Grilled PB&J

I had a craving for something different for breakfast today.  I opened the fridge door to look for inspiration.  I've had this jar of natural peanut butter for months, I just don't go through peanut butter very quickly--unless I'm making peanut butter cookies, or have gotten back on the peanut butter and bananas on warm bread -boat.

And lately I've fallen in love with blackcurrants, in particular, blackcurrant jelly.  Even the store-brand stuff tastes great, and I just can't wait to open the jar I bought from the farmers' market in fall!!

So peanut butter and jelly sandwiches seemed suitable.  But if you know me, you'll know I dislike cold sandwiches.  So I decided to pan fry it like a grilled cheese sandwich!

I think next time I'll use a softer white bread without so many seeds and grains, to really let the peanut butter and jam shine through.  All I had was a seedy, grainy bread--which is heavenly for grilled cheeses.

A note on peanut butter: I buy natural peanut butter whose only ingredient is either "peanuts" or "roasted peanuts" depending on the brand.  While I love not worrying about hydrogenated oil, I also find the texture inhibits my ability to taste the peanuts, maybe it's too oily and my saliva can't dissolve the flavours so quickly, maybe the uniform texture makes it all blur together--whatever the reason, I usually add a tiny dab of honey and a sprinkle of salt.  This opens up the peanut butter and I can taste so much more peanutty goodness this way!

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Apple Pie Sugar

Whenever I need to peel apples for something, I always feel that throwing away the peels is wasteful.  So I started dehydrating them for a later use.

I could put them in tea blends, I thought to myself.

Or, I could grind them into powder and add to my oatmeal, or as a topping on baked goods.

Even better, why not mix that powder with spices and sugar?

 

Above: three average-sized apples gave me the peels on the drying rack; and I saved the peels from maybe 3 apples previously.  When ground in my mini food processor, this resulted in approximately 1/6 cup.


The method is pretty straightforward:

The next time you need to peel apples, try to keep the peels in large pieces.  Arrange them on a rack, set on a baking pan, and dehydrate.  I set these in the oven at 175F, and then forgot to turn the oven off when I went to bed (thankfully, I woke up in the middle of the night and remembered!), so it was on for about 10 hours.  I assume they were done sometime well before that!

You don't need to dry them in the oven, if you have the time and space, you can just let the peels air-dry.  But I think the low heat actually cooks the sugar a bit, I got a very nice toasty flavour from the peels this way!

Crush the dried peels in a food processor, spice grinder, or whatever implement you like, until it's a consistency you like.  Mix in sugar and spices as you like.  I used a raw small-granule sugar, ground cinnamon and ground cloves.

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Apple Slices and Pan Sauce

(Apologies for the blah photo, I only had my cell phone camera at the time.  I'll post a better photo next time I make this!)

When my wisdom teeth made chewing difficult, I got into the habit of cooking my fruit in this manner.  And even though my jaw's back to normal, the habit of cooking fruit stayed.

I like this cooking method for apples and pears.  I imagine it might also work for hard nectarines or peaches. It feels a bit strange to "sear" the fruit and make a sort of pan sauce by deglazing with white wine.  I sometimes wonder if some properly-schooled chef will appear behind me and smack me upside the head for this disgrace.  Or something.  ...  Anyway.


First I melt some butter and add just a bit of oil to raise the average smoke point.

On high heat, I "sear" the fruit slices, adding a big pinch of salt and whole spices (eg: star anise, cinnamon stick) to the pan, if I remember them.  For this batch I used three apples, which fit very nicely in the 11" pan.

After I've gotten a nice colour on the fruit, I deglaze with white wine, about 3oz, and kill the heat.  I taste and add any sugar if necessary, and any ground spices (eg: ground cinnamon, cloves, ginger).  This pan keeps heat for a long time, so the wine keeps a hard simmer awhile.  If I want, I add a pat of butter or maple syrup if I'm in the mood.  I let the fruit and sauce cook to whatever consistency I want that day.

For everyday eating, like the fruit soft with just a bit of resistance in the very centre; and the sauce to be moderately thin, maybe the consistency of half-and-half, and not too rich-tasting.  I typically just eat this with a spoon; but it's also good on top of oatmeal, and I imagine it'd be great on top of ice-cream, baked goods, or beside pork or chicken.


Good combinations I've tried so far:

• Pear with maple syrup and extra butter; thick sauce.  This is heavenly on top of oatmeal, the sauce is almost too rich to eat alone! 
• Pear with white wine, cinnamon stick and star anise; thin sauce.  
• Apple with white wine and butter; medium-thick sauce.  
• Apple with white wine, cinnamon, star anise, cloves and black pepper; medium-thick sauce.  

Combinations I think would be good but haven't yet tried:

• Pear or apple with white wine and ginger; thin sauce.  
• Nectarines with rum, cloves, nutmeg; medium sauce.  
• ...

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White Wines

I have a favourite all-purpose white wine!  I like to drink it, I use it in my pasta alla carbonara, chicken, poaching fruit, in a reduction for fruit sauces, and I'll probably think of more ways to use it as I go!  Also, it's very affordable, about $13 a bottle; and according to the website, with every bottle from this line sold, the company makes a contribution to "global conservation" which I consider a bonus feature.

It's Banrock Station unoaked Chardonnay from Australia.

I used to dislike white wines because they all seemed to taste bitter and made my tongue and mouth shrivel up, the word for which I later learned was "astringent".  But the bitterness, I was told, comes from the oak barrels, and this wine was not wooded, and doesn't have that bitterness I dislike!

I do follow the adage of cooking with a wine I would drink.  However:

• I rarely finish a bottle of wine in one sitting (unless I have lots of company over).  So, I use the remaining wine for cooking, since it will only retain its subtleties for a further day or two.  
• I'm a student, and have a student's budget.  Wine which I buy to for drinking will be wine I can afford.  And again, since I don't often drink wine, it will sit unfinished for weeks, so it will likely become a cooking wine anyhow.  
• Once in a while, I will try a new wine.  Sometimes I'll like drinking it!  Sometimes I won't.  If I don't like drinking it, it will probably end up in a dish where I can't taste it too much (like in a soup).  

Another white wine I've enjoyed is Naked Grape Chardonnay, which has been "cellared in Canada".  I haven't been able to clearly identify the source of the grapes though.  I remember it didn't have as much flavour as the Banrock Station, and I think it was more acidic.  It was a "pleasant" drinking wine.  I'll update this description after drinking it again, as I'm having difficulty remembering it now.

I've also tried Naked Grape's Pinot Grigio.  It was...I think the pretentious terms are "avuncular" and "innocuous".  A less pretentious phrase that comes to mind is "sissy wine".  Don't get me wrong, it's good, I just didn't think it was....remarkable.  I drank about half the bottle and the rest went to poaching fruit.


With all this talk of white wine, you'd think I prefer white; but I've preferred red for most of my wine-drinking life.  But, there's a slightly embarrassing story behind why I haven't tried many red wines.

I discovered my favourite red wine very early, and used it all the time in cooking, even drinking sometimes!  I loved it!  And when I tried to find it in stores, I could not!  "It's a Cab Sauv from South Africa," I'd tell the floor staff, "with a green diamond-shaped label."  It took several unsuccessful trips to the Liquor Commission before I started asking my family where they got this wine.  Turns out, my brother and his friend made it!

Since then, I haven't needed red wine for cooking as much as I've needed white; so I haven't drank much red wine.  But, I was introduced to Merlot recently, when a guest brought a bottle over; and I love that deep, dark, raisiny flavour!  And recently, I tasted a Merlot from Cyprus that I absolutely loved.

When I've had more experience with reds, I'll definitely make a post about them.

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