I have one of those faces. Not the kind that gets you onto America's Next Top Model. More like the kind that makes people trust you. Complete strangers ask me for directions, recipes, my opinion on the color of a dress. A young mother once asked me if I could watch her sleeping baby while she used the ladies room at Lord and Taylor.
Now, I don't mind doing any of those things, but my favorite questions always pertain to food. I love nothing better than for someone to ask me what that crazy vegetable is and what the heck do I do with it? It happens at A&P, Stop and Shop, Fairway, and the Ridgewood farmer's market.
Rhubarb seems to be an especially perplexing vegetable (Waiter! There's a vegetable in my dessert!). We used to grow it in our backyard in Pennsylvania and on that note, if you buy it and some buffoon has left the leaves on, cut them off and wash the knife, your hands, and the cutting surface. They are REALLY poisonous.
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If we knew each other better, I'd give you my dad's sacred pie recipe. For now, try this: wash and dry 2 lbs. rhubarb and cut into 1/2" dice. You'll have about 6 cups. In a small, non-reactive saucepan, boil 1/2 cup port wine with 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 2 cinnamon sticks for five minutes. Mixture should be reduced to about a 1/4 cup. Add rhubarb and allow to simmer for five minutes. Stir gently and continue to simmer until rhubarb is tender, about ten minutes more. Remove cinnamon, cover and chill at least three hours.
Now what? Try this sauce over pancakes (crepes, if you're a fancy-pants), ice cream, yogurt, or any other place you might like a fruit sauce that's a little tangy. It will last about a week in the fridge, so you have lots of time to experiment. You could even eat it out of the bowl. I won't tell anyone.
