A passion for pickles

My refrigerator is packed with quarts of delicious dill pickles, and I made every damn one of them. Just don’t ask me why. It’s one of those obsession things, and I have to remind myself, “It could be worse. It could be taxidermy.”

I don’t know what prompted my quest for pickle perfection, but it began in early June and intensified with the rising summer temperatures. It started out innocently enough. I stopped at a new produce market outside of Jonesboro and noticed they had pickling cucumbers, three for a dollar. I bought 12 and went home with no real plan as to what to do with them.

Even though I love to cook, I’ve never made pickles. My mama used to make pickles in the summer in my grandmother’s butter churn. It was a long process that sometimes produced pickles that were either tart and crisp and delicious or were mushy or sour or tasted like kerosene.

I remember one batch in particular that my sister and I referred to as her “killer salt pickles.”

I wanted to make pickles that were easy to prepare and tasted great. My quest for a recipe began.

I remembered seeing Adam Richman sing the praises of half sour pickles on the New York episode of Man vs. Food, so I thought I’d research the process involved in making them. I found out that half sours are cucumbers that are just barely pickled and still retain the distinct taste of a cucumber. I selected a recipe from one of the many I found online, and I made my first batch of half sour pickles. Then came the hard part.

After waiting for two days, it was time to taste the bright green spears that had been hanging around on my kitchen countertop. I opened the jar and tasted what I just knew was going to be a great homemade pickle.

I was wrong.

What I tasted wasn’t a pickle so much as a mushy, cinnamon infused cucumber. I couldn’t even finish it. My husband tried one and agreed. They were disgusting.

Now that I knew that half sours weren’t our thing and that the premixed pickling spices had way too much cinnamon, but I wasn’t about to admit defeat. I researched again and found a recipe for a copycat of Claussen dills. This recipe seemed easy and foolproof. I was back in the pickle business. Only one problem. Now I couldn’t find any pickling cucumbers.

The ones at the produce market were shriveled like prunes, and Wal Mart was out of them. I started scouring roadside produce stands, but my efforts were fruitless. I even resorted to begging for cucumbers on Facebook. I was one step away from standing on Main Street under the stop light with a “Will work for pickling cucumbers” sign dangling from my neck.

The ASU Farmers’ Market solved my pickle problem, and I was able to get plenty of cukes to try out my new recipe. The first batch was good, but they were still kind of mushy. After the discovery of Ball’s Pickle Crisp Granules, I made a new batch, thanks to a generous donation of pickles from a family member. I hoped they would be clones of those wonderful Claussen pickles that stay refrigerated by the lunchmeat at Kroger. I had to wait three days to find out if I had reached my goal.

Alone in the kitchen one morning, I opened a jar. If they sucked, I didn’t want anybody to witness my disappointment. The difference was obvious. I had made the perfect pickle and I couldn’t wait to tell people.

That night I posted it on Facebook, and I became flooded with requests for the recipe. Everybody clamored for my insights on this simple yet wonderful vinegary treat.

My biggest fan was my father-in-law. In the five years that I’ve been married to his son, the man probably has said fewer than 500 words to me. Suddenly, he’s all chummy with me because he’s apparently got a serious pickle addiction. My husband tells me that he constantly hears him sneaking to the refrigerator at work to fish his hand into the jar that I sent to work with Lanny just to have a little more space in the refrigerator. We gave him a quart of pickles for Father’s Day, and it was by far the best received gift we’ve ever given him.

So now, I’m the Pickle Princess of Northeast Arkansas. I’ve known some people who have competed for some pretty dubious titles before, so I guess this isn’t so bad.

I wish my mama had come across this recipe when I was a kid. These are much easier than the ones she used to make. I’ve made several batches now, and, so far, there’s no sign of the “killer salt pickles” that Rhonda and I still recall with a pucker and laugh.

Here is the recipe that I’ve developed from the one I originally found online. I don’t measure any of the spices, so I just estimated here. You can adapt it to your personal taste. One recipe should make around 4 quarts.

1 gallon of pickling cucumbers

1/2 c. dried minced onion

6-10 cloves of garlic, peeled

4-6 fresh dill heads or 1/2 c. dill seed

2 T. whole peppercorns

1-3 T. crushed red pepper flakes

Ball’s pickle crisp granules

6 c. water

2 c. cider vinegar

1/2 c. canning salt

Trim blossom end off cucumbers and slice lengthwise in half or quarters. Tightly pack in quart jars. Divide garlic, onion, dill, peppercorns and red pepper flakes into jars. You can add more pepper if you want spicy pickles. Add 1/4 tsp. of pickle crisp granules into each jar. Heat water, vinegar and salt until boiling and salt is dissolved. Carefully pour hot liquid over cucumbers and place lid on jars. Let sit on the counter for three days, shaking occasionally, then store in the refrigerator. 

Spicy ranch squash

At about 3 pm this afternoon, I decided I wanted to grill some stuff for dinner. After a quick trip to the grocery store, I came home and started prepping. Even though I don’t like squash, my husband loves it. I’ve made several impromptu variations of a spicy baked or grilled squash dish for him over the years, but this time I decided to add a little twist. After spying a folded over, half used packet of ranch dressing mix in my cabinets, I thought it would be a good addition to the squash. This was one of my classic “thrown together” dishes that turned out to be a keeper, according to my husband and son. They both confirmed that it was very good since I’m not a fan of squash. I may try it with some other veggies at some point, though. We put the casserole dish on the grill tonight, but it would work fine in the oven. One of my favorite things about it is that it can be mixed and cooked in one dish! Here is my brand new creation, spicy ranch squash:

2 to 3 yellow squash, thinly sliced
1/2 medium onion, chopped
1 T. olive oil
2 T. dry ranch dressing mix
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. ground red pepper
1 tsp. hot sauce
salt and pepper to taste

Spray baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Place squash and onion in dish and drizzle with olive oil. Add remaining ingredients, and stir until squash is evenly coated. Cook on grill or in oven until squash is tender. Serve immediately.

July 4th Fare

First I want to apologize for the fact that I have no pictures to accompany my recipes today. We were in a mad rush to get out the door to our family gathering, and I just didn’t have time to snap any photos. A couple of the things I made turned out really good, though, so I wanted to share the recipes even without the pictures. If after heating up the leftovers they still look good, I’ll add some images later.

Since my husband and I married four years ago, I’ve become a part of his family tradition on the 4th of July. They rent a clubhouse at a youth camp in the woods (and I do mean in the woods – like “Bigfoot sighting” woods), and lots of family and extended family gather each year for lunch and swimming for the kids afterward. After four years, I still don’t know a lot of the people there, but maybe I’ll eventually learn everyone’s names.

Growing up my family was never big on 4th of July celebrations or extended family gatherings, so this has all been new to me. We really never did much of anything special on July 4, probably because for years my dad was working. With this new tradition in my life comes a new challenge to find food to prepare each year. I don’t like to bring the same things to a gathering every year, so I start scouring cookbooks and the internet for ideas on what to bring, just like I do at Thanksgiving and Christmas. This usually works out well, but the first year I went to this event, I apparently made a strawberry dessert that a couple of people there really liked. I have absolutely no idea what it was or where I found the recipe, but I’m usually reminded of how good it was and how I should make it again. At least now with this blog I’ll have a record of what I brought each year!

I decided this year to make some grilled chicken legs since they are a good choice for our Weight Watchers plan. After marinating the legs overnight, my husband grilled them, and they were quite good. I also made some pinto beans and potato salad that I adapted slightly from recipes I found online. The big hit of the day, however, was a dish that I decided to throw together at the last minute, crab and shrimp stuffed jalapeno popppers. A couple of years ago we made some grilled jalapeno poppers that basically consisted of stuffing shredded cheese in jalapenos and wrapping it with bacon. Those were good (according to the people who ate them), but in trying to keep the pepper intact, it was nearly impossible to deseed them completely. As a result, they were apparently very, very hot! For this variation, I just cut the peppers in half and stuffed each half separately before grilling. Even though I didn’t eat them, everybody else seemed to love them.

I hope everybody had a fun and safe holiday. Let me know if you try any of the recipes.

Here are the recipes that I prepared this Independence Day:

Seafood Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

12-15 large jalapeno peppers
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 can crab or tiny shrimp, drained
1/2 c. shredded cheese
2 T. Old Bay seasoning or Emeril’s Essence
1 T. lemon juice
Paprika

Cut jalapeno peppers in half lengthwise. Remove seeds and veins completely. Combine cream cheese, crab or shrimp, cheese, seasoning and lemon juice. Place some of stuffing mixture in each pepper half. Sprinkle with paprika. Grill using indirect heat for 10-20 minutes. Serve immediately. Any type of shredded cheese will work with this recipe, just use your favorite.

Texas Style Pinto Beans (adapted from allrecipes.com)

1 pound dry pinto beans
1 (29 ounce) can chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 fresh jalapeno pepper, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
water, if needed

Soak beans overnight, drain. Combine beans, chicken broth, onion, pepper, garlic, and spices in a large pot. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium-low, and continue cooking 2 hours, stirring often, until beans are tender. Add water as needed to keep the beans moist.

Grilled Chicken Legs

3 to 5 lb. chicken drumsticks
1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c. teriyaki sauce
Juice from 2 limes
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. red pepper flakes

Place chicken legs in a a gallon zip loc bag and add remaining ingredients. Shake to mix well. Refrigerate overnight to marinade. Preheat an outdoor grill for medium-low heat and lightly oil grate. Drain the marinade from the wings and discard. Cook chicken on the heated grill, turning occasionally, until juices run clear, 25 to 30 minutes.

 

Tex-Mex Potato Salad (adapted from kraftfoods.com)

5 cups red potatoes, unpeeled and cut into large pieces
2/3 cup  Light Miracle Whip
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp.  onion powder
salt and pepper to taste
1 can (11 oz.) whole kernel corn, drained
1 can  (4 oz.) chopped green chiles, undrained
1/2 cup chopped celery

Cook potatoes in boiling water 15 minutes or until tender. Drain and cool slightly. Combine Miracle Whip and remaining ingredients. Add potatoes and mix well. Refrigerate several hours or overnight before serving.