My Favorite Bread & Butter Pickles from Food in Jars

My family moved to the house they live in now when I was ten.  On one action-packed day in May we went from a small house with a backyard that was parallel to a major road in bustling suburbia, to a home with no streetlights in sight and a yard that seemed to go on for ages, at least in the eyes of a ten-year-old. 

The following summer we planted a garden, with no comprehension of just how prolific cucumber plants could be.  When we reached the point of having one-hundred cucumbers in our refrigerator at one time, my mother decided that it was time for intervention.  My grandmother came up to rescue us and our over plentiful garden, and that day I sliced cucumbers for what felt like forever.  Together, we three ladies made jar after jar of sweet, bread and butter pickles. 

Since that warm, summer afternoon, I have loved bread and butter pickles piled high on hot dogs - my personal favorite, or stacked atop sandwiches. Their flavors are so familiar and comforting.

 My fiancé brought me a dozen cucumbers several weeks ago and I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. 

I had made Marisa's bread and butter pickles two summer’s ago and they were without a doubt the very best I had ever tasted.  Sadly, they did not last as long as I had hoped, so this year I made a double batch. 

If you are going to attempt pickle-making, which you definitely should, you are going to want a mandoline slicer.  Unless of course you would like to slice twelve cucumbers by hand…but I would not recommend it.  

Just be very careful using the mandoline.  My mom lost a finger tip once… Everyone at church the next day thought she destroyed her finger playing an instrument.  Why do they call them mandolines anyways?  Her children (including myself) still wonder if it was all a devious ploy to escape dishes for several weeks.

But back to the pickles!  The pickling process begins with salt.  A lot of salt. 

The cucumbers, onions, and peppers are sprinkled generously with pickling salt and then allowed to sit in the refrigerator overnight.  The salt will draw much of the water out of the vegetables to make room for the delicious brine that we are going to soak them in. 

The pickling liquid is made with a combination of apple cider vinegar, sugar, mustard seed, celery seed, red pepper flakes, and ground cloves.

Now here is when you have to have your grandmother on standby and your fingers ready to be burnt, because that’s just part of the process. 

Place all your jars in a large pot and cover with water.  The jars need to be sterilized before we can fill them with our pretty pickles. 

The lids and rings will need to simmer in a smaller pot.  The key is to keep everything hot in order to avoid any icky bacteria from creeping into our sterilized jars. 

As soon as the pickles have finished steeping in the brine, you can fill the jars.  You’ll need a wide-mouthed funnel, a pair of jar tongs, and some paper towels for this process.  It sounds scary and complicated, but the more you do it, the easier and less intimidating it gets.  Believe me.  

I still have to mentally prepare myself for a day of canning, but it’s so worth it. 

We might have just begun our diy Christmas gifts! 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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My Favorite Bread and Butter Pickles

makes six 1-pint jars / recipe adapted from Food in Jars

- 12 cups cucumbers in 1/8-inch slices (pickling cucumbers are best, if you can find them)

- 4 cups sliced sweet peppers (I like the mini peppers but bell peppers work great too)

- 4 cups sliced sweet onion (about 2 large onions)

- 1/2 cup pickling salt

- 4 cups apple cider vinegar 

- 3 cups granulated sugar

 - 1/4 cup mustard seed 

- 4 teaspoons celery seed

- 2 teaspoons red pepper flakes

- 1 teaspoon ground cloves 

Slice cucumbers, using a sharp mandoline and combine with sliced peppers, onions.  Sprinkle with pickling sauce and toss to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for four hours, or overnight.  This will draw much of the water out of the cucumbers so that they can soak up all of the delicious pickling liquid later on! 

Rinse and drain the vegetables thoroughly, then prepare the brine. 

Place your jars in a very large pot and cover with water.  Bring to a boil and allow to boil until you have finished the pickles.  Place the lids and rings in a small saucepan of water and simmer over low heat.

Prepare the pickling liquid by combining the vinegar and sugar in a large pot.  Place over medium heat and stir until the liquid has heated through and all the sugar has dissolved.  Add spices and increase the heat to bring the mixture to a boil.  

Add the drained vegetables to the boiling brine and stir to combine.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, until all the vegetables are fully heated through and have begun to soften. 

Line your countertop with a heavy dish towel.  Remove the jars from the boiling water (jar tongs are very helpful for this), one at a time and fit with a wide-mouthed funnel.  Use tongs to fill the jars with the pickles.  Ladle in the brine until the jar has only 1/2-inch of headspace.  Gently tap the jars on the towel to remove any air pockets.  Dip a paper towel into the boiling water and carefully clean the edges of the jar before fitting with the lids and rings.  Repeat with each jar until all the jars are filled.  Then, return to the pot of boiling water and boil for ten minutes.  Remove from water and return to the dish towel to cure for at least two days before opening and enjoying.  The pickles will get better and better the longer they sit.

Enjoy, and be proud, you just made your own pickles! 

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Croque Mon - Do What I Want

Welcome to this Monday.  It’s already happening, another week, another to-do list, another round of appointments - don't panic.  

You can do this.  

Your hair looks amazing, by the way.

We need to begin this week right, so eat a proper breakfast.  Yes, of course, yogurt counts, especially if you splurged on the fancy European chocolate kind - you’re totally winning.  

The work day and full inbox will likely feel daunting, and you’ll be tempted to come home and crash on the couch with a bowl of leftover popcorn.  But, you are not going to do that.  Instead, you should call up your favorite gentleman or lady, and make a cozy, slightly-more-elegant-than-popcorn dinner.  You’ll thank yourself.  

I’m trying to gather up some of these weeknight dinner weapons because in 235 days I’m going to have a husband.  One of those studly garbage-taker-outers that you have to feed three times a day and provide semi-frequent back rubs for - at least that’s what I’ve heard.  So you see, my classic popcorn and clementine dinners simply won’t do anymore...except maybe on Sunday nights, everything is permissible on Sunday nights.

So this is why I’m learning to make fancy sandwiches that need only a pile of lightly dressed arugula and a handful of chips to become a proper dinner.

Croque Monsieur is the classic French sandwich.  It is little more than a very fancy version of ham and cheese.  By fancy, I mean that it has ooey, gooey (bleh, I don’t like those words… someone please, give me some new adjectives) cheese sauce poured over it.  

It consists of two slices of toasted bread, a thin layer of dijon, ham, and gruyere.  The finished sandwiches are then covered in a rich cheese sauce and baked until the cheese gets brown and bubbly.  I love it, and it really needs no improving, but, I wanted pickles.   

I really love a good sweet pickle.  My dad and I are the only ones in my family that tolerate their charm, and I cannot get enough.  One of my very favorite guilty pleasure foods is a good hot dog with tangy ketchup and a heaping pile of sweet pickles. Oh yes…  But I digress.

So, for the love of pickles, I defied tradition and added a layer of sweet pickles.  Let me tell you, that though this sandwich has always been perfect on its own, if perfection could be improved upon - this is it.  

The spicy mustard plays wonderfully with the sweetness of the pickles and they add a fresh crunch to the rich, cheese-blanketed sandwich.  

Husband or no husband, this is a really good Monday night dinner choice.  And, if you are dining solo and do not feel like eating four sandwiches, you can still make the entire batch of cheese sauce and stow it away in the refrigerator for quick lunches or dinners. 

We’ve got serious weeknight skills. 

Sincerely, 

Pedantic Foodie

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Croque Mon - Do What I Want

makes 4 / recipe adapted from Ina Garten

- 8 1/2-inch slices of good bread (I used an Italian country loaf)

- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter 

- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour 

- 2 cups whole milk, warmed (about 60-70 degrees)

- 1 teaspoon salt

- freshly ground black pepper 

- 1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg 

- 1 teaspoon salt

- 1 1/2 cups gruyere, shredded (divided use)

- 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan + extra for sprinkling 

- 16 slices deli ham

- 1 cup bread and butter pickle slices 

- dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  

Place the sliced bread on a sheet pan and bake for 5 minutes.  Flip each slice and then bake for an additional 2 minutes, until toasted.  

Place butter in a small saucepan and melt over medium high heat.  Once the butter has melted, whisk in flour.  Cook, whisking often for 2 minutes. 

Slowly stream in warm milk, whisking constantly, until combined.  Add salt, pepper, and fresh nutmeg and cook, stirring often, until the sauce has thickened; about 3-5 minutes. 

To test the consistency, dip a spoon into the sauce and run your finger down the center of the spoon.  If it leaves a clean line, the sauce has thickened enough; if not, keep cooking.  

Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup gruyere and parmesan.  Set aside. 

Set oven on the broiler setting.  

Spread a thin layer of mustard on four of the toasted slices of bread.  Layer each slice with pickles, four slices of ham, and a handful of the remaining gruyere.  Top with a second slice of toast and place in a 9x13 baking pan.  Cover each sandwich with prepared sauce and sprinkle with parmesan. 

Broil for 3-5 minutes, until the sauce is bubbling and slightly browned.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy!  

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