Earlier today, I was reading through the Jamie’s Kitchen cookbook by Jamie Oliver and came upon the recipe “Steamed Sea Bass, Green Beans with a White Wine, Vanilla, Cream and Garlic Sauce” on page 128. I was intrigued. I have heard recommendations to add a little touch of vanilla extract to tomato sauce, but basically, I never really thought about using vanilla pods (beans) in savory recipes! So, of course I immediately started to search for Jamie Oliver’s recipe so I could learn more.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t find the exact recipe online, but it perked my interest in finding more savory recipes using vanilla pods! And then that sparked my interest in finding the best place to purchase vanilla pods!
Here are some links:
- http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/529996 – Where to buy inexpensive whole vanilla beans – forums @ Chowhound.com
- http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?//topic/102879-vanilla-in-savory-cooking/ – Vanilla in Savory Cooking – Forums @ eGullet
- http://purplefoodie.com/vanilla-beans-101/ – Vanilla Beans 101 @ Purple Foodie
- http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/476496 – Vanilla Bean Risotto recipe @ Chowhound forum.
- http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/pork_tenderloin_with_roasted_plums_rosemary.html – Eating Well recipe for Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Plums & Rosemary & Vanilla
- Simply Vanilla: Recipes for Everyday Use Book @ Amazon
Some of the recommended purchasing options for whole vanilla beans from Chowhound forum:
- http://www.saffron.com/ – saffron, mushrooms, and vanilla; highly recommended by a few at chowhound.
- http://myworld.ebay.com/vanillaproducts – ebay seller, recommended by chowhound forum.
- http://www.jrmushroomsandspecialties.com/index.php?cPath=68_168 – recommended by chowhound forum members.
Cooking is unbelievably intriguing and there is an never-ending amount of information to learn. And I just love it!