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Spec-uuuuuuuuu-los

You know, like those old Yahoo commercials.

It also works if you try saying it in the same tone as Joey from Friends’ “How you doin’?”

And just like that, it’s time to start testing holiday recipes.

I’m planning a couple of new tricks this year in addition to some old favorites.  Dorie Greenspan’s speculoos buttons may  just make the cut.  This recipe graced the cover of Bon Appetit during the holiday season 2012.  However, it’s taken me nearly a year to get back to it.

But, a recent, coolish Southern California Sunday had me pulling out the recipe and checking my sanding sugar supplies.

The speculoos “buttons” are a variation on the thinner-crisper original speculoos cookies that appear in Dr. Greenspan’s Around My French Table.  While the thicker version feel more gingerbread than speculoos, the spice mixture is right on the mark in “holidayness.”  The original recipe includes a glaze but I’ve left it off here because I thought the color of the cookies was so pretty.

And, I don’t even know what to make of all that crazy business over the speculoos butter at Trader Joes.  So, I’m not even going to go there.

Speculoos Buttons

adapted ever so slightly from Dorie Greenspan’s recipe as appeared in Bon Appetit

Ingredients

  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
  • 1/2 cup (packed) light brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons mild-flavored (light) molasses
  • 1 large egg, room temperature
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Sanding or other decorative sugar

Directions

  1. Whisk first 6 ingredients in a medium bowl; set aside.
  2. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, beat butter in a medium bowl until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add both sugars and molasses; continue to beat until mixture is smooth and creamy, about 3 minutes.
  3. Beat in egg and vanilla; mix for 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low; add dry ingredients and mix to blend well.
  4. Scrape dough from bowl and divide in half. Using your palms, roll each piece of dough into an 8-inch log.
  5. Fill a shallow dish or 1/4 sheet baking pan with sanding sugar (1/2 C should do it for you).  One-at-a-time, place dough log into pan and roll back and forth until the log is covered in sugar.
  6. Wrap logs tightly in plastic or parchment paper and freeze for at least 3 hours.  Dough can be made up to 2 months ahead. Keep frozen.
  7. Arrange racks in top and bottom thirds of oven; preheat to 375°. Line 3 baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats.
  8. Bake 2 sheets of cookies, rotating the sheets from top to bottom and front to back after 6 minutes, until tops are golden brown and centers are almost firm, 11-13 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks and let cool. Repeat with third sheet of cookies

…but the kitchen sink

Where the hell have I been?

Around.

Let’s make some compost cookies!  I think any kid who has ever had an interest in baking has tried-out the garbage cookie “recipe.”  You know, throw everything that seems like it might taste good into a batch of basic dough.  Note–the picture below is right before I wrapped them to cool-down.  For baking they need a little more room.

Christina Tosi of Milk fame absolutely did this.  And then she grew up and made a living out of it.  I wish I’d thought of that!

I’ve listed the original recipe below.  But come on, this cookie recipe begs for improvisation.  In addition to the listed ingredients, I threw in some chocolate covered pomagranate seeds and chunks of chocolate-covered-peanut-butter-filled pretzels.

Oh, and I guess I should admit.  I just used store-bought graham crackers instead of making the crust.  I’m a slacker.

If you like this, you might also like these

Blueberry and Cream Cookies (a TMH favorite)

Confetti Cookies

Compost Cookies

Christina Tosi from Milk, 2011

You can also find some of the recipes from the book on the milk momofuko milk bar site.

Ingredients

  • 225 g (16 tablespoons) butter, at room temperature
  • 200 g (1 cup) granulated sugar
  • 150 g (2?3 cup tightly packed) light brown sugar
  • 50 g (2 tbs) glucose
  • 1 egg
  • 2 g (1/2 tsp) vanilla extract
  • 225 g (1 1?3 cups) flour
  • 2 g (1/2 tsp) baking powder
  • 1.5 g (1/4 tsp) baking soda
  • 4 g (1 tsp) kosher salt
  • 150 g (3/4 cup) mini chocolate chips
  • 100 g (1/2 cup) mini butterscotch chips
  • 1/4 recipe (1/2 cup) graham crust (recipe below)
  • 40 g (1?3 cup) old-fashioned rolled oats
  • 5 g (2 1/2 tsp) ground coffee
  • 50 g (2 cups) potato chips
  • 50 g (1 cup) mini pretzels

Directions

  1. Combine the butter, sugars, and glucose in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream together on medium-high for 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl, add the egg and vanilla, and beat for 7 to 8 minutes.
  2. Reduce the speed to low and add the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. mix just until the dough comes together, no longer than 1 minute. (do not walk away from the machine during this step, or you will risk over mixing the dough.) Scrape down the sides of the bowl with a spatula.
  3. Still on low speed, add the chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, graham crust (or graham cracker crumbs if you are lazy like me), oats, and coffee and mix just until incorporated, about 30 seconds. add the potato chips and pretzels and paddle, still on low speed, until just incorporated. be careful not to over mix or break too many of the pretzels or potato chips. you deserve a pat on the back if one of your cookies bakes off with a whole pretzel standing up in the center.
  4. Portion out the dough onto a parchment-lined sheet pan (I used about 1 1/2 TBS per cookie, Christina Tosi is more of a go big or go home kind of girl and recommends using a 2 3/4 ounce scooper). Pat the tops of the cookie dough domes flat. Wrap the sheet pan tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour, or up to 1 week. Do not bake your cookies from room temperature— they will not bake properly.
  5. Heat the oven to 375°f.
  6. Arrange the chilled dough a minimum of 4 inches apart on parchment- or silpat-lined sheet pans. bake for 18 minutes. the cookies will puff, crackle, and spread. After 18 minutes, they should be very faintly browned on the edges yet still bright yellow in the center. Give them an extra minute or so if that’s not the case.
  7. Cool the cookies completely on the sheet pans before transferring to a plate or an airtight container for storage. at room temp, cookies will keep fresh for 5 days; in the freezer, they will keep for 1 month.

Graham Crust

makes about 2 cups

Ingredients

  • 190 g (1 1/2 cups) graham cracker crumbs
  • 20 g (1/4 cup) milk powder
  • 25 g (2 tbs) sugar
  • 3 g (3/4 tsp) kosher salt
  • 55 g (4 tbs) butter, melted, or as needed
  • 55 g (1/4 cup) heavy cream

Directions

  1. Toss the graham crumbs, milk powder, sugar, and salt with your hands in a medium bowl to evenly distribute your dry ingredients.
  2. Whisk the butter and heavy cream together. add to the dry ingredients and toss again to evenly distribute. the butter will act as glue, adhering to the dry ingredients and turning the mixture into a bunch of small clusters. The mixture should hold its shape if squeezed tightly in the palm of your hand. if it is not moist enough to do so, melt an additional 14 to 25 g (1 to 1½ table- spoons) butter and mix it in.
  3. Eat immediately, or deploy as directed in a recipe. The crust is easiest to mold just after mixing. stored in an airtight container, graham crust will keep fresh for 1 week at room temperature or for 1 month in the fridge or freezer.

Hey you! Go read this now!

MasteringArtFrenchEating1

 

I have been waiting for this book for what feels like years.  And now it’s finally out! Finally!  I’d say more but that would take away from my reading time.  We’ll talk later.

REVIEWS FOR MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH EATING:

“Honest, funny, and eloquent.” –Library Journal
“Mah’s prose brims with true love. A bighearted, multi-sensory tour of France.” — Kirkus
“A well-written entrée into French dining.” –The Daily Beast
BUY LINKS:

Open (your mouth) says me!

Today, we move away from the gluten free toward the exotic (not that the two have to be mutually exclusive).  All year I’ve been trying to make my way back to Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi’s cookbook Jerusalem.  Their chocolate krantz cakes remain one of my favorite recipes for 2013.  So, I was happy to  finally find some space to tackle one of the many recipes I’ve dog eared.

This recipe is all about the sesame.  Tahini to be specific.  Until now, I’d always associated the seed paste with savory–most notably as a key ingredient in hummus.  However, after experimenting with black sesame in ice cream and macarons, I knew these little seeds had the ability to transition like champs.  And so, by transitive property, should their paste.

I found tahini in a larger, local grocery store in the international foods section (a sort of antiquated descriptor that always brings to my mind 1970s housewives and canned chow mein noodles).  The recipe calls for light tahini paste but I could only find regular.  As a note–double check the ingredients before purchasing.  I assumed tahini paste and tahini sauce were the same thing. Not so much.  Tahini sauce has garlic in it.

This is a sticky dough that is  finished unusually by dumping it out of the mixer and kneading it a few times until everything is just combined.

I’ll admit, I used a food scale to get uniformly-sized cookies.

I wasn’t following directions closely enough and added the cinnamon with the other dry ingredients rather than dusting each raw cookie with a sprinkle.  Oops.  So, I improvised the garnish and sprinkled the tops of each with a few sesame seeds.

These cookies have a very mild, slightly nutty taste with just a touch of spice and a texture that begs them to be enjoyed with a cup of tea.

I have a sneaking suspicion that these little goodies will make their way into my holiday baking this year.

As for open says me.  Or, open sesame rather.  I remember learning the origins of this phrase in a folklore course I took in college.  I can remember the quarter I took the class, where I sat and the professor’s pointy beard.  I also remember the lecture was used as a way of demonstrating how certain phrases are mythologized well before their supposed first appearance, in this case in Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves from One Thousand and One Nights.  What I can’t remember of course, is the original story.  So, I went with Popeye and completely bastardized the magical words, a-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.

If you like this you might like these

Black Sesame Ice Cream

Black Sesame Macarons

Tahini Cookies

from Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

Ingredients

  • 2/3 C /130 g superfine sugar
  • 2/3 C/ 150 g unsalted butter at room temp.
  • scant 1/2 C/ 110 g light tahini paste (fully leaded worked well too)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla
  • 5 tsp / 25 ml heavy cream
  • 2 C  + 1 1/2 TBS / 270 g all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • sesame seeds to sprinkle on top if desired

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and line 2 sheet pans with parchment.
  2. Cream together sugar and butter in a stand mixer or use hand mixer on medium speed for 1 minute.
  3. With the machine running, add-in tahini, vanilla and cream until combined.
  4. Add-in flour and mix for one-minute until the dough comes together.
  5. Transfer to a work surface and knead until smooth.
  6. Pinch-off 2/3 ounce / 20 g / 1 1/2 TBS dough and roll into a ball.  Use the back of a fork to push down lightly on top of the ball so that it flattens just slightly and takes on the tine marks.
  7. Place on lined baking sheet and sprinkle with cinnamon and sesame seeds.
  8. Continue with the remaining dough, spacing cookies about 1 1/4 inches apart (they won’t spread much).
  9. Bake for 15-17 minutes until golden brown (watch the bottoms of the cookies).
  10. Cool before serving.  Will keep in sealed container for up to 10 days.

Put the almond in the cocoa powder and eat it all up

What?  That doesn’t work? Fine.

We continue our adventures with gluten free baking this week.

In general, my weekly trips to Trader Joes are precise,  surgical and leave little room for casual perusal.  Experience has taught me that unless I show up at a specific Trader Joes right as it opens on Sunday morning, the shopping experience will leave me wanting to poke someone’s eye out with one of those little toothpicks they use to serve the samples (see blog name for explanation).

Every once in a while (like once a year), I get lucky and it seems like the only people in the store are me and the friendly staff.  This happened recently and I actually paused to look around the nut butter section while picking up the sun butter for last week’s post.  This was probably a bad idea on my part because what did I spy with my little eye?  None other than Nutella’s American cousin: Cocoa Almond Spread.

For reason’s I’ve just explained, I’d never seen this concoction before and knew immediately that I had to make something with it (this has absolutely nothing to do with a strong desired to sit down with the jar and a spoon…how dare you suggest this).  The spread has the same consistency as almond butter (duh).  Thicker than nutella.  It’s also less sweet than the hazelnut version (though still sweet enough to reduce the sugar in the recipe).

As soon as I got home, I pulled my almond flour out of the freezer and got to work using the sun butter blossoms recipe as a blueprint.

The almond flour obviously behaved very differently than the corn flour and, with about a tablespoon and a half of dough, I go beautiful, perfectly round 3 1/2 inch cookies.  They had a nice texture reminiscent of their fancier kin, the macaron.

Seeing the finished versions cooling on their wire racks sent my brain to a singular place.

That’s right, these made the perfect ice cream sandwich cookies.  You could also spread a nice layer of the cocoa almond butter on the inside of a cookie, top it with another and you’d have yourself an excellent sandwich cookie.

Soundtrack

Ray LaMontagne

Cocoa Almond Cookies

recipes makes about 18 (1 1/2 dozen, is easily doubled)

Ingredients

  • 1 C cocoa almond butter
  • 1/3 C sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 1 C almond meal/flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line 2-4 baking pans with parchment paper
  2. Using a standing or hand mixer, cream together the sugar and cocoa almond butter for two-to-three minutes.
  3. Beat-in the egg and vanilla until batter is smooth.
  4. By hand, sift-in flour and baking powder and then fold until the flour is just combined into the batter.
  5. Roll batter into balls using about 1 1/2 TBS (less if you want a smaller cookie).
  6. Set balls on lined baking sheets about three-inches apart.  Cookies will spread significantly (diameter will nearly triple).
  7. Bake 8-10 minutes until cookies appear set.
  8. Slide parchment off of cookie sheets and allow cookies to cool on the parchment.
  9. Ice cream optional!

Awesome Blossom

I always associate September with cookies.  I think it’s the back-to-school, pack you lunch, bring a treat relationship.  This blog has hosted its share of cookie recipes and I’m fairly certain I’ve covered the basics at this point.  Just check out the index of you don’t believe me.  So, I thought I’d do some experimenting, starting with a gluten and peanut-free take on the traditional peanut butter and jelly.

Nowadays, it seems most schools have declared themselves peanut-free zones.  Many more include tree-nuts on the contraband list.  But there is hope: sun butter.  If you haven’t tried it, the spread is hearty and nutty enough to stand on its own.  It also has the right fat-content to create a soft, and satisfying texture to baked-goods.

We’ve been experimenting with eliminating certain kinds of food in our household.  Turns out dairy is no friend to either TD or me.  I’ve also kicked out gluten during weekdays.  This isn’t because either of us have allergies.  Rather,  I’ve observed that most of what we consume with gluten is junk we shouldn’t be eating in the first place (I’m talking to you Cheez-Its).  Probably because we don’t have allergies, losing the gluten hasn’t been hard.  In fact, It’s been fun exploring new kinds of grains.

All of this is a long explanation for why I used cornmeal in this cookie recipe.  I love the texture cornmeal brings to cakes and so I thought I would try it with a cookie.  I realize that in some circles corn is a greater evil to nutrition than Loki is to the Avengers.  But, you pick your battles and I don’t claim to be a foodie activist.

The dough will be a little stiff.  If you can’t fold the batter with a spatula and some elbow grease, add in a tablespoon or two of juice or water.

Since  I had peanut butter and jelly on the brain, I gave each half a teaspoon of raspberry jam.  These would be almost as good without the little dab of fruit-though, I’d up the sugar to 1/2 C if you decide to go this direction.

The texture was soft and the flavors hearty with a little bright sweetness from the preserves.  Without telling him that I’d swapped-out his beloved peanut butter and flour, I fed a couple to TD.  He declared them tasty.  Maybe sometimes not knowing is half the battle.

Soundtrack

Joe Jackson

Sunbutter Blossoms

makes about 18 2 inch cookies

Ingredients

  • 1 C sun butter (make sure to stir before measuring)
  • 1/3 C sugar plus more for rolling
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2/3 C corn meal
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1-2 TBS juice
  • jam of your choice (I used raspberry here but I’d love it if someone tried this recipe with Trader Joe’s fig butter)

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 2 baking sheets with parchment.
  2. In a smallish bowl, whisk together corn meal and baking powder. Set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl or the bowl of a standing mixer, cream together sugar and sun butter for 2 minutes.
  4. Beat-in egg and vanilla.
  5. With mixer setting on low, mix-in flour until just combined.  If the dough is too stiff to fold by hand, incorporate a tablespoon or two of juice.
  6. Pinch-off a generous tablespoon of dough, roll into a ball and then roll in sugar.  Place on cookie sheet.
  7. Repeat process until all dough has been balled.
  8. Using your clean index finger, gently push a well into the center of each dough ball.
  9. Fill well with jam being careful to not overfill the well.
  10. Bake for about 10 minutes.  Remove from oven and allow to cool on cookie sheets.

 

 

 

 

See ya later summer!

I could wax poetic about the final days of summer slipping into the horizon like grains of stand through an hourglass.  But. Whatever.

For me, Labor Day Weekend is the signal of something new, not the symbol of something lost.  And while I try not to ever wish away time,  I am always glad to see September.

In our neck of the woods, probably like yours, Labor Day weekend is about BBQs, pool parties and trips to the beach.  So, here is a nice accompaniment that’s easy to put together and travels well.

This slightly sweet cornbread calls for three flours: all purpose, corn meal and corn flour.  Okay, to be honest, the original recipe called for masa harina.  I didn’t have it on-hand and  knowingly swapped-in the corn flour (even though one isn’t a substitute for the other).  If you are a purist, find masa harina.  If not, corn flour will do.

My twist includes lemon zest and sliced almonds.  I think the different textures make this simple corn bread interesting.

Adieu summer!  Bring on the Autumn!

If you like this, you might like these

Blueberries and Cream Cookies

Baluberry Muffins

Blueberry Scones

Blueberry Cornbread

adapted from the Sunset Cookbook credited to Doug Case

Ingredients

  • 1 C fresh blueberries
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 C buttermilk
  • 1/4 C butter, melted
  • zest of 1 lemon
  • 2/3 + 2 TBS C all purpose flour
  • 2/3 C yellow cornmeal
  • 2/3 C masa harina (corn flour)
  • 1/4 C sugar + additional for sprinkling on top if desired
  • 1  1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2/3 C slivered or sliced toasted almonds

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Butter and line with parchment an 8X8 paking pan.
  2. Place clean, dry blueberries in a fine-meshed sieve placed over a bowl.  Sprinkle 2 TBS all purpose flour over the berries.  Gently toss in the sieve to release extra flour into the bowl.  Set aside.
  3. In a large bowl, beat eggs, buttermilk and butter to blend.
  4. In a medium bowl, whisk together all purpose flour, corn meal, masa harina, sugar, baking powder and salt.
  5. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture, fold until all ingredients are just combined.
  6. Gently stir-in berries and lemon zest.
  7. Scrape batter into pan; spread level.  Sprinkle almonds and sugar over the top.
  8. Bake until a toothpick inserted comes out clean, about 20 minutes.  Allow to cool 10 minutes before cutting.

 

Sometimes, a girl’s got to do what a girl’s got to do

Somebody asked me to name the one thing I can’t resist.  This was at work and was posed by a colleague who could not believe that I don’t like doughnuts.  It’s true.  In the palate lottery I somehow escaped a taste for most breakfast related pastries–doughnuts, pancakes, waffles, french toast–all completely lost on me.  TD thinks it’s un-American.  I’m just thankful that there is one category of “sugar and fried”  I don’t love (carrot cake rounds out the list of not-likes if anyone is keeping track).

My answer to the question?  Nutella.   I probably hadn’t thought of the stuff in months.  Of course then, it was ALL I could think about.  I think I’ve mentioned before that in a pantry filled with baking supplies (there are at least a couple of pounds of chocolate in there at all times), the only thing I can’t keep on-hand is nutella.

Truth be told, a jar of that chocolate hazelnut manna, a spoon and a cup of strong coffee would have scratched my co-worker induced itch.

However, that would have been embarrassing.  So I threw in some crispy rice as to appear more respectable.

Why the “c” and not the “k” in crispy?  Two reasons.  First, it really chaps my hide when words are purposefully misspelled for marketing reasons.  So much so that I refuse to patronize, purchase or consume the misspelled entity.  Reason number two?  I’m cheap and used generic crisped rice.  So, my treats were literally “rice crispied.”

If you like this, you might like these

Devil’s Food Hazelnut Crunch Cake

Bella Bars

Nutella Rice Crispy Treats

adapted from the original Rice Krispys Treats recipe

speaking of Kelloggs, if you haven’t seen the Drunk History version of the famous familial fued…you’re missing out

Ingredients

  • 3 TBS butter
  • 1 1/2 C nutella
  • 4 C miniature marshmallos
  • 6 C crispy rice cereal (I used generic hence the “c” instead of the “k”
  • 1 C chopped, toasted  hazelnuts if desired.

Directions

  • Grease or butter a 9X13 baking pan
  • In a large saucepan, melt together butter and 1 cup of nutella over low heat.
  • Add in the marhsmallows and stir until combined and melted.
  • Add in rice crispies and nuts and mix.
  • Using a buttered/greased spatula (and clean fingers if you can stand the heat), evenly press mixture into prepared pan.
  • Melt remaining 1/2 C of nutella.  Spread evenly over pressed treats.
  • Allow to cool and cut.

Ridiculous Salad

I know, I missed last week’s post.  Would you believe I’m still working on it?

In the meantime, I’d like to share something ridiculously delicious.  TD and I have been experimenting with the bounty of summer fruits and vegetables available this time of year.  The following came out of a trip to the farmer’s market and a lazy Sunday evening.

We started with a base of white balsamic and olive oil (we use a basil infused olive oil available in bulk at Whole Foods).  Next, one large tomato chopped into 1/2 inch chunks.  Allow it to drain in a colander with the help of a sprinkle of sea or kosher salt.  Give the whole thing a shake every few minutes to release the tomato juices (into the sink).

The next two piece can be done on the grill or stove-top.  Boil some corn and sear some stone fruit.  Here we’ve used yellow peaches but white peaches, nectarines, plumbs or a combination would fit the bill.  To sear, I gave each half a light coating of olive oil and dropped it into a hot pan for about 90 seconds.

Basil is absolutely necessary here.  Trust me.  We’ve tried the cheese two ways.  Below, we’ve used fresh baby mozzarella.  It works really well.  But, if you want to take things to the next level, use burrata. Burrata cheese and stone fruit together will change you life.

If using the burrata, don’t mix it into the salad.  Plate the salad and then let people dribble their own over the top.  Finally, if you dare, cook up a couple of pieces of super thin prosciutto.   Let it get nice and crispy, then give it a fine chop.  Set aside to sprinkle over the salad right before serving.

Salt and (liberal) fresh cracked pepper to taste.

This can be served as a colorful side or add-in grilled shrimp or chicken for a main dish.

This stuff is ridiculous I tell you.  And, the variations are endless.

If you like this, you might like these

Panzanellaish Salad

Ridiculous Salad

(serves 2 as a main dish, 4 as a side)

Ingredients

  • 3 TBS white balsamic vinegar
  • 3 TBS olive oil (use the good stuff)
  • 1 large tomato
  • 2 ears of corn, boiled or grilled
  • 3 peaches or nectarines (if using plumbs, use two 5-6)
  • 1/4 C chopped basil
  • Fresh mozzarella or burrata (2-3 ounces per person)
  • 2 slices prosciutto, cooked until crispy and chopped
  • freshly ground salt and pepper to taste

Directions

  1. If boiling corn, set ears in a larger saucepan filled with cold water over high heat.  Allow it to come to boil.  Drain immediately and set aside for a few minutes.
  2. While corn is cooking, chop tomato.  Sprinkle with sea or kosher salt and allow to drain in a colander over the sink.
  3. In a large bowl, whisk together vinegar and oil.
  4. Halve peaches and brush with olive oil.  Heat a large pan over medium high heat, sear, cut side down for 90 seconds.
  5. Chop basil, set aside.
  6. While corn is still warm, cut off-of the ear and add into bowl with oil and vinegar.  Add in tomatoes (use a slotted spoon so that the seeds at the bottom of the colander don’t come along for the ride). Gently toss to coat.  Gently add-in peaches and basil.
  7. Salt and pepper to taste.
  8. Cook prosciutto chop and set aside until just before serving.
  9. Prepare cheese (when using mozzarella, we cut the little balls into wedges slightly smaller than the tomatoes and peaches).
  10. When ready to serve, sprinkle with prosciutto and add cheese.
  11. Note, the peaches and tomato will continue to give-off juices.  If made more than an hour in advance, be sure to drain-off some of the juices before serving.

 

 

Giant Lemon Pie

This post begins and ends with bad cell phone pics.  Sorry.

Melbourne, like most cosmopolitan cities, has a top notch public transportation system which TD and I used liberally.  One of our most often-used landing points from our hotel in South Yarra was the Central Station in the city center.  We must have passed through that station at least twice daily during our visit.

Situated right alongside one of the many escalators was a little coffee shop selling the most outrageous looking pastries.  The giant lemon meringue pie immediately caught my eye on our first trip past.  While timing never worked so that we were in a situation to stop and actually order a piece, I did work up the courage to snap a picture (we ordered a couple of flat whites as to not raise any eyebrows when snapping the photo).

Shortly after, the idea that I could replicate this citrusy matterhorn took seed and I found myself, during our time in Australia, often thinking about how I might execute such a feat.

About halfway through my research, I began to lean toward a baked-center approach. Think lemon bars.  I was considering the pie more in terms of a tart than a true lemon meringue pie.  But, I couldn’t quite figure out how to evenly bake the filling at about four-to-six inches of depth.

Then I happened on a post for a lemon meringue pie in the blog, Dutch Oven Diaries.  They used a stovetop filling approach that looked successful.  Unfortunately, the largess of the pastry also meant a two day-cooking time.  Hence, the awful shots taken at night.  Maybe some day I’ll learn how to take real pictures.

And so, I shifted gears and experimented.

I probably had a little more fun that a girl with a pastry-bag full of meringue ought to.

I

But, the attempt was successful, at least in looks.  I knew I didn’t have the right apparatus to form the same wide peaks as the pie in the metro station.  So I went with quantity and height.

Not one to waste an opportunity to experiment on others, I lugged the finished product to a dinner party.  While the pie was voted a success in general, I found the filling’s texture to be a little too gelatinous.  In the photo below, it also looks like I broke the meringue. I promise, it wasn’t broken when I piped it.  I suspect the fact that it sat out for about 2 hours before being served might have something to do with it.

As such, I consider this a work in progress and am on the hunt for an excuse to try it again.

If you like this you might like these

Raspberry Lemon Bars 

Longfellow Lemon Tart (the photos in this post are even worse than the ones in this post…small consolation).

Giant Lemon Meringue Pie

from www.dutchovendiaries.com

Pie Pastry

Ingredients
  • 16 oz flour
  • 8 oz butter
  • 2 egg yolks
  • Pinch of salt
  • Cold water to mix
Directions
  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees, place rack in middle slot.
  2. Sift flour and salt into a bowl cut in the butter until the mixture looks like fine breadcrumbs.
  3. Mix the egg yolk with 3 tablespoons of water and add to the flour and combine until mixture comes together, add more water if necessary.
  4. Wrap and chill in fridge for 30 minutes then roll out the pastry and line your 9 inch flan, pie or spring form pan with the dough and prick all over using a fork to prevent the crust from puffing.
  5. Line with baking paper and fill with pie weights (or dried rice or beans) and chill for another 30 minutes to prevent shrinkage.  Bake for 20 minutes at then remove weights and bake for an additional 15 minutes until golden brown.
  6. Allow to cool completely before filling

Lemon Filling 

Ingredients
  • 2 ½ cups sugar
  • Pinch of salt
  • 3 ¾ cups water
  • 1 ¼ cups lemon juice (juice from about 12 lemons)
  • Rind of 5 lemons
  • 2 Tbsp butter
  • 10 egg yolks
  • 1  cup cornstarch
Directions
  1. Put the water, sugar, salt, lemon rind, juice and butter into a large saucepan and bring slowly to a
  2. boil.
  3. Beat egg yolks with the cornstarch and slowly add some of the hot mixture to temper the yolks whisking constantly.
  4. Once tempered return egg mixture to the remaining liquid and heat whisking until the mixture thickens.
  5. Pour into the baked pie crust.
  6. Chill overnight until set.

Meringue

Ingredients
  • 10 egg whites
  • 1 ½ cups sugar
Directions
  1. Whisk the egg whites until white and fluffy (until stiff peaks are formed) then whisk sugar gradually into the whites.
  2. Pile the meringue on to the now set pie, forming decorative swirls onto the filling making sure you cover right to the edges so no filling is visible.  You can also pipe the very top of the meringue using desired-size tips.
  3. Put the pie into the oven for about 5-10 minutes until the meringue is a light brown.
  4. Store in the fridge, best if served the same day.