Spicy Pickled Cucumbers

2 English cucumbers (seedless), peeled to leave 1/2 skin, 1/2 peel lengthwise
1 1/2 T Kosher salt
1/2 C rice wine vinegar
2 T brown sugar
1/2 t dried roasted chinese red peppers; or hot red pepper flakes

1. Slice cucumbers into 1/8" rounds on a mandoline. Optionally, halve the cucumber lengthwise before slicing to result in half moon shaped slices.
2. Put slices in colander and sprinkle evenly with salt. Allow to drain for 1 hour.
3. Meanwhile, bring vinegar and sugar to gentle boil until sugar dissolves. Cool.
4. Gently rinse salt from cucumbers and combine with vinegar mixture. Add hot pepper flakes to taste.
5. Vegetables keep for several days refrigerated.

Also works well with with carrots cut into any shape and is particularly good with raw zucchini. If using Zucchini or Carrots there is no need to salt and drain them.

4th of July Menu

• No Knead Bread - New York Times, Nov 21, 2007 - Dr. Hertzberg's version
• Texas BBQ Brisket -Cook's Illustrated, Summer issue - about 4 years ago (I'll update)
• Pickled Cucumbers, Carrots and Zucchini - My own pickling mixture
• Pasta Salad with Tomatos, Olives and Herbs Cook's Illustrated, May/June 2008
• S'More Cheesecake with fresh berries - Bon Appetit, July 2008

Note: you may need a subscription to access the NYT link above.


We're heading into the holiday weekend, have invited a family over, but could end up on our own. Since it's the week before our big summer vacation, I'm resorting to tried and true recipes. The only new attempt will be the S'Mores Cheesecake. If the recipe didn't call for fresh berries I would have passed it by. But since it does, I paused and will give it a try. Since my kids (and Ms. Finn) are such giant s'mores fans, I know they'll like it. The recipe is available at epicurious.com, and 100% of the reviewers so far gave it a 4 out of 4 rating. We'll see.

The no knead bread has been a big hit with both adults and kids since I first ran across it in the New York Times about 6 months ago. But in addition to this version, I'm also going to make the 12-18 hour version that is cooked in a heavy enamel pot from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery, also published in the New York Times, but back in 2006. The downside seems to be the 12 hour rise time, but the upside is that it appears to be a larger loaf. I'll report back on this version as well.