Dabbling in Dips

There was a period in my past when cooking was nothing more than preparing artfully eye appealing hors d'oeuvre style meals.  You know the kind, straight from the Cher character in the movie Mermaids. To the point that my neighbors when invited to dine at my place would always chuckle, knowing full well the food was the entertainment and that there'd never be a large plate anything set before them.  What can I say I was in my 20's living very much like Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's known more for having a stocked bar than a full room of furniture.  Reminiscing in the kitchen about an era gone by this last week with some tasty dips. Three distinctly different, but very delicious varieties.  The first an Orange Cheese Ball compliments of our local food columnist Ervena Faulkner at the Island Packet. Early in December she presented the local market with several recipes for cheese balls and this (Orange) along with the Ginger Cream Cheese Ball fall on the slightly sweet side and rank high on the crowd pleaser list. Next came the Hot Artichoke-Spinach Dip recipe that somehow made it to print across the work copier that was aimlessly aside next to the copier for several days before I finally chopped it up to destiny that it was my calling to take it home and try.  Many more steps in this one on the prep side when using fresh ingredients, but oh so worth it in flavor factor...not to mention the ooey gooey goodness this comfort food (at least in my world) brings to any occasion.  Last and certainly not least of the three was the serendipitous placement of a post holiday sweet potato offering from my newest infatuation, J.M Hirsch food editor over at The Associated Press.  Spending time in his kitchen would seem like a great deal of fun, frolic, and deliciousness.  For proof of this check out what he concocted with a simple jar of almond butter recently (genius).  Back to the dip, Spicy Sweet Potato Dip.  What one marvels at is the utter simplicity of this dish and then there's the not often served uniqueness of it.  While you might think you've had your fill of sweet potatoes over Thanksgiving and Christmas, there's something decidedly different here that shares no resemblance to those familial celebrations. Go ahead dip if you want to, one should never underestimate that which is bite size, can be consumed without utensils and gives everyone a reason to gather around!

Mustering Mustard

Mustard is a seed, a spice, a spread, a sauce and perhaps even a state of mind. And much like the infamous parable of the mustard seed, mustard is a simple ingredient that no matter what form it takes it serves as a fundamental element in a host of food offerings, perhaps even boundless and limitless in its ability to enhance. The past week included a number of mustard encounters. Currently thinking about the "single dog" I devoured at Street Meet American Take Out and Tavern, a local restaurant offering a cornucopia of dog options reminiscent of early century street vendors...no dog is complete without mustard and relish from my point of view. Then, local foodie favorite Ervena Faulkner brought us a hot mustard sauce recipe ~ complete with a slowcountry virtue attached that insisted no sauce should be hurried. That the long, slow cooking of it (sauce) gives the mellowness of flavor that is desired. While Ervena's celery and olive sauce recipe piqued my interest in the same article, it was her hot mustard sauce that I recreated in the kitchen with thoughts of holiday entertaining to come. The kind of entertaining where ham and cocktail sausages would most certainly be served. Then Juls Kitchen created the opportunity to think beyond preparing mustard for immediate consumption and suggested we gift it instead. Humble, homemade, jarred and wrapped this holiday season for the pure enjoyment of our loved ones...

• 
  Walnut Mustard:
• 50 g of English mustard powder
• water
• 1 tablespoon of running honey
• 3 tablespoons of honey vinegar (can be substituted with apple cider vinegar)
• 3 pinches of salt
• 50 g of shelled walnuts

Note: Giulia Scarpeleggia (Juls Kitchen) defers to a post on honest-food.net as her inspiration for her post. It is a wealth of information as to the history and splendor of mustard.

Beyond soft shells there would be a Ham

How could we even think about eating past yesterday after a delightful day filled with soft shell crab at the 8th Annual Soft Shell Crab Festival in Port Royal?! (It was a capital experience to hang out on Saturday with a couple of my most admired local foodies [Ervena Faulkner, Island Packet and Food Network Star's Orchid Paulmeier])
Somehow, when Easter follows on Sunday there's really no way to not continue to take your palate to other serious eats. In our case, to a home prepared ham. Actually the ham preparation began three days ago with brine and refrigeration. The recipe for a Brined Fresh Ham comes from Anne Burrell and not as labor intensive as I originally imagined a ham would be (silly me, I thought the high cost that I had been paying for a spiral ham in retail outlets was because it was a complex and laborious process). I really liked the glaze of Dijon, whole grained mustard and honey that accompanies this recipe. Perhaps even more so I will relish converting the ham leftovers into a childhood favorite~ham salad for snacking on saltines.