Steve Cheseborough » Food

EaT your greens

chezztone — Mon, 25 May 2009 02:16:02 +0000

You can go to EaT: an Oyster Bar (N Williams at Failing Street, Portland) to hear me on Saturday nights. And of course for the oysters, absinthe, shrimp etouffee etc. But here’s another excellent reason to visit that fine restaurant: greens.

I love many things on the menu, but I want to make special note of the greens, which seem to have been ignored in all the press this place has garnered. (Probably that is because Northwest food critics don’t know much about greens.) If you like greens, or want to try them, this is the place. Several places in town just saute them with various meats and seasonings added. Well, greens are not spinach. They have to be slow- and long-cooked in plenty of liquid, or else they are tough. EaT chef Ethan does them right. The only problem is EaT does not serve cornbread, with which one typically soaks up the delicious broth, or “potlikker.” So make sure to ask for a spoon, and don’t let a drop of it go to waste!

The club that looks like my book

chezztone — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 08:32:34 +0000

I headed down to Charleston, S.C., the first week of April, for a family reunion and a gig at Fiery Ron’s Home Team BBQ. This was my third appearance at Fiery Ron’s, and every time I play there it is a thing of wonder for me and owner Randy Abraham (and, hopefully, for the audience too). The thing is, Randy designed the club based on my book, Blues Traveling: the Holy Sites of Delta Blues. Really! Years before he met or heard me, Randy picked up a copy of my book and took it in hand as he toured the Mississippi Delta, shooting photos, buying photos and art, collecting signs and other memorabilia and getting ideas, all of which would go into the decor of his Delta-themed blues-and-barbecue club in Charleston. A few years later I was looking for a gig in Charleston and thought his place sounded promising (I love playing in barbecue joints, and this one already featured blues) so I called and we got it together. It’s really like going home, playing there. Just love the decor. The food is terrific too. And they have a nice beer selection! One of my peeves about Southern barbecue joints in general is that that lavish loving attention on the meat but often give short shrift to the beer, bread, even the side dishes. Not at Fiery Ron’s. So…next time you’re in Charleston, stop by for some ribs and blues, and say hello to Randy and Tony (another owner). Tell ‘em I sent you. Maybe I’ll see you there!

chicken soup!

chezztone — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 22:49:25 +0000

I’m laid out with a bad cold. I even lost my voice during a gig two days ago. First time that ever happened to me. I kept trying to sing but certain notes just wouldn’t come out and the croaky voice didn’t sound like me. Scary. A friend says it’ll come back in a few days. Still bad today; all congested in my chest and sore throat too.

But anyway, I’m not writing to complain about my health…I made myself a pot of chicken soup yesterday and it was fabulous! Guess I don’t have to wait until I’m sick again to make it again. And you don’t have to, either. I asked at the supermarket meat counter for chicken necks and backs. And they brought them out from the back, even though they weren’t in packages out front they do have them. So make sure to ask. Cost half the price of regular chicken and make the great soup.

The recipe: Two pounds of chicken parts, a carrot, an onion (stuck with whole cloves if you have), some celery, some garlic, lots of salt, pepper (black and red), thyme. Cover with water. Cook for two hours, strain. (You can pick the meat off the bones, but its flavor and nutrition should all be in the broth by now. Same with the vegetables.) Adjust seasonings, heat the broth, cook small pasta in it, serve with grated cheese and a slice of lemon.

Habanero vodka

chezztone — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 03:32:35 +0000

There’s a hot new drink on the menu at Casa Naranja (4205 N Mississippi Ave, Portland): Spicy Bloody Marys made with vodka that is house-infused with my homegrown hot peppers! Usually habaneros (of two different varieties, so the drink might taste different depending on what’s gone into the bottle that week) but also sometimes some fatalii, fish, Thai or serrano peppers. The harvest is winding down, so get there fairly soon (although once the peppers are in the booze it lasts awhile — until it gets drunk). If you’re really daring, just order a straight shot of the pepper vodka (or the new pepper tequila that they’re experimenting with). Sip it and once you get over the shock of the hotness, you detect and enjoy all kinds of peppery-vegetal flavors. A beer on the side is nice, and a water on the side of that. And if you go, go on a Sunday between about 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. — that’s when I play the blues, unplugged, for your listening, dining and drinking pleasure. Cheers! Â

No-knead no-preheat sourdough bread 2007

chezztone — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 01:10:00 +0000

No-knead no-preheat sourdough bread
Originally published 4/8/2007

OK, I have to admit I’ve converted. A longtime sourdough home baker, I was skeptical of this no-knead craze. But I’ve been doing it for a few months now and the only drawback is that it makes only one loaf at a time (I used to make two and slice-and-freeze one). Of course I could double the recipe. But it’s easier to make, so now I just make it twice as often and don’t freeze any. No knead, no preheat, no oven-spray, no slash!
I use:
2 cups unbleached bread flour
1 cup mixed whole-grain flours (whole wheat, rye, barley, whatever you like)
2-1/2 tsp salt (yes, I thought it was excessive when I read that number in The Oregonian’s no-knead article but it works great)
Mix those dry ingredients, then mix in
1/3 cup (recently recharged) liquid sourdough starter with enough water added to total 1-1/2 cups liquid.
Stir it up well, cover with plastic wrap, wrap bowl with blanket, leave about 15-20 hours, until risen and bubbly. Take it out and fold it over a few times (on well-floured or nonstick surface, with floured hands), cover with wrap, let sit 15 min, shape into ball, cover well with coarse cornmeal, wrap in towel, let it about 3-6 hours, until risen. Flop into cast-iron dutch oven, cover with lid, place into cold oven, turn oven on to 450. Bake 45 min covered, then remove lid and bake another half hour or so, until browned and hollow-sounding when tapped top and bottom. Let cool and eat.