Dribbling Oil into the Bowl of a Food Processor

Okay, ha ha, sounds like a silly post. However, do you like to make homemade mayonnaise, or a really good salad dressing that needs to thicken?

My dear hubby Matthew solved my problem SO easily. He's brilliant!

Matthew took the insert cup for my food processor and drilled a tiny hole into the bottom of it. I can now close up the top of the processor, insert the cup, and add the oil and it will DRIP DRIP DRIP into the the liquid beneath making a perfect emulsion!

You're welcome ; )

Tapenade

I first tasted this during a couple weeks in Provence, 13 years ago. It's so easy to make these days as we can get so many fresh ingredients we could never get then. One thing that's more difficult and that I highly recommend is finding tuna canned in oil rather than water (I can actually get it now in my supermarket, but in the imported aisle). The flavor really contributes to the end product. I love this the most on crudites, but you can use it in stuffed veg, hard-boiled eggs or tossed with pasta.

1/2 cup Kalamata olives, pitted
1/4 cup imported green olives, pitted
4 anchovy fillets (in oil or salt cured)
1 garlic clove
2 Tblsp capers, drained
2 Tblsp oil-packed tuna, drained
1 Tblsp lemon juice
1 cup fresh basil leaves, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup best-quality extra virgin olive oil

Combine black and green olives, anchovies, garlic, capers, tuna, lemon juice and basil in a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Process till smooth.
With the motor running, dribble in the oil * to make a thick, fluffy sauce.
Tapenade will keep refrigerated for at least a week. It also lends itself to freezing.
This recipe doubles well.

*Check out my next entry regarding dribbling oil into the bowl of a food processor!

Half-Sour Pickles

1 - 1 1/2 lb pickling cucumbers
1 Tblsp pickling salt + 2 cups warm water
1 wide-mouth quart canning jar
2 grape leaves or 1 tea bag
1 small carrot, cut into sticks
2 small garlic cloves, peeled
1 tsp dill seed
a flowering dill head
several sprigs fresh dill weed
small ziploc bag

I like to use Kirby cukes for pickling, but you can use any young, smallish cuke. You can also use regular salt. Grape leaves or a tea bag add tannins to the mix (no flavor) which are supposed to contribute to keeping the half-sours crunchy. Carrot is supposed to do the same thing. Some recipes add cumin and peppercorns and/or red pepper flakes to the mix; feel free to experiment. If you can't get fresh dill, you can try substituting dried.

Scrub cukes and place in a bowl of ice water for 20-30 minutes. This supposedly helps with crunchiness.
Prepare brine. Dissolve salt in warm water. Salt should completely dissolve and leave the brine clear. Let cool before adding to jars.
Place grape leaves or tea bag in bottom of canning jar. Add dill seed.
Scrape any residue from the blossom end of each cuke before adding jar. The residue supposedly thwarts the fermentation process. Pack cukes into jar, interspersing dill heads, dill leaves, garlic and carrots. Pour brine over cukes, leaving about 3/4 inch head space. Pour remaining brine into ziploc bag, seal it and press it into top of jar. This should keep the cukes submerged.
Place the jar on a plate (it will bubble over the edge) and place in a sunny spot (this discourages the growth of nasty bacteria). Let ferment 4 - 7 days. Brine will bubble and become cloudy, that's fermentation! Skim any scum from the top of the brine daily. When pickles have reached desired sourness, remove ziploc bag, cover jar and refrigerate; they'll keep around 2 months. Rinse before eating.