What's in your fridge? (Recipes for Creme fraiche, lemon confit, & Garlic confit)

I had a magazine subscription to Bon Appetit for many years and one of the my favorite sections of that magazine was when a celebrity or a chef was asked what they had in their fridge. It provided a voyeuristic glimpse into the private food psyche and habits of that person. Most people have certain "go to" items always at hand. I have three such items that are always present on the shelves of my fridge. All three are universally used in almost everything I prepare in my kitchen. A picture in my last post gave away my 3 secrets. Here is a glimpse into the dark corners of my fridge.

Creme fraiche is nothing more than a sour cream with a higher fat content. It's often difficult to find in a store and mostly unfamiliar to novice cooks in the U.S. It is incredibly easy to make at home and has a few advantages over its cousin the sour cream. It is silky and luxurious, it does not curdle when heated (as sour cream), and it can be adapted for both sweet and savory dishes. It's a beautiful addition for sauces, it's a great accompaniment for potatoes, creamy soups, etc..When whipped with sugar or any syrup or honey, it serves as a heavenly topping for almost any dessert. I use a spoon full in my morning smoothie to give it a silky texture and to add flavor. Its uses are boundless. Here is how you make it:

Ingredients:

1 cup of whole cream
1 TBS butter milk

Mix the 2 ingredients and stir well, place in a glass or a bowl and cover with saran. Leave at room temperature for 24 hours. Then stir well and place in the fridge. It will keep for approximately 10 days.

Lemon confit are lemons that are cured in salt. The addition of citrus (acid) in food is necessary to balance flavors, but sometimes its use can be overpowering. How can the cook add that acidity in a such a subtle way that it's almost unrecognizable? This is where the lemon confit comes in to steal the show. By curing the lemon, it's juices are "pulled out" leaving the essence of the lemon flavors. What we're after here is not in the fleshy part of the lemon but the flavors in the rind. Once properly removed and cut, the lemon zest can be used in almost any dish to add a fresh subtle acidity. Add it to risotto, include in a salad dressing, incorporate in a pasta dish, add to mashed potatoes, add to a sauce, etc...It will bring a fresh very subtle lemon zest flavor to your dish.


Ingredients:


6 lemons
1-2 cups kosher salt
1 or 2 quart canning jar(s)


-Wash the canning jar, lid and gasket in boiling water to sterilize. Dry the inside.
-Dip the lemons in hot water to remove the wax and wipe dry
-Cut the tip off one end of each lemon. cut each lemon in quarters along its length without cutting all the way through so that it's still in one piece with 4 petals
-Hold the lemon and pour salt into it to fill it with salt.
-place the lemon in the jar with the petal opening up, and add enough salt to fill and cover it, then place another lemon(s) on top of that and cover with salt. Continue until you have used all the lemons and cover completely with salt.
-Place in the fridge and store. It's best to store at least a month before using. It will keep a year.


When needed, retrieve a lemon or just 1 petal of the lemon. rinse with water and cut off all the flesh. Then carefully cut off ALL of the white pulp from the skin leaving just the rind. Cut into a very small pieces and place in a small bowl. Bring some water to boil and pour over the bowl of cur rind and steep for 30 seconds (this removes all of the very strong salty flavor). Strain the zest and use as needed.

Garlic Confit. The term confit means something marinating or immersed in something else. In this case, the garlic sits in oil, hence garlic confit. Garlic can be incorporated in almost any dish to add that wonderful flavor; however, for some the flavor may be too aggressive. That is were the garlic confit shines. By cooking the garlic in oil, the assertiveness of its flavor is diminished and replaced with a subtle, sometimes unrecognizable delicate flavor. Also, since it's cooked, the garlic is now soft which allows it to meld with the food and disappear so there is no crunchy garlic remnants in the food. It can be used as a spread, it can be whisked into a vinaigrette, use to finish sauces, etc...Furthermore, once the garlic is all used, the remaining garlic infused oil can now be used for cooking or dressing to add that garlic flavor. Here is how you can make it:

Ingredients:

Several heads of garlic (approximately 40 cloves)
1 - 2 cups of a neutral oil like peanut or grape seed oil

-Peel the skin off the cloves of approximately 40 cloves and place in a small sauce pan
-cover with the oil (insure that all the cloves are covered)
-heat on med heat,  adjust the temperature to achieve very small bubbles in the oil, you do not want to boil the oil
-cook until a knife can be easily inserted through the cloves. Approximately 30-40 minutes.
-remove from heat and cool to room temperature
-place in a container to keep all the cloves covered with the oil and store in the fridge. I keep mine for up to 2 months.



So, what's in your fridge?