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Andrew's question was read on Forum with Jacques Pépin!

http://www.kqed.org/a/forum/R201204171000

Cauliflower Fritters with Yogurt, Early Cucumbers, Mint and Dill Dipping sauce

What you'll need:

1 Head Cauliflower

1 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese

Minced: 

Green Garlic

Parsley

Dill

Mint

Greek Yogurt

Cucumber

2 Beaten Eggs

1 1/2 cups Flour

1/4 cup Milk

Olive Oil

Vegetable Oil

Salt

Pepper

Mix Greek yogurt, 1 tbsp Olive Oil, Chopped Dill, Mint, and Cucumber in a bowl.

Add Salt and Pepper to taste, set aside in fridge. 

Heat Vegetable Oil to 350 degrees, use a candy thermometer, in a heavy bottomed pot 

(we used a dutch oven because it retains a lot of heat)

Roast Cauliflower in the oven at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Add All ingredients to a large bowl, add Cauliflower.

Add more flour if batter is liquidy at all, you want it to stick together.

Once Oil is at 350, add a scoop the size of a large spoon of the mixture.  

Fry until golden brown and then set on a plate lined with paper towels.  

Salt.

Dip in Yogurt and enjoy!

Homemade BBQ Sauce

Spring is in the air! What's better than firing up the barbeque and filling that fresh air with wood smoke and the smell of roasting meats? 

Store bought BBQ sauce is often times too sweet for us.  We want BBQ sauce to be tangy enough to stand up to the smokiness from the grill.  

BBQ Chicken Method

Part one: Brine

Start with one whole bird.  Cut it into eight parts.  If you are unsure how to do this ask your butcher to do it for you.  

Make a simple brine.  For this recipe we use 5% salt.  50 grams of salt in 1 liter of water.  There's nothing more American than using the metric system to brine your BBQ chicken.  I also added 20 grams of brown sugar.  Brine the bird for 4-6 hours.  

In the meantime, chuck the bones in a pot of water and make a blonde chicken stock.  

Part 2: Rub

Get out your spice grinder and buzz up some delicious flavors.  Heres what we did (or thereabouts)

1 t cumin

1 t corriander.

6 each allspice

1/4 stick cinnemon

2-3 cloves

1 T black pepper

2 dry New Mexico chiles

Part 3: Sauce

Now that your grill is hot and your bird is brined, dried and rubbed, you better get your sauce workin.  

What follows is a recap of the sauce.  If its too tangy add more sweet ingredients.  Conversely taste with each addition of sweet ingredients so as not to cause diabetes.  

1 cup chopped shallots

4 cloves garlic chopped

1 inch ginger chopped

1/2 cup sherry or cider vinegar

1 cup tomato (can or fresh)

1 T tamarind

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 T maple syrup

2 dry ancho chiles

1/4 cup honey

1 quart blond chicken stock (from above)

Sweat the shallots until they start to color.  Add the tomato and cook it down until it starts to stick.  Add garlic and ginger.  Cook until fragrant.  Add brown sugar and carefully stir until it begins to caramelize.  Deglaze with vinegar.  Add the other ingredients and reduce until thick.    Puree with immersion blender.  

Start  the chicken skin side over a hot grill until crispy.  Coat with sauce and cook over indirect heat until done.  

Put some beer or sangria on ice.  Set up a table outside and enjoy with friends.  

Mako and a Chicken

Asparagus Tortilla de Patata

This is a twist on the classic that I learned from my Tita Charie in Barcelona.  Tortilla de Patata (also known as a Spanish Omelette) is a humble Tapa yet you can find it at pretty much any bar, cafe or high end restaurant in Spain.  Today we used the ingredients that came in our weekly CSA box.  Asparagus just came into season so we decided to incorporate it into our Tortilla.

Ingredients:

Potatoes (we used Russet, nice and starchy)

8 eggs

Garlic

Spring onion (you can use any onion)

Arugula (optional)

Asparagus (optional)

Olive Oil

Salt & Pepper

cast iron pan

Set your oven to 450 degrees.

Peel and blanch asparagus, set aside.

Scramble 8 eggs in a large bowl and set aside. 

Start by peeling the potatoes, then slicing them into thin slices.  Cook them in olive oil until soft, add a generous amount of salt and then remove them from the pan and put them into the bowl with the uncooked scrambled eggs.  Keep olive oil in pan.

Add garlic, spring onion and arugula to pan.  Sauté until the greens are wilted.  Add greens to the egg/potato mixture.

Add more olive oil to the pan.  Once oil is hot, add egg mixture to pan.  As soon as the bottom of the omelette browns and the eggs are starting to thicken, nestle the asparagus into the omelette.  Try making a pattern so that each slice will get a stalk of asparagus.

Remove from stove and put cast iron pan into the oven until the top is nice and brown.  Make sure that the middle is cooked with a fork directly in the middle.  If the fork comes out clean, you're good to go.

Slice, top with a dab of aioli and enjoy.

Eat leftovers as breakfast or add a slice to a fresh baguette, rubbed with tomato for a nice sandwich!

Pop-Up Pepe photos by Olivia Wright

Chickens: Out of the house and into the coop

Gluten-Free Pancakes

• 
  
• 
  
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 cup "What Iif" flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted

"What Iif Flour" is a gluten-free flour created by the authors of "Ideas in Food".  Here's a link to the recipe on their blog.  They are geniuses.  

http://blog.ideasinfood.com/ideas_in_food/2012/03/batch-2-flour.html

POP-UP PEPE MENU!

march 25th, 2012



yogurt burrata and beet salad arugula, almonds, olives and preserved lemon

cauliflower soup wild fennel and broccoli romanesco

pulled trumpet mushrooms asparagus, polenta, vadouvan and poached egg
or
sausage and roast pork heirloom beans, sauerkraut, fresh ground mustard

plus delicious dessert!


join us first for snacks in the tapas style

 duckfat popcorn

tortilla española  

marinated artichokes

mussels escabeche


there will be wine

Alchemy Collective to pour "single-origin coffee" at POP UP PEPE!

http://www.alchemycollective.com/

We love these guys, and we're lucky enough to have them pouring their delicious pour-over verve coffee!  Check out their cafe on MLK in South Berkeley!

Pop-Up Pepe!

LIMITED SEATING!  FEW SEATS LEFT!

To reserve your spot, please email us at popuppepe@gmail.com.

Make sure to specify the number of people in your party and leave us your 

FULL NAME and PHONE NUMBER.

Please notify us if you have any dietary restrictions and we will do our best to accommodate.  

Bar will open at 6pm with a carefully selected wine list by sommelier Johnny Contreras.

Dinner seating will start at 6pm, community seating.

DON'T MISS OUT!  HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

Lemons Galore!

Candied Meyer Lemons, learned from the master.

Here it is, Jacque Pepin.

Pop-Up Pepe!

Preserved Lemons

Salted lemons are a delicious ingredient in many dishes.  Making them is a great way to use an abundance of lemons.  You can add them to stews, soups and braises, or use them in dressings and salsas.  They are most famous as a staple in Moroccan cooking.  All you need are lemons, salt and something to put them in.  The most important ingredient is time.  Preserved lemons take about a month to mature.  

what you'll need:

lemons, two dozen

salt, about two cups

crock or mason jar (64 oz. pictured)

time

Figure out how many lemons you can fit in the jar.  We fit nine of them in the half gallon jar.  Now make a cross-cut through the top of each lemon going almost to the stem end but stopping before you get there, so the lemon is still intact.  Next, open up the lemon and start pouring in salt.  Jam the salt in, it will look like a lot but don't be skimpy, they're gonna be sitting around a while and you don't want them to spoil.   

Drop them into the jar.  You can use the back of a wooden spoon to help them sit so the salt doesn't pour out.  Cram as many as you can into the jar.  

Take the rest of the lemons and juice them.  The lemon juice and salt will help you figure out all the places you cut yourself earlier.  

 Pour the fresh squeeze juice into the jar until all the lemons are completely covered.  

Fit the cap on finger tight.  Leave it around with your other weird fermenting projects.  

In a few weeks taste one of them.  Remove it from the brine.   Thinly slice the peel.  You will be amazed how they have transformed.  Use them sparingly.  They are strong in flavor and precious.  

Pop-Up Pepe!

Addie's has been kind enough to loan us their space for the evening of MARCH 25TH.  Vegetarian and Non-Vegetarian options will be available on a fixed menu.  All local and sustainable produce.  Expect handmade food like Andrew's delicious pork sausages, handmade kraut, yogurt, vinegar, etc.  We'll keep you updated as the menu comes together, but reserve your table!  Limited seating!  Let's have fun!

45$ per person

6pm-9pm

Write us an email at PopUpPepe@gmail.com to reserve your table!  Please specify a time and phone number where we can reach you!

Baby Chickens!

Making Sauerkraut

This month we've received an abundance of cabbage in our CSA box and its a good thing.  By utilizing this bountiful harvest, we are making one of the best things for your body!  A nutritious treat that provides active bacteria that our bodies rely on.  So simple, yet can be eaten alone as a snack or as an addition to give your dish some extra kick.

What you'll need (for one gallon sauerkraut):

1. Fermenting crock (plastic bucket works fine)

2. 5 lbs green cabbage

3. 1/2 oz. salt per pound of cabbage, or 3% by weight

4. (optional) horseradish 

5. Cheesecloth

6. String

Quarter the cabbage, then shred

Measure salt

Place shredded cabbage into a large bowl and salt as you go

Place salted cabbage into crock and top with sliced horseradish

Place plate or another container the same size on top of horseradish and cabbage to compress it.  Place a weight on top of that.  A jug or jar of water works well.  Soon you will notice the container filling with liquid from the cabbage. This is known as the brine.  The brine is the most important aspect of kraut making as the vegetables need to be totally submerged under this liquid.

After the sauerkraut is packed and submerged, remove the plate or second bucket and replace it with cheesecloth.  Tie a string around the mouth of the bucket.  Place bucket in a cool dark place and check periodically for progress.  

Your sauerkraut will be ready in a few weeks or so.  The warmer the weather the faster the sauerkraut will ferment.  

We enjoyed it with some homemade duck ham and mustard!  Eat it with your breakfast in the morning to start your day right, in-between meals, as a condiment or as a side dish to your entree!  

Feel the results!