Live Q&As

Sounds like you should read our feature we ran the other year on dashboard dining.

Maybe a veggie-centric wrap would hold up better than a sandwich? I like the sound of these Plantain Wraps With Tangy Black Bean Spread.

Absolutely. Diana Kennedy endorses. No whole shrimp available near you, even frozen? Boo.

Way to go! To check for doneness, you can insert the tip of a very sharp knife into the dark meat (away from the bone). If the juices run clear and you see no trace of pink, you're good to go.

Of course, I'm partial to this recipe for a Corn Cocktail, part of The Process column today on corn.

Try this Ostend Fizz Royale, which is tasty and should provide enough carbonation to cut through your rich brunch dishes.

Plantains are better, more dense, and you may find them at a speciatly shop if you look around. But, yes, you can grill regular old bananas too. 

You want a nice firm banana, but don't go green, not in this case anyway. The banana itself will be starchy. A good, firm ripe banana will take to the grill just fine. 

Either grill it in its skin or give it a light coat of oil. Or both - halve the banana and lighly oil the exposed banana, grill, then turn over and grill the skin side.

Leave the husk on by all means. Trim the scraggly bits of husk and silk from the ends of the cobs sand place them directly on a rack of a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes. Or 30 minutes at 350. It is really forgiving. Soaking the cobs/husks in water beforehand (for about 15 minutes) will help create more steam within the husks, but the step isn't really necessary. When you peel back the husk, the silk will peel right along with it if the corn is done.

You can also throw corn in the microwave in the husk. Cook on high for about 7 minutes (do no more than two cobs at a time and make sure they have a clear path on the revolving tray.

You can practically do anything to corn to cook it. I bet it would work in the dishwasher.

Here's Becky Krystal's experiement in microwaving corn.

Here's a recipe from our archives:

Welsh Rabbit 

 

(Makes 1 cup sauce, enough for 4 servings) 

 

Though I grew up with a rabbit (we called it "rarebit") made with beer or ale, this smoother version seems more appropriate for Christmas Day. If it looks too plain for you, think about some of the variations below or come up with your own simple plan that allows you to spend the day with those you love.

 

Adapted from a recipe in "The Fannie Farmer Cookbook" (11th Edition), revised by Wilma Lord Perkins (Little, Brown, 1965). 

 

8 ounces cheddar cheese, as mild or sharp as you prefer, coarsely grated 

1 tablespoon unsalted butter 

Salt to taste 

1 teaspoon Dijon-style mustard 

Small pinch cayenne pepper 

1/2 cup milk 

1 egg, slightly beaten 

In the top of a double boiler or in a heatproof dish fitted over a pot of simmering water, heat the cheese, butter, salt, mustard and cayenne, stirring occasionally, until the cheese melts.

Add the milk and egg and stir constantly until the mixture thickens. Taste and add more salt if desired. Pour over toast.

Per serving: 294 calories, 17 gm protein, 2 gm carbohydrates, 24 gm fat, 125 mg cholesterol, 15 gm saturated fat, 460 mg sodium, trace dietary fiber

Variations 

Ale or beer: Instead of milk, use ale or beer.

Tomato: Spoon the rabbit over broiled tomatoes.

Other thoughts?

Cathy Barrow, aka MrsWheelbarrow, says:

Thanks for asking this question. There are a couple of solutions. The reason there is a rack used in the bottom of the pot is to keep the jars from clattering against the bottom and breaking. Use a folded dish towel on the bottom for a little more room in the pot. It's not necessary that the pot be covered, only that the jars remain submerged. An uncovered pot does make the kitchen nice and steamy. The pasta pot sounds ideal. I started canning with an old lobster pot.

BTW, did you see her AWCE blogpost today about teaching The Source exec chef Scott Drewno about pickling?

Re the manioc, I haven't cooked with it much. Seems like you could use it as a thickener whenever you have the need for something you're cooking.  It gets some use in the gluten-free world, I see. Chatters, what do you do with it?

Chickpea flourwise, I've got you covered:

Chickpea Cookies

Chickpea Pancakes (Italian appetizer)

Shaku's Indian Fried Shrimp

Spinach-Chickpea Burgers

Pumpkin Seed Turkey Tenderloins

I'm afraid that the designer alcohol market has already usurped corn liquor. Upscale, commercial "moonshines" are now widely available.

You'd want to go with the classic, twice-cooked approach. It's worth the extra steps.

Some people soak the freshly cut fries (from plain old russets) in water for a few hours or overnight, to get rid of some of the potato's starchiness. Then you need to drain and dry them well.  Fry in not-too-big batches, in peanut oil, at around 300 degrees  (heat the oil at a higher temp to start; when you add the potatoes the temp will drop; adjust heat as needed). Par-cook them for a few minutes; they won't be done or change color much. Transfer them to a wire rack set atop a baking sheet to drain. When you're ready to fry again, get the oil a bit hotter (say, 350) and cook in batches again, this time until cooked through and browned and perfectly crisped. Drain on the rack; salt while they're fresh and hot.

Guilty!  I was raised on the Jiffy brand Johnnycakes, pretty much. It was a little like Easy-Bake Oven baking for me as a kid. Having a box or two in the pantry's become a habit. That's not to say I don't like making my own from scratch. (Speaking of, check out David Hagedorn's Buckwheat Corn Bread today. It's got an extra nuttiness.  Really like it.)

A few years ago, ace baker Lisa Yockelson sang Jiffy's praises in Food, which I found validating.  If you're looking for a simple, moist, homemade version with sweetness, I'd stick with an old recipe from Lisa, too:

8 servings

1 1/2 cups unsifted yellow cornmeal

1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour

1/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 cup fresh corn kernels

2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (NOTE the size)

7 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1 1/4 cups milk, at room temperature

1/4 cup light cream, at room temperature

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter and flour the inside of an 8-by-12-inch baking pan.

Into a large mixing bowl, sift together the cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder. Place the corn in a small bowl and toss with 1 tablespoon of the sifted mixture.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk the eggs for 2 minutes, or until well combined. Beat in the melted butter and shortening. Blend in the milk and cream. Make a large well in the middle of the sifted dry ingredients and pour in all of the liquid ingredients. Stir quickly with a wooden spoon to make a smooth batter but do not overbeat. Fold through the corn kernels with a spatula.

Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared baking pan. Bake on the lower third-level rack for 30 minutes, or until golden on top, firm to the touch, and the sides of the break pull away slightly from the edges of the baking pan.

Cool the cornbread on a rack for 5 minutes, then cut into squares for serving. Serve warm.

RFK. Dupont is probably one of the priciest markets around here. Have you seen our farmers market map? There are tons of options, many of which would be considered "established."

Absolutely.

For the full-immersion coffee experience -- seasonal, well-selected beans from around the world; beans roasted in-house; baristas who know how to make both espresso and hand-pour coffees -- I go to Qualia in Petworth. Check it out.

Thanks for the vote of cornfidence (I just heard a collective groan all the way to New York from my fellow Posties).

I love the simplicity of your soup and will try it for sure. When the corn is great, it should be honored, not masked, right?

   What other foods have you got?

    There is nothing, I mean nothing, that I can think of that can't handle smoke. Some foods like a lot of smoke (beef brisket), some less (lamb), and others just a hint (Cornish hen). Oh, and, of course, the king of the grill: pork ribs. 

   And none of this is to mention fruits and vegetables... 

    Rummage through the WaPo recipes; you'll find lots of grilling and smoking recipes.

And remember: If you do smoke spare ribs, you don't have to waste your time removing the silverskin!

I heartily endorse the recipe from the James Beard award-winning "Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home." It was a hit at my family beach week a few months ago.

Roasted Pistachio Ice Cream

 

Makes about 1 quart

 

1/2 cup shelled unsalted pistachios (plus 1/4 to 1/2 cup if you want to add whole ones to your ice cream)

2 cups whole milk

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 1/2 ounces (3 tablespoons) cream cheese, softened

1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 1/4 cups heavy cream

2/3 cup sugar

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Spread the 1/2 cup pistachios out on a small baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 to 12 minutes, until fragrant and just starting to brown. Remove from the oven and pulverize in a food processor until the pistachios become a very smooth paste.

Mix about 2 tablespoons of the milk with the cornstarch in a small bowl to make a smooth slurry.

Whisk the cream cheese, pistachio paste and salt in a medium bowl until smooth.

Fill a large bowl with ice and water.

Combine the remaining milk, the cream, sugar and corn syrup in a 4-quart saucepan, bring to a rolling boil over medium-high heat, and boil for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and gradually whisk in the cornstarch slurry.

Bring the mixture back to a boil over medium-high heat and cook, stirring with a heatproof spatula, until slightly thickened, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat.

Gradually whisk the hot milk mixture into the cream cheese mixture until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a 1-gallon Ziploc freezer bag and submerge the sealed bag in the ice bath. Let stand, adding more ice as necessary, until cold, about 30 minutes.

Pour the ice cream base into the frozen canister and turn on the machine. Pour the almond extract into the opening in the top of the machine and continue to spin the ice cream until thick and creamy (I have found this to be 20-25 minutes, but keep an eye on it.)

Pack the ice cream into a storage container, layering it with the whole pistachios, if using, as you go. Press a sheet of parchment paper directly against the surface, and seal with an airtight lid. Freeze in the coldest part of your freezer until firm, at least 4 hours.

If you really like ice cream, you ought to just order the book. At $14, it's a steal on Amazon. 

Dingdingding! The pineapple roast recipe from chef Doug Anderson has been a favorite of mine since we ran it in 2007. Sometimes I serve it with ... homemade cottage cheese. Or ricotta.  I'm thinking about using Jim Shahin's cayenne/caramel sauce with it instead. Cheeky!

Yeah: anything. Put small berries, like blueberries and raspberries and blackberries, in a vegetable basket and grill them for a couple of minutes. Grilled watermelon is fantastic, but you have to be careful because it can wilt the crispness; I prefer a seedless watermelon because of the uniformity of the slice (no seed potholes) and then grill about 1/2 inch slices over medium-high heat for about 2-3 minutes per side. From there, do what you want - mix with tomatoes, feta, and mint for a lovely salad, for example.

Cut a cantalope in half, scrape the seeds from it, grill each half fruit side down for about three minutes, then fill the cavity with ice cream.  

Grill several different fruit and mix them together with a little lime juice and a light sprinkle of cayenne for a fabulous and easy fruit salad.

There's a few ideas. Now, off to the grill with ya.

Have a look at our Make It, Freeze It, Take It recipes. Also, oh-so-many mac and cheese ideas.

My gut instinct tells me that the steak seasoning may be too strong for the salmon, ultimately masking its flavor, not enhancing it. But here's what I would do: Use the steak seasoning on part of your salmon and see if you like the results. If not, you still have the rest of the fish to enjoy.

Hooray for pie!

We used to do this at summer camp!

 Aw, shucks.

Just doin' my job, ma'am/sir...

Here's the story by Jane Black.

Dude, you know that answer before you ask it: grill, baby, grill. Oh, and smoke. Grilling alone will not give you the depth of flavor you are seeking; the other ingredients in the jam will thin that flavor out. So, in addition to grilling whatever fruit you're using for a jam, make an indirect fire, move the fruit to the cool side of the grill, add some wood chips, close the grill lid, and smoke for about 5-10 minutes (not too long, or you will oversmoke). Then, put on some morning toast and wow your family. 

Dave says:

Well, Niagara's a pretty fragrant wine to begin with, as most Native American grape wines are (compared to the European varieties that are much more familiar, such as cabernet, merlot, chardonnay, etc.) Unless the bottle is display-worthy for some sentimental reason perhaps, I'd say go ahead and open it. If the wine reeks, it'll make good drain cleaner. On the other hand, you might have an interesting sherry.

I think you'd get more bang for your buck if you broke them down. Place in a heavy-duty Ziploc bag. Seal and pound until the dried shrimp is pretty evenly pulverized.

No real way of knowing, since I wasn't in the kitchen with you and can't see your recipe. I doubt it's the butter factor you mention. Could be any of these things, or more: 1. Your pan is too thin/flimsy;  2. your oven thermostat is off; 3. you didn't thoroughly cool the crust after it pre-baked; 4. you messed up and set the oven at the wrong temperature. I'm assuming the cake didn't cook in a water bath?

Roasted broccoli with cheesey grits sounds a little heavy for the weather to me. Yesterday at Momofuku Ssäm Bar in New York, I had chilled blanched broccoli tossed in a bluefish vinaigrette. The dressing seemed like little more than a basic vinaigrette with the fish pureed into it. Smoked trout would be a good substitute (but don't overdo it.) for bluefish. There may have been a touch of seame oil in the dressing, and some frizzled shallots on top, too.

Eh, is it just for making vinaigrettes or dressings? If so, you can put all the ingredients in a jar with a tight-fitting lid, and shakeshakeshake till emulsified. Otherwise, try using a whisk and a mixing bowl. Good exercise.

     Because they are firm, apples are really easy to grill and, let me tell ya, they take to the grill really well. In fact, I have no idea why grilling apples isn't all the rage.

      Cut an apple in half, core it, cut off its stem and end, and skin it (that last part is optional; depends on what you are making and whether you like skin). Place the apple cut-side down over a direct medium-hot fire for about 4 minutes, then turn over for 3-5 minutes. Remove from the grill, and chop, along with some serranos or jalapenos, some red onion, some cilantro, and a nice big squeeze of fresh lime. It makes a great salsa for grilled pork. 

     You can also grill the apple, then smoke it for about 5 minutes, then put it in a pot and mash it with some sugar into smoked applesauce. 

      Have fun this fall!

Scones, of course. Many varieties here.

I love the tikka masala idea, which is both smart and counterintuitive to those who only think of  "British food" as meat and potatoes.

Here's a fun recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala Turnovers.

     Well, you can belly up to the barbecue at any of the four major 'cue capitols: Memphis, Kansas City, North Carolina, and Texas.

Typically, a person reads up on places they want to visit, draw up an itiniterary, and off they go. But there are some guided tours out there. 

      The North Carolina Barbecue Society has developed a Barbecue Trail. I've read about a guided barbecue tour in Texas. 

      I took a tour (believe it or not) of New York City. It was about a year ago, and was led by cookbook author Amy Mills and her co-author/bbq champ dad, Mike Mills. The tour is public, so you, too, can take it. It's called the Big Apple BBQ Smoke Tour. 

       Wherever you go, let me know. Would love to know what you find!

If you haven't read it, here is Jim's story about the barbecue crawl.

Well, I can highly recommend the frozen corn milk ice cream pie at Momofuku Milk Bar. Here is a recipe for corn milk ice cream from Epicurious. Substitute my corn milk for the milk in the recipe. It could only enhance the corniness of the final product.

If I need a full meal, I will "let go" and get a sandwich at, say, Subway or Potbelly. Often I'll eat yogurt. But I do tend to pack lots of snacks, mostly fresh fruit, granola bars and maybe some homemade baked goods if I need breakfast.

Me, depends on which airport and my appetite. At DCA, I like to grab a Five Guys. At O'Hare, I make sure to get a Chicago hot dog. In New Orleans, and I know this makes no sense, but there is just something about that Popeye's Chicken in the terminal. 

If I'm at O'Hare, I'll always buy an Italian beef sandwich, dipped, at the nearest vendor. At Reagan, I tend to buy a cup of coffee and sulk until I can land somewhere with better food options.

Actually I try not to eat at the airport, but if I do around here,  I'm likely to encounter Jim Shahin at the Five Guys. If I'm not that hungry I just grab one of those pre-cut fruit cups you see everywhere.

I try to pick up a really good sandwich (smoked brisket) or composed salad from Wagshal's.  If I can't do that, I opt for a bagel. With whine.

For such occasions, I like a composed salad, a la Nicoise; it's flexible for that size group and you can make it all the night before.  It'd take about an hour for you to set it up on a nice big platter and the ingredients would be at a palatable room temperature. Boil some small Yukon Gold potatoes; cook haricots verts just until they're bright-green and crisp-tender; poach some chicken or marinate/grill some meat and cut it into serving-size strips (or simply lay out some good-quality, oil-packed tuna fish); toast some walnut halves; add a heap of cornichons and/or pitted olives and slices of hard-cooked eggs; buy or roast some bell peppers and cut them into strips; make a creamy, aioli-like dressing. Serve with crusty bread.

The Falls Church Target appears to have some jars in stock, but I'd recommend you support a small business and head to the awesome Ayers Variety and Hardware (5853 N. Washington Blvd.).

I'll let David defend himself, but  I will say that growing up in the Midwest, I was taught that peeling back the husk of corn at market is not done; just feel the tip to detect kernel size and presence of critters. I guest East Coast mores are different.

My, my. Peeling back the husk is done, apparently, because I do it. I peel it back maybe an inch, so let's get a grip. I hardly think the corn is so ultra sensitive that the sugar content plummets disasterously from having a square inch of kernels exposed. And I don't think the comparison to opening a banana works here. Opening the banana wouldn't tell you anything; you'd have to take a bite out of it, which you would not be doing to corn.

If there is nothing wrong with the ear that I can detect, I take it. If there is a defect, I set it aside, away from the pile. I'd say I take at least 90% of the ears I open. And I haven't detected any loss of sweetness.

I guess you could try roasting them, although if you look at that recipe, it's not very fattening even with the frying. The flavor, as well as the texture, might be a little different. I'm seeing different suggestions on the interwebs, but maybe try something like 375-400 degrees for 20 minutes?

I will repeat this. It's not as if I am wildly ripping apart ears and leaving them completely shucked. I respect food. I peek at the kernels. I have been stuck with crummy corn when I don't look at it and pierce it.  And pricking one kernel is hardly a spate of wanton destuction. Interesting though that you inferred that from what I wrote. 

Step away from the frozen bag. What's your entree?

Really? I haven't found this to be the case at all, and I've made quite a few batches. I have a quart of vanilla in the freezer that I made on Saturday and it's pretty much the cleanest-tasting vanilla ever. You could try posing the question on their forum. What flavors have you done? Maybe you're just highly attuned to the cream cheese element. Something like chocolate might overpower that.

If you're closer to Arlington than to a Rodman's, try Classic Cigars & British Goodies on Wilson Boulevard. They don't seem to have a Web site I can link you to but the address is 2907 Wilson Blvd.

Mazel tov! It's been a while but we've run an occasional feature called Make It Freeze It Take It. If you search on those words in our Recipe Finder, you'll find 18 recipes to try. ( I'm partial to the Mango-Cranberry Chicken.)

Speaking of that mac and cheese, it's going in The Washington Post Cookbook!

Baking is so variable that I think it'd be awfully hard to come up with hard and fast rules for substitutes that would suit every circumstance. If I wanted to substitute whole-wheat flours, I'd start by subbing out just half of the amount, or maybe I'd use white whole-wheat flour instead of the regular stuff. But -- having said that, rather than start out with a recipe you want to modify, it'd be so much easier to find a recipe that looks like it meets your new standards and go with it. As for sweeteners, most if not all non-sugar sweeteners have conversion charts right on the box telling you how much to substitute for sugar. Right now I'm testing two of them; watch for the results on All You Can Eat.

Indeed, I've spotted them in the past at our Safeway.

Good to know! Thanks. 

You're welcome; Joe Yonan wrote about her in a recent Cooking for One column. Yes, we love her name. Kinda perfect for a children's book author, no? She was a great guest on Free Range, too. Love to have her back.

I'm reading on Livestrong that the body does digest most of the kernel -- just not all of it. The more you chew it, the easier it is for your digestive system to handle it.

I think an answer lies in the freezer. Currants freeze well right on the stem; I just put them in sturdy plastic containers. I'd puree/strain the berries and freeze those, separately, as well. Add the purees to your favorite vinaigrette, perhaps made with champagne or sherry vinegar to complement the sweetness.

Public-service reminder about our recipe database, folks. You can specify many categories, such as course, meatless, fast, kid-friendly, etc.

Look up meatless appetizers and you get 46 results.

With all the great tomatoes around, I'd go for something like Roasted Tomato Bruschetta.

Ahhh. Going through Chicago soon. Good tip. 

Interesting approach, thanks. I don't have a problem buying the cream cheese bricks because I a) just make tons more ice cream or b) give little bites to my dogs.

I'd like to credit for your ribs, but Tim Carman was the one who did the silver-skin tip research. 

The ice cream sounds yummy. Good luck with the smoked fruit.

I've got no beef with frozen vegetables; but that particular combo is an institutional layup, in my book. Buy single frozen veg and combine at your desire.  Or buy fresh and parcook, then freeze and do different things like making vegetable patties with a pureed mixture, or maybe having, say, a carrot puree or pudding (add a little flour, orange juice, egg; bake in 20 mins) instead of mashed potatoes.  Think about buying vegetables that have a long refrigerated shelf life, like celery root, for example, or fennel or kohlrabi. They last for weeks and you'd have the option of a fresh salad with crunch.