Aujourd’hui, we celebrate watermelon! Today is 11 Fructidor in the French Republican Calendar, but Gentle Reader, it is January 13 in the Gregorian calendar. For this reason, I decided to celebrate watermelon by way of preserving it. I have made a version of Escoffier‘s Petits Melons Confits (recipe 1004). The recipe, in full:

Select very small melons picked a little while after their flowers have dropped off. Cover them with salt for 10-12 hours then wash them in a solution of two-thirds vinegar and one-third water.

Place in stoneware jars with the usual pickling spices and cover with either hot or cold vinegar – the hot should be used if the melons are required to be kept very green. They are ready for use in 7 – 8 days.

As you can see, the unripe-ness of the melon is its prized quality in this recipe. I’ve used a Bon Apetit recipe for pickled melon rind that updates the pickling ingredients in a delightfully spicy way, though I toned down the salt. I have eaten it so far on avocado toast and in a salad. It offers a salty/sweet/spicy tang.

Pickled Melon Rind 

1 small watermelon

1 chili (if dried, broken into pieces; if fresh, cut)

1 inch piece of ginger, sliced

2 star anise pods

2 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 cup sugar

1 cup rice vinegar

Peel the outer green rind from the melon and throw away. Slice the watermelon in half and then in quarters. Working with each quarter, slice away the flesh (save for eating later) and cut the remaining rind into 1 inch pieces.

Bring the rest of the ingredients to a boil in a large pan. Add the rind while boiling and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 5 minutes, remove and let cool. When cooled, transfer to a mason jar and refrigerate. Enjoy!

Mes amis,

9 Fructidor was a challenge! A challenge I fear I must abandon for the year. Today, we tried our darndest to celebrate licorice. I do not enjoy the flavor of licorice. So, I mulled over some ideas, rejected most, found myself truly nauseous at the thought of swedish salty licorice and finally decided to make a cocktail. I chose a sweet cocktail using grenadine and Ricard Pastis – a french liqueur with a licorice flavor. It was a lovely Barbie pink, but that is the nicest thing I could say about it.

Then, I thought of making something, delicious on its own, but with a hint of licorice flavor. Flan! Licorice flan. Sorry to report, it was another licorice-fueled disaster.

I spent some days trying to come up with additional licorice ideas and ran across this tidbit from a 1989 New York Times article on the resurgent popularity of licorice-flavored food:

In ancient Rome an anise-flavored cake called mustaceum was popular at the end of a lavish dinner. It is considered a forerunner of the traditional spicy wedding cake often served in England.

But, a cursory internet search shows that the flavor of this cake was grape must – right there in the name, “mustaceum”, so another dead-end. And with that, I gave up on licorice. Perhaps next year!

To celebrate salmon day, 5 Fructidor, we are taking a page from Antoine Carême and making a fish mold. In the engrossing Cooking for Kings, we learn that one of his most memorable and decadent dishes was Salmon a la Rothschild. Carême served as personal chef to James Mayer Rothschild among other luminaries of the time – George IV (when he was Prince Regent), Tsar Alexander I, Napoleon and Tallyrand. The truffled salmon dish requires 4 bottles of champagne, a pound of truffles, and an enormous salmon. The salmon was stuffed and covered in a mixture of three different whitefish, poached in champagne and the scales were made out of sliced truffles. My interpretation of this dish substitutes a cup of white wine for the bottles of champagne and a copper fish mold for the truffle scales. The rillettes recipe is taken from Saveur and the fennel crackers are from an upcoming Fructidor day.

Salmon Rillettes

2 scallions, minced

1 lemon, zested and juiced

1 cup dry white wine

1 lb fresh salmon fillet

1/4 lb smoked salmon

2 tbs butter

1 small shallot, minced

1/4 cup mayonnaise

2 tbs grainy dijon mustard

1 tbs capers, chopped

1/2 tsp honey

2 tbs dill, chopped

1 tbs cilantro, minced

Instructions

We have reached the month of Fructidor! On the first day of Fruit Month, we are celebrating the plum. And what better way to do that than with plum punch? Consider this an homage to the truly delightful David Wondrich and his book, Punch. We once went to an event of his at the Aviary where he spoke about the history of punch and had prepared several punches for everyone to sample – including one with ambergris! Truly, one of my top five drunkest evenings. Below, a gin punch to share with friends.

Plum Punch

1 cup water

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup of plum jam

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp whole cloves

pinch of allspice

1/4 tsp nutmeg

4 cups cranberry juice (I used cranberry/pomegranate)

2 lemons, juiced

1 cup gin

1 bottle of sparkling wine

First, make the plum simple syrup. In a medium sauce pan, bring the water and sugar to a boil. Add in the jam, cinnamon stick, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg and let simmer until the sugar is completely dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool.

A day ahead, I made a decorative (and functional) ice ring, alternating lemon and lime slices and frozen in the bottom half of a bundt pan.

To assemble: add the cranberry juice, lemon juice, gin, simple syrup, sparkling wine and ice ring. Enjoy!

On 23 Thermidor, we celebrate the lentil! This recipe is one of my favorite winter recipes. It comes from Molle Katzen’s New Moosewood Cookbook and is perfect for the rare chilly summer day.

Lentil Soup 

3 cups dry lentils

7 cups water

2 tsp salt

6 cloves of garlic

2 cups chopped onion

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 medium carrots, sliced

1/2 tsp basil

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp oregano

freshly ground black pepper

2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes

red wine vinegar

First, place the water, salt and lentils in a large pot. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover, cooking for about 20 minutes. Add all the vegetables except for the tomatoes and simmer for another 20 to 30 minutes.

Chop the tomatoes – Katzen asks that you peel them first, but I usually don’t – then add to the soup. Cook for another 5 minutes. When serving, add a splash of red wine vinegar to each bowl and enjoy!

Sponge Cake 

Mes Gentilhommes, on 9 Thermidor, we are celebrating blackberries! I’ve cobbled together my own version of a fool with homemade sponge cake and a thick vanilla custard.

Blackberry Fool 

3-4 cups of sponge cake

2 cups fresh blackberries

1/4 cup of fresh squeezed orange juice

4 tbs sugar

2 cups heavy cream, divided

1 cup whole milk

1 vanilla pod

4 egg yolks

1 cup sugar

First, make the blackberry puree by adding most (but not all!) of the blackberries to a medium pan. The reserved berries will be used for decorating. Add the orange juice and 4 tablespoons of sugar and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook until the mixture has thickened up. Set aside and let cool.

To make the custard, add the heavy cream, the milk and the scraped vanilla pod to a medium pan and heat until scalding, but not boiling. Whisk together 4 large egg yolks with 1 cup of sugar and add some of the hot milk mixture to the eggs. Whisk and then add the eggs and milk back to the pan. Cook on low until the mixture thickens and can coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, scrape into a bowl, remove vanilla pod and refrigerate the custard.

Use the remaining cup of cream to make whipped cream and then assemble the fool. You may be traditional and mix the berry puree into the custard, or be *wild* and keep them separate. Place a few shredded pieces of sponge cake into a cup and pour some custard, berry puree and whipped cream on top. Add a reserved blackberry and perhaps a sprig of mint. Enjoy!

Mes Amis, today we celebrate the ram! On 5 Thermidor, I have made lamb burgers using Hugh Fearnly-Whittingstall‘s delicious recipe. This dish is in heavy rotation and is always a delight.

If you’re in the market for a bleak, existentially devastating novel about sheep herding in Iceland, may I recommend Independent People by Halldór Laxness?

Lamb Burgers (makes 2-3 burgers)

2 lbs ground lamb

1 cucumber, sliced

romaine lettuce

slices of red onion

pitas

Spice mixture 

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp fennel seeds

1 tsp black peppercorns

1 tsp ground cinnamon

pinch of cayenne

3 tsp paprika

1 garlic clove

2 tsp salt

Yogurt 

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp coriander seeds

1/2 tsp sesame seeds

1 cup full-fat Greek yogurt

1 clove garlic, minced

handful of mint leaves, julianned

pinch of salt

First, grind all the ingredients for the spice mixture in a spice grinder or mortar and pestle. Add to the lamb and mix together. Form the patties and ready the grill or pan for stovetop cooking. Test a small sample of the lamb by cooking a wee patty.

For the spiced yogurt, grind the cumin and coriander seeds and add to the yogurt along with the rest of the ingredients.

Grill or cook the burger to your level of doneness. In my opinion, these lamb burgers take a little longer to cook than beef burgers. Serve with the lettuce, cucumber, onion and yogurt on a pita. Enjoy!