just desserts ... plus dance party USA

This past Monday, I hosted our book club’s September session on my screened porch. Since I was starting a new role at my current agency that same day, I really didn’t have a lot of time for the whole dinner-and-dessert thing this time. Instead, I started the party a bit later and served desserts only.

While I am not a baker, I really enjoyed researching and pulling this menu together. It was a perfect fall evening on the porch and I knew we were going to get a little chilly out there as the evening progressed, so I wanted the dishes to be hearty, warming and diverse in flavors and textures. I wanted some hints of savory in the dishes, because wine-drinking isn’t always the perfect match with sweets. I also knew my dear friend, Sara, was bringing one of her amazing baked confections to wish me a happy birthday - which turned out to be one decadent, gorgeous chocolate-chocolate, triple-layered cake. What good friends I have - I'm so lucky!

It was a really lovely evening, full of laughter, candle-light, cozy blankets and great conversation (as always). Thanks to all the lovelies that helped send my porch off into autumn in style.

And, without further ado, here’s my book-club, desserts-only menu (with links to recipes):

To drink: prosecco and red wine

Fig and blue-cheese crostata with a walnut-crumble topping (recipe coming soon)

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Honey-whipped goat cheese with oatcakes and red grapes
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Triple-cream cheese with dried apricots and buttery crackers
—                                                                                                      
To end the evening: my hott chocolate with cinnamon-sugar palmiers

Happy eating, -s.  

p.s. here's a song to start your weekend. hope you get lucky, too.
 

happy birthday ... to me!

Tomorrow is my birthday. And while I don't really dread getting older per se, I don't like the fact that I run a lot and I still have some extra junk in the trunk no matter how much I run. I'm sure it's the wine-drinking, but I am not giving that up. Maybe I need Gwyneth's trainer to whip me into shape ... that would be nice. Last-minute gift, anyone?! Wink, wink.

I love cooking for my family when it's their turn to celebrate, but when it's my birthday, I want no fuss - but I do want yummy food - so we'll be ordering Indian takeout from my favorite place. I am also not a big cake fan, so a warm apple crisp with a big scoop of vanilla ice cream will wear a candle for my birthday wishing. 

Oh, and there will be wine drinking ... red, of course. 


p.s. happy birthday to me. dance, dance, dance.

p.p.s. Bill Murray (love him!) and Leonard Cohen share my birthday. Happy birthday, fellas!

p.p.p.s. Tomorrow is also the official last day of summer ... autumn starts on Sunday. Time for wood-burning fires, long walks in crunchy leaves, hot-chocolate sipping and apple picking.

p.p.p.p.s. If you live in the Madison-area, head to REAP Food Group's annual Food for Thought festival just off the Capital Square this Saturday. It's a great event that celebrates our amazing, local, sustainable food scene.

quote of the week: Remember food is precious. Good food can only come from good ingredients. Its proper price includes the cost of preserving the environment and paying fairly for the labor of the people who produce it. Food should never be taken for granted. - Alice Waters, from her wonderful cookbook, The Art of Simple Food.

Happy eating, -s. xoxo

dance party friday

pink lady. so pretty.

Fall is in the air. I think I'm ready.

p.s. here's a song to start the weekend.

p.p.s. September 29 cannot come soon enough. Get your fix here and here.

p.p.p.s. weekend cooking: making this for dinner; this for lunch; this breakfast and this for a snack.

p.p.p.p.s. Mr. Klein and I are seeing his FAVE band, The National, at the Orpheum this weekend. Here's an extra song (one of my favorites) from their new album, Trouble Will Find Me.

quote of the week: The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much it is whether we provide enough for those who have little. - FDR

Happy eating, dancing and living, -s.

recipe: corn custard and tomato tart

 

For those that know me well, I tend to be inspired by recipes, but go off the rails in the execution. In the kitchen, I'm a bit of a rebel ... I like to do my own thing, add my own spin, etc. Inspired by the corn-and-tomato-pie recipe I linked to a couple of weeks ago, I took its essence and flipped it on its head. Instead of a chunky, hearty filling, I made a simple corn custard that was poured over caramelized onions that covered the bottom of a pre-baked tart shell. Then I added some unadorned, but glorious-in-their-own-right, sungold and candy tomatoes to the pool of custard. Baked for 40 minutes, the pie came out of the oven slightly puffed and golden. We ate it at room temperature with super-sweet muskmelon, but it would be great served warm as well. After an afternoon at the pool, it definitely hit the spot.

Corn Custard and Tomato Tart
serves 2 hungry bambini and mom and pop, too

Ingredients:
1 basic pie or tart crust recipe; I used the 9-inch pie crust recipe from Cook's Illustrated
1 large sweet onion, sliced into half moons
1 bunch of fresh thyme
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 ears sweet corn,
1/4 cup whole milk or heavy cream
1/2 cup creme fraiche
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon kosher salt
ground black pepper to taste
1/2 pint assorted cherry/grape tomatoes -- I used sungold and baby candy, but feel free to use any grape or cherry tomatoes you have!

Directions
Pre-bake the tart shell according to your recipe. Set aside to cool.
Adjust the heat of your oven to 375 degrees.

In a large saute pan over medium-low heat, heat the olive oil and thyme until fragrant. Add the onions, with a large pinch of salt and some freshly ground black pepper and cook low and slow until the onions are caramelized and sweet -- about 20-30 minutes. Set aside to cool.

While the onions are cooking, make the corn custard. Cut the kernels from the cob and place ikernels in a blender with the 1/4 cup milk or cream. Puree until smooth. Pour the puree through a fine mesh sieve or chinois. To the strained puree, whisk the creme fraiche, egg yolks, salt and pepper until incorporated. Taste and adjust seasonings as needed.

Layer the cool onions on the bottom of the tart shell. Pour the custard over the onions (don't pour the custard to the rim of the tart; leave about a 1/4 gap). Nestle the tomatoes in the custard and carefully transfer the tart to the oven (I place on a baking sheet first). Bake for 40 minutes, until golden and puffed adn the custard to set, but still wobbly.

Cool until warm or leave at room temperature.

Happy eating, -s.

shake your booty friday

tomato caprese salad with sherry vinegar and olive oil

Hello, September! You're looking good.

With Rhys starting kindergarten and James starting preschool, it's been a busy, emotional week. Comfort food has been in order: I slow-cooked a pork shoulder in salsa verde on Tuesday for tacos and later for Cuban sandwiches. Sweet corn got sauteed with basil, red onion, poblanos and sungold tomatoes (and a healthy dose of heavy cream) for a pasta dish on Thursday. Salmon burgers rounded out the week, highlighted with a smoky paprika mayo and a thick slice of tomato. It may not cure every bump, bruise or blue moment, but food is a powerful curative when you need that little something to ease you through a tough day.

p.s. here's a song to start the weekend. kick your heels up!

p.p.s. to prep for fall cooking, here's a wish-list of cookbooks I want to read and cook from:

 

Plenty

Ottolenghi

Home Made  

Home Made Winter

Tender

Ripe

 

p.p.p.s. Quote of the week:  A good heavy book holds you down. It's an anchor that keeps you from getting up and having another gin and tonic. -Roy Blount, Jr.

p.p.p.p.s for breakfast this weekend, make my "breakfast crisp" - apricots, peaches or blueberries work great and are in season.



peach breakfast crisp ... ready to eat

Breakfast Crisp a.k.a dessert for breakfast
serves many hungry bambini

Ingredients
For crisp topping
6 tablespoons whole-wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup rolled oats
1/3 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup turbinado sugar (white sugar works too)
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup sliced almonds
1 stick of butter, cubed and kept very cold

For fruit
2 lbs ripe fruit - blueberries, raspberries, apricots, peaches, nectarines (peel and cut the stone fruit into 1-inch cubes)
1/4 cup sugar
juice of half of a lemon
zest from whole lemon (I use a microplane)
1 tablespoon for cornstarch

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In the bowl of a food processor, place the first seven ingredients for the crisp. Pulse a few times to incorporate. Add nuts and butter and pulse until the crisp topping starts coming together, with most of the dry ingredients incorporated into the butter. Place in the refrigertator to chill for at least 15 minutes.

While the topping is chilling, prep the fruit. For stone fruit, you will need to blanch the fruit to remove the peel.  Once that is done, remove the stone and cut the fruit into roughly 1-inch pieces - these do not need to be exact. Berried need just a rinse and drain before proceeding.

Once the fruit is prepped, place in a large bowl with the sugar, lemon juice and zest, and cornstarch. Stir until combine and let macerate for at least 5 minutes before pouring into a large glass or ceramic baking dish (I used a 7"x 12" pyrex dish). Top with the crisp topping and bake until golden brown and bubbly, about 30-40 minutes.

Let cool for at least 10 minutes on a rack. Serve with big dollops of Greek yogurt (or ice cream later in the day).

Happy eating, -s.