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United States, North Carolina, Carrboro, English, Paul, Male, 56-60, All Music, All Food.

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Sunday, September 29, 2002

Pico de gallo has become a favorite 'round here. This involves a lot of chopping. Sometimes I wonder if they called it this because the chef's knife is constantly tap-tap-tapping like a rooster's beak pecking at corn. My recipe varies with what's around, but here's one I made today. It's called "foolish consistency" because no attempt is made to make all the pieces of anything the same size, everything is just small enough to neatly fit on a chip. Foolish Consistency Salsa (pico de gallo) 4 large tomatoes, peeled, seeded, chopped 5 jalapenos, seeded, chopped 1 firm mango, peeled, seed removed, chopped 2 medium red onions, chopped 6 or more cloves garlic, chopped 2 15.5-ounce cans black beans, drained, rinsed 2 7-ounce cans white shoepeg corn, drained, rinsed 1 14-ounce jar nopalitos (cactus, aka "prickly pear" ), *thoroughly rinsed, chopped zest and juice from 2 limes 1 tablespoon kosher salt 1 tablespoon freshly-ground pepper 1 tablespoon freshly-ground cumin seeds 1 bundle cilantro, finely-chopped (about 3/4 cup) Place chopped tomatoes in a strainer to remove excess juice. Add jalapenos, mango, onions, garlic, beans, corn, and cactus. Discard drained juice. Place the mixture into a non-reactive bowl and mix well. Add salt, pepper, and cumin. Mix again. Add lime zest and juice, and the cilantro. Mix again. Refrgerate one hour and mix one more time. Drain and discard excess liquid. Serve with tortilla chips. Unused portions will keep well if refrigerated covered, and you can add more ingredients the next day if you want to change something. Yield approximately 3 quarts.  (Also - see "correcting the seasonings") *Nopalitos are slimy in a way that boiled okra can only envy, so "thoroughly". The jarred variety may have a hot pepper which permeates them for an extra kick.    5:53:50 PM    comment []

Cornwall. Tip of England's apostrophe, a place to go when the Isle of Wight is too dear, Home to the fascinating Cornish Pasty, which is as close as England ever came to inventing pizza. There's a picture and recipe here, but the best description (beginning with "It was once said that the Devil would never dare to cross the River Tamar into Cornwall for fear of ending up as a filling in a Cornish Pasty.") is here. Knockers and pasties (pronounced like "past" not "paste"), this site will probably get blocked in libraries... Cornwall, probably not home to Rock Cornish Hens ("also called Rock Cornish game hen , is a hybrid of Cornish and White Rock chickens. These miniature chickens weigh up to 2 1/2 pounds and are 4 to 6 weeks old. Because of the relatively small amount of meat to bone, each hen is usually just enough for one serving. Rock Cornish hens are best broiled or roasted."), but here's a cached Google recipe anyway, from Isernio's in Seattle, which is offline right now: Rock Cornish Hen Stuffed with Sausage Ingredients 2 Rock Cornish hens 1 lemon, halved 4 tbsp. olive oil 4 tsp. fresh rosemary (or 2 tsp. dried rosemary) 4 fresh sage leaves, chopped (or1/2 tsp. dried sage leaves) 1 celery stalk, diced 1 doz. mushrooms, cleaned & sliced 1 Isernio’s Italian Sausage, casing removed 3-4 tbsp. dry vermouth 2 tbsp. croutons 1 1/2 tsp. salt Freshly ground pepper to taste 1 tbsp. unslated butter Method Remove the hens’ giblets, clean, trim, chop and set them aside. Rinse the hens’ cavities and rub well with 1/2 lemon. Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan. Add the rosemary, sage, celery and mushrooms. Sauté for 5 minutes.   Crumble the sausage and add to the pan; then add the chopped giblets and the dry vermouth and cook another 3 to 4 minutes or until the wine has evaporated. Stir in the croutons. Add salt and pepper and remove from heat. Fill the hens’ cavities and neck pouches with the stuffing. Skewer the two openings shut. Any remaining stuffing may be placed in the baking dish. Butter the hens’ breasts. Preheat oven to 375°.  Bake 45 to 55 minutes or until tender. Baste 2 or 3 times during baking. Cut the birds in half with poultry shears, squeeze the juice of the remaining 1/2 lemon and serve.  Serves 4.     6:43:50 AM    comment []