October Lurve

this month's challenge:

pumpkin.

deadline: October 31st.

make it happen.

Sun-dried tomato bread

I concur with Lan....where has the time gone? The summer has been so busy...the days flew by and my post is super late. However, it's here. I didn't follow the rules to the "t" b/c I didn't use fresh tomatoes. I know. I couldn't find what I wanted at the farmer's markets b/c the earlier birds snagged everything. So, following Lan's cooking techniques....I used what I had in the kitchen. What I had was a giant sized jar of sun-dried tomatoes (costco is my new love), basic baking ingredients, and one mother of a zuke that a friend brought me. I made a savory loaf of bread using my ingredients.

The recipe is basic:

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 cup grated zuke (some say to squeeze the juice out, but i didn't)

dried herbs (i used rosemary and thyme)

crushed garlic

tons of sundried tomato cut into smaller pieces

baking soda

baking powder

salt

2 eggs

Bake at 350 for an hour-ish. maybe just 50 minutes. the house smelled like an italian eatery.

I made this just before the guys came over for dinner and they ate nearly all of it, so I didnt' get a chance to get any fancy pics...not that I really do much of that anyway.

Lan and Patrick, your posts look delish...nice job!

Until next time fellow doorknobs, keep those buns and ovens hot!

Fried Green Tomatoes

oh but i'm late this month. where has the time gone? i actually made this particular dish a month ago and procrastinated with the posting of it. oops. so without further ado... i present Fried Green Tomatoes. i've read the book and seen the movie countless times. i've scanned recipes that include bacon grease, chocolate (!), lard... oh the list goes on and on. i kept it simple. i wanted a crunch, i wanted some tartness and most importantly, i wanted a good dipping sauce that had a kick.

slice tomatoes on the thicker side, maybe half an inch. dredge in flour, egg wash and then cornmeal. fry it up in some hot ass veggie oil until golden brown. drain on paper towels.

for the sauce, i combined: mayo, horseradish, ketchup and maybe a pinch of salt. to thin it out, i add some water.

so until next time, keep your kitchen warm, your apron on and try to keep your jeans from getting too snug...
Angry Asian

Sometimes keeping it simple works ...

So two weeks ago or so - I ended up at the farmers market that sets up every week next to my office. The pickings were diverse and I started out with the following tomatoes (don't the look absolutely delicious?)





I stared at them, and frankly scoured the internet to possible new recipes to try or twist up - but I kept coming back to the how good they looked as is. All the recipes I found were either too convoluted, or frankly - too much work given the hotness of the weather the last two weeks. And so I asked my stomach what it really enjoyed with tomatoes and of course I ended up making things I like eating over three days. Relatively simple, delicious and won't work up a sweat by cranking on the burner or oven.

First up was a splendid caprese salad, tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, lots of basil and a balsamic vinaigrette drizzled over top with a bit of extra virgin olive oil to top it. I solely used the heirlooms ...



Next up was, of course bruschetta. Dived roma's, heirlooms, basil, salt, pepper and of course a bit of the balsamic vinaigrette served atop toasted (w/extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper) crusty bread ...



And lastly - my epitome of summer salads. Spicy tomato, avocado, roasted corn salad. I used a sampling of all the tomatoes I bought including heirlooms, roma, cherry, grape, yellow and field tomatoes with large chunks of avocado, lots of jalapenos, roasted corn, ample cilantro and a tangy lemon, cider vinegar dressing.



Simple, but I thoroughly enjoyed every bite over three nights ...

What does summer bring?

It's the middle of July which means the farm stands around here in Boston are in abundance with local fruits, vegatables and herbs. Everything is ripe for the picking and every summer I spend countless days perusing the markets hoarding vast amounts of fresh goods. It's peak tomato season, so this month's challenge is tomatoes! Cold gazpacho soups! Summer salads! Grilled with your steaks! Or simply paired with some very fresh mozzarella and basil. Let's get creative. Try new varieties, cherry, grape, heirloom, yellow, orange ...

Deadline is August 30th!

Apple of My Eye

For this month's challenge I stuck to tradition. An apple pie. It felt appropriate for July 4th. This, along with some baseball and fireworks (beer too!) and I'm happy.

I used two types of apples: Red Delicious and Braeburn. I gave Granny Smith a thought, but decided against the old gal.

The crust, which I anticipated, was my real challenge. However, this time it was easier to roll and deal with. I have to remind myself to move a little faster though b/c it warms quickly and likes to stick to the counter.

Basic crust:

2 cups flour

1 tsp of salt

3/4 cup chilled crisco (i had butter but wanted to save it for my brownies)

Filling:

5 apples peeled (any mixture you'd like)

1 cup of white sugar (i decreased this and added brown. i like mee dang)

healthy dashes of cinnamon

pinch of salt

quite a few grates of nutmeg (which i freakin' love btw)

2 tb flour

I tossed my apples with the dry ingredients and immediately the kitchen smelled of fall. it seemed fitting b/c although it's July, it was fairly cool for us NC folk.

I rolled out the bottom portion of the dough and layed it in the pie dish, then filled it with the apple mixture. For the top, I attempted the lattice look. Again, I wasn't moving quick enough so the strands started to break on me. I don't have the easy cut out tool that Sandra Lee. My pie has the more rustic look like Grandma Walton would have baked. I was out of eggs so I brushed milk on the crust and gave it a slight sprinkle of sugar.

Bake at 375 degrees for one hour and voila!

Until next time, fellow doorknobs, keep those ovens and buns HOT!

Blueberry peach tart (not pie!)

Ok - so I was wrestling with a few different possibilities this month and my intentions were to make a pulled pork coleslaw pie, but I thought that was a bit over the top, so I decided on using fruits of the summer. Blueberries and peaches are in season, why not make a tart out of it. And yes, I didn't make a pie, pies and tarts are essentially the same to me, except I'm not a huge fan of too much crust, a tart was the next logical choice. I've made apple tarts, pear tarts, even peach tarts in the past, except this time I decided to twist it up a bit in the prep of the peaches and blueberries instead of just throwing them into a crust and baking w/sugar.

Here's what you'll need:

Crust:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, sifted
pinch of salt
3 oz cold cold butter cubed
cold water

Combine flour, salt into a food processor, add in cold (cold!) butter until you get breadcrumb consistency. Add in cold water a bit at a time until the dough comes together, roll out on floured surface and gently lay into your tart pan. Trim off the edges. I opted to try out a new silicon tart pan this time instead of using a generic metal one. I like it a lot, non-stick!

Filling:
5 semi-ripe yellow (or white but I prefer yellow) peaches
1 container blueberries
1 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 tablespoon cinnamon (split into 2)
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon butter

Bring a quart of water to boil and add in 1 tablespoon of the granulated sugar. Place peaches into the pot once it starts to boil and let simmer for 5-7 mins depending on how firm your peaches are. Remove and run under cold water immediately. Halve peaches to remove pit and the skins should come right off. Set aside on a plate. Preheat oven to 425.

Take the other 1 tablespoon of granulated sugar, combine with 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon, ginger mix thoroughly, add to the bottom of your pie tart covering the bottom of the pan.

In a sauce pan, add 1 tablespoon of water with 1 cup light brown sugar set to medium high until the brown sugar begins to dissolve and lightly bubble and add in 1/2 tablespoon remaining cinnamon. Once sugar begins to bubble, place halved peaches into the pan being careful not to splash hot sugar. Let simmer, flip cut site down occasionally for 5-8 mins, until peaches become tender.



Remove the peaches from the syrup placing them cut side down into the dough. Add into the syrup the package of blueberries and let simmer for 2 mins. Turn off heat, and add blueberries into tart pan covering gaps. Drizzle some of the syrup onto the top of the tart before placing into oven. Bake for 20-25 mins.



Remove from oven, let set for 30-40 mins. Serve warm plain or with a bit of vanilla ice cream!