Big Sky Cafe's blog features all kinds of goodies for fans of the restaurant. Be sure to check out the links to the radio show podcast, Keeping It Fresh, hosted by restaurant owner, Charles Myers. Enjoy!

“Keeping It Fresh” with chef/host Charles Myers on KCBX Public Radio

Dec 1 2010

In this month’s edition of Keeping It Fresh, Charles visits the new Sunday morning certified Farmers Market in the parking lot of Kennedy fitness on Tank Farm Road in SLO. It runs from 10am to 1pm and features several growers who don’t attend other local markets.  Also, the market was full of winter squash, so Charles shares some new recipes for butternut squash gratins. Use this link to listen to “Keeping It Fresh”.  

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“Keeping It Fresh” July edition with chef/host Charles Myers

Jul 7 2010

In this month’s edition of Keeping It Fresh on Public Radio, KCBX, chef/ host Charles Myers visits with Neal Maloney of the Morro Bay Oyster Company.  Neal farms 134 acres in the middle of Estero Bay in Morro Bay and delivers his fresh, local oysters to area restaurants and farmers markets.  He has 5 years experience raising oysters out in the bay, but has only owned the Morro Bay Oyster Company for the last year and a half. Neal shares his daily experiences of aquaculture and gives insight into the local seafood industry.  Listen to the audio file below, link to the podcast or visit the KCBX website 

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Morro Bay Oyster Recipes from “Keeping It Fresh”

Jul 6 2010
The following recipes were all inspired by my conversations on “Keeping It Fresh” with Neal Maloney of the Morro Bay Oyster Company.  You can find him selling his local oysters at the Thursday night SLO Farmers Market or daily on the dock at the embarcadero, across the street from the kite store in Morro Bay.
To Barbecue Oysters
Heat the grill. Scrub the oysters in clear, cold water.  Place on the grill and close the lid.  When the oysters pop open (10 – 15 minutes) they are done.  Carefully remove the top shell with an oyster knife or bottle opener at the hinged end.  Season in any manner you like, salt & pepper, garlic butter, hot sauce, etc.
Macho Beer Roasted Indoor Oysters 
Preheat oven to 450 degrees with a roasting pan inside.
Scrub oysters in clean, cold water.
Saturate two clean kitchen towels with dark beer by soaking in a bowl.
When the pan is hot, add a bottle of dark beer, 2 dozen unopened oysters, salt & pepper and cover with the beer soaked towels.
Roast for about 10 minutes until the oysters open.
Serve with home made hot sauce
Hot sauce
1 cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp whole grain mustard
1 Tbsp honey
salt
1 Tbsp chipotle chile pepper puree (chipotles in adobo, pureed) or harissa or other chile pepper puree
Mix together thoroughly
Warm Buttered Oysters on Young Greens
5 Tbsp butter
1/2 a loaf French Bread (for crostini)
Enough mixed young salad greens for 4 salads
1 minced shallot
3 Tbsp sherry vinegar
2 dozen fresh oysters – scrubbed & shucked
Make crostini in any manner you like (brush with seasoned olive oil and toast, broil, bbq or bake.
Melt some of the butter in a skillet and sauté the shallot until it begins to brown. Add the vinegar and reduce by half.  Add the remaining butter and the oysters, stirring and tossing until the oysters are plump and firmed and the butter is incorporated into the beurre blanc.
Serve by creating a salad with the greens and crostini and top the greens with the oysters and the butter “dressing”.  Season with fresh ground pepper and salt.   The salad will be enhanced with interesting greens, like perslane or arrugula.  This recipe is a side salad for 4 with 6 oysters per person.  
Spinach Fennel Baked Oysters “Rockefeller”
2 dozen fresh oysters
1 lb fresh spinach 
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cup finely chopped fennel bulb
3 Tbsp butter
Coarse salt to hold the oysters
Wash spinach and place in a glass microwaveable bowl with the fennel seeds.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes covered and let sit to finish wilting.  Squeeze dry. Puree in a food processor with 1 Tbsp of the butter.
Sauté the fennel with the remaining butter until softened. Stir into the spinach mixture and season with salt and white pepper.  
Shuck the oysters and arrange on a baking pan nestled in the coarse salt so they don’t tip.  Spoon spinach-fennel mixture onto each one.  Bake at a preheated 400 degrees for about 10 minutes until the oysters are plumped and cooked through.
Variations:  top with hollandaise before baking.  Add a whipped egg or a little mayonnaise  to the spinach mix so that it sets up firmer – broil at the end if necessary.  Garnish with caramelized shallots or another crispy-oniony garnish.

“Keeping It Fresh” with host, chef/owner Charles Myers

Aug 5 2009

Keeping It Fresh with host Charles Myers Aug/09 On August’s episode of “Keeping It Fresh” Charles visits with Jeff Jackson, chef of the Range Restaurant in Santa Margarita, and Stephanie Simonin, owner of  Happy Acres Goat Cheese Dairy.   Both are participating in Pallet to Palate, the county-wide Farm to Table promotion this month at various restaurants and venues.  Sandra Diamond, an organizer of the event, also fills us in with all the details.  Listen to the audio file below, link to the podcast or visit the KCBX website.

 

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Jam Recipes from the Keeping It Fresh Radio Show

Jul 4 2009

Blackberry Plum Jam

Ingredients

2 pounds firm plums, pitted andcut into eighths

2 pints crushed blackberries, ollaliberries or lingenberries

1/2 cup water

1 tablespoon lemon juice

7  cups sugar

1 (3-ounce) package commercial pectin

Directions

In large non-aluminum kettle, combine plums, water and lemon juice. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, 10 minutes or until soft, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile stir 1 cup of sugar into crushed berries, let sit.

Add sugar and berries and heat mixture to full, rapid boiling over high heat, stirring constantly. Stir in pectin; return to full, rapid boiling and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Let sit for 1 minute and skim off any foam that has formed.

Divide jam among 8 washed, warmed half-pint jars or jelly glasses and the necessary lids, and bands  leaving 1/8-inch space at top of jar. (Some sterilize the jars and lids in the water bath to warm them.) Wipe rims of jars to remove any jam and seal with lids and bands.

Set jars on a rack in  a pan of boiling water about three quarters covered for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let cool – the lids should pop in as they cool if they’ve been sealed correctly. When fully cool (overnight), check the lids by removing the screw-on band. Those that don’t seal properly can be stored in the refrigerator for use, otherwise, store in cool, dry place.

Variations: use all plums (5 lbs) with a little fresh ginger.  Add lavender sprigs in the last minute of cooking or divide them among the jars as you portion out the jam.  Substitute zinfandel or a dessert wine for the water.

Colleen Childers’s No Pectin Quick Microwave Jam

Ingredients

2 cups crushed, lightly washed berries (blackberries, ollaliberries or lingenberries or a mixture)

1/2 tsp. butter

1 Tablespoon lemon juice

1 1/2 cups sugar

MIx all the ingredients in a 3 Qt. glass or ceramic casserole dish.  Allow to stand for 30 minutes.  Cook, uncovered in the microwave on high power for 15 minutes, stirring after 6 minutes then every 3 minutes until done.  Refrigerate to cool down and transfer to jam jars.  Store in the refrigerator.

Apricot, Thyme and Serrano Chili Jam

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups pitted, chopped fresh apricots (approx 2 lbs)

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

4  cups sugar

8 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 small serrano or jalapeno chili, seeded and sliced very thin

1 (3-ounce) package commercial pectin

Directions

In large non-aluminum sauce pan combine apricots and pecitn, stir together. Bring mixture to a boil over high heat, stirring constantly. Quickly stir in all of the premeasured sugar. Return to full, rapid boiling and boil exactly 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat. Let sit for 1 minute and skim off any foam that has formed.

Divide jam among 8 washed, warmed half-pint jars or jelly glasses and the necessary lids, and bands  leaving 1/8-inch space at top of jar. (Some sterilize the jars and lids in the water bath to warm them.) Wipe rims of jars to remove any jam and seal with lids and bands.

Set jars on a rack in  a pan of boiling water about three quarters covered for 5 minutes. Remove jars and let cool – the lids should pop in as they cool if they’ve been sealed correctly. When fully cool (overnight), check the lids by removing the screw-on band. Those that don’t seal properly can be stored in the refrigerator for use, otherwise, store in cool, dry place.

Strawberry Preserves with black pepper and balsamic vinegar

Ingredients

2 cups strawberries (about 1 pint), trimmed and quartered

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

3 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

Directions

In a small heavy saucepan bring all ingredients to a boil while stirring. Simmer  the mixture, stirring and skimming foam occasionally until thickened and translucent – about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat and cool preserves completely. Transfer to glass containers and keep covered and chilled.  Keeps for a month or more refrigerated.

“Keeping It Fresh” with Big Sky Cafe chef/owner, Charles Myers

Jul 1 2009

On July’s episode of “Keeping It Fresh” Charles visits with Mike Cirone from See Canyon Orchard and tastes some Italian dandelion greens from Ralph Johnson’s organic farm. Afterwards, he and Colleen Childers of Blue Sky Gardens near Santa Margarita discuss making jam with blackberries, ollaliberries, lingonberries, plums and apricots.  The recipes discussed are available in this blog. Listen to the audio file below, link to the podcast or visit the KCBX website.

 

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