Pickled Seckel Pears

Don’t you just love cookbooks? Me? I’m a raging cookbook-aholic. There’s tons of them tucked here and there around the house filling a big double cabinet in the kitchen, part of a bookcase in the family room and another in my office. Right now the coffee table is loaded with cookbooks old and new—a few borrowed from my mother and two that were just added to the collection yesterday.

At one point I gave a whole bunch away (and sometimes I regret that) to make more space for new ones.

This recipe is from one of my Mom’s favorite cookbooks. She has two “go to” cookbooks—the red one and the green one. The red one is the Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook, a standard in every house before The Joy of Cooking took that spot. The green one is the standard even before Betty Crocker! Yes, it’s that old.

The book is appropriately titled The American Woman’s Cookbook, published by Garden City Publishing Company, Garden City, NY and edited by Ruth Berolzheimer of the Culinary Arts Institute. It was originally published in 1938—although my Mom has a ’50s version. And, at that time it was the cookbook given from an aunt or a sister to a young bride when she first set up housekeeping.

In the town where I grew up there’s a local orchard—Stoneyfield Orchards—that grew seckel pears, apples, peaches, and pears. And, wouldn’t you know, the green cookbook had a recipe for pickling the seckel pears.

When I was young my family was big into canning and so that’s what we did with these puppies. I know the canning rules have changed and this recipe doesn’t call for canning so I’m not recommending you do that unless you’re a master canner and understand the new rules. But, definitely make a small batch to serve with Sunday dinner, for a special evening, or for Thanksgiving. You can make these days in advance and keep them in the “sirup” in the fridge. (Yep, they spelled it “sirup”!)

Here’s the recipe exactly as it appears in the book.  You’ll definitely have to scale it down—unless, of course, you really love them or have a big family.

Pickled Seckel Pears

7 pounds Seckel pears

1 tablespoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon allspice

1 tablespoon cloves

1 ounce ginger root

1 pint vinegar

1 pint water

3 1/2 pounds sugar

Pare pears leaving stems on. Tie spices in a bag and add to the vinegar water and sugar, and boil mixture 5 minutes. Add pears a few at a time and cook until tender and clear. Place pears in a jar, pour in sirup and seal. Makes about 5 pints.

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Garlic Bread Biscotti

It all started with an innocent conversation on Twitter:

@jo_jo_ba: cooking garlic/onions, baking bread, chocolate chip cookies!

@sensitivepantry: Those may be some of my favorite cooking smells - garlic, bread, cookies.

@jo_jo_ba: lol, I read “garlic bread cookies” - now that’s a combo!

@fourchickens: For the extreme garlic eaters…:)

@sensitivepantry: Oh, that might be a new one. Not sure about its appeal, tho!

@jo_jo_ba: sad thing is I would totally try them… like savoury biscotti

@fourchickens: I agree. Sounds like a yummy idea. Maybe time for some recipe developing??

Who am I to deny a challenge like that? The wheels started turning. I’d been meaning to experiment with savory biscotti and Garlic Bread “Cookies” seemed like a good place to start.

What transpired next was an exploration into biscotti of all types. Researching recipes is a favorite hobby of mine. After checking into what’s going on out there I put my own mark on what I’ve learned and the rest is history.

The resulting biscotti is a rich, spicy little number chock-full of flavor. There’s a hint of garlic but it isn’t overpowering. Added in—a healthy heap of black pepper for spiciness, grated Pecorino Romano because I like my garlic bread cheesy, and sun-dried tomatoes just because. (Yep, that’s why they’re that interesting shade of orange!)

Mix everything together. Bake it in the oven. And, you have a Garlic Bread Biscotti. These are definitely not for everyone and they’re not the type of “cookie” where you’ll eat a plateful in one sitting. So, if you decide to try them pack some away in your freezer and bring them out for that perfect meal—or just a flavorful savory snack.

It’s easy to dream of warming a few in the oven—just enough to crisp up—to pair with a cup of soup. (Chicken Escarole Soup comes to mind.) It’s summer but, here in NJ we’re having a cold, rainy one so soup and warm savory biscotti are not out of the question.

I’ll continue to play with this recipe because it has so many possibilities. But, for now, this one, though unusual, is a keeper. Mangia!

PS—Thanks to my two friends for the inspiration, encouragement, and above all fun! Follow them on Twitter or visit their blogs.

@jo_jo_ba writes about baking and cooking at Yummy Smells

@fourchickens shares her recipes at Four Chickens

Garlic Bread Biscotti

2 flax eggs  

1 cup sorghum 

1/3 cup tapioca flour

1/8 cup cornmeal

1/3 cup oat flour

1.5 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper (optional)

1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese

2 tablespoons honey

3/8 cup olive oil

1/4 cup sundried tomatoes (optional)

1 large or 2 small garlic cloves, roasted & minced

3 tablespoons rice or other non-dairy milk

Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Mix 2 tablespoons ground flax meal with 6 tablespoons warm water to create two flax eggs.

Combine the dry ingredients: sorghum, tapioca, cornmeal, oat flour, baking powder xanthan gum, salt, pepper (if using) and grated cheese. Whisk all ingredients together.

Dice the sundried tomatoes and pat them dry of any oil. Gently mix them into the dry ingredients making sure they don’t clump together. (You might try tossing them with a little sorghum flour before mixing them into the dry ingredients.)*

Put the gelled flax egg in a large bowl. Whisk in the honey, olive oil, and garlic. Whisk each ingredient in thoroughly before adding the next.

Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients with a large spoon to form a stiff dough.

Turn the dough out onto the cookie sheet and spread it out forming a log about 5 inches across and 5/8 inches high. A rubber spatula works well for shaping the dough.

Bake for about 30 minutes or until firm to touch. Cool for about 15-20 minutes and then transfer the warm biscotti log to a cutting board.

Cut the log into 1/2 inch strips, transferring them back onto the parchment lined cookie sheet. Bake again for about 10-12 minutes until just beginning to brown. Flip and bake another 5 minutes. (Watch them carefully during this step to make sure they don’t burn.)

*I made my biscotti in a food processor but this was not optimal since this is a heavy dough. And, as you can see the food processor blade mixed the sun-dried tomatoes throughout the dough and colored it orange. I would have preferred to have beautiful dots of sun-dried tomato throughout the dough.

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