Recipes and Spice Notes

The Seattle Spice Shop recommends . . .

Pepper recommends keeping a jar of an all-purpose curry close at hand for spicing up vegetables or sprinkling on deviled eggs. This recipe has plenty of flavor and not a lot of heat.

CURRY

1 tablespoon coriander

1 tablespoon turmeric

1½ teaspoons cayenne

1½ teaspoons ground cloves

1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon

1½ teaspoons ground ginger

Mix together and store in a tightly closed jar.

Makes ¼ cup.

Optional additions: cumin, cardamom, yellow mustard, or black pepper

For a quick side dish, add a tablespoon to cooked garbanzo beans along with lemon, cilantro, and a diced tomato.

GARAM MASALA

Another blend that varies with the cook. Pepper and Sandra created the Spice Shop’s Garam Masala to contrast with the hotter curry. It’s especially yummy on shrimp or roasted nuts (recipe below).

4 teaspoons ground fennel seeds

2½ teaspoons cinnamon

2½ teaspoons ground caraway seeds

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon ground cloves

½ teaspoon ground cardamom

If your spices are whole, grind them in a coffee grinder. (Clean it first by grinding a tablespoon of rice to a fine powder and wiping out the grit; this also sharpens the blades.) Mix together thoroughly in a small bowl. Store in a tightly closed jar.

Makes about half a cup.

At home with Pepper

FALAFEL BURGERS WITH LEMON-TAHINI SAUCE

Pepper finally persuaded the owner of her favorite Middle Eastern restaurant to share his recipe, though she prefers pan grilling to deep-frying, for a healthier option and a cleaner kitchen. These burgers are equally good with or without the pita—she often serves them on a salad of greens, tomatoes, black olives, and sliced red onions, drizzled with the lemon-tahini sauce. Panko bread crumbs are a Japanese style, coarser than typical bread crumbs, readily available in the baking aisle of most groceries.

FOR THE LEMON-TAHINI SAUCE:

⅓ cup tahini

¼ cup lemon juice

3 tablespoons plain yogurt (Greek yogurt is too thick; choose a thinner variety for a pourable sauce)

1 clove garlic

Salt and freshly ground pepper

FOR THE FALAFEL BURGERS:

2 14-ounce cans garbanzo beans, aka chickpeas, rinsed and drained

½ red onion, diced

2 tablespoons fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

6 fresh mint leaves

2 cloves garlic

Grated zest and juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon ground cumin

2 teaspoons ground coriander

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

1 egg, lightly beaten

½ cup panko bread crumbs

Nonstick cooking spray

4 whole wheat pita breads, toasted, cut in half, and split to form pockets

½ red onion, thinly sliced

2 Roma tomatoes, sliced

2 cups salad greens or romaine leaves, torn into bite-sized pieces

Mint sprigs, for garnish

Make the sauce: Combine the tahini, lemon juice, yogurt, and garlic in a blender or a small food processor. Puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to your own taste.

Make the burgers: Combine the garbanzo beans, onion, parsley, mint, garlic, lemon zest and juice, cumin, coriander, paprika, salt, and pepper in a food processor. Process until smooth. Place the mixture in a large bowl. Add the egg and bread crumbs, and stir to combine. Form into eight patties.

Heat a frying pan over medium and coat with cooking spray. Cook the burgers, carefully turning once, until golden brown, about 4 minutes a side.

To serve, put each burger in a pita pocket, top with a generous helping of sauce, and fill with red onion, tomato slices, and greens. Garnish the pockets or plate with a mint sprig.

Serves 8.

A classic from Ripe

ARUGULA FENNEL SALAD WITH DOUBLE MUSTARD VINAIGRETTE

Laurel adds a little heat to her lunch-goers’ day by garnishing this salad with a very hot chile. The pepperoncini in the salad itself are mild, made milder by pickling, so no need to worry about entering the ghost realm prematurely!

FOR THE SALAD:

½ pound baby arugula

1 small fennel bulb, with fronds

½ English cucumber

4 small pepperoncini

¼ cup fresh flat-leaf (Italian) parsley

¼ cup fresh dill

FOR THE DRESSING:

1 heaping teaspoon grain mustard

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

Juice of 1 lemon (3 tablespoons)

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Make the salad: Wash and spin arugula and place in a serving bowl. A large, flat bowl is ideal.

Remove the outer layer of the fennel bulb and chop off the top with fronds. Chop 2 to 3 tablespoons of fronds for garnish. Cut off the tough, flat bottom end of the bulb, and cut the bulb in half. Lay each half on your cutting board, cut side down, and slice thinly.

English cucumbers typically come wrapped in plastic; unwrap yours, scrub it with a vegetable brush, and peel it in ¼ inch strips, leaving ¼ inch of peel, alternating with ¼ inch of flesh, continuing around the cucumber. Cut it in half lengthwise and slice ¼ inch thick.

Remove and discard the seeds from the pepperoncini, then slice as thinly as possible.

Roughly chop the parsley and dill.

Add all the vegetables and herbs to the salad bowl except the fennel fronds, and toss to combine.

Make the dressing: Stir the mustards and lemon juice together in a small bowl or measuring cup. Add the olive oil in a stream, whisking the ingredients together until the dressing thickens or emulsifies. (Pouring the oil in gradually keeps it from separating.) Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Toss the salad with the dressing. Garnish with the fennel fronds.

Serves 6 as a side salad or first course.

Breakfast on the houseboat

These baked sausages and muffins are excellent alongside eggs scrambled with green onions, red bell pepper, and the Seattle Spice Shop’s Herbes de Provence (recipe in Assault and Pepper).

SPICY MORNING SAUSAGE

A tip from Laurel: Let the sausage sit on the counter, wrapped or covered, for about thirty minutes so your hands don’t freeze when you mix it!

1 pound lean ground pork sausage

½ teaspoon salt (kosher or flakes pack the best flavor punch)

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

1 teaspoon fennel seeds, toasted (see below)

½ teaspoon cayenne

½ cup panko bread crumbs

½ cup grated Parmesan

Nonstick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Toast the fennel seeds by heating them in a small, heavy frying pan over medium heat, about five minutes, stirring often. They will turn golden brown and give your kitchen a lovely fragrance.

In a large bowl, break up the sausage with a spoon or your hands. Mix in the salt, pepper flakes, fennel seeds, cayenne, bread crumbs, and Parmesan. Form into small patties, about two inches across and half an inch thick.

Spray a glass or ceramic baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Lay the patties in the dish, an inch or two apart. Bake about 20 minutes or until golden brown but slightly tender to the touch in the middle. You may want to stick a knife in one to make sure they are thoroughly cooked and hot.

Makes about 12 patties. They reheat nicely and freeze well.

DATE-BRAN MUFFINS

¼ cup chopped dates

½ cup hot water

1½ cups wheat bran

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

½ teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground cloves

⅓ cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1 cup buttermilk

½ cup chopped dates, or more

Nonstick cooking spray

Pour hot water over the ¼ cup dates; set aside. (Do not drain.)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a large bowl, mix wheat bran, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices.

Pour the date-water mixture into a blender or food processor. Add the oil, egg, and buttermilk, and blend about 1 minute, until smooth. Pour into the flour mixture, along with the ½ cup dates. Stir until blended. The batter will be thick and lumpy.

Coat a muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tin. Bake 20 to 22 minutes or until a knife or toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow muffins to cool in the pan about 5 minutes before serving in a pretty bowl or a basket lined with a colorful napkin.

Makes 12 muffins. These freeze beautifully.

Cocktail hour

SCOTTY GLASS’S COSMOPOLITAN

Pepper’s old standby

FOR EACH DRINK:

1½ ounces citrus vodka

1 ounce triple sec (Glassy prefers Cointreau)

½ ounce fresh lime juice

Dash of cranberry juice, for color

Lime wedge, for garnish

Pour the liquor and juice into a shaker two-thirds full of ice. Shake about fifteen seconds, or until your hands are cold, then strain into a chilled martini glass. Add the lime as garnish.

NEGRONI

Pepper’s new love

FOR EACH DRINK:

1½ ounces Campari

1½ ounces sweet vermouth

1½ ounces gin

1 orange twist (a strip of peel, about ½ inch wide and 3 to 4 inches long, twisted to release the oils)

Pour the liquor into an ice-filled rocks glass, and add the peel. Best drunk outdoors on a deck overlooking water or a freshly mowed meadow. Or anywhere, actually.

For a Negroni Sbagliato, substitute champagne or sparkling wine for the gin. Drink lore says a bartender created it by grabbing the wrong bottle; sbagliato means “mistaken” in Italian. An inexpensive sparkling wine, on the dry side, like Freixenet (pronounced “fresh-eh-net”) Brut from Spain or Yellow Tail from Australia, will do nicely. Plus the wine will add a touch of that international flair Danielle advises! No need to worry about opening the bottle. Just uncrimp the wire cage and remove it, place one hand over the cork, and turn the bottle, not the cork, until you hear that satisfying pop.

Spice up your life with Pepper and the Flick Chicks

It wouldn’t be Movie Night without tasty treats . . .

SANDRA’S SPICY ROASTED NUTS

A bowl of spiced nuts is perfect with wine or cocktails. Sprinkle a few nuts on a plate of butter chicken or other dishes as a garnish. Make your own garam masala (recipe above), or find it and amchur, dried mango powder, in spice shops and Indian groceries. Variations abound; for a hotter flavor, substitute curry powder or cumin for the garam masala. (A note from Pepper: When my author couldn’t find amchur, she ground dried, unsweetened mango slices in her coffee grinder. Perfect!)

1 pound raw almonds or cashews, or a mix

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon kosher salt or another crystal variety

1½ teaspoons amchur, or mango powder

1 tablespoon garam masala

1½ teaspoons ground cayenne

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together the nuts, oil, salt, and spices. Spread the nuts on a baking sheet and roast about 10 minutes, stirring once to cook the nuts evenly. (If the edges of the nuts start to brown, pull them out to avoid burning.) Place the baking sheet on a rack; the nuts will continue to brown slightly as they cool.

Remember what Pepper says about spice blends: They take a few hours to marry and mellow, so these are best made ahead. They’ll keep several weeks if stored in a tightly sealed container.

Makes 1 pound.

ORANGE CINNAMON CRÈME BRÛLÉE

On this, Pepper and Tag agree: the very best crème brûlée ever.

2 cups heavy cream

½ cup white sugar (divided use)

Zest of 1 orange, removed in wide strips with a peeler

1 cinnamon stick

6 to 8 strands of fresh thyme

4 egg yolks

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

4 teaspoons turbinado sugar, for topping

Strips of orange peel or thyme sprigs for garnish (optional)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

In a small saucepan, combine the cream, ¼ cup sugar, orange zest, and cinnamon stick. Roll the thyme strands back and forth between your palms, over the pan, to release the essential oils, then toss the thyme into the pan. Whisk to combine. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat and strain into a bowl to cool. (This step infuses the cream with the aromatics—the zest, thyme, and cinnamon.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks, remaining ¼ cup sugar, and vanilla. When the infused cream is cooled to the touch, slowly pour it into the egg mixture and whisk to combine. (Cooling the cream avoids curdling the eggs.)

Place four 4-ounce ramekins or custard cups in a large baking dish or roasting pan. Carefully fill the ramekins with the custard mixture. Place the dish in the oven and carefully pour hot water into the pan, till it reaches about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

Bake until the custard is set around the edges and slightly jiggly in the center, about 35 minutes.

Remove the baking dish from the oven. Lift out the ramekins—tongs work nicely—and cool on a rack at room temperature. (Don’t leave them in the hot water, as the heat would continue to cook the mixture.) When cool, move ramekins to refrigerator to chill for at least an hour before the next step. Just before serving, sprinkle a teaspoon of turbinado sugar evenly over the top of each dish. Caramelize the sugar with a kitchen torch. The sugar will harden, turn golden, and become crunchy. If you don’t have a torch, broil the dishes 2 to 3 minutes until the sugar forms a crisp, golden top. Garnish with a curvy strip of orange peel or a sprig of thyme.

Serves 4.