Peter's Warehouse Walkthrough
June 5, 2025
For the longest time I was sending out a weekly Walkthrough the Warehouse. I was seeing items that I got excited about and wanted to share them. The Weekly Walkthrough became that avenue. Then things got in the way and that habit soon went away. The thing about a habit is that it can start up or in this case, restart at any time. I realize that this is important to both me and others. So here is the first Weekly Walkthrough in a long time. I hope you enjoy it.
Peter
It started with a sample of baby corn showing up at the office. Then today it is this special order of Yellow Baby Patty Pan Squash (22846-10lb- lead time on this item). I have been in the business professionally since 1985 when I graduated with a degree in Culinary Arts. At that time, Culinary America started to make a statement- “There is an American Cuisine and IT IS GREAT”. Chefs started to look around for inspiration and one of the biggest influences was French Nouvelle Cuisine. We borrowed their use of baby vegetables. This got me thinking that I am seeing “What once was old is new again” I say WELCOME BACK TO THE 80’s.
This is another throwback to the 80’s. The other day I was talking with a chef who had never heard of Elephant Garlic (20994-10 lb). Roasted Elephant Garlic was all over the menus in the late 80’s. Chefs liked it as it was easy to prepare, and it was new. Common item was to cut the tops of to expose the top of the clove. Line the heads up in a hotel pan, little white wine on the bottom, drizzle with EVOO, Salt, Pepper, and Fresh Thyme. This would get covered and put in the oven, lower and slower was better but if you were in a hurry, 350* oven till soft worked ok. The entire head was often served with grilled bread and maybe a cheese allowing the guests to squeeze the soft roasted garlic on the bread.
Asparagus, Fava Beans, English Peas are all bright spots of green right now but the one that is best tasting right now is the Romano Bean AKA broad beans (23858-13 lb). They are sweet, juicy and tender. Green Romano beans are a seasonal ingredient incorporated into minestrone soup recipes throughout Italy. Minestrone is a traditional soup derived from cucina povera, a style of everyday cooking utilizing simple, seasonal ingredients. Records of early versions of the soup date back to the Roman Empire during the 2nd century BCE, and it is thought to have been derived from a porridge-like dish of vegetables and grains called puls. The name minestrone was taken from the Latin word “minestrare,” meaning “to serve or administer” and evolved to “minestra” in Italian, meaning “soup” and “that which is served.”
I went to my favorite store yesterday- Home Depot. I had some honey dews that needed to be completed…. By the registrar, they were selling Carolina Reaper Pepper plants with a big sign saying, “Great for Father’s Day!” I am struggling with how screaming fire and pain equate with being a father. Honestly, I am very afraid of any pepper that I need to sign a waver before eating them. Today I see a case of the Carolina Reaper Peppers (28411-4.4lb) in the warehouse. Respect must be given as they are on a whole other level of HOT! Carolina Reaper chile peppers were created by crossing a Pakistani naga viper with a sweet, red habanero pepper and were initially developed to create a sweet variety with spicy attributes. While Carolina Reaper chile peppers did develop a very sweet flavor, they also became one of the hottest varieties of pepper in the world, averaging 1,569,300 SHU on the Scoville scale. The pungent peppers have even been recorded to peak to 2,200,000 SHU, which is comparable and sometimes slightly higher to the strength of pepper spray. Respect the pepper!
First of the local Cherries are in and they are Rainier Cherries (28355-12/1.25lb) from River Valley Fruit in Grandview Washington. When cherry season rolls around, Clafouti comes to mind. It is a simple easy to make French countryside dessert. Hard to describe it as a custard as it has flour in it, more like a crustless tart. Julia Child’s custard for a Clafouti is 1.25 c milk, 2/3 c sugar, 3 eggs, 1T vanilla, 1/8 t salt and ½ c flour. Blend these ingredients and pour in a buttered baking dish about 1 inch thick. Dot pitted cherries in the batter and bake at 350* for about 45-60 minutes till set. Sprinkle powdered sugar on top and it is ready to serve.
