Check out the cute little eggplants and yellow zucchinis (each about the length of my palm) I got at the farmer's market. I broiled them and chopped them into an orzo salad. Mini-veggies!!
The first time we celebrated my now husband's August birthday in NYC he asked if instead of a cake, I would bake him a pie: a blueberry pie, his favorite. I had never made a pie by myself, from scratch before, but armed with this recipe from Gourmet Magazine, I set out to do it, and pretty much succeeded. My pies are still not the prettiest (making the edges even is so difficult!) but boy are they tasty -the crust as well as the filling. Try it for a birthday -or any special occasion.
Deep Dish Wild Blueberry Pie Adapted from Gourmet 2006 Start to finish: 7 1/4 hr (includes making dough and cooling pie)
Crust
2 1/2cupsall-purpose flour 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes 1/4cupcold vegetable shortening 1/2teaspoonsalt 5 to 7tablespoonsice water Special equipment: a pastry or bench scraper
Filling 1 1/4cupspacked light brown sugar 5tablespoonsquick-cooking tapioca 6cupsfresh wild blueberries 1tablespoonfresh lemon juice 1tablespoonunsalted butter, cut into small pieces 1large egg, beaten with 1 tablespoon water
Special equipment: a 9 1/2-inch deep-dish pie plate (6-cup capacity) In a food processor, pulse together flour, butter, shortening, and salt just until mixture resembles coarse meal with some small (roughly pea-size) butter lumps.
Drizzle 5 tablespoons for a double-crust pie evenly over mixture and pulse until incorporated.
Squeeze a small handful of dough: If it doesn’t hold together, add more ice water 1/2 tablespoon at a time, stirring (or pulsing) until incorporated. Do not overwork dough, or pastry will be tough.
Turn out dough onto a work surface. Divide dough into 8 portions. With heel of your hand, smear each portion once or twice in a forward motion to help distribute fat. Gather all dough together with pastry scraper. For a double-crust pie, divide dough into 2 pieces, with one slightly larger, then form each into a ball and flatten each into a 5-inch disk. If dough is sticky, dust lightly with additional flour. Wrap each disk in plastic wrap and chill until firm, at least 1 hour. Pastry dough can be chilled up to 2 days ahead. Put a large baking sheet on oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 425°F.
Whisk together brown sugar and tapioca and toss with blueberries and lemon juice in a large bowl.
Roll out larger piece of dough (keep remaining piece chilled) on a lightly floured surface with a lightly floured rolling pin into a 13-inch round. Fit into pie plate. Trim excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Chill shell while rolling out dough for top crust.
Roll out remaining dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured rolling pin into an 11-inch round. Cut out 5 or 6 small holes with small decorative cookie cutters or use a small knife to slash steam vents toward center.
Spoon filling with any accumulated juices into shell, dot with butter, and cover with top crust. Trim top crust with kitchen shears, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold overhang of top crust under bottom pastry and press against rim of pie plate to reinforce edge, then crimp decoratively and brush with egg wash.
Bake pie on hot baking sheet in oven 30 minutes, then cover edge with a pie shield or foil to prevent overbrowning. Reduce oven temperature to 375°F and continue to bake until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 45 to 50 minutes more. Cool pie completely on a rack, about 4 hours (filling will be runny if pie is still warm).
The move Julia & Julia is a must see for anyone who loves food. It made me so happy to be a "servantless American cook" and inspired me to wear pearls in the kitchen.
Today the average American spends a mere 27 minutes a day on food preparation (another four minutes cleaning up); that’s less than half the time that we spent cooking and cleaning up when Julia [Child} arrived on our television screens. It’s also less than half the time it takes to watch a single episode of “Top Chef” or “Chopped” or “The Next Food Network Star.” What this suggests is that a great many Americans are spending considerably more time watching images of cooking on television than they are cooking themselves — an increasingly archaic activity they will tell you they no longer have the time for.
What is wrong with this picture?
27 minutes. 27 minutes for three meals? That's crazy to me. I can understand 27 minutes for a quick weeknight dinner, but....wow.
That's just one of the many provocative point Pollan raises in this piece. I encourage you to set aside some time to read, ponder, and enjoy it.
The guacamole featured in Gourmet Magazine's June issue has become my favorite way to make guac. Perhaps it's because it has no garlic and thus doesn't linger on one's breath for too long. It is the absolute essence of guacamole with no extras: perfect as a condiment, but even better with plain tortillas or tortilla chips.
Maricel’s Guacamole
Recipe by Maricel Presilla Yield: Approximately 4 cups
Ingredients: 6ripe 6- to 8-oz avocados, quartered, pitted, and peeled
1/2cupchopped cilantro 1cupminced white onion 2 to 3fresh serrano chiles, minced (including seeds) 2tablespoonsfresh lime juice
Coarsely mash together all ingredients in a bowl with a fork. Season with salt.
Lastly, a tip to keep your guac green that I napped from a cooking segment on The View (surprising AND embarassing). If you have leftover guacamole, store it in a bowl with plastic wrap pressed directly on the surface of the dip and adjoining sides of the bowl. This will keep much more air out than would covering the top of the bowl with plastic wrap and will keep your guac freshly green for days. Though it shouldn't take you that long to eat it all!
These burgers are more labor intensive than those that call for simply adding seasoning and aromatics to pre-ground beef, but they are sooo worth it. Sublimely flavorful, these patty melts are classic drive-in (or throw-back Shake Shack or In-N-Out) style. This will be my standby homemade burger recipe. It's especially good for apartment dwellers as it requires a pan, not grill.
Special Equipment needed: Meat Grinder Attachment for your Stand Mixer
Mmmmm. Freshly ground meat!
Grind-Your-Own Patty Melts Adapted From Cook's Illustrated.
10 ounces sirloin steak tips, cut into 1-inch chunks 6 ounces boneless beef short ribs, cut into 1-inch chunks Kosher salt and ground black pepper 1 tablespoon unsalted butter 4 soft hamburger buns 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil 4 slices American cheese Thinly sliced tomatoes and pieces of lettuce
1 recipe Classic Burger Sauce (below)
1. Process meat in meat grinder, alternating short rib and sirloin pieces into bowl or plate.
2. Transfer meat to baking sheet, overturing bowl (or plate) and without directly touching meat. Spread meat over sheet and inspect carefully, discarding any long strands of gristle or large chunks of hard meat or fat.
3. Gently separate ground meat into 4 equal mounds. Without picking meat up, with your fingers gently shape each mound into loose patty 1/4 inch thick and 4 inches in diameter, leaving edges and surface ragged. Season top of each patty with salt and pepper. Using spatula, flip patties and season other side.
4. Melt 1/2 tablespoon butter in heavy-bottomed 12-inch skillet over medium heat until foaming. Add bun tops, cut-wide down, and toast until light golden brown, about 2 minutes. Repeat with remaining butter and bun bottoms. Set buns aside and wipe out skillet with paper towels.
5. Return skillet to high heat; add oil and heat until just smoking. Using spatula, place burgers into skilet. Cook for about 2-3 minutes. Flip burgers over and cook for 1 minute. Top each patty with slice of cheese and continue to cook until cheese is melted, about 1 minute longer.
6. Transfer patties to bun bottoms. Spread 2 teaspoons of burger sauce on each bun top. Garnish with Lettuce and Tomato as desired. Cover burgers and serve immediately.
For all the fans of HBO's campy-sexy-scary show True Blood (and you all should be!), you can soon sample your own blood substitute drink, Tru Blood, just like the vamps drink. Try Bill Compton's fave, O Positive. Should be out in time for Halloween!
is mad about food. Cooking it, baking it, eating it in her apartment and outside of it. She also likes making things out of paper and drinking champagne.
