One Great . . . use for broccoli stems

After I wrote a column on cooking with garbage, AKA making use of every bit in the kitchen, Cynthia Ross Bradford of York sent me a nice note with a recipe.

"It reminded me of a classic recipe that I have prepared since I took a Gourmet Vegetarian Cookery class in 1976. A wonderfully delicious way to use something that almost always gets discarded."

I'm with Cynthia: Broccoli stems aren't as obvious as florets, but there is too much good stuff there to throw them away. You do need to peel them so they're not too fibrous, but a good vegetable peeler does the trick.

Marinated Broccoli Stems

Stems from 3 to 4 broccoli stalks
1 teaspoon salt
1 clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon white wine or apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon olive oil

PEEL the stems, then slice diagonally or cut into bite-size chunks. Put them in a mason jar (or other resealable container) with the salt. Shake it up and refrigerate overnight.

DRAIN the jar the next day and rinse the broccoli if desired. Return the stems to the jar and add the garlic, wine or vinegar and olive oil. Shake it up and refrigerate until ready to use. Use on salads or antipasto plates.

Golf for good: Help Community Culinary School

It's almost time for the 11th annual fundraising tournament for Community Culinary School of Charlotte. This time, it's Oct. 14 at Cedarwood Country Club. It's $125 per player, including lunch, a silent auction, $10,000 in prizes and a raffle (for closest to the pin and longest drive).

Registration and lunch are from 11 a.m. to 12:45; shotgun start is 1 p.m. (I assume that means something to the golfers among you.)

The whole thing benefits Community Culinary, which trains hard-to-employ people for jobs in food service.

You do need to register in advance: Go here for details, sponsorship applications and sign-ups.

What's new in this week's Food lineup?

When Katherine Vest called to ask if I would speak to her cooking club, I said no: I'd rather come and write about it. How could I resist the tale of nine women who get together every month to do something food-related? Especially when I found out a house had been TP'd.

Yes, food-news fans, the mighty Michael Pollan will speak in Charlotte at Queens University next week. And tickets are still available. This one ought to be a sellout.

Of the many things we love on the Rooster's menu, the skillet-fried corn is always a favorite. For this week's restaurant-request column, You Asked For It, Robin Domeier asked for the recipe. And the woman who asked for it, Johanna Wilson, has already sent us a picture showing us she made it as soon as the story posted online Tuesday night. Now, that's service.

Which foods last the longest? It's an interesting question, and I did my best to answer, in this week's Q&A. 



And there's more, in our recipe features:
Quick Cooking for 2 has steamed mussels that are easy enough for a weeknight.
Entree has a powerfully delicious enchilada soup made in a slow cooker.
Suzanne Havala Hobbs has nutritious and delicious ideas for cabbage this fall.

One Great . . . white chocolate tarts

This is the time of year when you start to need something fast and sweet, for a dinner party, bake sale, party or office occasion. When I saw how simple this recipe is, I didn't think it would taste like much.

Boy, was I wrong: It takes all of 30 seconds to make and it is way, way too dangerously tasty. It came from the Athens company, which makes those mini phyllo shells, and the combination of the filling and the crispy shells is just about perfect. But you also could adapt it by using the filling to top a cupcake or spoon it out to make small candies.

Honey Peanut Butter White Chocolate Creams

From Athens Foods.

1 (4-ounce) bar white chocolate, broken into pieces, or 1/2 cup white baking chips
1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon honey, divided
1 (15-count) package mini phyllo shells
1/4 cup dry-roasted salted peanuts

Heat the white chocolate in a small bowl in a microwave in 30-second bursts, stirring after each, or place in a small saucepan and melt over low heat on the stove. Stir in the peanut butter and 1/2 tablespoon honey until blended.

Spoon 1 tablespoon of the filling into each phyllo shell. Sprinkle each one with peanuts (chopped or whole), then drizzle with remaining honey. Let stand 10 minutes to set. You can also chill the cups until firm.

"Biscuits" and "Bourbon" at Park Road Books on Sunday

It's always a little awkward making your own book announcements. So I'll make this brief:

If you're free on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m., come by Park Road Books in Park Road Shopping Center (Woodlawn and Park Road) for a "Savor the South" cookbook signing.

Belinda Ellis, the co-publisher (with her husband, Fred Thompson) of the magazine Edible Piedmont will be there with her book, "Biscuits," while I'll be there with my second book in the series, "Bourbon." ("Pecans" came out last fall).

"Savor the South" is a series from UNC Press. Each book covers a single ingredient or occasion in Southern cooking, biscuits to barbecue. There are now six books in the series: "Buttermilk," by Debbie Moose; "Pecans" and "Bourbon," by me; "Peaches," by Kelly Alexander; "Tomatoes," by Miriam Rubin; and "Biscuits."

Each book includes about 50 recipes and a chunk of information on the ingredient, and each is less than $20. For "Bourbon," I spent time in Kentucky prowling around distilleries and rickhouses to learn the ins and outs of bourbon-making. The recipes are about a third cocktails and two-thirds dishes, from appetizers and main dishes to desserts.

"Savor the South" has gotten such an enthusiastic reception that the original plan, for 14 books, has been bumped up to 24 books. I'm only doing two, but there is an amazing list of authors who have books coming out in the next few years, including Andrea Weigl (pickles and preserves), Crooks Corner chef Bill Smith (blue crabs and oysters), John Shelton Reed (barbecue) and Virginia Willis (okra). I'm so proud to be part of such illustrious company.

Come by Sunday, say hello and support Park Road Books, a great independent bookstore.
 

Cookbook features 2 Charlotte food trucks

Well, beep a horn to spread this news: "The Southern Food Truck Cookbook" just crossed my desk, with featured recipes from The Tin Kitchen and Roaming Fork, two regulars on the Charlotte food truck scene.

Author Heather Donahoe's book, from Tennessee publisher Thomas Nelson for $24.99, includes pictures, recipes and stories about food trucks in nine states -- Kentucky, the Virginias (OK, make it 10 states), North and South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, Arkansas and Tennessee.

Tin Kitchen shares recipes for Cilantro-Lime Aioli, Green Rice, Pineapple Pico de Gallo. Roaming Fork hands over the recipe for those amazing Fried Deviled Eggs. Other N.C. food trucks in the book: Triangle Raw Foods, Porchetta and Big Mike's BBQ from Raleigh/Durham, and Chirba Chirba from Durham.

(One note: The book also highlights King of Pops, based in Atlanta, and notes that it also has locations in Athens, Richmond and Charleston. Make that Athens, Richmond, Charleston, Chattanooga -- and Charlotte. So there are sort of three Charlotte food trucks included.)

A plateful of Wednesday offerings

Feel that touch of fall in the air? Makes you hungry for food coverage, doesn't it? Over at www.charlotteobserver.com/food today, here's some of what you'll find:

We've got a feast of Cronut(TM) mania: There's my column, on standing in line at the New York bakery Dominique Ansel to buy two Cronuts, along with two videos. One shows you the Cronut-buying experience from my perspective. In the other, restaurant reviewer Helen Schwab joins me for a tasting of the Cronut and the Charlotte imitation, Fourth Ward Bread Co.'s Kronut. What's more fun than piano-playing cats? Cronut videos, people.

The explosion of craft beer in the Carolinas has led to a new art: Hard cider is taking off. I visited and/or talked with cider makers all over North Carolina and South Carolina for a story. And yes, hard cider is gluten-free, people. There's video joy here, too: You can watch Matt Guzmer talk cider, walk cider and bottle cider.

Jamie Deen is visiting the area with his new cookbook. My colleague Andrea Weigl did an interview with him, including insightful comments about the recent trouble involving his mother, Paula Deen, and how the family is handling it.

Catherine Rabb meets a winemaker who is excited about the potential of Argentina in the wine world. Cry tears of joy, Argentina.

And more:

Bacon jam, baby.

Thin pork cutlets are a fast dinner on the grill.

Does boiling tomato sauce make it watery?

And if the cooler weather makes you itch for a mountain trip, our pick-your-own farms list has apple farms, too.