Banana brulee

The Goods:

1 banana

white sugar*

1 pint burnt sugar ice cream**

Peel the banana. Slice in half lengthwise, then slice each half once more, to make four pieces. Wrap aluminum foil around a plate and place the banana slices on the plate, flat side up. Dust the banana pieces with sugar and shake off the excess. Work the propane flame slowly over each banana piece until the sugar melts and browns. Serve each immediately with a scoop of ice cream.

*I've tried this with brown sugar and it turns black and starts to smoke before getting brown and melt-y.

**Christina's Ice Cream in Inman Square. Go there. Eat this ice cream.

***All photos by Gwen Tuxbury.

Red braised pork belly

The Goods*:

1 1/2 lb fresh, boneless pork belly with skin

2 in piece of fresh ginger, with skin

2 scallions

3 dried chili peppers (omit for less fire)

3 tbsp peanut oil

2 cups chicken stock**

1 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

1 tsp kosher salt

3 tbsp brown sugar

1/2 star anise (4 segments)

Fill a large stockpot three-quarters with water. Set on high heat to boil. When the water is boiling, add the pork belly. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes, then remove and wash under cold tap water. Drain the water from the pot and dry thoroughly. Cut the pork belly into 2 to 3 inch chunks. Try to include a layer of skin, meat, and fat in each chunk. Crush the ginger with the back of a knife. Slice the scallions roughly into 3 or 4 sections (green and white portions).

Place the peanut oil in the dried stockpot and set on medium-high heat. Just before the oil begins to smoke, add the pork and stir fry for a couple of minutes. Add the remaining ingredients.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, or until the meat is tender. Be sure to keep the pork chunks covered; add a bit more stock if the level drops too much***.

*This is another recipe from Fuchsia Dunlop's Sichuanese cookbook Land of Plenty.

**I cracked and bought prepared stock, but felt less bad as it was from Savenor's. Needless to say, if one has the time and the chicken parts, make the stock at home.

***The liquid will reduce quite a bit, but depending on the size of the chunks and the dimensions of the stockpot, the starting liquid amount may not be enough to completely submerge all of the pork. Also, it might be a good idea to reduce the liquid after cooking to make a thicker sauce.

Ginger lime grilled chicken

The Goods*:

3 medium sized chicken thighs

Brine

2 kg warm tap water

100 grams kosher salt

25 grams sugar

2 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic

Ginger Lime Rub

1/2 stick butter

1 black cardamom pod

1 lime

14 grams ginger**

5 cloves garlic

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp AP flour

1/4 tsp ground cardamom

Prepare the brine in large container. Add the chicken thighs to the brine and weight them down with a small plate. Refrigerate for about three hours.

Place the butter in a small saucepan on low heat. Smash the black cardamom pod with the back of a chef's knife. Add the cardamom pod to the butter. Cook on low heat for about 15 minutes, or until the milk solids in the bottom of the pan begin to brown, but not burn. Strain the butter through a wire mesh strainer into a bowl and set aside.

Slice the tops off from the garlic cloves. Stand up in a small aluminum foil package, drizzle with some olive oil, and bake at 400 F for half an hour to roast the garlic cloves.

Grate the ginger on a microplane. Add to the butter. Zest the lime, slice it in half, and juice into a measuring cup. Add the lime zest and juice to the butter. Remove the garlic from the aluminum foil and finely mince the garlic cloves. Add the remaining rub ingredients to the butter. Mix throughly. The rub should have the consistency of peanut butter.

Remove the chicken from the brine. Rinse thoroughly under cold water and pat dry with a paper towel. By hand, slather some rub under the skin and all around the top and bottom of each thigh.

Preheat the grill by turning the burners on high. Grill the chicken, skin side down, over high flame for 2-3 minutes. Turn over, reduce the flame to low, and grill, covered, for 13-15 minutes, depending on individual chicken-doneness-preference. Allow the chicken to rest for 10 minutes, then serve.

*This was an interpretation of a another recipe.

**I've found that keeping ginger is a huge pain. Typically, I'll use a bit of one root, store it in the fridge, and then go to use it again only to find that it has spoiled. This problem was compounded when I purchased a whole sack of ginger from the Super 88 recently. I decided to freeze the ginger roots to preserve them longer. This, unfortunately, creates a new problem of how to use the ginger. I discovered that, once one end of the root is cut off, the microplane works wonders on the ginger. The resulting grated ginger has the appearance and texture of finely packed snow. I've provided a weight measurement because the stuff is fluffy, but its about a tablespoon.

Fiddlehead salad

The Goods*:

1/2 lb fiddleheads

2 tsp olive oil

1 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 tsp rice wine vinegar

1 small garlic clove

1/2 tsp soy sauce

1/4 tsp country dijon mustard

Fill a medium saucepan three quarters full with water. Place on high heat to boil. Rinse the fiddleheads under cold tap water. Fill a large bowl with water and 10 to 12 ice cubes. When the water comes to a boil, add the fiddleheads. Boil for five minutes**. Remove from the water with a spider strainer and place in the ice bath. Remove the fiddleheads from the ice bath and dry throughly with a paper towel or salad spinner. Place in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least half an hour.

Finely chop the garlic. In a small bowl, add the oils, winvegar, garlic, soy sauce, mustard, and a bit of ground black pepper. Throughly whisk until the dressing comes together. Toss with the chilled fiddleheads and serve immediately.

*One knows that spring has sprung in New England when fiddleheads begin to appear in the market. This is my first take on fiddleheads served cold.

**Normally, this would just be one step in a typical blanching process, but fiddleheads are tricky fellows. It is important to boil them to leach out certain bad things (toxins, tannins, etc.). One will notice that the water, after boiling, turns a lovely shade of brown.