My supper club got together to prepare a picnic lunch on Saturday. We had curried fried chicken, baked figs with brie, deviled eggs with bacon and spinach, fruit kabobs and three different kinds of free-form tarts: apple, mixed berry with mint and peach. I made my usual picnic fare, black bean and corn salsa, but I made it finger food by putting it in tortilla Scoops and topping it with some diced avocado.

I also made a couple of drinks, Watermelon-Lime Agua Fresca and strawberry lemonade. The watermelon drink was fantastic and refreshing. I used a spoon to scoop a quarter of a big watermelon into a blender (it was seedless, but I tried to get rid of most of those little white seeds as I scooped). Then you puree it, then add 1/4 cup lime juice, a pinch of salt and some sugar water to taste (3 tablespoons sugar dissolved over low heat into 1/2 cup water). Serve it cold, cold, cold on a muggy day. Yum!

The strawberry lemonade was a recipe from Real Simple, so it was . . .well, you know. Puree a few strawberries (the recipe said 6 to 8, but I used about 10 because mine were small), then add a can of frozen lemonade concentrate and 24 ounces seltzer. Was not such a big hit at the picnic (could be because someone spilled most of it before a lot of people got a taste, but it was just a filler drink anyway, in case the watermelon drink was not enough).

Posted by Kim at 10:12 AM | Permalink

We picked up the most wonderful tomato at a farmstand on the way home from Connecticut this week. It was red, tomatoey, and so sweet. We chopped it up and tossed it with some spaghetti, artichoke hearts and Parmesan for dinner the other night (the artichoke hearts could've used more flavor, but the tomato more than made up for it).

I cooked the pasta in lots of salted water, then when I drained it I saved a little bit of the water in the pot and added the tomatoes (not to cook them, really, but just heat them a little). They released some juice into the water, so when I added the pasta back to the pot, it soaked up the juice and got a little pink and flavorful. Tossed that with the artichoke hearts (I used plain, but I'm not sure marinated would have been better; they might have overwhelmed the tomato flavor), salt, pepper and Parmesan.

Posted by Kim at 07:00 AM | Permalink

This isn't it. This is. I've always been curious about these boiled dumplings; it's one of those things that sounds appalling but is such a traditional dish that you think you must be missing something, that it must be better than it sounds. Well, if boiled apple dumplings fit in that category it must be when someone else is making them. Mine turned out awful.

Since I approached the whole project with some skepticism I only boiled one and baked two more. The baked ones turned out much better, although the Granny Smiths I used were so tart they could have used more sugar (we just solved that problem by eating them with ice cream on top). The dough was good for baked apples though, and so easy that I'd definitely use it again.

It's just 2 cups sifted flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon sugar, a pinch of salt and a cup of sour cream (mix dry ingredients, then add sour cream). Form it into a ball and refrigerate while you peel, halve and core 4 apples. Then you stuff the cored space with a mixture of 4 tablespoons butter, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon and put the two halves back together.

Roll out the dough to 1/8 inch thick, then cut it in four pieces and wrap each piece around an apple, sealing by brushing lightly with milk (Todd helped with the milk, and he was laying it on pretty thick.)

Here's where I strayed from the recipe. I dropped one in a big pot of boiling water with a lemon half in it and boiled for 15 minutes, after which time I had the fallen-apart mess you see above. I also baked 2 in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes, basting them with the leftover butter mixture when they started looking dry. (I only made 3.) Thank goodness. I would've cried if all three had ended up like the tasteless goo of the boiled one.

Split a baked one between two bowls and top with raisins, walnuts and ice cream.

I have been oh-so remiss about posting a link to the rest of the IMBB entries. Here it is, finally: life in flow

Posted by Kim at 07:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I'm so glad I got the new NYC Gourmet Marketplace in the mail. I had no idea what a wealth of food shopping was available to me right around work. These are the places I've decided to try:

I'm going to send Todd to Good & Plenty to Go and the Little Pie Company for some prepared food and a 2-person pie next time I don't know what to make for dinner. Maybe for a special occasion I'll pick up some steak at Le Marais.

And there's a wealth of bakeries: in addition to Amy's Bread and Cupcake, which we already frequent, there's Poseidon (I think I may have been there for cannolis that are filled to order), Pazzo, Ruthy's and an outpost of Sullivan Street.

Posted by Kim at 08:22 PM | Permalink

Sweeet Potato, Bourbon-Pecan, Lemon Chess, Coconut Custard, Nectarine-Blueberry, Chocolate Silk and, of course, Apple . . . and I sampled every one at the end of the class I took this morning at the New School. It seems like the nuances of those traditional, homey kinds of baking techniques (breads and pies) are always the ones that elude me, so I signed up for this class to work on my pie dough. And I learned a couple of things that'll be useful:

1. Don't fear the food processor. When I've made pie crust in it in the past, I ended up with a paste. I knew it was simply a matter of not overprocessing next time, but I always figured it was better to use a pastry blender anyway. Not after today. We blended the dry ingredients (1 pound flour, 2 to 4 tablespoons sugar and 1 1/4 teaspoon salt), then pulsed in 10 ounces cut-up cold butter and 2 ounces lard until it looked like rough meal.

2. But don't overwork it. We took the dough out of the processor after cutting in the fat and put it in a big bowl to sprinkle in the 4 ounces ice-cold water, then we squeezed it with our fingers (not our palms) to make it come together. Finish that job with some parchment.

3. I need a scale. One pound of flour is about 3 cups, but it seems to be 3 cups and a smidge more. Dough amounts were always measured in ounces. Surely I'd find other uses for it.

4. Just roll the center, then turn. That seems to be the key to getting the crust round. And I have the wrong kind of rolling pin. I need the plain kind, just a piece of wood, basically, either flat or tapered. I have the kind with handles.

5. Refrigerate, refrigerate, refrigerate. Literally three times. Cut up the butter and lard, then put it in the fridge while you measure the flour. Refrigerate the dough in a disk after forming, then again after you've rolled it out, either in the pie plate or flat. Maybe even an extra time or two if the dough starts to get too soft while you're working with it.

6. For a crisp crust, process the butter to small pieces, bake in Pyrex or ceramic and bake on the bottom oven rack.

7. You can never have too much pie. After sampling all seven types of pie this afternoon, I can safely say I've tested this one. And I was surprised to find my favorite was the Coconut Custard pie, followed by the Apple. Maybe it's because those are the fillings I worked on - the best pie is the one you make yourself, no?

Posted by Kim at 08:14 PM | Permalink

It's hard to imagine. She seemed capable of going on forever, fueled by her curiousity and zeal, defying the health-nuts. But she won't be forgotten thanks to fans like Julie of Julie/Julia (whose book we'll someday get to read) and the rest of us who aren't afraid of butter.

Posted by Kim at 10:12 AM | Permalink

I did have one interesting thing for dinner this week, but it wasn't too complicated to make. Just shredded chicken (left over from Todd's diner fried chicken the night before), diced avocado and mango, lime juice, salt and pepper. Just ate it as a salad that night, then on toasted bread as a sandwich the next day.

I crave avocado these days. If it's in something on a menu, I order it. I buy them cheap at the local fruit and veggie stand. The other night I had half an avocado sprinkled with lime juice and a couple of corn cakes for dinner. It's almost like the creamy, smooth flesh quenches a thirst in me.

Posted by Kim at 08:23 PM | Permalink

Todd and I spent the weekend at the Park Central hotel and had a really nice five-course dinner in their restaurant, Cafe New York. All the food was good, but something I must, must, MUST learn to reproduce at home was the banana-chocolate French toast with maple ice cream. It was actually a slice of bread pudding, toasted on both sides and served with the ice cream. Seems like a lot of flavors going on at once but they all worked well together.

I also loved a berry soup that I started with there the night before. It was hardly sweet at all, and kind of fizzy with a sharp finish that makes me think it was made with sparkling wine or soda. Sprinkled with mint so every few bites would be a little different, with that fresh, clean mint flavor. I think there was cream in there, too.

Posted by Kim at 05:00 PM | Permalink

Seems like I'm doing less planning and more tossing together lately, shopping more with the thought, "What would be good to have on hand?" and less with a list for "What do I want to make?"

Last night I had a can of white beans, a small jar of marinated artichoke hearts, some fresh thyme, a quarter of a red bell pepper and a par-baked frozen small baguette from Fresh Direct, so I made crostini. It would've been better if the bread had already been baked all the way, and maybe even a day old, because as it is I had to finish baking it, let it rest, cut it and broil it. And I was hungry!

While the bread was baking I chopped up the artichokes, drained the beans and diced the pepper and mixed it all together with the thyme, salt, pepper, a little marinade from the artichokes and some balsamic (which is less likely to give me heartburn). It was probably good the bread had a long process to go through because it gave the beans some time to just sit. It was good for a thrown-together meal. I'm pretty sure thyme is my favorite herb at this point. So durable in the fridge, and pretty versatile.

Posted by Kim at 08:29 AM | Permalink

For a while after receiving my past maker as a gift, I made pasta quite a bit. Time to get back into that habit! I made this dish with what was in the kitchen: semolina flour, an egg, a medium yellow onion, butter and olive oil, salt and a sprig of thyme.

First I made the pasta, and I used semolina this time because that's what I bought it for. In the past I've used all-purpose flour, which makes a much sturdier pasta. This dough was a little more difficult to work with, but I think the results were lighter, if you can imagine pasta feeling "light" (imagine a good gnocchi dumpling compared to a bad one). A generous 2/3 cup flour mixed with some salt in a wide, shallow bowl, and break up an egg with a fork in a well you've made in the center of the flour. Gradually incorporate the flour, then knead in bowl for a few minutes. Wrap up and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let it rest.

Then I thinly sliced the onion and sauteed it in butter and olive oil with a sprig of thyme until the pasta's done, about 30-45 minutes. They get brown and soft with some crispy parts. Get a big pot of salted water boiling.

Roll out the pasta (I did it to setting 6), then cut into fettuccine. Add pasta to water and cook about 5 minutes. Then transfer pasta, with whatever water's clinging to it, to the pan with the onions. Toss, top with Parm, and eat. Todd loves those onions, which are kind of the same thing Pop's Pierogies serves on top of their potato ones.

Posted by Kim at 06:44 AM | Permalink

Another IMBB event. This one is hosted by life in flow (the writer of which also does Food Porn Watch) and features anything that can be called a dumpling.

I'm so glad, because I found the two previous IMBB events I participated in creatively inspiring challenges. Plus, I got a couple of recipes out of them that we liked so much we'll eat them again. And it's fun to see how 50+ different people can come up with 50+ different ideas for the same theme. It'd make Forest Gump's friend Bubba proud.

Posted by Kim at 07:52 AM | Permalink