Jenny Wenny Christmas Pudding

So, just so we all understand each other before I continue, my writing about extravagant Christmas foods is like a 14-year-old taking the wheel of Mini Cooper on a freeway at rush hour. In other words, this Jewish girl knows just enough to be dangerous.

Nevertheless, my instructor in this, Jenny Williams of Jenny Wenny Cakes, is all about Christmas desserts. And, she's especially adept at a family tradition, her great-grandmother's Christmas pudding. Jenny, who is from Birmingham, England, contacted me over the summer, asking me to come in and make a dessert with her. And the dessert she wanted to show me--and, yes, she delighted in the irony--was her family's Christmas pudding. We finally got together at the end of September, which is when she begins making these desserts. Those in the know will get that a true Christmas pudding must sit in the fridge for months to develop the flavor and texture you want to deliver on Christmas day. But, here we are in November. I'm betting that you still have time to make and store a delicious Christmas pudding if you get right on it.

In case you don't know, Christmas pudding is all about dried fruit. According to British pudding maker Matthew Walker, the first mention of plum pudding goes back to the 15th century--plum referring to any kind of dried fruit. It also included beef or mutton broth, breadcrumbs, spices and wine and was eaten after the fast of Advent. Today, basically, you combine dried fruit, suet, black treacle, brown sugar, and eggs with breadcrumbs and ground almonds and then pour the mixture into a pudding basin (you can still find these online), then steam. Refrigerate for at least a month, then you'll un-mold the pudding, heat it up, pour brandy over it, and light it. Impressive, no? Then you'll accompany it with some lovely brandy butter.

Jenny has substituted several of these traditional ingredients, but the recipe definitely goes back to her great-grandmother's handwritten recipe.

Jenny nostalgically references the well-worn heirloom, The Main Cookery Book, which is filled with great-grandma's notes and additional family recipes. Her recipe is tweaked a bit, but you can see Jenny's follows the general guidelines. She's got a combination of sultanas, raisins, currants, and glade cherries. She includes ground almonds like great-grandma. But molasses substitutes for the black treacle and coconut oil for suet. She mixes the wet and dry ingredients separately, then stirs them together to make the batter.

And, instead of filling a pudding basins or even ramekins, Jenny opts for glass jars.

The jars go into a water bath to cook for about an hour and a half.

Once they're removed from the oven and cool, into the fridge they go for a month or two to develop their flavors. What does it taste like? Well, Jenny gave me a couple of jars to take home and I just opened one of them. I pulled it out of the jar onto a plate, which I heated in my microwave for just a minute. Unfortunately, I had no whipped cream or brandy butter, but the pudding is lovely--chewy from the dried fruit with a dark sweetness. The brandy butter would give it a woozy deep lusciousness.

I may just make this for Christmas myself!


Christmas Pudding
From Jenny Williams
(printable recipe)

Serves 12

4 ounces breadcrumbs
12 ounces sultanas
8 ounces raisins
8 ounces currants
2 ounces glace cherries
2 ounces ground almonds
8 ounces dark brown sugar
8 ounces black treacle/molasses
4 ounces coconut oil (instead of suet)
4 eggs, beaten

Mix all the dry ingredients. Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs, one at a time, stirring hard.

Leave overnight in the refrigerator and stir again.

Fill two traditional pudding bowls or 12 little ramekins with mixture.

If cooking traditionally, steam six to seven hours with parchment paper over the top. Or you can place the ramekins in a water bath (fill a high-sided pan or pot with a half-inch of water) and cook for 1 1/2 hours at 300 degrees (275 degrees for convection). The interior temperature should read 180 degrees when done.

Remove and let cool. Cover and place in the refrigerator for one to two months so the pudding can fully develop its flavor.

To serve, remove from the pudding bowl or ramekins, heat in the microwave around two minutes per pudding, let stand one minute, and serve with whipped cream or brandy butter.

Brandy Butter
Adapted by Jenny Williams from The Guardian Newspaper

Serves 10 to 12

6.5 ounces butter, diced
6.5 ounces brown sugar
2 teaspoons grated orange zest
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons brandy
pinch of ground nutmeg or cinnamon (optional)

Beat the butter and brown sugar until soft. Stir in orange and lemon zest, then slowly add the brandy and spices. Cover and keep in the refrigerator for up to a week. May be frozen.

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Holiday Bread Baking with Cardamom's Joanne Squires-Sherif

I first met Joanne Squires-Sherif about five years ago, just after she opened her North Park bakery cafe, Cardamom. She did then what she always does, embrace and feed you with house-made flaky croissants or sweet brioche, maybe an omelet or sandwich. The neighborhood cafe is cozy and colorful, its walls shades of yellow, green, and purple, sporting vibrant paintings by local artists. It's clearly Joanne's alternate home. And she's utterly sincere when she says she loves all her customers. Many have grown to be dear friends.

Last week, I didn't hang out at Cardamom for a meal; I came to learn how Joanne makes a couple of her annual holiday treats--specifically  her Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Quick Bread and her Apple Spice Bread Pudding with Rum Raisins.

It wasn't a banner morning when I got there. Joanne's large refrigerator had just gone on the fritz. Unfazed, she had already moved ingredients elsewhere. Her cook figured out a fix, but in any case Joanne was already plotting her next improvement--installing a walk-in. The place was humming. One of her five kids, 20-year-old daughter Galen was busy serving customers, as she's done since she was 14. The long butcher block island in the kitchen was already filled with prepped ingredients for both breads and once I got there, Joanne set to work, starting with the quick bread. This is a bread she's been making for about 10 years. It's adapted from different sources and Joanne is quick to point out that even those breads she's been making for years she's still fiddling with.

Using a stand mixer, she combined a metal bowl filled with sugar and orange zest with melted butter into the stand mixer bowl. With the mixer running on low, she added water, pureed pumpkin, the dry ingredients, and finally walnuts and cranberries. Once the ingredients were loosely combined, she poured the batter into a variety of paper loaf pans and muffin cups.

While she'd been working on that, a large metal bowl on the island sat off to one side filled with torn brioche and croissant pieces soaking in a sweet cream and egg mixture to make a rich, fragrant bread pudding. This recipe, too, was as easy as the quick bread. Galen had already caramelized chopped and sliced apples in butter. Joanne's blend of dark and golden raisins had been soaking in rum since the night before. Everything but the sliced apples, brown sugar, and cubed butter was added and stirred. Joanne then poured the batter into paper loaf pans, topped them with the sliced apples and brown sugar, and dabbed the tops with butter before sending them into the oven.

While we waited for the breads to bake, Joanne headed over to her large espresso machine and made us frothy cups of tea latte, with Darjeeling tea, cardamom pods, and honey topped by steamed milk. It was both acrid and sweet, redolent of the cardamom and so soothing on that chilly morning.

We talked about the origins of the bakery's name. Joanne's grandmother was Norwegian; her ex husband is from Ethiopia but is part Arab. Cardamom plays a role in both cultures so it was something the couple had in common. Long ago she used to make their family cardamom rolls, which he loved. When the time came to name the shop, it was named for those rolls.

By now the breads were out of the oven. Joanne set them in front of me and we dug in.

The bread pudding was beautifully browned; its interior creamy and buttery and just slightly boozy from the rum. The bits of apple were sweet and played nicely with the rummed up raisins. I could have gone for a dollop of whipped cream or the caramel Joanne usually drizzles over it, but the already rich naked bread pudding was just fine for me.

By the time I finished that slice, I had no room for the quick bread, but I took it and the leftover bread pudding to my parents house and we dove in. I loved the lightness of the bread and how the faint flavor of the orange zest melded with the rich pumpkin and pop of tartness that erupted from biting into the  cranberries.

Pumpkin Walnut Cranberry Quick Bread
from Joanne Squires-Sherif
(Printable recipe)

Yield: 1 dozen regular-size muffins or one regular quick bread loaf

Ingredients:

Wet
3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 large eggs (We use Eben-Haezer Poulty Ranch in Ramona. The size and quality are consistent and they are family owned and operated.)
15-ounce can of pumpkin puree
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup water
zest of one orange

Dry
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup fresh cranberries
3/4 cup walnuts, roughly chopped

1. Pre heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine butter and eggs.
3. Mix in pumpkin, sugar, zest, and water.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Divide batter into muffin cups or loaf pans.
6. Bake loaves at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Bake muffins at 350 degrees 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Spiced Apple Bread Pudding with Rum Raisins
from Joanne Squires-Sherif
(Printable recipe)

Yield: 4 ramekins or 1 9-inch square pan

Ingredients

3/4 cup dark raisins
3/4 cup golden raisins
Captain Morgan Spiced Rum

8 cups days-old but not stale bread or rolls, cubed 1-inch. If you use wheat, the pudding will have a nuttier flavor.

Wet
4 eggs
2 egg yolks
2 cups half and half or manufacturers cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Five Granny Smith apples
2 tablespoons butter

Topping
1/4 cup cold, cubed butter
1/4/ cup brown sugar

1. Place raisins in a dish and cover with the rum. Allow raisins to soak at least two hours. (I love to have rum raisins around the house during the holidays. You can add them to muffins, pancakes, or coffee cake.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients. Add the cubed bread and let soak from two hours to overnight in the refrigerator.
3. Peel, core, and chop four apples. Peel, core, and slice one apple. Saute the apples in butter for five minutes until caramelized. Keep the cubed and sliced apples separate. Set aside.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.
5. Gently mix in the cubed apples and drained rum raisins to the bread mixture. Portion the bread mixture evenly into butter ramekins or a 9-inch pan.
6. Lay sliced apples decoratively on top of the batter, sprinkle with brown sugar, and dot with butter.
7. Bake at 350 degrees. The ramekins will need 30 minutes, the pan will need 40 minutes. Use a toothpick inserted into the bread pudding to test. It should come out just slightly wet. Don't over bake.

Both breads are easy to make and wonderful for a holiday table or to take to a party as a hostess gift. No time to bake? No worries. Joanne has a host of breads customers can buy, including Cardamom Holiday Stollen, Pan d'Oro, Hungarian Sweet Cheese bread, Brioche Têtes, Brioche Pumpkin, and Brie Baked in Brioche. You can find Cardamom in North Park at 2977 Upas St. at 30th St.


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Just in Time for Beer Week: Brandon Hernandez's Comprehensive Ode to San Diego Suds

A couple of weekends ago a friend of mine, LA chef Debbie Lee, drove down to San Diego with her boyfriend and a pack of his friends for a day of craft beer tasting. The guys had a few places in mind, but as we were lingering over charcuterie and pizzas at Blind Lady Alehouse, they asked me for recommendations. I'm not much of a drinker so my first impulse was to text my pal Brandon Hernández for help. Everyone who reads about local brews and food reads Brandon's stories for the San Diego Reader and many other publications. He's San Diego's go-to guy for all things suds--and, lucky him, he now even has his dream job working for Stone Brewing Company.

I wish his new ebook, The San Diego Beer News Complete Guide to San Diego Breweries, just published by The Reader, had been downloadable that Saturday. The guys could easily have identified several of San Diego County's nearly 80 brewhouses that appealed to them based on rankings in key areas: beer quality, service, setting, and extras that go above and beyond typical options. They'd have identified the styles of beers each brewery creates, which were more restaurant oriented versus office park tasting rooms, which have top service, which offer tours or special tasting flights. In short, they'd get a micro evaluation that gets straight to the point to send them on their way. Well, I didn't have it at hand then, but just in time for San Diego Beer Week 2013, here it is.

It's no longer surprising to learn that San Diego is one of the nation's leaders in the microbrew biz. But it is astounding how quickly these facilities are springing up. Many of the venues listed here have only recently opened in the last year. Check the book's index and you'll see some 40 more are set to open soon. Somehow Brandon has managed to digest and evaluate with an eye for tiny details the key qualities that beer fanatics and newbies alike will care about across this ever-broadening spectrum of offerings.

The book is divided into seven geographical regions with a streamlined listing for each brewhouse that offers the pertinent info (address, phone, website, type of venue, hours of operation, seating, food, beer styles, best beer bets, and any specialty releases) followed by a quick but detailed paragraph describing the place, and concluding with a bar chart listing rankings. In some cases, where the place is so new, there may be no or limited rankings.

I particularly enjoyed Brandon's descriptions of each place. Here you get the benefit of his years of expertise and supple writing. About Central San Diego's White Labs he writes, "Base beers are brewed, then split into separate fermentation vessels, and dosed with different strains of yeast to show that ingredient's immense impact on the flavor of the finished beer. It's an eye-opening educational experience for beer aficionados and newcomers alike. The only knock is that the base beers could use some improvement." Throughout, he clearly is trying to be honest, instructive, and even-handed. Those places that get nicked get the treatment gently and hopefully see it as an incentive to improvement. And, he is quick to point out, he left ratings for Stone's venues to his panel of industry experts.

The index is helpful in sussing out a variety of categories. Just interested in breweries/distilleries? You'll find a quick list for those. Want to play it safe and create a tour by highest overall score? There's a list of those, along with lists of beer quality, service, setting, and location. Pick what matters most to you and follow the suds.

Overall, The San Diego Beer News Complete Guide to San Diego Breweries is a hugely useful guide that's also enjoyable to browse. Even the lack of photos is a plus since what you're getting is unadulterated information that's quick to download and surf. If you have a smart phone, you now have an indispensable pocket guide for your pub crawls. You can find it on Amazon and The Reader for $6.99




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Suzie's Farm Hosting Inaugural Dia de los Muertos Celebration at The Grove

My neighborhood in Tierrasanta is transforming itself into a Vincent Price playground of ghosts and pumpkins, skeletons, and rattling chains. Faux and real spider webs drape from trees, and it won't be long until little goblins and superheroes and princesses will begin ringing doorbells for a sugar fix.

But this time of year isn't limited to Halloween. If you want a true celebration of the dead, you've got to give yourself over to Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. It's a special time in Mexico to remember loved ones who have passed and Americans are now embracing it, too.

Suzie's Farm will be hosting a family-friendly Dia de los Muertos party on Nov. 2 from 6 to 10 p.m. at their new two-acre outdoor event space, The Grove. Proceeds will benefit non-profit organizations Kitchen Commandos (which teaches families healthy cooking skills) and The Front Burner Fund (which provides funds to supplement health costs and emergency medical needs for "back of the house" restaurant staff).

So, what will you find at Suzie's Farm that evening? Chef Flor Franco of Indulge Contemporary Catering has lined up chefs including Javier Plascencia (Mision 19), Isabel Cruz (Barrio Star), Andrew Spurgin, Maylin Chavez, and others who will provide tastings inspired by traditional Mexican dishes like mole, sopes, and chile rellenos. There will also be craft cocktails and beverages from Alchemy Cultural Fare and live music from Jazz 88.3's Latin Grooves. And, scads of people like you in costume! Yes, they'd love everyone to dress up!

Tickets are $75 for adults (including two drink tickets), $55 for adults (no drinks), and $25 for children 12 and under. You can purchase tickets on their website.

Suzie's Farm is located at 2570 Sunset Ave. in San Diego, just 13 miles south of downtown San Diego.

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Sabina Bandera's La Guerrerense

I knew my recent overnight trip through Ensenada to Guadalupe Valley with carloads of friends would be charmed after reading this sweet bit of graffiti posted on a tired building as we entered the city: Besos con sabor a no te vayas (Flavored kisses, don't leave) credited to the Ensenada Poetry Society. With our first stop, our caravan enjoyed the sweetest kisses a port town can provide--its seafood--at what at first seemed like a nondescript street cart on the corner of Alvarado and Lopez Mateos called Mariscos La Guerrerense. Don't be fooled and certainly don't be put off by the fact that it's a street cart. The food served here would be equally at home in a white tablecloth establishment--but it wouldn't be nearly as much fun to eat.

Sabina Bandera and Flor Franco enjoying slices of octopus.

My friend chef Flor Franco led us to this surprisingly well-known little eatery now operated by Eduardo Obiedo and his wife, Sabina Bandera, a petite woman with what has to be the most captivating smile in Baja.

Started in 1960 by Eduardo's parents, Alberto Oviedo and Celia Carranza, La Guerrerense is now run by this second generation, despite the fact that as a young woman, Bandera, from a farm in solidly terra firma Guerrero, was a seafood novice. But over the years Bandera, also affectionately known as La Guerita, has become a seafood genius, embracing everything from sea snails and mussels to sea urchins and octopus. She's given name to a business that has chefs and food lovers from around the world clamoring for her simple, yet powerfully flavored fresh seafood dishes. Anthony Bourdain raves about her. There's a promotional photo of the beaming Bandera with Brian Malarkey in front of the cart. And there's always a swarm of customers waiting to be handed a plate of fresh fish on a fried corn tortilla, over which they'll drizzle one of Bandera's many salsas (which you can purchase jars of for about $5 apiece; stay tuned--she's trying to get them into Whole Foods).

There are some 14 types of ceviche available on the black banner menu draped above the back of the cart--made of fish, shrimp, octopus, clams, mussels, sea snails, sea cucumbers, fish pate...

This list goes on and on but no matter what you order, what you get is a perfect balance of sweet seafood, acid, and heat. You can also order more seafood to be sliced on top.

Sliced clam and scallops topped with rich avocado are about to get drenched by one of La Guerrerense's 16 sauces. 

I'm a pretty adventurous eater but I admit to having had some reservations about trying sea snail, above. But being a good sport paid off. These slices of sea snail have the texture and umami of a rich shitake mushroom. Definitely a must try.

Or, you can order anything in a shell, like this black clam ceviche below a dollop of fresh avocado.

Surrounding the cart are boxes of avocados and glowing orange habanero chiles. I can't imagine how much they go through in the course of a day. At the front of the cart is a stack of salsa jars sporting beautifully styled labels and irresistible organic sauces.

Indeed, selecting salsas can be the most time consuming part of the experience. On the day I was there, the sauce of choice by far seemed to be the Chilitos de mi Jardin, peanut halves bathed in a lively chile-infused oil. Not only does the salsa have a spicy crunch that complements the seafood, it looks dreamy on whatever you put it on. I bought a jar, along with the creamy orange Chilito Diablito, which is as fiery as it sounds--but will be perfect used sparingly on tacos or other dishes and added to other sauces to pump up the heat with habanero flavor.

This seafood mix above has everything you want from a seafood cart just blocks away from a sprawling port. Everything is fresh and clean tasting with beautiful textures and a nice bite from the salsas.

One of the staff is preparing a plate of sliced octopus for our group to taste. First, it gets a dousing of lime juice, then a drizzle of hot sauce.

As if this weren't enough, you also get serenaded during your meal by this charming guitarist.

Bandera could charge a lot more than the $5 or so per tostada, but don't come here because it's a bargain. Come if you worship creatively prepared fresh seafood. La Guerrerense is open daily from 10 or 10:30 a.m. until she runs out of food at around 4 or 5 p.m. Look for the large flag pole by the port at Av. Alvarado and then turn left and go down two blocks.


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Clay Pot Winter Squash

Clearly, it was fate. After a week of uncomfortable dog day October weather, Santa Anas and all, it's a chilly blustery day and I have a kitchen filled with winter squash from Specialty Produce that I picked up last week. And so tonight's dinner will be one of my go-to, one-dish meals, Clay Pot Winter Squash.

But which squash will it be? The sugar pie?

Nah, that I'll save for a real pumpkin pie. They're so sweet that they meant for baked goods like pies, muffins, and breads.

I could use one of the two minis--orange and white.

I could, but, they're so delightful baked whole. You can simply remove the top, scoop out the seeds, add milk and grated cheese (try gruyere), then bake at 350 until tender. Scrape down the inside flesh of the pumpkin, gently stir, season, and enjoy a little cup of soup.

The variegated sweet dumpling squash is another option--and not a bad one. I love their striped ribs and they're a colorful option for slicing and roasting.

No, tonight's clay pot stew will glow with the amber color of of the Red Kuri squash. The color is so seductive, the nutty flavor is like eating a roasted chestnut. So, it'll go well with the andouille chicken sausage I'll chop into it, as well as raisins and Cuzco corn. Serve it on a bed of brown rice or quinoa,  and you're set for a warming meal on a cold rainy night.

Clay Pot Winter Squash
(Printable Recipe)
Serves 6

Ingredients
2 pounds winter squash, peeled, seeded, and chopped into 1-inch pieces
1/2 large onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups giant Cuzco corn (you can find frozen in Hispanic markets)
1 cup golden raisins or other dried fruit
2 large fresh sausages, sliced
1/2 cup white wine
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons brown sugar, plus more to sprinkle on toward end of baking
1 tablespoon fresh sage leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt
ground pepper to taste

Combine all the ingredients and mix well. Add to 3-quart stoneware pot and cover. Place the pot in the middle rack of the oven. Turn on oven to 375˚ (it's important not to preheat the oven; you want to gently warm the clay pot or else it will crack when exposed to high heat). Bake for about an hour and a half. Open the lid and use a fork to determine if the squash is cooked through. If so, sprinkle the mixture with brown sugar and let cook another 15 minutes uncovered. Remove from oven and serve.

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Celebrate the Craft with Pickled Watermelon Gherkins

This Sunday afternoon I know where I'll be: at my very favorite annual food event, Celebrate the Craft at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. This intimate food festival extolls the collaboration between San Diego's best chefs and our growers, vintners, and culinary artisans. Led by A.R. Valentien exec chef Jeff Jackson, the chef round up includes Paul Arias (The Fishery), Pete Balistreri (Tender Greens), Antonio Friscia (Gaijin), Katie Grebow (Cafe Chloe), Matt Gordon (Sea & Smoke), Javier Plascencia (Misión 19), Monica Szepesy (Q'ero), Jason Knibb (Nine-Ten), and so many more. And the setting, on a pristine lawn overlooking the golf course and the sparkling Pacific Ocean, couldn't be more stunning.

One of the great traditions of Celebrate the Craft is having jars upon jars of house-made pickles and preserves from A.R. Valentien for guests to take home. In recent years, chef de cuisine Kelli Crosson has taken on the task of creating them--all 320 jars, divided this year between bread-and-butter pickles, pickled watermelon gherkins, and stone-fruit mostarda. She invited me to their sprawling kitchen to help her make a batch of the pickled watermelon gherkins. It turns out they're quite easy to make and even the canning wary should give these a try.

These unusual heirloom gherkins are known by numerous names, including Mouse Melons, Mexican sour gherkins, Cucamelons, and Cuka-Nuts. They're tiny, about the size of a grape, and look just like ultra-mini watermelons. They're terrific for pickling, but you can enjoy them raw, add them to a salsa, or even to a cocktail. When they're in season, I've found them at Suzie's Farm farmers market stalls and Specialty Produce.

Crosson, who has been with A.R. Valentien for four years, is originally from a small town called Exeter in Central California, having grown up on a citrus farm. As a child, an aunt's gift of cooking tools got her hooked on cooking--to her it was a way of creating community around a table, whether it was her family or friends, or, later, restaurant customers. Like many, Crosson got sidetracked and, in her case, she went into advertising in San Diego before she chucked it and left for the East Coast to attend the French Culinary Institute (now The International Culinary Center) in New York. "It was one of the best experiences of my life," she says. From there she headed to Washington, D.C., where she worked in catering at the Ronald Reagan Building and even catered for the Supreme Court. But, she realized she was more suited for the discipline of working the line and creating food à la minute so she returned to San Diego and started work at A.R. Valentien as a line cook, before being promoted to sous chef and, six months ago, chef de cuisine.

It was at this juncture that we met. And now, all these months later, we spent the morning making  pickles.

We started, of course, with sterilized half-pint glass jars and lids. Crosson set out a bunch of them, and I started adding the herbs and spices.

Since I was wearing contact lenses, Crosson sliced and distributed the serrano chiles.

Then came the little gherkins, followed by a classic pickle brine of water, distilled white vinegar, sugar, and kosher salt that Crosson had already brought to a boil. I absolutely want this stainless steel confectionary funnel we used to inject the water/vinegar mixture into the jars. It gives so much control with hot liquids!

We screwed on the lids and placed the jars into steel containers that would then go into the kitchen's large steamer for about 10 minutes. For us home cooks, we'd be placing them into a water bath.

Since then they've been sitting in a pantry and will be ready to eat by this Sunday.

I broke open a jar early and found that even now, they're itty bitty flavor balls--crispy with a little saltiness, a hint of clove, and a pleasing hit of heat on the palate. I'll be making these for myself. You can, too. Here's Kelli's recipe:

Pickled Watermelon Gherkins
from Kelli Crosson of A.R. Valentien
(printable recipe)

Makes 2 pints

1/2 pound watermelon gherkins, washed with stems removed
1 1/2 cup distilled white vinegar
1 cup water
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1 tablespoon sugar
1 serrano chile, halved
4 garlic cloves
2 cloves
2 bay leaves
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns

1. Wash and sterilize two pint jars and lids, per manufacturer instructions.
2. In a non-reactive saucepan, bring the vinegar, water, salt, and sugar to a boil.
3. Meanwhile, divide the serrano, garlic, clove, bay leaf, mustard seed, and peppercorns between the jars, and pack with the watermelon gherkins.
4. Pour hot brine over the gherkins, leaving a 1/4-inch headspace.
5. Close the jars and process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
6. Store in a cool, dry, dark place for at least two weeks before eating the pickles. After opening, store in the refrigerator.

Celebrate the Craft takes place on Sunday, Oct. 6 from 11:30 to 3 p.m. at The Lodge at Torrey Pines (11480 N. Torrey Pines Road) in La Jolla. Tickets are $85 a person and can be purchased online here.

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