally hundreds of varieties of peppers.  Now, we think you can't really go wrong with any of them, but if a recipe calls for a poblano, which is large, fairly mellow, and used most commonly for stuffing, and you use a habanero, which is tiny and lethally hot, you may be in for a rude awakening. 

We found the following resources to be quite helpful in sorting through this condunrum:

Chili Pepper Varieties
Choosing Chili Pepper Varieties

You also want to be very careful when handling peppers--many cooks wear gloves to prevent irritations.  The peppers' residue can linger on your hands, and if you touch your eyes--or any sensitive other part of yours or someone else's--severe pain may ensue.  See our Facebook page for an embarrassing example of this phenomenon, and to enter this week's contest.

And here's a recent discovery, a fabulous use of whole dried chilis.  We promise, even if you think you loathe cabbage, the following recipe from our friend Pia (a big fan of Reading Terminal Market) will change your mind.  Pia is a marvelous cook and hostess who hails from  India.  Her execution of her native cuisine is legendary and invitations to dinner at her house are coveted dearly.  Good thing she is not stingy with her hospitality.


Bombay Cabbage with Dried Chilis (serves 6)

1 Tablespoon canola oil
2 teaspoons mustard seeds
1 teaspoon salt
4 small dried chilis
1/2 inch piece of ginger, grated
1/2 head cabbage, sliced thinly or shredded
3 Tablespoons plain yogurt

Heat oil on medium-high.  Add mustard seeds and cook til they begin to pop.  Add remaining seasonings, stir, then add cabbage.  Stir thoroughly til cabbage wilts, 5 minutes or so.  Remove from heat, cool slightly, and add yogurt.   Stir and serve, or set aside and reheat later.

While Pia's cabbage recipe does not require any advance prep of the dried chilis, many do.  Here is a quick tip on how to handle the rehydration process:

Three Dishes, Four Chilis

Speaking of chilies, here is a go-to menu for a fall/winter dinner party that features four different varieties and forms of our favorite heater-uppers--fresh jalapenos, dried anchos, chipotles in adobo, and chili flakes.  And, yes, you can procure virtually everything you need for these delish dishes at Reading Terminal Market.

Even better, you can do pretty much all of it ahead of time, which leaves you free to enjoy your guests and your cocktails before serving this masterpiece of a meal.

Kachumber Salad

3 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 pt cherry tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro rinsed well and chopped
1 small jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped  (see video below for procedure)
juice of 2 limes
1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

Mix all ingredients.  Allow salad to sit for at least one hour before serving.  Can be made 1 day ahead.

To clean your jalapeno::




Chili Braised Short Ribs

Doubly Hot Chocolate

For each serving:
1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
2 Tablespoons sugar
2 Tablespoons water
1/4 cup dark chocolate morsels (bittersweet or semi sweet)
1/2 cup milk
sprinkle of red chili flakes

Mix cocoa, sugar and water into paste in small saucepan; heat on medium til bubbly. Add milk, morsels and chili flakes. Continue heating on medium/medium low. Stir til blended and completely melted. Serve immediately, or set aside and reheat as needed.

We promise, your guests will be wowed.  And, with the reputed aphrodisiac quailities of chilis, it could be a long and interesting night for everyone.  Wow, indeed.

Chili --A Food that Bites Back

Word is out: hotels in NYC are infested with bed bugs. Fox News reports that a high-rise in Philly is suffering the same problem...What's this got to do with a food blog?  Well chilis apparently are a natural fumigant, repelling vermin including bedbugs and rats. (see CosmicChile.com). Chilies when burned supposedly give you protection against vampires, werewolves and other things that go bump in the night (chilis are a key ingredient in some exorcisms according to another online source). So how come they also double up as an aphrodisiac?

Now this gets technical. Or physiological, to be more precise. In the words of Discovery Health, the side effects you get from eating chilies (such as profuse sweating, a faster heart beat, increased blood circulation) are identical to those experienced when you are getting aroused.  Capsaicin, which is also a powerful painkiller, is the chemical responsible for creating these particular amatory special effects.

So what do the bed bugs, vampires and werewolves know about chilies that we don't..?

Chill out to the Red Hot Chili Peppers "Under the Bridge" track:



Note to self:  remember to call their fan club to find out what conditioner their lead singer uses.  Luscious locks...

Marla's Fiery Peanut Salsa Marinade

Thanks to Marla Neeson for offering up one of her fave chili recipes.

* 2 dried chipotle chilies

* 1/2 cup water

* 2 large ripe tomatoes (pan roasted until blistered, black and soft, then chopped with skin)

* 10 cloves garlic (pan roasted until brown and soft, peeled, and finely chopped)

* 1 tsp. finely ground canela (Mexican cinnamon)

* 1 medium sized white onion (thickly sliced, pan roasted until brown and soft, and coarsely chopped)

* 2 whole cloves, ground

* 1/4 tsp. salt

* 1/2 cup water

* 1 tsp. finely chopped fresh marjoram

* 1 Tbsp. olive oil

* 1 tsp. fresh lime juice

* 1/3 c. chopped, unsalted, dry roasted peanuts

In a heavy skillet over medium heat, toast chilies until brown and fragrant, about 3 minutes. Cool slightly, slit open,and remove seeds.  In a large bowl, toss chilies with the water and let soak 10 minutes.  In a blender, puree chilies with water.  In a bowl mix together with remaining ingredients except peanuts.  For best results, add peanuts to prepared salsa no more than 1 hour before serving.

Apples to Their Core

And the winner is.....Sonia Grasse:  "whichever way you slice it, it's going to be a Gala affair!"  This was clever, witty and most importantly, promoted the Valentine to the Market Event, which is, after all, our primary purpose.  Runners up were Marla Neeson:  "Is Barack seeking seeds of wisdom? No, just the ingredients for a killer apple pie." and Amanda Aslansan, whose off-the-record entry was hilarious but unprintable if we wish to retain our PG rating.  Her official entry "Don't upset the apple cart' wasn't too shabby either.

Fantabulous Fall recipe from October's issue of Bon Appetit. An apple pie with a crunchy topping. Not only does the recipe call for tart Granny Smith apples, but also the apples themselves are sweated down in apple cider. The market is awash with this gorgeous ingredient currently. Stock up at Iovines,  or the Fair Food Farmstand and delight your friends with this confection.

The poll results?  Apple Martinis are disgusting, by an overwhelming majority of 66%.

And we leave you with a few interesting apple facts....

• The ancient Greeks loved the apple. Instead of slipping a ring onto a fair maiden's finger, a Greek warrior was supposed to toss an apple to the - ah - apple of his eye. If she caught the fruit, the act was as good as an engagement.
• In Medieval England, an autumnal celebration centered around the fermented fruit of the apple tree and the almost Bacchanalian merriment that would ensue. (The supposed purpose was to ensure a bountiful harvest, or so the story goes.)
• The Adam's apple is so-called because of a popular idea that it was created when the forbidden fruit got stuck in Adam's throat when he swallowed it.
• Twenty-five percent of the apples harvested in the US are exported. That's big business. Not surprisingly, Philly's own Ben Franklin started it. He had Newton Pippin apples exported from America to London in 1768.

We're spicing up the next few weeks with chili peppers.    Visit and help us heat things up!

A Passion for Apples

If you're an Apple news junkie, then you'll know that Apple Passion is a news aggregator rounding up the latest insider info on Apple Inc.  As a food junkie, you're more likely to associate it with a dazzling Vodka and Amaretto-based cocktail to which you set fire, before quaffing.  Want the recipe?  Drinksmixer.com has this and an array of other Fall concoctions that will, quite literally, warm the cockles of your heart. 

Just this week we had a heart-warming conversation with Emily, product manager at the Fair Food Farmstand in Reading Terminal Market. 

Emily has a passion for apples and shared her opinion about which of the apples they carry make for the best grilling, baking and eating apples. 

• Thinking of baking?  Try a Mutsu (weird name, but apparently they are perfect for baking).  Or perhaps a Honeycrisp, which exudes a gorgeous aroma of honey, with an undertone of cider, while cooking. 
• For the grill, consider an Empire apple, because it keeps its shape when cooked. 
• For that baked apple recipe, try a Granny Smith, which is tart and won't be overwhelmed by the dried fruit and sugar that you'll be heaping onto it.

Fair Food Farmstand is run by a non-profit organization and buys from over 90 farmers in the Pennsylvania and New Jersey regions.  They like to work with small-scale farmers and producers who believe in sustainable and humane farming practices.  The apples currently on sale are grown on farms that have stayed in the family for some 5 or 6 generations.  Emily shared a little known fact with us; close by to one of these farms is the National Apple Museum in Gettysburg.  Apparently, the museum is well worth a visit!

Don't expect the Museum to showcase the Apple's checkered mythology. 

Outside of the Garden of Eden, it has also been implicated in the Trojan War, when Venus - or Aphrodite, hence the name Aphrodisiac - was awarded the Apple of Discord by Paris.  The adulterous Paris under the protection of Venus, then successfully kidnapped Helen of Troy from her rightful husband.  Thus the troublemaking Goddess is often depicted on coins, in paintings and in racy statuary, as cradling an apple.

Venus with Apple by Danish sculptor, Bertel Thorvaldsen. 1813-16.