Hazelnut Biscotti with Affogato

Happy Summer!  What have you been doing to enjoy summer?  Popsicles?  Pedicure?  Any good summer books?  I'm reading Lies Beneath, by Anne Greenwood Brown.  It's young adult fiction (beachy!) It takes place near and on Lake Superior. The vampire stuff didn't appeal to me, but this book is all about mermaids.  It will make you think twice before you hop on an air mattress. This summer I've been really enjoying an occasional affogato.  What's that you ask?  It's SO good.   Two small scoops of vanilla gelato or ice cream with espresso/strong coffee poured over the top.  A perfect dessert.   Think... root beer float for grown-ups.   Add salted caramel ice cream and it's even better.  Crunchy biscotti are meant to be dunked.  Wine is good, coffee is good, and an affogato... great!   There's really not a fancy recipe for the delight.  Find a cute, small clear glass, add the ice cream, top with coffee/espresso and ta-da!  You'll love it, I promise!

The hosts this week for Baking with Julia are Jodi of Homemade and Wholesome, and Katrina of Baking and Boys.  Just click on one of their links and you'll find the biscotti recipe.

I'm late getting this post out, but... better late than never, as they say!  It's been so hot, and so dry, and I really didn't feel like baking today.   However,  biscotti recipe is very easy and fun.  So I cranked up the A/C and here they are!

Biscotti require two baking sessions.  The first time is about 35 minutes.  This bakes the log shape.  Then, after a short cooling period, the biscotti are sliced, they're baked again on a wire rack to dry and toast the sweet cookies.  I found that it went quickly.  There was the perfect amount of dough to make about a dozen good sized biscotti.  Some to eat, and some to share.   I stayed pretty true to the recipe.  Though I used chopped hazelnuts that I only toasted and didn't boil, and used Cointreau for the liqueur for the nice subtle orange flavor.

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sliced-biscotti-5

First the dough is pressed into a log and 12 inches by 3 inches.

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biscotti-dough-1

Once it's baked, it's sliced on the diagonal and placed on a wire rack.  Then back into the oven for another 15 minutes or so, until light brown and crunchy.

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 Stay cool, bake when you can, and try an affogato soon!

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biscotti-and-affogato-8

Preserving Peaches

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There are so many quotes about trying new things, making mistakes, being adventurous, etc.  so I thought I'd take that advice and try something new.  New to me.   No ski diving, or zip lining, just a new food preparation that has been around for years.  Canning!  For those of you who don't know how, please hang in there with me.   You might be able to find a big box of fruit at a market, grab a few friends, pitch in and buy the equipment, and be as thrilled as I am.   Canning is kind of like trying on Birkenstock sandals.   It seems really strange the first few times, and you skip it.  Then one day, it's the day.  Today was that day!

If you took a survey of the farm women living in this county, I bet 90% or more can fruits and vegetables each summer.  No fear.  Just good common sense and years of practice.

 

I've really wanted to try it.  I'm not going to make a big production out of it.  Just a few quarts of peaches.   The worst that could happen is that the jars won't seal and we'll have to eat them sooner than expected.   The best thing?  I'll have quarts of peaches at the ready, and a great deal of satisfaction.

Last Tuesday, I got a big box of peaches from a truck driving through from Georgia.  My friend waited in a  line of about 100 people also in pursuit of the wonderful fruit.  They ripened perfectly.   I made peach tarts for the Farmers' Market, ate serveral peaches, gave peaches away, and still had a worrisome amount I feared might spoil.  Peach pie?  Sure, then what?   Canning seemed like a great idea.  I know that canned peaches don't sound glamourous, but they won't be stringy, squishy or mushy.  Promise.

We've canned applesauce and pickles, but never peaches.  Enter the internet. I found a great preserving/canning site and read the specs for peaches. I had every thing on hand, plus the time.

First, gather the cast of characters needed for all canning jobs.

1.  Giant Canning pot (cheap, can double as party ice bucket, apple bobbing, felting... you get it.)

2.  Jars.  Classic Ball jars - I choose wide mouth

3.  Rings and Lids (always use new lids, they don't get re-used)

4.  Lots of clean towels, and all of your burners on the stove.

5.  Tongs and Jar Grabber

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The Jars, Lids, and Rings can be found in almost any grocery/hardware store.

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And for those of you who need a little more specifics, here is a jar, a ring and a lid.

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This is kind of like rubbing your stomach and patting your head.  Lots to do all at once.

First, get the jars clean.  Run them through your dishwasher, or bring them to a boil/simmer for about 10 minutes upside down in a stock pot of water.  Lift them out, and let them, turn right side up.  The air will dry them quickly.

Second, fill the big pot with warm water and begin bringing it to a simmer.  Start another small saucepan simmering with the lids and rings.

Now, start the syrup.  I made a lighter syrup.   2 cups of sugar for every 1 quart of water.  Bring the sugar and water to a boil, then keep warm.

We haven't even touched the peaches yet!

Once all the jar are clean, and the lids and rings are ready, take about 6 peaches, and gently drop them into boiling water for about 30 seconds.  Using a slotted spoon or skimmer, lift from the water and place in cold water.  The skins will slip right off.   I decided to can peach halves for more flexibility later.   If you slice along the dent/fold in the peach and follow all the way around, the peach will easily separate from the pit.   That part was the most fun.

Place the peach halves pit side down in the jar. Give them a push to make sure they're tight.  Pack to just below the neck of the jar.  Fill the jar with the syrup, to withing 1/2 inch of the top.  Try to be exact for this part.   Using a butter knife, slide it up and down the side of the jar, to encourage any air bubbles to float to the top.   Clean the rim of the jar with a clean paper towel, then with tongs, take a lid from the simmering water and place it on the jar.  Then a ring,  but not too tight.

Your pot should have a stand, or rack inside to make sure water can circulate completely around the jars.  Set jar one the warm water, and repeat with the remaining peaches and jars.  If you prepare to many peaches at once, you risk them turning brown.   It's ok to use lemon juice or pectin, but I didn't.

When you have all the jars ready, add more water to the pot so the jars are covered by at least an inch of water.  Bring the water to a rolling boil.  Start timing when it's a rolling boil.  I live in about 875 feet above sea level so my processing time was 35 minutes.

Processing Times, Tips and Trouble Shooting

Once the processing is complete, carefully remove the jars to a towel and allow them to cool undisturbed until cool.  While they're cooling you'll hear the jars seal with little (or not so little) pops.   Any jars that don't seal should be placed in the refrigerator and eaten within a few days.

I heard four pops from four jars.

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 I can't wait to pop open a jar (pun intended), and try the peached with some ice cream, or an old-fashioned favorite, cottage cheese.   I still have 12 peaches left who I'm sure will be a pie very soon.

Try something new today!

 

 

Strawberry Cream Cake

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What a treat!  Don't you LOVE strawberries?  I do.  Very much!

Last summer I went to the close-out sale of the Farm & Fleet garden center.  They set it up each spring, and close it sometime in June, or July.  I found four strawberry plants that needed a home.  They didn't have a variety or pedigree, they were marked "strawberry".   I brought them home and planted them in the little herb garden behind the wood oven next to the oregano and thyme.   I ddn't expect much from them, but hoped they would at least survive.  And survive they did.   One day on late May I was weeding, and found at least three that were nearly ready to pick.   They were very early... with a few others nearly ready as well.

My parents were visiting (inportant note:  My dad has a degree in horticulture and agronomy...) and I proudly picked two ripe berries.  We shared them, and ooh'ed and ahh'ed about how delicious they were.   I named them One and Two.   A few days later,  I picked Two and Three, followed by Four, Five, Six and Seven.    I won't bore you with the details, but suffice to say that I grew 14 strawberries!

The berries in the photo came from a berry farmer about 1 mile from our house.  We picked them on the second day of the season.   The berries have had a tough year.  Early, dry, hot, and just plain mixed up.  I'm hoping that my berries will be back next year, I'd love to be able to make a whole cake with them!  The berry on the top of the strawberry cake is one of mine.

The best part of the dessert this week is that I was able to take it to dinner with good friends celebrating their 40th Anniversary! 

The recipe this week is hosted by Sophia of Sophia's Sweets and Allsion of Think, Love, Sleep, Dine.  They'll both the recipe for you.

I've said it again and again.  Simple recipes with few ingredients are some of the most difficult.  Genoise is in that group.   It's not hard, though it takes a great deal of respect for the ingredients.

Eggs are the leavening agent in this tender cake.  They need to be at room temperature to maximize the loft from whisking.   Rather than leave them at room temperture to warm, here's a tip.   Place them in the stainless steel bowl, then place that bowl over warm water.   I like to swish them around a little bit.   Once the chill is off, you're ready to go.

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After several minutes of whisking, the eggs and sugar reach the "ribbon" state.   A gentle ribbon of the mixture will set on the surface when drizzled from the whisk.

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Then, the sifted flour is carefully folded into the egg/sugar mixture.  The last step, folding the melted butter into the mix.

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The genoise smells SO good as it bakes.  Once it's cool, top the layers  with the macerated (berries mixed with sugar), and fluffy whipped cream mixture.

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 I decided not to frost the whole with cream, but just dollop it on the top.

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Lime, Honey, Beet Salad - Can't Beat It!

Summer's in full swing.  The corn is growing, vegetables are more plentiful at farmers' markets, and life is very busy!  Summer salads are great.   After a busy day, it's so nice to wash off the garden dirt and have a late supper.  Vegetables, and perhaps something on the grill or quickly sauteed.   You don't heat up the house, or feel too full.    Got herbs?  Here's just the recipe for a hot summer night. This week's French Friday's With Dorie recipe is Lime Honey Beet Salad.  Another one of those love it, or hate it recipes.  It's a salad worth creating the meal around.   We love beets.  And,  the ones we found at the grocery were perfect.  Earthy, deep red and ready for roasting.   It took about an hour to roast three large beets.  I quartered them, covered them with foil, and roasted at 400.

 

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While they were roasting, I prepared the rest of the ingredients.  The green, murky dressing smells amazing!  Lime, Dill, Chive, vinegar and a little oil.   Here's the before mixing photo.

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We were really hungry and the salad smelled great.   After I peeled the beets and tossed them in the dressing, they rested while I quickly sauteed the shrimp and we ate the salad just a bit warmer than room temperature.   It was delicious!  Every time we make a simple Dorie recipe that seems like "why is this going to be good?"  the recipe  always exceed our expectations.  The lime, honey and herbs are perfect with the beets.  I added garlic, cayenne and lime juice to the shrimp.  It was a great, simple combination.    This one is a recipe you'll make again and again.   I would serve this to guests anytime.   Warm in the fall with some goat cheese, and cool in the summer.

 

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Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake - Gluten Free!

I have a special recipe for you.   It's a gluten free coffee cake.  Can you believe it?   I generally don't seek out or try GF recipes, but I've been interested in new options for GF guests, and this one hits the jackpot.   For those of you who have been turned off by, or don't need gluten free options, please don't pass this one by.   It's really, really good and you'll never know that it's made without flour.   I've made it with strawberry/rhubarb and just strawberries.   I think you could easily toss in blueberries or other fruits more options. 

To print this recipe, click HERE

Strawberry Rhubarb Coffee Cake

Ingredients

For the Topping

8 T unsalted butter, or heart healthy butter-like stick

1 cup all-purpose gluten free flour.   (Bob's Red Mill AP version is great!)

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light brown sugar

1/8 tsp salt

For the Batter

3-4 stalks fresh rhubarb, cut into tiny 1/4 inch pieces

1-2 cups fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced

1  1/4 cup all purpose gluten free flour

1/2 tsp xanthan gum

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 T butter - room temperature

4 T shortening

6 T  plain Greek yogurt

3 large eggs, or equivalent of egg substitute

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.  Grease and flour an 8 inch cake pan.  (round or square).  Line the bottom with parchment paper. 

Combine the topping ingredients and blend with a fork until just combined.  Place in refrigerator until needed.

For the cake batter, in a small bowl,  combine the fruits with the brown sugar, and 1/4 cup flour, stir and set aside.

In another bowl, mix the remaining flour, xanthan gum, baking powder, soda, salt and 3/4 cup granulated sugar.  By hand or with a mixer (paddle attachment for Kitchen aid)  add the butter, shortening, yogurt and mix.  Add the eggs, one at a time and mix after each addition.  Add vanilla, then fold in the fruit.  The batter will be thick.   Mix just until combined.

Scrape batter into the pan, smooth, and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes.   After the cake has been baking about 20 minutes, remove the topping from the refrigerator, and toss/fluff with a fork to create the crumbles.  

Remove the cake from the oven, sprinkle on the topping, and return to the oven for another 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.  Remove from the oven and cool completely, carefully turn out of pan and remove parchment.   Then return to plate or pedestal.   Slice into squares or wedges.    Serves 8-10

Enjoy!  

Adapted from Gluten Free on a Shoestring

Tuna Lentil Lemon Salad - French Fridays with Dorie

 

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It's been a wonderful spring.  I know that I keep remarking on how pretty spring is, but it really, really is.  Take peonies for example.  They arrive every year, stay for about a week, and give us absolute beauty.  The smell is mesmerizing, to me.  We have a spot on our property where the original homestead log cabin once stood.  The cabin has been relocated, but the plants, trees, and shrubs that were planted by the generations who lived there remain.  There are ear trees, apple trees, lilace, lilies, and peonies.   We have to hike in to cut them.  By the time we're home, the ants have crawled out and are running up our arms.  Once in a vase, there are days of that the great smell.  Those are mine in the photo.  I love the creamy white, with the tips of pink.   Did you take peonies or lilacs to school for your teacher?  Maybe Lily of the Valley?   They were so pretty when we left home with the wet paper towel around the stems, but by the time recess rolled around, they were droopy and looking sort of pitiful.  It always meant the school year was almost over, and summer was on its way.

This week's Around My French Table/French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Lentil Tuna Salad with Preserved Lemon.  Very simple, light, and delicious.  I knew I may have a sales pitch ahead of me.  Gary is no fan of lentils.   He doesn't know why, just has no particular love for them.  Plus, he's a non-olive guy.   I knew if it was tapenade, we'd be ok.  Just no whole olives rolling around.

The recipe calls for preserved lemons which are very popular in Moroccan foods.   Lemon are packed in the jar with lemon juice and salt for about 4 weeks.  The skin softens and they can be sliced, diced and put in recipes.  I didn't have 4 weeks for preserve lemons, though this would be a good time to start.  I found a great "quick" preserved lemon recipe my Mark Bittman.  It took three hours intead of weeks.  I don't think they were quite as tender as the long version, but they worked well.

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First, the lemons are chopped then combined with salt and sugar, then placed in the jar.  Shake the jar every 10-15 minutes, and in the three hours, the lemons break down and have a preserved lemon quality.

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The dressing is a basic red wine vinegar vinaigrette with grainy mustard and black olive tapenade.  What a great combination!  I think this would be great to drizzle over Salade Nicoise!

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I added the dressing to the lentils while they were warm, and they absorbed much of the liquid.  The lemons, scallion and tuna really worked well together.  I added a little just a squeeze of lemon juice to the top with the salt and pepper.   It was a nice dinner, and no complaints about the lentils.

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This recipe would be perfect for a picnic lunch on a warm summer day.  Enjoy!  Hope you can find some pretty peonies!

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Versatile Blogger Nomination!

What a nice surprise!  I was nominated by Maggie at Always Add More Butter for the Versatile Blogger Award.  She's been nominated too, and it's well-deserved.

The nomination comes with a few requirements.  I need to give you a list of my personal favorite blogs.  Some are really famous, and some are little blogs like mine.   They aren't in any particular order, though I read the Joy the Baker and Michael Ruhlman blogs every time there's a new post.  There's a lot of food, photography, Paris and travel here.  Guess you can tell what I like!    Also, The French Fridays with Dorie and Tuesdays with Dorie blogging groups  have many great bloggers.  It's so hard to pick my favorites.  There's so much to see and learn.

1.  Joy the Baker

2.  Michael Ruhlman

3.  Farm House Table

4.  Badger Girl Learns to Cook

5.  Crazy World of Cher

6.  Seattle Pastry Girl

7.  Kathleen Flynn

8.  Matt Bites

9.  Tartelette

10.  Mowielicious

11.  Hip Paris

12.  Eat at Burp

13.  Style Berry Blog

14.  Urban Travel Blog

15.  Peter Rhinehart's Pizza Quest

The next order of business in the nomination is to tell you 7 random things about me.  Well, here they are...

1.  I almost hopped on a plane and came home from Paris  before class started due to a scammed cab ride, botched hotel reservation and nerves.  So glad I stayed!

2.  I LOVE school supplies. Deep down, I'm a combination kindergarten teacher and Broadway singer/dancer.  A new pad of construction paper, pencils... I'm there!  The later... well it's just a dream.  Can't sing, and rarely dance.   I took ballet in college, but I was too old to try toe shoes.  That was ok.

3.  I'm  kind of afraid of horses.  As a tall kid, I always go put on the biggest horse who's only goal was to make a run for the barn.  Horses are pretty, just with someone else riding them.

4.  My favorite actresses are Gwyneth Paltrow and Meg Ryan.  I don't like scary movies, sad movies, or too much sci-fi.  Give me a romantic comedy any day!

5.  I play the piano and am trying to re-learn the french horn.  I've played the piano since 2nd grade.   I would love to take piano lessons again to keep up my skills.   I don't know if I'll ever really play the French Horn again, but it's such a great instrument.   Who can resist the sound of the horn soaring over the orchestra?

6.   I love the smell of subways (ok, we all know what that smell is... it just reminds me great trips).  I love to shop (shoes, purses, cooking supplies...) Since we live in the country, our vacations are in busy, urban places.

7.  My dream day is cooking all day, setting a pretty table, and enjoying a long evening a laughing, talking and eating with friends.  Not too random, but very true.

The last order of business for the nomination, The Rules

  • Add the award to your blog
  • Thank the blogger who gave it to you
  • Mention 7 random things about yourself
  • List the rules
  • Award to 15 bloggers
  • Inform each of those 15 by leaving a comment on their blogs or on Facebook

Thanks again for the nomination, I'm looking forward to Friday!

End of Summer Corn Soup - French Fridays with Dorie

Hello everyone!  I guess I accidentally took the summer off from FFWD.  The summer included fun vacations, our first season of pastries and breads at the local Farmers' Market, watching our mini wheat field grow, and best news of all... learning that we're going to be grandparents!   It's the beginning of the school year, and time to start cooking again.  This month's recipes look great and will be great fun to share.

Our friends had TWO children get married this summer.  One in Rhode Island, and one is NYC.   Luckily, Irene threaded the needle between trips and we were able to enjoy the best  both cities had to offer.   Meals included lobster bisque, rolls, and mac-n-cheese... yum (not all in one meal...)!  There are so  many great restaurants in New York.  After touring the Chelsea Market, we made reservations at Morimoto and enjoyed a feast of sushi and stunning entrees.  We had doughnuts at DOUGH in Brooklyn, and Oxtail Ragu in the Meatpacking District.  The travels were inspiring as well as tasty!

We've also been enjoying a great growing season with FoxCityFarm, CSA.   The box this week
included several ears of perfect sweet corn.  Just what I needed for this week's recipe, Corn Soup. It was a very warm day and not exactly a day for eating soup, but what the heck.   There was a lot of corn so I made triple batch of soup to freeze for later.

Here's the unpacked CSA box and the gorgeous corn.

The recipe calls for simmering the cobs in milk then combining the infused milk the the sauteed vegetables.  Here's the corn and cobs ready for the pots.

This  recipe, like many of Dorie's recipes, is simple, yet expert at bringing out the perfect flavors of each ingredient.

The cobs simmer in the milk to add a depth of flavor and texture for this simple soup.  Here are the cobs simmering away in the milk.  I used 2% milk rather than whole milk.   Remember, this is a triple batch.  The recipe only calls for three ears of corn...

Once the kernels of corn, and mirepoix have sauteed, the two pots were combined, then pureed to a beautiful velvet consistency.  Last year I had the luck of becoming the proud owner of a Vitamix blender.  At the time I found it hard to believe that  it would really make a big difference.  Wrong!  The blender sounds like an airplane taking off, and produces flawless results.  The corn soup was truly liquid velvet.  I garnished with thinly sliced scallions, and a dash of chipotle chili powder for a splash of heat.  We had the soup for dinner with tomatoes and crusty bread.  Then, the next day I served the soup as an amuse bouche in tiny glasses without garnish.  I didn't tell our guests what the soup was, and had them guess.  The guesses included celery, leek, and hmmm " I know this flavor so well, but can't place it".  The texture was so smooth and silky that the strong presence of corn was hard to place.  I would highly recommend this soup as a fall appetizer.  I preferred the soup without garnish, and just the dash of chili powder.  The best part was Gary's critique of the recipe... "Incredible"
Enjoy!

Things go better with... Cola and Jam Spareribs!

This week's French Fridays with Dorie recipe is Cola and Jam Spareribs.  A curious combination and not one that I was immediately drawn to.    Ingredients include Chinese Five Spice powder, ginger, apricot jam, orange/lemon juices, and Coke.  Hmm, well... here we go!

The recipe was straight forward and easy.  We like ribs, in traditional BBQ style, so we were eager to try these as the aroma spread through the house.

Here's the rack on ribs rubbed with the spice mix and spread with the jam/juice mixture.

The next steps were easy!  Bake and baste.   The caramelization process was fun, and produced really nice color.  I needed to add a little more water and ended up using the entire can of Coke. 
After 2 hours, here are the finished ribs!

The meat was tender but not falling off the bone, and the flavor was interesting.  We decided you have to approach the meal as a variation on roasted pork, rather than ribs.  The Asian twist with the spices, and the sweetness of the jam create a nice flavor.  Gary liked the spareribs a lot, I thought they were fine, but not crazy about them.  I admit, I had fun cooking with fizzy Coke.   A nice accompaniment for the ribs could be Spicy Asian Slaw.   I made asparagus - overcooked - and a little past its peak.  It wasn't a perfect combo, but tasted ok.
While this wasn't my favorite dish, it was fun to try, and fun to share.  Next week's recipe is Rhubarb, a spring favorite.   Enjoy!

French Fridays with Dorie- A celebration of Spring

Happy Spring! 

I'm back after a few vacations ready to cook, bake, entertain, enjoying the warmth and sunny days of spring.  This week's FFWD recipe was a true celebration of spring.  It was also a celebration of friends and local foods.

The recipe is Bacon, Eggs and Asparagus Salad.  It was so much fun to make.  The ingredients are simple and when each is cooked to perfection, the combination is delicious.   I'm also including our dessert, Rhubard Custard Tart.  More on that later in the post.

The ingredients for our salad had origins with friends...
On our early spring trip to Asheville, NC we spent time with our freinds, Jerry and Nancy.  At one of our brunches, we had delicious bacon at The Early Girl Cafe.  Jerry mentioned that they have a source for terrific bacon and would send some.  About a week ago, we opened the mailbox, and found a box filled with pounds of fantastic bacon.  For any bacon officianados out there, it's Benton's Hickory Smoked, from Madisonville, TN.   http://bentonscountryhams2.com/  Recently, I started baking the bacon in the oven rather than cooking it on the stove top.   Just place a rack over a  pan and roast in the oven at 350-400 for about 15-20 minutes.   The bacon will stay flat, be crisp, not greasy, and best of all... not make a mess on the stove.

Here's the finished bacon, waiting to top the salad.  I wish I could include smells in this blog!

Last night I finished a farmers market and had some croissant and pain au chocolat left over.  Our friends who are huge fans of French pastries were home and happily agreed to adopt the soon to be "day old" treats.  They offered me asparagus and rhubarb in exchange.  We all felt like we got the best of the deal!  We walked through their beautiful gardens.   My friend sliced off the asparagus, and made fast work of trimming the huge rhubard leaves.  I knew just where both would be used!

For the salad, the asparagus is boiled in salt water for just under 5 minutes.  I like it a little more tender, so a didn't rush to drain it. 

The eggs came from a local vendor.  So pretty!   In Around My French Table, Dorie walks you through making a perfect soft boiled egg.  If you haven't bought the book yet, here's the plug!  The techniques are so well described, it takes the fear out of first time tries.  Back to the eggs... The white is tender and the yolk oozes gently when the egg is cut through.  It was fun peeling the shell off without squishing the egg and breaking the yolk.  

OK, these aren't the eggs I used, but the very similar.  I used this picture because some of the eggs were green and blue, and I love them! These eggs above were a hostess gift from a gathering we had this winter.  How cool to be given a dozen eggs.  Aren't they pretty?

For the salad viniagrette, I didn't have any walnut or hazelnut oil, but did find some truffle oil.  Oh my!  I used mostly olive oil with a dash of truffle oil.  To assemble, the eggs, dressing, nuts, and chopped bacon were placed on a bed of greens.  It was so springy and delicious!  Plus, we knew where all the ingredients came from.  Here's the finished salad:

I would highly recommend this recipe as a spring supper or luncheon salad.  To finish the meal, I made a rhubarb custard tart.  I've never been a huge fan of rhubarb, mostly due to the stringy texture.   This recipe calls for diced rhubarb.  I cut it into a small dice, and made a French style tart, omitting the top crust.  The baking time was the same.  I used strawberries as a garnish to add just a little extra sweetness.  This was a big hit.  Gary and I both really liked it.  No strange texture, and a nice sweet and tart taste.  Here's the recipe if you'd like to give it a try.

Rhubarb Custard Tart

2 egg yolks
3 T flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 cups fresh rhubarb, cut into 1/4-1/2 inch dice
1 T melted butter

Whisk yolks until thick.  Add sugar, whisk until combined and thickened.  Add flour, butter, and rhubarb.  Pour into unbaked tart or pie crust.  Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, then at 350 for 30 minutes.   If desired, you could place another crust on top.  Be sure to crimp and vent.  Garnish with strawberries and/or whipped cream.    Enjoy!

L'été de blé- The Summer of Wheat

I just ordered ten pounds of wheat seeds. Not just any seeds, but heirloom, organic seeds. Two kinds. Hard spring and Hard red spring. Here's my plan. I'm hoping to plant, harvest and mill the wheat to create bread baked in the wood-fired oven. This really isn't anything new. In fact, many bakers are getting closer to the grain production process to help create the best grains possible for great artisan breads. It's new for me though.

Along with the seeds, I also ordered a sickle (medium to be exact), and two books. I'm starting from scratch. The first thing we need to figure out is where to plant the garden. Since we won't be treating the soil with any herbicides, I have to figure out how to plant the wheat to best reduce the weed invasion. In years past, the weeds won the tomato vs. weeds battle. This year I'm determined to have amber waves of grain swaying in the breeze.

I've read that birds will be attracted to the freshly planted grain, and a scarecrow will be necessary. How fun! There must be two. A boy scarecrow and a girl scarecrow. Oliver and Lisa seem like good names, don't they? One at each side of the garden. I almost want to call it a field, but I don't think this will qualify for field status. Plot sounds scientific, so for now I'm sticking with garden. A jardin joli. (pretty garden)

I'm expecting the seeds early next week. As soon as we can get the soil ready, the seeds can be planted. I'm looking for a great name for this project. Grain Garden has potential since the abbreviation is GiGi- and I love that! There should also be a really wonderful quote. There are two that caught my attention. "Every woman needs a blowtorch". Julia Child; and "You must do the thing you think you cannot do". Eleanor Roosevelt. It's a little random, but so is deciding to grow wheat! I hope you'll cross your fingers and join me in the journey to create bread, from scratch... Really, from scratch.

Orange Caramel Scallops - French Fridays with Dorie

This week's recipe from Around My French Table (AMFT) is Orange Caramel Scallops.   I like scallops  a lot, and it orange caramel made them perfect. 

Over the past few years, I've been trying to learn more about meats and seafood.  After watching Gordon Ramsey scream "these scallops are RAW" on Hell's Kitchen, I wanted the finished scallops to have nice tender creamy center or perfect crispy outside.   I wanted the real thing already thawed (I have to pretend they're fresh), so Gary set off on a mission to find the scallops.  He returned from Madison with the butcher-wrapped present from the Seafood Center.

The pretty scallops

The recipe is very well written with the perfect amount of detail.  I followed the steps exactly.   I carefully dried each fresh scallop, and heated the pan as I had been taught in a cooking class long ago.   The pan had to be hot enough for me to hold my palm about an inch away from and pan and not be able to count one-one thousand, two-one thousand before the I had to pull my hand away.  

While the pan heated I made the orange caramel.  I've made tons of caramel, and this recipe pretty tough.  The recipe makes dry caramel, aka no water with the sugar in the pan.   The sugar becomes amber colored very quickly.   The recipe has you add white wine and the juice of an orange to the caramel.  If I were teaching a class, I'd have the class gently warm the juice and the wine.  This will keep the caramel from turning into a hard crack, glass-like lump when the cold liquids hit.  I followed the directions and added the liquids.  The caramel did turn into a hard mass, but quickly liquified and reduced to a perfect orange caramel topping.   The small quantity of sugar in the recipe didn't cover the bottom is the pan, so there was little risk of the sugar bubbling up and burning my hands/face with splattered caramel.  Remember that hot sugar is like hot tar.  Always be very, very careful.  Enough lecturing!

The reduced Orange Caramel

Ok, now on to the scallops.  I added the olive oil and then the scallops.  With as much will power as I could muster, I waited the two minutes per side with flipping them.   They were perfect!  Again, I could hear Gordon summoning me to the Hells' Kitchen pass and then saying, "these scallops are perfect".  

One side down, One to go!

I plated the scallops, added the sauce, and completed the meal with Risotto with asparagus.   It was SO good.

The finished meal!

I don't know what's on the April schedule, as always, I'm sure it will be great.   Last week, I also made the Cauliflower Gratin from AMFT.   Even non-vegetables will enjoy it.

Happy Spring!  (though it's snowing out the window right now!)

Green Beans with Pancetta

It's been a crazy week here in Wisconsin. Madison is only an hour away. I've been busy attending rally's to support union members who are fighting to keep the right to collectively bargain.

I took a break to make the FFWD recipe of the week. It took three tries to find fresh green beans in a grocery store. This may have been a recipe to hold off on until summer, but the beans I found looked good.

The recipe is very straight-forward and quick. The pancetta added a very nice flavor. The butter a very nice addition. I'm kind of a vegetable wimp and tend to like vegetables a little overfilled. I followed the recipe exactly, and found the beans still crispy which would appeal to most. I would have likes them cooked a little more.

We ate the beans with fish and enjoyed them.

I'm really looking forward to next week's short ribs!

Orange Almond Tart- French Friday #2

This week's French Friday recipe is the Orange Almond tart.  It's been a busy week surrounded by chocolate, chocolate, chocolate.   This recipe was a nice change of pace, and still very sweet and romantic.

I've made many almond cream tarts. This almond cream is very soft and rich.  It's also called Frangipane.  Dorie's tart uses an interesting crust very similar to shortbread.  It was very straight-forward, and delicious!  Two methods were suggested for putting the crust into the tart pan.   I used the press-in method.  The dough is very soft and this seemed much easier.

One on my favorite things to do in the pastry world is cutting perfect little orange segments from the orange.  This recipe used 3 oranges.  After trimming all the peel from the orange, I slid the knife just inside the membrane on each side and lifted out the the perfect orange pieces.  I don't know why that's so fun, but it is!

The smell and taste are amazing.   The dessert was the finishing course to a great dinner with freinds.  Of course, a Valentine's weekend dinner needed chocolate of some sort, so we made sipping chocolate and had a box of chocolate caramel bon bons from earlier in the week.

For anyone looking for something delicate, delicious, and not too difficult, this is it! 
From my kitchen to yours, Happy Valentine's Day!

Winter Snow Day News

Happy February!

It's a snowy day and I'm looking for the perfect recipe to enjoy during a blizzard. I decided to look through Around My French Table, by Dorie Greenspan (AMFT). As I looked at soups and stews, I wondered if Ms. Greenspan had a website. Ta-da! Through the wonders of a quick internet search, I found it.

After looking around the site and entering my email address for updates,I clicked on the "French Fridays with Dorie". A group of cooks creating her dishes from AMFT and blogging. How fun! I've registered and hope to have the password soon to join the fun. I hope that you'll join me on this journey! I know it's sort of Julie and Julia, but to have the author participating in the process will be great.

For those of you who already own the book, I know you share my love of the book. It's been the hit of the season. In fact, it's a topic at many get-togethers. For those that don't yet have a copy, I encourage you to take the plunge. One of the rules of the "Friday" group is that the recipes stay in the book.

I look forward to sharing the journey as I cook my way through to book with people from all over the world.

For all then iPad owners and bread bakers... Check out Michael Ruhlman's Basic Bread Baking app. Very nice and only $1.99