Saturday, December 11, 2010
The Cornucopia Project
Just before Thanksgiving, I was approached (by email) by a young San Francisco couple who have a blog called The Guerrilla Gourmet to participate in a very ambitious project. They wanted to reach out to bloggers all across the US to share their Thanksgivings...in whatever form that took. I felt quite special to be included in this request as the world is FULL of bloggers and I was happy to represent Oklahoma. If you read my recent post about Ree Drummond in the Bobby Flay Thanksgiving Feast Throwdown, I think you know how much I love our state. Anywho...I was lucky enough to be chosen and included in their blog as part of the Cornucopia Project. I encourage you to visit their blog by clicking on the badge to the left of this post. It is a fun and interesting read. See if you recognize the teenager behind the Brussels sprout stalk from Oklahoma...
Thursday, December 2, 2010
What in the World is...? Food Cetera from November, 2010
NOVEMBER 2010
From the Urban Kitchen website (http://www.urbankitchentulsa.com/)
What in the world is...a parsnip?
Indeed! What is this new darling of the food world? You hear about it everywhere now but new? Not really...the parsnip has been around for hundreds of years when the Europeans brought it to the US in the early 1600s! For some reason, this creamy-white root has never become an American favorite...until now! Chefs across the country have taken up this overlooked little gem and are putting it into everything from cakes to mashed potatoes (actually using it INSTEAD of mashers).
Parsnips look a lot like carrots except, yes...they're white. They have a pleasantly sweet yet spicy flavor that goes well with many foods and enriches the flavor profiles of vegetable soups and stock as well as roasted meats, especially birds. No need to peel them because most of the flavor lies just beneath the skin so just give them a good scrub. Because of the sugar content, parsnips will caramelize nicely when roasted or baked but are good boiled or steamed and then mashed with butter and cream...yum!
Parsnips are available year-round but are best now and into winter. Choose small to medium, well-shaped roots that are not limp. They will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
So...be fearless! Try slicing parsnips into your next potato gratin, add them to your Thanksgiving mash, or just roast them in the oven with a little olive oil, butter, salt and pepper...and the rest of your winter vegetables.
Embrace the humble but lovely parsnip
From the Urban Kitchen website (http://www.urbankitchentulsa.com/)
What in the world is...a parsnip?
Indeed! What is this new darling of the food world? You hear about it everywhere now but new? Not really...the parsnip has been around for hundreds of years when the Europeans brought it to the US in the early 1600s! For some reason, this creamy-white root has never become an American favorite...until now! Chefs across the country have taken up this overlooked little gem and are putting it into everything from cakes to mashed potatoes (actually using it INSTEAD of mashers).
Parsnips look a lot like carrots except, yes...they're white. They have a pleasantly sweet yet spicy flavor that goes well with many foods and enriches the flavor profiles of vegetable soups and stock as well as roasted meats, especially birds. No need to peel them because most of the flavor lies just beneath the skin so just give them a good scrub. Because of the sugar content, parsnips will caramelize nicely when roasted or baked but are good boiled or steamed and then mashed with butter and cream...yum!
Parsnips are available year-round but are best now and into winter. Choose small to medium, well-shaped roots that are not limp. They will keep in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
So...be fearless! Try slicing parsnips into your next potato gratin, add them to your Thanksgiving mash, or just roast them in the oven with a little olive oil, butter, salt and pepper...and the rest of your winter vegetables.
Embrace the humble but lovely parsnip
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