PICNIC RECIPES FROM FOOD FOR THOUGHT WITH CLAIRE THOMAS

Pork Belly Sandwiches

For 4-6 sandwiches

Ingredients:

For the Pork

1 1/2 lbs pork belly, skinless

2 tablespoons salt

1 tablespoon white sugar

1 tablespoon brown sugar

2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon white pepper

Apple Carrot Slaw

1 cup carrots, peeled and grated

1 cup apples, peeled and grated

3 tablespoons virgin olive oil

1 tablespoon whole grain mustard

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 cup raisins, plumped in hot water

3 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine the carrots, apples, raisins, and parsley in a bowl.  In a separate container, combine the mustard, vinegar, and oil, shaking to combine.  Dress the carrot mixture with the dressing, season to taste.

For the Sandwiches

1 large baguette, (maybe 2, halved and sliced into whatever size you want your sandwiches to be)

Arugula

Start with the pork. Mix together the dry ingredients and rub into the pork belly, brush off the excess. Put the pork belly in a snug container. Marinate for at least six hours and up to 24. Pre heat the oven to 450 F, and dry off the pork belly on some paper towels. Put the pork belly into a snug roasting pan or pyrex dish and roast for one hour, basting once half way through. Make sure it's in the center or lower rung of the oven, as the top can brown quickly. If it starts to get too dark, cover with some foil. After an hour, turn the oven down to 250 F and cook for another hour to and hour and fifteen minutes. You want the pork to be soft to the touch, but not falling apart. When it's done, take it out of the oven and cool until you can handle it, and wrap it up in plastic wrap and stick in the fridge to chill. Chilling makes it a lot easier to slice, so if you don't care about looks, you can slice right away. If you do chill it, heat up the slices in a pan for a little to warm it through.

Next, assemble the sandwiches. Place a little arugula on each side of the baguette, a handful of the apple carrot slaw on the top side, and a few slices of pork belly on the other.  Enjoy!

Citrus Fennel Slaw

2 oranges, sliced into supremes

1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced (use a mandoline)

1 tablespoon cilantro, finely chopped

2 tablespoons lime juice 

2 tablespoons sour cream

1/4 small cabbage, shredded

1 jalapeño, seeded and chopped

1 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper

Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl, stirring to combine.  Add salt and pepper to taste.


Quick Pickled Cucumbers

2 large garden cucumbers, thinly sliced

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoons crushed red pepper

3 tablespoons sugar

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon Asian fish sauce

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 tablespoon rice wine vinegar

Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl and pack up in a jar.  These last for up to a week in the fridge.

Nectarine Crostatas

For 2 Crostatas

8 yellow nectarines, cut into 1/2 inch slices (or peaches, plums, apricots, any stone fruit it fine)

3 tablespoons chambord or brandy

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

6 tablespoons packed brown sugar

3 tablespoons white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 large eggs

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup raw almonds (yield 3/4 cup ground almonds)

For the pie dough

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons granulated white sugar

1 cup unsalted butter, chilled, and cubed

1/4 to 1/2 cup ice water

2 tablespoons sugar crystals (optional)

1 egg, beaten (for egg wash)

Topping:

4oz creme fraiche

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a food processor or quickly using your fingertips, combine the flour, sugar, salt and butter until the chunks of butter are broken down to the size of peas and the flour feels like wet sand. Add the first 1/4 cup of water and mix until the dough comes together easily. It's too dry if it immediately clumps apart. Add two tablespoons of water at a time, you can always add more water but not more flour, so careful not to add too much! Bring the dough into two balls and plop them on top of two sheets of plastic wrap. Loosely wrap up the ball and press down, smooshing the ball into a disc about an inch thick. Pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes while you busy yourself with the other stuff.

Pre-heat the oven to 400 F. Slice the nectarines and toss with 3 tablespoons of the butter and brown sugar, plus the white sugar and the chambord or brandy. Stir to combine and set aside.

In a food processor, grind the almonds until the grain of rough sand. In a medium bowl, combine 3 tablespoons each of butter and brown sugar. Stir in the 3/4 cup of ground almonds and the flour. Add the eggs and the vanilla and stir until fully incorporated.

Dust your counter with flour and roll out each pie crust into a large circle about 1/4 inch thick. Place the the crostata onto a greased baking pan, pour half of the almond mixture into the middle, and spoon on half of the nectarines. Fold up the edges of the dough overlapping about an inch over the nectarines. Brush with the egg wash (the beaten egg) and sprinkle with sugar crystals. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the crust is brown, the almond mixture is a little puffed, and the nectarines are tender. Let cool for a few moments and mix together the creme fraiche, lemon zest, and vanilla as a topping if you like. Enjoy!

MEXICAN STREET CORN

New Yorkers will recognize this as "Cafe Habana" Corn, but the popcorn-esque smell of roasted elote (Mexican corn on the cob) outside of farmer's markets, clubs at 3 a.m., or even Dodger games could very well be California's state smell (runner up is the orange groves or the bacon wrapped hot dogs). This corn is a can't miss bite for a Southern Californian.  Sweet, toasted, creamy, sour, and a teensy bit spicy all at the same time. You'll be picking kernals out of your teeth and hair  for days and your fingers will sting with chili and lime if you devour them like I do. Is the mess worth it? I'm writing a blog post, aren't I? 


I'm sorry, I shouldn't answer a question with a question. Yes, it's TOTALLY WORTH IT. If you haven't enjoyed the bliss of blackened corn with these true Mexican flavors, well friend, get grillin'.




















For 4
4 corn cobs, husked
2 tablespoons oil
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 cup queso (crumbled Mexican Cheese)
Ancho Chili Powder, to taste
1 lime, cut into wedges
Cilantro leaves, to garnish




Lightly oil the corn and grill on high heat until well marked by the grill. I love it almost burnt, but feel free to go a little lighter if you're not into that. Combine the mayo and queso together and with a spatula spread all over the corn cobs. Sprinkle the cobs with ancho chili powder and squeeze with lime (1 wedge per cob should suffice). Sprinkle with cilantro and serve warm. Dig in!

A IS FOR ASPARAGUS BAKED EGGS

I'm a time filler.  If I have a spare moment, I'm filling it with something. Shooting, writing, reading, editing; I get antsy and pack my schedule and then wonder why I'm constantly stressed out.  It's strange what we do to ourselves.

This recipe is the start of one such "time filling" project.   Feeling guilty that I hadn't been updating the blog with the frequency I'd like to, I came up with a plan to keep me busy and the blog thriving: cooking through the alphabet.  There's 26 letters, so that's 26 recipes to create and 26 videos to shoot and edit. We'll see how far I get, but I've shot up to C, so I'm feeling pretty optimistic.

To kick off the alphabet, I have Asparagus Baked Eggs with Parmiggiano and Bread Crumbs.  Served with a crusty piece of grilled bread this is a quick yet sophisticated breakfast, or even a hurried dinner. Now pardon me as I dip into this golden gooey yolk.








Asparagus Baked Eggs

For 1

3 small asparagus stalks (not the jumbo thick ones)
1 egg
1 tablespoon parm
1 tablespoon breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons cream
Salt and Pepper
Grilled Bread
Butter

Preheat oven to Broil. In a buttered ramekin lay the asparagus stalks (if you are using a round ramekin, just chop the asparagus into 1 1/2 inch segments). Crack the egg on top and drizzle with cream.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper, parm, and breadcrumbs.  Broil for 5 minutes until the  whites are set and the yolk is runny.  Serve with grilled bread for dipping. Enjoy!

SUMMER SALAD

Summer is just the best. Such a boring thing to say, I know, but isn't it though? So in a fit of experimental laziness, I combined my favorite things about summer (stone fruit, heirloom tomatoes, and fresh herbs) in a bowl and called it a day.  The result? sweet, earthy, tart goodness. The tomatoes have enough sweetness to not get overwhelmed by the fruit, and the herbs add a refreshing kick to the whole thing.  It's pure summer, and a really interesting twist on a boring fruit salad.


 







For 2 - 4

1 large yellow peach
1 heirloom tomato (I used the pineapple variety for their color and flavor)
1 cup cherries, halved and pitter
2 tablespoons basil, chiffonade (rolled up and chopped into ribbons)
2 tablespoons cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon mint, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 tablespoon agave nectar
3 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and Pepper to taste

Slice up the peach into thin slices, roughly cube the tomato into one inch chunks, and combine with the cherries in a bowl.  Add the herbs.  In a small lidded container or with a whisk, combine the lime juice, agave nectar, olive oil, salt and pepper until mixed together.  Pour over the herbs and fruit and combine to dress.  Enjoy!