Ginger, You are a Cookie to Love – (Thank you Jack Nicholson) Unmistakable, Bright Yet Earthy, Pungent, Spicy, Heat – Ginger Root

  Grandma’s Gingersnaps

“Erica, you are a woman to love”  that line gets Jack Nicholson into a lot of trouble in “Something’s Gotta Give” one fun movie I love to watch over and over – so I can oogle her gorgeous house in Sagaponack, and just have fun with the scenery and silly goings on – one of my favorite of the Diane Keaton-kookie-profiles, by the way, but I digress………  Actually, the kudos should go to Nancy Meyer – Jack just did great delivery….  (Anyway, you know I have this issue with movie lines.)  So, in keeping with the way my mind works, this line kept coming into my head for some unknown reason over the last couple of days, and lo and behold, here is the perfect application from that mysterious list of topics that floats around up there….

That list is long – I remember early on last year when my husband asked me if I had enough topics to write about on this blog.  I found this question to be oddly unknowing……how could he be married to me for 33+ years and not know that I have a ga-zillion topics to write about.  The question should have been, do you think you will get to write about all the topics you want to before you move on to the next life, right? ……….  Today, it’s Ginger- and it’s wonder and terrific-added-effects and stand-alone-sizzle, which are a whole heck of a lot broader than cookies, but, that was a good place to start, right?

The other night I was watching an episode of America’s Test Kitchen, and Bridget and Chris were doing their thing – “perfecting” a recipe, this time for Ginger Snaps.  They were fixated on the issue of returning the “snap” to the cookie, which they seemed to imply caused a controversy – if one ingested some soft and chewy ginger cookies(?).  I, for one, have no issues with either option.  Bridget and Chris also went on about the cookies with and without molasses.  I’ll eat either.  This is a cookie to love – in all its forms – as is Ginger – a rhizome to love, in all its applications.

Incidentally, the history of using ginger in baking is amazing – Chris Kimball referenced a cookbook from the 1100s I think, and a”bakery” in Philadelphia in the 1700s.  No doubt it was being ingested a whole lot earlier than 1100 A.D.  – I just haven’t had time to look this up.  This is pretty heady stuff.

Eating rhizomes – this somehow seems a little weird at first, doesn’t it? Well, we eat a lot of tubers, roots and “friends from the underground” don’t we – potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, peanuts?  Along with horseradish, wasabi and other medicinal and culinary roots and rhizomes, (Daikon Radish, Parsley Root and Lotus Root to name a few), Ginger is perhaps the most popular, versatile and, for me anyway, particularly enhancing in its culinary uses.  I am always stocking up on Crystalized Ginger, Fresh Ginger root and powdered ginger.  I find it one of the best flavors to experiment with, both in savory and sweet.

I guess I would have to say my favorite is the sweet side as this is where my mind tends to wander most but I am game for more exploration on the savory side as well.  Ginger, in fact is one extremely useful friend in the kitchen – it is great in many forms – teas, syrups, as a garnish, chutneys, bbq sauces, soups, warming up a stir-fry, and of course in baking (crumbles, toppings, cookies, scones, cakes, pies, and on to ice creams, cream-based toppings including mascarpone, and  yada, yada yada……. I can’t really think of an application it doesn’t go in…..

It pares well with pears (I like that),  peaches, oranges, lemons, rhubarb, and, actually most, if not all fruits – somehow I’m thinking about berry and cherry applications right now, and one can incorporate it into savory dishes involving fruits – I have a couple of Chicken and Pears Recipes I love – shall add a little ginger into that lovely cream sauce……  Anyway, you see where I am going – ubiquitous – somehow that word is applicable in a lot of my posts.  Works in liqueurs and brandies, too – and probably Vodka (don’t we flavor Vodka with everything these days?

Ginger or ginger root is the “rhizome of the plant Zingiber officinale, consumed as a delicacy, medicine, or spice.  It lends its name to its genus and family (Zingiberaceae).  Other notable members of this plant family are Tumeric, cardamom and galangal.  Ginger cultivation began in South Asia and has since spread to East Africa and the Caribbean.” Thank you Wikipedia.

The interest in ginger is long and lovely.  I saw this article the other day (this actually focuses on an entirely different approach to using ginger – young ginger – new for me, anyway):

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/24/dining/spring-ginger-the-mild-mannered-younger-sister.html?_r=0

and said, hmmm, someone else is currently traveling  on my wavelength.  I obsess about these kind of things all the time – they just emerge in my head from some distant and obscure place.  Sorry, I digress, again…

I have a good collection of sweet recipes that I adore incorporating ginger.  Just off the top of my head:

Fresh Ginger Cake from David Lebovitz

  I made this a few times this past Winter – LOVE

Nick Malgieri’s Ginger Pound Cake with Lemon Glaze – LOVE

Ina Garten’s Ultimate Ginger Cookies –LOVE

and just a few more, sweet and savory to add to your list:

Ginger Scones from LaBrea Bakery

Steamed Fish with Scallions and Ginger from Anita Lo

Ginger Cakes with White Peaches and Blackberry Coulis

Nick Malgieri’s Pear and Ginger Cake

Potato Nests filled with Gingered Crab from Beatrice Peltre

Joanne Weir’s Salmon with Asparagus and Blood Oranges http://www.joanneweir.com/recipes/mains/salmon-with-asparagus-blood-oranges.htm

and, I am trying to nail down her Plum and Ginger Chutney recipe as we speak.

Thomas Keller’s Cinnamon Scone, a favorite of mine from the Bouchon Bakery Cookbook, is the PERFECT vehicle for Ginger (and Ginger and….. just about anything)!  I am going to try this next time I make scones! This is a GREAT recipe to try under any circumstances.

my variation from the March 20 post

and my timeworn, often made:

Grandma’s Gingersnaps– from my Winterthur Cookbook (in the collection since 1986) –  yes, it contains “shortening” and I’d stick with it

3/4 cups shortening

1 cup sugar

1 egg beaten

4 tblsp molasses

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp cloves

1 tsp ginger

2 tsp baking soda

pinch of salt

2 cups sifted flour

granulated sugar for rolling

Cream together shortening and sugar in mixing bowl.  Add egg and beat until well blended.  To this mixture add molasses, spices, soda and salt.  When blended, add sifted flour.  Dough should be rather stiff.  Form dough into balls the size of walnuts.  Roll each ball in granulated sugar and place about 2″ apart on ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 350F. for 12 minutes.  Cool on wire racks.  If freezing, place in cookie tin with wax paper or plastic wrap. (? who would freeze these? especially after their fragrance wafts through your house?)  Julia Hofer

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And, to add to your compendium:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2013/jan/26/10-best-ginger-recipes

As we look toward Summer coming – I am particularly intrigued with the Ice Cream category.  I am going to experiment this Summer with making ice creams without sugar – to see if I can get enough flavor and sweetness just from fruits and other flavors……..  I have often used fresh pineapple and its juices to mix into plain yogurt and had great success with this, with some crumbled sliced almonds on top – no sugar needed.  So, this is my challenge for when the fruits come to market.  I’ll keep you “posted”.

Totally unrelated but here is just something fun I found stuck in the pages of that Winterthur Cookbook:

  I missed this one – will see if it is still going on…..

Have a “Bee-utiful” day.