Farmers' Market Friday - Fending Off the Buzzards {Easy Autumn Appetizers}

Just in case you hadn't noticed, Thanksgiving will be upon us in about 3 weeks. Menu planning will begin in earnest around the TGK soon. I have a stable of tried-and-true-cannot-vary-recipes that will always appear on the menu, but I do also like to play around with a few of the sides. Some of my new introductions have made their way into the regulars list and others, well, let's just say, we should never speak of them again. Regardless of what you are making for your feast, one thing is certain, folks get hungry and start circling like buzzards around the kitchen. They just hope you won't be looking when they nab that little morsel of crispy skin from the turkey as it rests or the missing spoonful of mashed potatoes from the serving dish. 

Of course, the last thing anyone wants to do is *add* work to the already full day of cooking. But, a really great way to keep the pests hungry on-lookers away is to serve up some appetizers. Simple, yet tasty, is the key here. The following are two such items that will keep your guests happy and keep you sane in the kitchen.

Items from the market: 

• Brazos Valley Brie
• Pumpkin Pecan Butter from Star Farmers Market
• Watermelon Radishes from Star Farmers Market

Baked Brie with Pumpkin Pecan Butter

• 1 quarter wheel wedge of brie
• 1 jar of pumpkin pecan butter

1. Heat oven to 350F. 
2. Slice cheese very close to the top rind to make a thin "lid".
3. Spread a generous amount of pumpkin pecan butter over the bottom cut part of the cheese. Replace lid on top.
4. Place cheese on an oven proof baking dish and pop into the oven for about 5-7 minutes until soft and melty. (from the photos, you can see what happens when you get distracted and go a bit longer - super runny, completely delicious, but not so photo lovely).
5. Serve with hearty crackers of your choice or even sliced fall apples.

Watermelon Radishes with European Butter and Sea Salt

One of the great things about the farmer's market is that you will find varieties of common vegetables that you won't see at the standard supermarket. Case in point, the watermelon radish. This heirloom variety of the daikon radish is noted for its creamy to pale green exterior and lovely pink hued center. They are tender, crisp and firm. Their flavor is mild with a slightly peppery taste (which, Farmer Terry reports can be diminished by peeling them.) They range in size from a golf ball to soft ball and are great served fresh or cooked; hot or cold. For our purposes, raw and cold is the order of the day for this very traditionally French presentation of a light snack.

• 1 (or more) bunches of watermelon radishes (depending upon size); sliced to 1/4"thickness
• European-style butter (available at most local HEB stores, it has a tangy flavor and higher milk fat content and is a perfectly matched topping here)
• sea salt

1. Wash radishes well. Slice as directed. 
2. Serve with a dish of butter and sea salt.
3. Diners should smear a bit of butter on the radish slice, sprinkle with sea salt and enjoy.
4. If desired, you can also serve this with a nice round cracker and have folks top their cracker with the radish, etc. but honestly, the buttered radishes on their own are surprisingly delicious. 

I hope that having these 2 easy appetizers in your arsenal will help with your Thanksgiving menu planning and also will help avoid any sneaky buzzards from hitting the main attractions before its time!

Happy Cooking!

sld

Farmers' Market Friday - Focused on Levantine Cuisine {Baba Ghannouj}

Ba-ba gha-what?  That's exactly what I thought the first time I was introduced to this food item. This Texas Girl did not grow up knowing anything at all about Middle Eastern food. It wasn't until I married and lived for 2 years in the Northeast, that I came to be introduced to, what is now, one of my favorite types of cuisine. My husband, El Syd, grew up in Brooklyn and spent his youth enjoying all of the wide varieties of food from around the globe that are available in both Brooklyn and in NYC. It was a treat to have him take me to explore new foods that made my taste buds dance and to see how surprised he was to find out that I'd never had those foods before. 

Foods from the region are sometimes referred to as Levantine cuisine. The Levant refers to the geographical and cultural areas of the Eastern Mediterranean - the modern political areas of Lebanon, Syria, Israel and Palestine which mark the crossroads of Western Asia, Eastern Mediterranean and Africa. The word 'levant' comes from the French meaning 'rising' and refers to the point where the sun rises (or, in general, to the East of Europe.) The most distinctive dishes in this cuisine are the "mezze"(from the Turkish word for snack, taste or relish). They are small dishes served in the region for breakfast, lunch or even, in some cases, as part of a dinner spread. 

Summer happens to be when many of the integral ingredients for these dishes are in season - at the height of flavor and availability. Items like melons, eggplant, cucumber, tomatoes and okra can be found in a wide range of "medi-eastern" dishes. We've been eating a lot of dishes from this region and in the next couple of FMF posts, we'll focus on dishes from the Levantine region that might have you using vegetables you don't frequently use or in ways you've not used them before.

First up is a delicious, smoky dish of mashed eggplant mixed with olive oil and a variety of seasonings - Baba Ghannouj which, in Arabic, means "father of coquetry" and has been interpreted to mean that it was developed by members of a harem. I'm not going to lie, between the sound of the name (ba-ba gha-noosh) and  the look of the completed dish, it could use some better PR. However, I promise if you give it a try it makes for a fabulous starter to or a part of a full Levantine meal.

Market Shopping list: 

• Eggplants - various produce farmers
• Garlic (if you can still get a hold of this from the market, do it - best garlic ever)
• Pita from Artisan Oven (delicious whole wheat pita!)
• Olive oil from Central Texas Olive Ranch

Baba Ghannouj (or Baba Ghanoush or one of the other seemingly hundreds of ways to spell this)

• 3 medium sized eggplant
• 1/2 C tahini (roasted sesame paste which can be found on the international aisle at many supermarkets)
• 1 Tsp coarse salt
• 3 Tbsp freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, pressed or finely finely minced
• 1/8 Tsp chili powder
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 bunch flat-leaf parsley

1. Preheat oven to 375F.
2. Prick each eggplant skin in several locations (this will keep it from exploding when you roast it.) Char the outside of the eggplants directly over the flame of a gas-burner - or- you can char them under the broiler in your oven. 
3. Once charred, place the eggplants on a foil-lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 30 minutes (or more) until they are completely soft. You should be able to poke them with a sharp knife and meet no resistance at all.
4. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
5. Split open the eggplant and scrape the pulp from the skins. Discard skins. Using the blending appliance of your choice (mine is an immersion blender) blend the puree with all of the other ingredients until smooth.
6. Taste and season with additional salt and/or lemon juice to suit your taste. Chill for a few hours before serving. Serve with toasted pita, crackers, sliced baguette or even vegetable sticks. Enjoy!

Baba ghannouj can be made up to five days in advance of serving and kept refrigerated until needed. Also, like so many other regional dishes, the ingredients and proportions vary from family to family - so feel free to experiment with the recipe to make it your own. One variation adds cumin (aka cominos) to the mix, but be careful and add just a smidge as it shouldn't overpower the delicateness of the eggplant.

Happy Cooking!

sld

Disclosure: I was invited by Wolf Ranch Farmer's Market to visit and meet the vendors and was provided Market Money with which to purchase ingredients for use in the Farmers' Market Friday posts.  I was not compensated to write this article and all opinions are my own.