101 in 1001 {II}: 033 make pickles from scratch [completed 04.26.09]
deb of smitten kitchen's post on pickled grapes with cinnamon and black pepper began with "wow, people, just wow." she was talking about the internet loving her pregnancy news (as they should; hooray for nice people having babies!), but she could just as easily have been talking about the picklin' - this recipe* is a thing of beauty. though it's super simple (the brine is 1 c white wine vinegar + 1 c sugar + 1.5 tsp mustard seeds + 1 tsp black peppercorns + 1 cinnamon stick + 0.25 tsp salt; just boil those together, cool if you like, and throw the top-trimmed grapes in), the flavor gets interesting in no time. i made a pan of brine saturday evening and had pickles in time for a picnic in prospect park yesterday afternoon. that's some hot turnaround right there, especially since i decided to cool the brine in the freezer before adding the fruit (to keep it a bit more firm). the lunch crowd was initially a bit skeptical, especially since i forgot to bring toothpicks and we had to bob for grapes, but the recipe worked its (sweet, just a little bit mean) magic. the whole batch dematerialized in the time it took joe and me to walk over to the picnic house and back. i'm not sure there's a secret, though i did use good ingredients (spices fresh from penzeys, and brad's vinegar): on the first hot sunday of the year, it was hard to beat fresh, cold, tangy fruit. these babies would be great with an after-dinner cheese plate, too. i also suspect that they would be good with fresh-basil-leaf-and-marshmallow-fluff sandwiches, but no one would eat those (cough). i won't lie: i'll be making more (and another batch of giada de laurentiis's lemon ricotta cookies with lemon glaze**) this weekend.
*from molly wizenberg's a homemade life. molly's blog (orangette) is pretty nifty, too - even the banner looks tasty.
**the weekend's other big hit. served cold, they're lethal.
9 comments:
I trust Deb (and you) in all things kitchen related but I have to admit that the idea of pickled grapes TOTALLY FREAKS ME OUT. Like, makes me shudder a little bit. But if both of you love them, maybe I'll have to conquer that fear and try them.
it's a sweet pickle, truly! WAY less sourness than, say, gherkins would have, or even sweet relish; think, hmm, like the combo of strawberries and balsamic vinegar (is that a big salad combination out west? i order it whenever i see it). because the brining time is comparatively short (and gentle, if you cool the mixture first), the seasoning really functions a bit more like a dressing, at least for the first day or two.
i was initially skeptical, but am being won over by your review. and now that it's warm, we can open our windows and not be suffocated by a toxic vinegar cloud. thanks for the link to the recipe!
hey, i've made giada's lemon-ricotta cookies, too! we're like recipe buddies.
And you can also disinfect your countertop with the vinegar, too! Bonus!
oh, we test drove that on the floor when i decided to shake the jar without confirming the seal. this vinegar plus kitchen surfaces plus bare feet is...something special.
the grapes were really good! i was forcing everyone to try some, and everyone liked them. thanks for making & bringing them! let's have a pickle potluck soon, i never got a chance to ask you about your philly trip...
The thought of pickling anything still makes me a little queasy after last summer's doings, but I'm so glad yours were delish!
i've been doing a simple pickle (really just a marinade) on beets lately, but i need to get my tongs & jars back and get a move on. i really do love pickled beets, even though mom warned me not to start down that particular astringent road, and i can't seem to find good ones here. beets we have in excess, though.
i'm all over your grapes, as soon as we return from cincy. here's hoping that our non-anniversary work-related weekend getaway yields a fraction of the adorability of philly!
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