L’Escargot served a Black Bean Soup with Shrimp for lunch which was exceptional.  I finally met the chef and asked him what wine he used in the soup and he said sherry in a very off-handed manner as if I couldn’t boil water.  Little did he know…  I was crewing and cooking aboard chartered yachts at the time and developing a pallet for all things gourmet.

By the end of the yacht season I had succeeded in making a creamy black bean soup with  sherried shrimp that everyone loved.  Topped with a dollop of Greek yogurt and fresh cilantro this soup is a delicious experience.  Serve it with a crunchy baguette and wedge of lime.

Turtle Black Beans are available in most supermarkets in the dry bean isle.  They can be soaked overnight in double the water.  So, cover 2 cups of dried beans with 4 cups of water.  If you have a pressure cooker, rinse your beans, place in the pressure cooker and add double the water and process for 45 minutes.  Refer to the bean package for quick soak method which involves boiling the beans first then soaking for an hour.  Caution:  DO NOT ADD SALT TO BEANS until they are softened.  The salt will prevent the beans from softening, even in a pressure cooker.  Depending on your tap water source, you may want to use filtered water as some water conditioners are salty.  If you don’t want to fool with the dry beans, canned beans are widely available.

If you cook a whole package of dry beans, freeze half for Mediterranean Black Bean Salad or Chorizo and Black Bean Empanadas.

Ingredients for 4 servings:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 2 strips bacon, diced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 lb. 26/30 shrimp, deveined and shelled
• 1/2 cup dry sherry
• 4 cups black turtle beans with juice (2-14.5 oz cans)
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt or to taste
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• Tabasco sauce or red pepper flakes to taste
• fresh cilantro to garnish
• creme fraiche or Greek Yogurt to garnish
• lime wedges (optional)

Method:

1. In a soup pot, saute bacon, onions and garlic in olive oil over medium high heat for 5 or 6 minutes.  Add sherry to deglaze pot.
2. Add shrimp and cook until shrimp just turn pink.  Remove shrimp to a bowl.
3. Puree 1 can of beans (about 2 cups) in a blender or food processor.  Add beans and remaining ingredients to the pot and bring to a boil then reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes stirring from time to time.  Add water, stock or more bean juice if soup is too thick.  ( If you prefer, puree beans with a stick-blender after adding them to the pot.)
4. Return shrimp to beans and cook until shrimp is done (opaque), about 5 minutes.  Take care not to overcook shrimp or they will be rubbery.
5. Taste for seasoning, adjust if necessary, dish up and garnish as desired.

The oranges for this marmalade came from a local fruit stand and were 6 for $1.00.  When squeezed there was about 5 cups of really sweet juice.  Maybe more like 6 cups since I had to taste it and then make a screwdriver before dinner with some and saved some for breakfast.  At any rate I set aside enough for a small batch of marmalade…this recipe yields 12 oz.

The seeds and membranes of oranges and lemons contain enough pectin to gel your marmalade and extracting the pectin is the one step in preparing the oranges that you cannot skip. You want to prepare the oranges the night before or even up to two days before cooking the marmalade.

Because we’re dealing with a small batch, the cooking time is just 15 minutes start to finish so you can control the quality and gelling easier than if it were a large batch.  This means your jam will be clear and bright orange with threads of orange zest suspended in it rather than dark rust colored and opaque.

Use a sauce pan with a heavy bottom and big enough to accommodate a full-roiling boil (that’s a boil you cannot stir down) and deep enough so that the bubbles can rise half-way up the sides of the pan and not over the top.  Long handled wooden spoons are the best for jam making since boiling juice and sugar is very hot and hot syrup burns are extremely painful.  Always apply ice directly to any kitchen burn.  You’ll also need to place a saucer and spoon in the freezer which will be used to test for the gel stage.

This same method can be used to make a classic lime marmalade or lemon marmalade with fresh ginger.

Homemade marmalade is always a welcomed addition to gift baskets so make several batches and pass around the love. Do try this recipe with a fresh loaf of bread, rolls, biscuits or scones.

Ingredients for 12 oz. jar:

• 2 large navel oranges, juiced (reserve peels, pulp and seeds separately)
• 1/2 lemon, juiced (reserve peels, pulp and seeds separately)
• 1 cup fine granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup water plus tiny pinch of baking soda to soften zest
• 1 tsp whiskey per jar

Method:

1. Add orange and lemon juices and measure.  You should have 1-1/2 cups of juice.  Use filtered water to make up any shortfall of juice.
2. Either zest or finely julienne the peel of half an orange (just the orange part).  Place in a small saucepan with 1/3 cup filtered water and a tiny pinch of baking soda.  Simmer over medium low until zest softens, about 6-8 minutes. Drain, cool and add to juices.
3. To extract pectin for gelling:  Chop all the remaining orange and lemon peels in a food processor or grinder.  Place chopped peels along with the reserved pulp and seeds into a cheesecloth or muslin bag.  If using cheesecloth, several layers are needed and kitchen twine.  Gather the corner pieces of cheesecloth with the pulp in the middle and secure with string.  Add the prepared bag to the juices and zest.  Cover and let set overnight.   The next day, squeeze the pulp bag over the juice until no more liquid comes from the bag.   This is the pectin and should feel silky.  Discard the bag when finished.
4. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the juice and zest to a boil over high heat.   Slowly stir in the sugar and bring to a roiling boil. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove pot from heat.  Check for gel stage with an ice-cold teaspoon dipped into boiling jam and returned to the freezer for 1 minute.  If the jam on the spoon wrinkles when pushed with your finger gel stage has been reached.  If not, return pot to heat and boil an additional 5 minutes and repeat the gel test.
5. Drain warm jar(s) and fill with marmalade.  Float the whiskey over the top of the marmalade then seal the jar.  Cool jar on a towel and let set 24 hours before refrigerating.  For longer storage, sealed jars may be boiled in water 1-2 inches over the top of the jars for 10 minutes.  Check that the lids have sealed and store in a cool, dry, dark pantry for up to one year.

Not only does this recipe make superb focaccia it makes the best bread sticks to go with soup or serve with a marinara sauce.  The variations of toppings are as numerous as pizza toppings.  You could even make this into a sweet version with cinnamon and sugar or jam.

Make an extra batch to freeze for last minute meals or when friends drop by.   The dry ingredients can be packaged with the recipe in a gift basket including your favorite homemade marinara sauce, pasta, wine and chocolate truffles or espresso beans.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 Tbsp instant dry-active yeast  (2 pkg Red Star or Fleischmans)
• pinch of sugar
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (more for bottom of pan and top of dough)
• 1-1/2 cups luke-warm water
• Fresh or dry herbs, cheeses or other condiments as desired

Method:

1.  Grease a 9X13-inch sheet pan and drizzled with 1 or 2 Tbsp olive oil.
2. Place all the dry ingredients in the bowl of your food processor.  Whirl on low speed and add olive oil then all the water at once.  Whirl until a ball of dough spins around the bowl and there is no flour clinging to the sides of the bowl.
3. Continue to whirl dough for 1 minute.  Dough should be soft and slightly sticky.  If its too sticky add 1 Tbsp of flour and whirl until incorporated.  If its too firm add 1 Tbsp of water at a time and whirl until water is incorporated and dough is soft.  (At this point you can add cubes of cheese and herbs if desired.)
4. Remove dough from food processor and press into the prepared pan.  Cover with a plastic bag or floured towel and let rise for 60 minutes or until it’s puffy.
5. Preheat oven to 375° F.
6. When dough is puffy make dimples in the dough with your fingers.  Drizzle the top of the dough with a little olive oil and sprinkle with fresh or dry herbs, oven-roasted tomatoes, black olives, parmigiana cheese or other toppings as desired.
7. Bake for 35-40 minutes.  Let pan cool for 5 minutes and remove bread to a cooling rack.

This is a super easy recipe so I hope you’ll give this a try and tell me what you think.

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 lbs. sweet potatoes, peeled and boiled until tender
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar
• 2 Tbsp basil pesto (recipe below)
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1/2 cup milk
• pinch of nutmeg
• Italian bread crumbs to line ramekins
• 1 cup roasted cherry tomatoes (recipe below)

Method:

1. To make basil pesto:  rinse 2 cups of fresh basil in cold water and towel dry.  Add basil to a food processor with 2 cloves of garlic, 1/4 cup grated parmigiano cheese and 1 tsp salt. (Nuts, 1/4 cup of roasted pinenuts, almonds or walnuts is optional).  Pulse to chop fine and add 1/2 cup olive oil and process until well combined…do not over process.  You want a bit of texture.  Refrigerate or freeze leftovers.
2. To roast cherry tomatoes:   wash and slice tomatoes in half and place in a bowl.  Drizzle 2 Tbsp olive oil over tomatoes and add 1 heaping tsp sea salt, freshly ground black pepper to taste and 1 tsp finely minced garlic (1 clove).  Toss until the tomatoes are covered.  Place on a baking sheet and roast in 375° F. oven for 25-30 minutes.  Remove from pan and cool slightly.  Cover with olive oil and refrigerate up to 2 weeks or freeze leftovers for pasta, bruschetta or pizza.
3. Butter 6 ramekins and sprinkle with Italian bread crumbs.  Place in the freezer until ready to fill.
4. Drain the boiled sweet potatoes and return to the pot to dry out a bit.  Mash potatoes with the butter, brown sugar and pesto.
5. Whisk the eggs and milk together and add a pinch of nutmeg.   Stir into the seasoned sweet potatoes.
6. Remove ramekins from freezer and fill.  Bake in 350° F. oven for 20-30 minutes or until knife tests clean.
7. Run a knife around sides of ramekins and invert onto a platter or individual plates.  Top with roasted cherry tomatoes and chopped basil or parsley.

Personally, sugar in pickles is not my thing unless its supposed to be sweet like bread ‘n’ butter pickles or cornichons but in this recipe I’ve added a little sugar to cut the abrasive vinegar and the taste is still decidedly savory more than sweet so I’m a happy camper.

These pickles are so easy to make and any pepper will work.  Bell peppers, aje dulce chilies, banana peppers and Anaheim peppers went into this batch shown in the photo.  Cherry peppers and green poblano chilies are fab pickled like this too.

Vinegar Peppers as a gift will make any gourmand happy.  If you love pickles you’ll love these.

Ingredients for 1 quart or 2 pints:

• 1/2 medium sized onion sliced thin
• 2 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 to 2 sprigs fresh oregano
• pinch of red pepper flakes (or hot fresh chile to taste)
• 2 green Bell peppers, cut into  1/2-inch strips
• 1 red Bell pepper, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 2 yellow banana peppers, cut into 1/2-inch strips,
• 2 red Anaheim chilies, cut into 1/2-inch strips
• 6 to 8 aje dulce chilies, whole and punctured once with a knife or skewer
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1-1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
• 1/2 cup water (non-chlorinated water)
• 1/4 cup sea salt or canning salt
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar

Method:

1. Wash jars and lids in hot soapy water and rinse thoroughly.  Keep jars warm in hot water, a low oven or dishwasher.
2. Wash veggies and cut into strips.  If using cherry peppers or aje dulce chilies puncture each one with a knife or skewer so the pickle brine will reach inside the pepper.
3. Place garlic, onion, oregano and chile flakes into the jar and pack the pepper strips tightly and vertically into the jar.  This will keep the peppers from floating to the top and out of the brine.
4. Pour olive oil over peppers.
5. In a small sauce pan, bring to a boil the vinegar, water, salt and sugar.  Stir to dissolve the salt and sugar.  Pour directly over the peppers packed in the jars making sure the brine covers the peppers completely. Use a butter knife or chop stick to release air bubbles and seal with clean lids.
6. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours.  Check lids for a proper seal.  Refrigerate if not sealed.  Always refrigerate after opening.