I cook with wine…

In my house, we use two flavor-enhancing elements so liberally, it puts San Francisco progressives to shame. Those two things are, of course, garlic and ginger. This recipe makes ample use of the latter and provides a fun wake-up call to your taste buds. I try to make a ginger-heavy side dish or soup whenever Kevin or I are feeling under the weather. Ginger is considered a “wonder herb” in some circles, and for good reason. Ginger has been used as a natural treatment for colds and the flu, as well as digestive illnesses. It can also help relieve migraines, heartburn, cramps, nausea and can boost your immune system. Now all that Canada Dry as a kid is starting to make some sense, eh? Anyway, these latkes are easy to prepare and super delicious. They would probably benefit from a sweet chili sauce or even some honey as well. If you figure out a good sauce, please let me know!

Ingredients:

½ cup grated fresh ginger

4 large carrots, grated

8 dice-sized cubes crystallized ginger, finely grated

1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour (you can substitute all-purpose flour)

½ teaspoon ground ginger

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon turbinado sugar (you can substitute brown sugar)

¼ teaspoon sea salt

2 eggs, beaten

Peanut oil for frying (you can substitute vegetable oil)

Directions:

Mix the first three ingredients together. Crystallized ginger tends to stick together; I try to break up as much as possible, but I wouldn’t stress about a few clumps. They turn into nice surprises in the final product. Combine the flour, ground ginger, baking powder, sugar and salt in a bowl and sift together until blended. Add the flour mixture to the carrot and ginger mixture. Stir until mixture has a consistent appearance. Add the eggs and stir until coated.

Heat a few tablespoons of peanut oil in a frying pan over medium-heat until hot. Drop the latke mixture in by large spoonfuls and flatter into a small pancake shape. Fry until brown, about 5 minutes for each side. Transfer to a paper-towel-covered plate to cool. I sprinkled on a little extra salt at the end, but you could bypass that step.

Last Sunday was the season three premiere of Mad Men and some lovely friends of mine hosted a themed get-together for the occasion. In addition to drinking Tom Collinses and playing classic games like charades, each couple was charged with bringing at least one traditional appetizer from that era. I chose pigs-in-a-blanket. However, given my new obsession with cooking experimentation, I felt a bit more ambitious than wieners and crescent rolls. Here is my updated version of pigs-in-a-blanket, comprised of all-natural jalapeno-beef sausages and cheddar cheese wrapped in honey-cornmeal rolls. They were a hit!

Ingredients:

5 sausages of your choice, sliced in half width-wise (mine were approximately 1-inch wide, if you choose larger ones, you might want to increase the amount of dough you make and the baking time)

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese (a number of others would probably work here as well, choose one that complements your sausage)

1 cup flour

¼ cup cornmeal

1 teaspoon baking powder

¼ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

¼ cup butter

¼ cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon honey

1 egg yolk

Directions:

Grease a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Using a pastry cutter, cut in the butter until the mixture resembles fine crumbs. In another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, honey and egg yolk. Add this mixture to the crumbs, stir until blended. On a well-floured surface, knead the dough in the flour until it stops sticking to your fingers. Roll out on a lightly-floured cutting board into an approximately 8 x 10 inch square. Slice dough into 10 4 x 2 inch squares and sprinkle cheddar cheese on top. Roll sausage-halves tightly in dough and place on baking sheet, seam-side down. Bake in middle rack of oven for 15 minutes, or until dough turns light brown and crispy on the outside.

This is not my own recipe, but a well-known summer treat that’s been around forever and constitutes one of my all-time favorite appetizers. Make sure to get high-quality buffalo mozzarella and ripe heirloom tomatoes. Italians prefer their Caprese tomatoes a bit green, so if you are not sure about a tomato’s ripeness, I’d err on the firmer side.

Ingredients:

2 3-inch balls of fresh buffalo mozzarella, stored in liquid

4 heirloom tomatoes of varying size and color

4 tablespoons roughly chopped fresh basil

4 tablespoons high-quality extra virgin olive oil

Sea salt to taste

Serves 4

Directions:

Cut the mozzarella and tomatoes into circles approximately ½ inch thick. Arrange slices on four separate plates on top of each other, with the largest forming the base and smaller slices at the top. Sprinkle each plate with one tablespoon of basil, and then drizzle one tablespoon of olive oil over each stack. Sprinkle with sea salt. Serve and enjoy!