Catching Up with Cafe Drake
We've been insanely busy with duties over at The DP Chutney Collective, furiously crafting condiments for all your upcoming holiday needs, but don't worry, Cafe Drake is still here for you. A few recent updates below and more to follow after our first chance again to breathe. Whew.
It's not possible to roll out the red carpet every time, at least not our plushest selection, but we'll always find time to host an informal meal for dear friends like Jenifer Ruske. Always the most gracious and laid-back of guests, Jen sat and sipped pomegranate martinis and regaled us with her own personal updates while we puttered around the Cafe Drake kitchen, applying the finishing touches to a wintery meal of Chinese Pork and Sweet Potato Stew, brown rice, roasted broccoli and fenugreek leaves and rice vinegar cucumber quick pickles. Ruske's sabbatical from dairy was the mother of invention and inspired milk-free blackberry milkshakes for dessert.
Lazy evenings at Cafe D. dictate quick-cooking and easy to assemble meals, hence a recent dinner of nachos as seen above. Clean Sweeping the fridge, we topped Trader Joe's Flax Seed Chips with sliced chicken sausage, oil-cured olives, grape and sun-dried tomatoes, sliced jalapenos, leftover salsa and cheddar and provolone cheeses.
It may be getting late in the season to can and "put up" ultra-local produce, but with the stores currently awash with citrus fruit from our Left Coast farmer friends, Cafe Drake tried out pickling our own Indian style lemons. Holiday Gift Alert: these jars are stunning when labeled and hang-tag adorned. Here's how to do it:
Begin by scrubbing well 10 thin-skinned lemons. Organic would be best as you'll be eating the peels as well but if unavailable or too expensive be sure to scour the lemon skin very, very well. Note: this recipe can be doubled or tripled as desired.
Slice the lemons thinly, discarding only the tips of each end. Remove as many seeds as possible but don't drive yourself crazy with neurotic thoroughness. Toss the lemons in a large glass or ceramic bowl with 3 T. kosher salt and set aside for at least 2 hours.
In a large saucepan, combine and bring to a boil the following: any juices accumulated from salted lemons, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup cider vinegar and about 1 T. (no more) vegetable oil. When boiling, add: 3 T. paprika, 1 T. cayenne pepper, 5-6 thin slices of peeled ginger and 2 cloves of minced garlic. Now dump in the lemons and 1/4 cup golden raisins. Reduce to a simmer. Cook for 2-3 minutes then remove the lemons to sterilized jars.
Pour the hot liquid with raisins and spices over the lemons, filling to 1/2 " from the jar's rim. Seal and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
Comments