romesco sauce

romesco sauce

My CSA went through a month and a half long stretch where it gave us at least 3 peppers a week, and sometimes as many as 5 or 6. Peppers are good, and we did get a nice variety of them, but it didn't take me long to run out of ideas for cooking peppers:

I really like roasted red peppers, but since I still don't have the courage to try canning (maybe next year!), there's only so many of them I can eat, even with Nathan doing his part. Pepperonata is one of my favorite recipe discoveries of 2010, but I got a little tired of that as well. Of course, peppers are a key ingredient in ratatouille, but I only got eggplant from the co-op once this summer, and the zucchini supply ended surprisingly early. With the bounty of vegetables in my fridge, I wasn't going to buy even more just to use up a pepper or two. Many a time, I resorted to throwing them into a variety of soups, with varying degrees of success. Peppers don't present quite as much of a challenge as say, kale, but I was still struggling to use them all up.

That's why I was excited when I found this recipe for romesco sauce. Red pepper is the star ingredient, but it uses tomatoes too, which the food co-op was also giving us a lot of at the time. (Actually, we were still getting tomatoes as recently as Thursday, but we're shifting to a biweekly pick up schedule, so I'm certain that was the last of them. Which is sad.)

This was really easy to make. I roasted a red pepper over the gas stove, and peeled and seeded it. I pulverized some almonds in the blender, and then added some day-old bread, garlic, a couple of tomatoes, olive oil and salt. It also called for a chili pepper, but I think I used part of a jalapeno pepper. I also substituted balsamic vinegar for the suggested sherry variety. It came together in a flash, to a nice, thick, dip-like consistency.


red pepper romesco

This was definitely very different from my usual fare. Nathan really liked it. Laura and I were a little unsure. There was something about it that I found slightly strange, but not completely off putting. The almonds added a nice nuttiness, but I think that maybe they, combined with the bread, kind of subdued the brightness of the red pepper and tomato too much? I was glad that I tried this and happy to eat it, but I wasn't so won over that I'd make it again.

Still, it beats another generic red pepper infused soup, right?


mystery soup

I'm going through my Flickr account and I swear to god I don't even know what this one is made of– it might not even have peppers in it. But the good news is, if I don't remember it, I don't have to blog it, right? One more dish to check off the list!

pumpkin ice cream

creamy, boozy, pumpkin ice cream

I would like to start by apologizing for this utterly unappetizing photo. There is, however, a story behind it.

When I invited Hannah and Lauren over for dinner, the plan was to end our evening with some freshly churned pumpkin ice cream. Hannah had been diagnosed with chronic myelogenous leukemia in August, and after a month of heavy treatment she was feeling well enough to make it into the city for the weekend. I'd told her about my shiny new ice cream machine and promised to make her whatever flavor she wanted. I was excited when she chose pumpkin. Of course, that meant I had to buy canned pumpkin, which, believe it or not, was simply no where to be found in my two neighborhood grocery stores!

Therefore, our dinner went on as scheduled, but we sadly postponed pumpkin ice cream. Luckily, Hannah didn't have to wait too long– it debuted to great acclaim the following evening, when Grace threw a small party in Hannah's honor. Ms Spangler set out a big taco bar with all the fixins and your choice of chicken, pork carnitas and ground beef. She made all that from scratch plus Mexican corn with lime, mayo, cheese and chili powder. I wish I had taken pictures because it was such a sight to see. It was quite a feast, and I only wish my jaw had been in better working order at the time so as to more fully enjoy everything.

When looking for a pumpkin ice cream recipe, I turned first to The Perfect Scoop, aka the ice cream bible. Disappointingly, I came up empty-handed. One "pumpkin ice cream," google search later and it quickly became apparent that I was not the only one mourning its exclusion. The very first hit was from the author David Lebovitz's blog, where he thoughtfully provided this recipe.

Once I procured the necessary pumpkin, I proceeded to follow the recipe almost exactly as written. Unlike Rick Bayless's corn ice cream, which used a double boiler to make the custard, Lebovitz's instructions call for whisking the eggs in a bowl and then slowly adding the heated milk/cream/sugar/spice mixture to it. Then you pour all of that back into the pot and stir over a low flame until the custard thickens.

I don't know if maybe I just don't really understand what a thickened egg custard should look like or what, but just as I did with the corn ice cream, I had problems. This time, not only was it not thickening, but it actually kept curdling, the egg separating from the cream and turning all grainy and gross. However, I took a tip from my friend Megan, and popped in my immersion blender whenever that happened. This brought everything back together just fine, but after the third cycle of abortive thickening, accidentally curdling and scrambling to blend it back together, I gave up and moved on.

I added brown sugar and transferred the custard to an ice bath, adding the pumpkin puree. At the point the recipe called for a half teaspoon of vanilla extract and two teaspoons of rum or brandy. Instead, I used my vanilla bean infused rum, adding quite a bit more than the recipe called for. I figured it would make it extra creamy and delicious, since it would keep the ice cream from freezing as hard. I was right, but in this particular case this did cause some issues.

Once everyone had eaten their fill, I pulled out my carefully transported pumpkin ice cream from the freezer for dessert. It was lucky that this event took place on September 11th, rather than August 11th. As you can see, it got kind of soft and melty, on its trip downtown. It probably never froze all the way to begin with, and having it out on the train didn't help matters at all. Even an hour or so to recover in Grace's freezer made no noticeable difference. I can only imagine how soupy it would have been if I had attempted to travel with it in the middle of New York's oppressively hot summer of 2010.

Of course, even slightly melted ice cream can be delicious, and this one was no exception. I was shocked I had made something so rich, creamy and wonderful! This was a very, very good batch of ice cream. It wasn't too aggressively pumpkiny, but it was smooth and decadently delicious with a hint of fall spices. Hannah, you picked a winner!

I haven't broken out the ice cream maker since, and this will certainly be a tough act to follow. Hopefully, next time around I can conquer the custard!

corn pepper soup/tomato paella

Here's more of what I did with my late summer corn:


corn pepper soup

I made this back in September on a Friday night. Lauren and Hannah came over for dinner and I made this soup. I used homemade chicken stock and lots of corn, pepper and onions. I sauteed the peppers and onions, added the corn and stock and let it all simmer. I blended it all up and topped it off with a hefty sprinkling of cilantro and freshly cracked pepper.

I have to say that while I like both corn and peppers, I had been getting tons and tons of them from the co-op at that point in time. I think I must have been pretty sick of them because I don't really remember that much about this soup. It was sweet and peppery, but at the time it just wasn't the most inspiring flavor combination. Whether I was sick of those particular veggies, I didn't showcase them to their best advantage, or if it just wasn't to my taste, this soup was still relatively tasty and markedly better than the other component of the meal.

I also made Mark Bittman's tomato paella. The way the blogosphere tells it, this summer tomato recipe is just divine. Crispy arborio rice, juicy ripe tomatoes and a rich yellow color from a few precious strands of saffron. All the flair of a fancy seafood paella, minus a great deal of work and expense. Sounds like a story that guarantees a happy ending, no?


Mark Bittman's tomato paella

Well I have a different tale to tell. One of dry, chewy rice, overly herbaceous tomatoes and saffron that was sadly completely undetectable. It didn't taste bad, persay, but either I am way out of step with the online foodie commmunity, or something went really really wrong with this recipe. I totally wanted to love it, but it was a total flop.

Although it was great having Hannah and Lauren over for dinner, I think I owe them a more inspiring dinner!

sour cream corn pancakes

stack of pancake deliciousness

If you don't like pancakes then you don't have a soul. Period. I'm sorry, but that's just what I believe. Straight up Catholic doctrine right there.

But seriously folks, what could be better than piping hot pancakes, thin and crisp with a soft interior? Those babies don't even have to be fluffy, as long as they are buttery and soaking in real maple syrup. Dee-licious.


corn pancakes with extra butter and syrup

Back in early September, I made these corn pancakes with the last of my summer corn. The recipe was very simple, as any reasonable pancake recipe is. There are wet ingredients, (egg, buttermilk, sourcream and vanilla extract), mixed with dry ingredients, (flour, sugar, salt, cornmeal, baking soda and baking powder). Stir until just combined, and then cook over medium high heat in a greased frying pan. Pretty standard fare. The only thing that makes this recipe a little bit different is the addition of corn kernels, which are sauteed briefly in butter before being stirred into the batter, giving the finished product an unusual crunch. (Of course, at the time I couldn't chew, so I more or less swallowed them whole!)

These were good pancakes, and I liked them. They were a bit on the thicker side, but they were tender and soft inside with a crisp butter-browned exterior. In other words, they came out just right. They weren't too sweet, and tasted great with a generous maple syrup splash.


dissecting pancake deliciousness

As for the corn kernels, the corn that I used was sweet and delicious, so it was a pretty good addition to a very tasty batter. In retrospect, however, I don't think I'd like to have corn kernels in my pancakes more than occasionally. I mean, it was an interesting and tasty twist on a classic dish, but it just wasn't good enough to warrant their inclusion on a regular basis. Even though they were sugary sweet, those corn kernels still seemed slightly vegetabley, which is a little disconcerting in maple syrup coated pancakes. At the time, I was very pleased with how these turned out, but I'm not exactly jonesing for another batch.

Basically, I made these because I was looking to find a good use for all that food co-op corn. As it turns out, corn pancakes are a fine pancake variety. They are not God's gift to pancakes, and they do not necessarily improve them, but they are definitely pretty good. I mean, hello, they are pancakes. (As I said before, if you don't love pancakes, there is clearly something wrong with you.) So what I'm saying is that I'd encourage you to try this recipe only if you have tons of delicious corn. Otherwise, regular variety pancakes will probably serve just as well.

dimply plum cake: homely but delicious

the famous dimply plum cake

Geeze. If you want a real idea of how infrequently I've been blogging lately, consider this: I baked this cake on September 3th. It is now November 1st, and New York has seen the temperatures dip into the thirties as the days begin to get shorter and shorter. September already seems like long ago, but try to remember to way back then: it was the Friday of Labor Day weekend. The East Coast was prepped for a massive hurricane set to put a major damper on the holiday. I had spent the afternoon at the hospital for my jaw's grand reopening. Though this was very exciting, it was also somewhat of a painful process. The wires had been drilled through my gums to hold the arch bars in place, so pulling them out required lots of novocain and left my gums inflamed and sore.

Even though they had replaced the wires clamping my teeth shut with more forgiving rubber bands a week and a half before, my jaw was still fragile and weak, which precluded me from eating all but the softest foods. Regardless, I was excited to be on the mend and free of the unslightly metal braces for the first time in over 5 weeks. I was looking forward to spending the weekend out on Long Island with Nathan's family and my own, and to putting my injury behind me.

I like to be a good house guest, so I spent that Friday night baking this dimply plum cake for Nathan's step-mom's friends Liz and Harry, who were kind enough to invite us to their home.


smooshed plum cake

I know that is one shockingly ugly cake. I foolishly wrapped it up in foil for easy transit before it cooled, so it steamed in the wrapper and the top turned into an unsightly sticky mess. Of course, we don't eat cake because it looks good– we eat cake because of the way it tastes. This cake, a recipe by Dorie Greenspan, is an internet sensation, so my expectations were high. The cake was less sweet than most, but pleasantly so, and was nice and moist from the large chunks of fruit. I was happy to use so many of my food co-op plums to make it, and I liked the hint of cinnamon flavor. It was a good dessert to usher in fall with the last of summer's stone fruit. Very seasonal, but not actually the most inspiring dessert you've ever eaten.

As luck would have it, the over-hyped Earl stayed off shore and the weather held up beautifully. We went swimming, took a motorboat out to Fire Island and foraged for beach plums on Saturday before heading north to Northport and spending Sunday sailing in the bay with my Dad. As for the food, I obviously missed out on all the grilled steak and corn on the cob at dinner, but Nathan's step-mom Patricia and step-sister Helen made sure there was plenty of soft and juicy salmon for me to enjoy.

Dessert was even easier, as cakes and pies can easily be mashed up into easily swallowed spoonfuls. With my wires gone, eating the same plate of dessert as everyone else, I was finally able to forget about my broken jaw and begin to enjoy food again. Based on taste alone, dimply plum cake may not have been the revelation I hoped for. I imagine that there are other plum based desserts that are just as good, if not better, even if their names aren't as cute. That being said, it was still delicious. Everyone else told me they liked it, but to me, at that point in time, dimply plum cake tasted like hope.

tomato and lentil dal with tadka

indian food from my italian kitchen!

I've been feeling a bit uninspired in the kitchen yet, but I do have a bit of a backlog of yummy things that I just need to work up the enthusiasm to tell you about. Here it goes:

OMG, I made Indian food! I know I'm being silly, but for me this was so exciting. As we all know, my culinary comfort zone is largely Italian, with a bit of (largely-Americanized) French, Chinese and Mexican thrown in to mix it up a bit. I don't cook Indian food. Period. Until I tried making this tomato and lentil dal with tadka.

Though I was initially intimidated, I learned that just because you don't know the first thing cooking a particular regional cuisine doesn't mean that you can't pick it right up. In fact, part of what moved me to try my hand at this particular dish was the recipe's assertion that it was something that anyone could make whether or not they were familiar with Indian spices. In other words, perfect for someone like me!

Now, despite the success of this dish, I can hardly claim to be an expert of Indian cuisine. So, feel free to correct me if I say something egregiously wrong as I attempt to explain what I made. To the best of my knowledge, dal is a very common Indian dish made from stewed lentils. The lentils are boiled, and then to serve you add the tadka, which is basically Indian spices fried in ghee. (If you're me and your supply of clarified butter has run dry, you can also use oil.)

The recipe was pretty basic. Lentils, water, tomatoes, salt and tumeric are brought up to a boil and then left to simmer until cooked through. As that finishes, a variety of exotic Indian spices, garlic and small cherry tomatoes are cooked in hot oil. I assume this releases the fragrance and essential oils of the spices. You mix the tadka into the lentils before serving.

I used some beautiful tomatoes from the food co-op, and the rest of my French green lentils from that sad orzo salad. I also decided to add chives to the tadka in addition to the garlic. This probably wasn't at all authentic, but I had some left over from my fantastic corn and tomato pie, and I figured they would give the dish a needed splash of green color.

The preparation of this dish was very easy, and everything came together effortlessly. Unfortunately, I did have to make some concessions to the bareness of my pantry, which is seriously lacking in the cool spices department... I didn't have asafoetida, I didn't have tumeric, I had curry powder, but not curry leaves, and only regular mustard powder where it called for black mustard seeds... Fortunately, I did have cumin seeds and cayenne pepper, so I just used those and curry powder and hoped for the best.

Considering that I was working with a limited range of spices and that this was my very first foray into preparing Indian food, I am sure it was only a weak imitation of the real thing. However, I've gone to quite a few Indian restaurants, and I thought it tasted like it was in the right ballpark! Even though I didn't have of the more exotic spices, the combination of cumin, curry and cayenne was definitely very different than my normal flavor profile of garlic, onion and cheese. Haha. I really enjoyed the slight spiciness of the dish, and as I ate it I couldn't get over the fact that I had prepared something that tasted so foreign. It's kind of pathetic, but for me, this dal counted not only as a success, but as a minor triumph!

I enjoyed cooking this meal, and writing about it reminds me how much I enjoy the creative process both in the kitchen and in writing about it later for garlicus maximus. Hopefully this will help get me back in the groove in the kitchen and on my blog.

corn ice cream with sugared strawberries and balsamic vinegar

long over due corn ice cream

Oh man. I probably killed whatever minuscule readership I had by taking a little hiatus there. Whoops. Anyway, I am back. With more ice cream!

Back during the summer Laura and I were getting 6 ears of beautiful fresh summer corn a week. It was always incredibly delicious, but it was also a lot for two girls to handle. We made soups and salad, and ate it off the cob when my face wasn't sealed shut. These were definitely good, but it was all pretty standard savory fare and I wanted to try my hand at a corn dessert that would take let the corn's natural sweetness take center stage. I thought about making a corn budino pudding, but I didn't really know how to go about it. Then I remembered the corn custard they served last summer at the Shake Shack, which, despite my initial skepticism, I thought was pretty awesome. As you can probably imagine, I quickly decided it was time for my second batch of homemade ice cream!

Some quick googling for corn ice cream turned up a Rick Bayless recipe. Based on his Top Chef appearances, I think Rick is incredibly awesome, and while I haven't had the opportunity to eat at either of his restaurants, his picadillo recipe yields a rich melting pot of sweet and savory flavors that I could eat any night of the week. So, I was excited to try my hand at another one of his dishes.


corn ice cream over zesty strawberries with aged balsamic

I followed the recipe as written, save for swapping out the orange liqueur with some dark rum. It seemed like it would be fairly easy, for the most part. Of course, I anticipated difficulty with cooking the egg custard, and it did not disappoint. I stirred the egg, cream and corn mixture over a double boiler for like, fifty minutes and it never thickened! This was during the summer, so it was oppressively hot and even more so over the stove. Eventually I just gave up. I think my ice cream was thinner and less creamy as a result, but then again my vanilla ice cream was plenty creamy, and it wasn't thickened with a custard base. Perhaps I just need to get more comfortable in general with the ice cream making process.

Other than getting my custard to thicken, there's not much I would do differently. Of course, I made this just a week or so after I had my wires opened, so I was sick of straining all the little pieces out of my food. I knew I should, but I couldn't bare the thought of anymore of that time consuming nonsense, so I left in the smashed corn kernels. It tasted ok, but didn't do much for the ice cream's texture. If I made this again, I'd definitely go through the trouble of straining it all.


strawberries and ice cream in a fancy presentation by my standards

So I was pretty certain that the corn ice cream would be delicious by itself, but I was making a big vegetarian dinner for my boy, and I wanted a slightly more impressive presentation. Laura had bought a big carton of strawberries in China Town, and Nathan had brought back a tiny bottle of aged balsamic vinegar from Florence. I found a nice recipe for strawberries in a zesty balsamic syrup, so I decided that I would serve my ice cream atop that.

I quickly boiled sugar, water and lemon peel, and then let that sit in the fridge while Nathan and I ate dinner. To serve, I filled a ramekin with strawberries, added a scoop of the corn ice cream, and then drizzled on a few drops of the expensive balsamic. Even Nathan was impressed with how elegant and delicious it was! The corn ice cream was sweet and custardy, with a subtle corn flavor, and the strawberries were bright and delicious with a hint of citrus. I liked the what I could taste of the balsamic, but wish I had added it with a more generous hand. I think I was just afraid of wasting such an expensive ingredient, but using a little more really would have made the strawberries sing.

It was a great dessert to end a great meal. Man, I definitely need to get that ice cream machine churning again!

ricotta stuffed tomatoes

Believe it or not, my jaw was actually wired shut two months ago today! I am pleased to report that the injury is no longer dictating my diet. Last night, Nathan and I went out for some Righteous Urban BBQ and I tore into some St. Louis style ribs with a vengeance. It felt awesome! It had been far too long since I'd done any serious meat eating.

I'd like to say that today's entry is written in that same spirit, but I'm afraid I don't have a bloody, carnivorous feast to present to you today. Instead, I have more of my soft food backlog and ripe and juicy local tomatoes. Yay food co-op!


tomatoes bursting with ricotta cheese

I mad these for Nathan and I a few weeks ago and served them with EVEN MORE tomatoes. Surprisingly, Boyfriend was singing the praises of our vegetarian meal, a true testament to the deliciousity of a farm fresh tomato cooked with some well chosen accompaniments. These were sliced in half, seeded, and drained on paper towels before I seasoned them and stuffed them with a mixture of fresh basil, dried oregano, grated romano and ricotta cheese. Topped with breadcrumbs and a drizzle of olive oil, they baked at 400˚ for about a half an hour.

They were delicious, but I wish I had used a better brand of ricotta instead of cheaping out on whatever crap they had on sale at Fine Fare. Also, I think I forgot to add minced garlic to the filling! Absolutely shocking, I know. Someone should slap me upside the head for neglecting my favorite ingredient of all time. I so was busy trying to get a nice dinner ready by the time Nathan arrived at my apartment, (just wait til I write about the awesome dessert), I must have just skipped it in a rush. I promise to do my best to live up to the Garlicus Maximus name in the future!

I found this recipe here. Amusingly, the author there had found the recipe on a different blog, which had also taken it from a third blog, which attributed the recipe to someone called Pastor John. Oh the interwebs. Basically, it's your turn to make a blog entry about this dish, adding one further degree of separation. Won't that be fun?

roasted tomatoes and cipollini onions with cannellini beans

a bright and juicy tomato dish

It just so happens that three of my favorite things are tomatoes, cannellini beans and basil. Mmmmm. Leave it, of course, to smitten kitchen to feature a recipe that features all three of these things, and then watch as I run to the nearest supermarket for fresh basil and canned beans.

This is hearty and filling for a meatless meal, and is a great way to showcase the late season tomatoes still gracing us with their presence here on the East Coast. After last year's debilitating tomato blight, we've really been spoiled with all the beautiful tomatoes in 2010.

Simply roast the tomatoes and peeled onions with olive oil, salt and pepper for 45 minutes at 375˚. Serve with shredded basil, cannellini beans, grated romano cheese and toasted Italian bread– unless your broken jaw can't deal with crispy bread in which case you'll just have to lick your plate or let all those lovely tomato juices go to waste.

Damn. I want to make this again with lovely bread from Madonia now that I can actually chew. So delicious!

pastina risotto

This was another meal prepared out of necessity, thanks to my broken jaw. Pastina is the smallest type of pasta around. It comes in different shapes, but I've only ever seen it in tiny little stars, which are just adorable. My mom used to make it for me all the time when I was a baby, because it is so soft and small. Obviously, it is a logical dinner choice for one who cannot chew.

Unlike regular pasta, you don't need to salt a big pot of boiling water to make pastina. It is so delicate and small that it would probably pass straight through the strainer and down into the sink if you tried to drain it in a colander. Instead, you can make pastina like risotto, adding the water little by little and stirring it consistently. It can be just as delicious as the real deal, but it takes a fraction of the time to cook, since pastina cooks to her perfection in such a short amount of time.

I made three different versions of this pastina dish, mainly because the first time it was so incredibly delicious. My parents had their own grown up dinners, but they kept sneaking bites of mine because it was just that good. Unfortunately, I was unable to quite replicate my success on the second and third go arounds. The trick to this dish is making sure to add enough liquid to keep it creamy and delicious, rather than gummy and dry.

I started by making a quick sauce with a little garlic and oil and these golden tomatoes from the food co-op. Then I added the pastina, letting it "toast" in the oil like you would risotto, and then adding some water and letting it cook in the liquid. As the pasta began to absorb the sauce, I poured in a little half and half to make sure it wouldn't dry out. After it was mostly cooked through, I put the pastina in a bowl. I stirred in some grated romano cheese, some shredded basil leaves and finally cracked an egg in and mixed it all about. The egg cooked and it became a deliciously rich and creamy dish.

This was only a few days after I had had the rubber bands put it, so solid food was still a wonder and this pastina was the best food I had eaten in weeks. Lest you think it was only good in comparison, my mom kept exclaiming how good it was and asking for more. She was really impressed with my little improvised dinner.




The next night I did much the same thing, only with red tomatoes and a big dollop of ricotta cheese. Unfortunately, I think I cooked it too long, and didn't keep it moist enough, because this turned into a bit of a gluey paste. Not at all tasty, and it was all the more unfortunate because I knew just how good it could have been.




I also made one more slight variation, trying to mix in some extra veggies. I tossed in some zucchini and corn, but the flavors all got a bit muddled and again a bit dry and overcooked. It was better than the incredibly sticky and bland red tomato sauce edition, but it just couldn't compare to the golden tomato pastina.

You can see in the photos just how much creamier the first go around looked. It really came out perfectly.




The pastina risotto method is a bit temperamental, I guess, but it's definitely worth messing around with because the results can be spectacular. Pastina may be a popular baby food, but soft food diet or not, I certainly did enjoy it. And if delicious isn't enough for you, this has also got to be the quickest pasta dish you'll ever make. Quick and easy, but totally homemade and tasty. I'd say that's pretty awesome.

chocolate coffee oatmeal

chocolate coffee oatmeal

This isn't much of a post, except to say that I recently experimented with making coffee chocolate oatmeal as part of my soft food diet. I cooked the oatmeal on the stove top with hot coffee and milk, stirring in some Hershey's cocoa powder. It was surprisingly disappointing. It got gluey and sticky, and the cocoa powder clumped up a bit. I also think it could have used some added sugar to counteract the bitterness of the coffee.

I still think this could be good, but in this iteration, it simply wasn't. Bleaugh.

brown sugar and sour cream raspberry gratin

I went home for the weekend when they opened my jaw and replaced the wires sealing me shut with rubber bands. When I came back, there was a giant crate of raspberries in the fridge, which Laura encouraged me to help her finish. Twist my arm a bit, why don't you?


raspberry gratin with sour cream and brown sugar

So, one morning I made us breakfast by popping these super easy brown sugar and sour cream raspberry gratins under the broiler for a few minutes and then topping them with homemade vanilla ice cream. Part of a well balanced breakfast, obviously, and perfectly soft and swallowable for a broken jaw.


raspberries topped with sour cream, brown sugar, and broiled until crisp and melty

All you have to do in top a layer of raspberries with a layer of sour cream, a sprinkling of brown sugar, and then broil it until the brown sugar caramelizes and everything get warmed through. It takes like five minutes from start to finish, and its predictably delicious. Ooey gooey fresh fruit, creamy and with a touch of brown sugar, you'll absolutely inhale this dish.

I made mine in individual ramekins, which would be a great dinner party dessert, especially topped with ice cream or fresh whipped cream. I assembled mine the night before, which made a quick breakfast even more achievable, and such a technique would work beautifully if you were serving this to a large group.

I went a little light on the brown sugar, because I didn't want it to be too sweet, but if you want a more substantial crust, feel free to add more. Enjoy!

tomato corn pie

This one was a bit of a cheat as far as the soft food diet went. I had an overwhelming corn surplus, beautiful csa tomatoes, and my ongoing inability to resist the allure of anything featured on the smitten kitchen. Thus, tomato corn pie.


tomato corn pie with fresh basil and lemon mayo

Even with my rubber bands and wire armature still in place, I was actually able to eat all this. The trick is to let the fork stand in for your teeth, which frees you up from any painful chewing. Those tines can accomplish a lot of smashing and mashing. I swallowed lots and lots of more less fully intact corn kernels while I was on my soft food diet and suffered no ill effects. Even if I had, it might have been worth it just to enjoy this bright, summery pie.

The corn from our CSA has been spectacularly sweet all summer, and the tomatoes have been just brilliant. This stands in sharp contrast to the share we received last year, which had many things going for it, but fairly awful corn and a pitiful amount of tomatoes. I could never have made a dish like this last year, but this summer, my tomato corn pie was a decadently sweet and savory seasonal treat.

The only trick to the dish is the pie crust. The ratios on the original seemed to be off, because I had to add more flour. I could have just measured wrong, but I definitely had to add extra so I could roll the dough out. Once I did that, the crust came out beautifully. I was shocked by how legit it looked once I baked it.


pie doesn't always mean dessert

Not only did it look like a real pie, it also tasted pretty damn good. Layers of corn, tomato, cheddar, chives and basil stacked up prettily, and the flavors went together beautifully. I especially enjoyed the thin layer of lemony mayo spread underneath the top layer of crust. It was a nice, citrusy touch. Nathan thought it could have used even more cheddar cheese, and I have to agree. I love summer veggies, but cheese makes everything better.


corn tomato pie cross section

If you still have late summer corn and tomatoes, I definitely recommend you make this. I didn't get anymore corn this week, but I am still swimming in tomatoes. I'll miss them when they go, but right now I am up to my elbows and I don't can, so it's a little overwhelming! Still, there are certainly worse things, and I just can't say no to a ripe summer tomato. There's nothing better.

baba ganoush

So first there was delicious ice cream, and then there was mozzarella in carrozza with tomato jam. The third thing I made for myself when I was able to open my mouth and eat soft foods was baba ganoush. I had a lovely eggplant from the food co-op, and had just seen this recipe from David Lebovtiz. I figured it would be soft and delicious, and nothing like a fruit smoothie, which was really all I was looking for at the time.


roasted eggplant baba ganoush

This baba ganoush is incredibly easy to make. First, you char your eggplant over a gas flame, like you would roast a red pepper. Once the skin is all black and smokey, you roast it in the oven at 375˚for 20 to 30 minutes. The charred skin peels off easily, leaving you with plenty of eggplant pulp to puree with garlic, tahini paste, lemon juice, olive oil, a little chili powder, salt and parsley or cilantro. I used parsley because that was what I had, and I subbed in Smucker's natural peanut butter for tahini paste.

Since I was home on Long Island when I made this, I was able to use my mom's food processor, which I really appreciated. After roasting the eggplant, this came together in a snap! I know I really don't have a real need for one, and I definitely am running out of kitchen space, but boy would I like a food processor. So freaking useful!

I liked the baba ganoush. It had a nice, rich flavor that seemed almost meaty after a month on soups and smoothies. I was able to swallow small bites without chewing, which made it an ideal part of a post broken jaw diet. It was, however, thicker than I expected. Generally you eat baba ganoush with pita chips, and my baba ganoush definitely would have been too heavy to serve as a dip. However, it worked just fine for my purposes.

Even so, next time I make this, I will definitely try to achieve a more spreadable, creamy consistency. I am not sure how I would go about that– maybe more olive oil, or lemon juice? Actually, come to think of it, I'm not sure what the consistency of tahini paste generally is, but perhaps it is looser than the natural peanut butter I used. There wasn't much left, and as a rule the peanut butter at the bottom of the jar is very very thick, since the oil always floats to the top. So yeah, I guess the paste-like peanut butter could have something to do with the heavy texture of my baba ganoush. You live you learn.

mozzarella en carrozza with sundried tomato jam

No pictures today, I'm afraid, but I'd like to tell you about the first real meal Nathan and I made after they snipped my wires and replaced them with rubber bands. It took me about twice as long as usual to smash up everything and carefully swallow it, but for what was essentially a grilled cheese sandwich, this mozzarella in carrozza was pretty soft and easy on my wounded jaw.

It was also a really nice night in general. Nathan's roommate, Pete, moved out in September, but we all ate this meal together before he moved downtown. It was also a special night because Pete recently started dating our very good friend Jess. This was a long overdue development. It's too bad that Jess and I can't hang out while visiting our respective boyfriends, but I'm of course very happy for them regardless of where Pete is living.

I've had mozzarella in carrozza before, but it wasn't quite like this. Here, the fresh mozzarella was sandwiched between two slices of bread and dipped in a mix of egg and milk, and then fried in butter. Basically, it was a hybrid grilled cheese french toast. When I had this on Arthur Ave at Marios, the bread must have been much much thinner, because I really thought it was just breaded and fried. This was also delicious, but much more sandwichy. I think the key was that the bread soaked up so much of the egg and milk that it kind of melded together with the cheese. If our bread had been thinner, it would have been an even more cohesive dish, and more like what I remembered.

The accompanying jam was what really excited me about this dish. Sundried tomatoes, roasted red peppers with strawberry jam, a little sugar, red wine vinegar and salt, it seemed easy enough. I liked it well enough, but we probably could have drained less of the olive oil off the peppers and tomatoes. It was definitely too dry, and not nearly jammy enough. Maybe my solid food cooking skills were still rusty? I'd consider making this again, but I wouldn't exactly jump at the chance. It was definitely tasty and hit the spot after a month of slurping purees through my teeth, but it didn't quite come together.

ice cream!

So I got the most awesome get well soon present after I broke my jaw. It was an ice cream machine, thoughtfully sent to me by Nathan's family. They knew that I was incredibly impressed by Tenli's homemade blackberry swirl ice cream, and they knew my post injury diet consisted of almost entirely milk shakes. Basically, this gift was the perfect fit— a big thank you to Tenli, Marie, Raisa and Weston!


my ice cream maker churning away on its first batch

They also thoughtfully included a copy of David Lebovitz's exhaustive ice cream cookbook, One Perfect Scoop. It has tons of amazing recipes for ice cream, gelato, frozen yogurt, sorbets and granitas, as well as delightful things to mix in or sprinkle on top of your cold confections. I of course read the whole book cover to cover and was able to learn quite a bit about frozen, churned desserts.

One thing that you may not already know is that many types of ice cream are made from a custard base. This is generally made by carefully cooking egg yolks with cream and sugar until the mixture thickens. I say carefully because egg yolks cooked over direct heat have a very strong tendency to scramble and harden, which doesn't make a very good ice cream base at all. If this sounds intimidating, you are not alone, which is why I chose an ice cream that did NOT have a custard base for my very first batch.


easy ice cream

To be specific, I made a Philadelphia style vanilla, and to be fair, I have always preferred that to French vanilla ice cream. Some thing about the crisp visual contrast between the white ice cream and the dark speckles of vanilla bean is way more appealing to me than the rich, eggy yellowness of French vanilla. I like both, but Philadelphia vanilla has long been my favorite of all ice cream flavors. It certainly didn't hurt that it was the easiest of all David's recipes, but there's a good chance that I would have gone with a classic vanilla as my first flavor regardless. I love it that much.

How easy is the recipe? Here, I'll give it to you.

Vanilla Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style
(from David Lebovitz's One Perfect Scoop, published 2007)
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup whole milk
¾ cup sugar
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split in half lengthwise
¾ tsp vanilla extract

Pour one cup of the cream into a medium saucepan and add the sugar and salt. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the saucepan and add the pod to the pot. Warm over medium heat, stirring, until the sugar is dissolved.

Remove from the heat and add the remaining cup of cream, the cup of milk and the vanilla extract.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the refrigerator. When ready to churn, remove the vanilla bean, rinsing and reserving it for another use, and then freeze the mixture in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.


Philly vanilla with fresh whipped cream

Beautiful, easy and delicious. Wow. Tasted exactly like every other Philadelphia style vanilla I've ever had, which is to say AWESOME. I had some extra heavy cream, so I quickly made some whipped cream with my electric mixer. A classy, classic, all white combo.

This was actually the second thing I was able to eat after my wires were snipped and I went on the soft food diet. (Nathan made me some Gordon Ramsay scrambled eggs for lunch, but then I went home and made this.) Let me tell you, it quite hit the spot.

I know that an ice cream machine is a bit of an investment, both monetarily, and in terms of much coveted kitchen space, but I'm really enjoying mine. Being able to churn my own ice cream has opened a whole new world of culinary possibilities, I'd encourage you to get one yourself if this is something you'd like to do at home. Big thanks again to Tenli and Marie for the super amazing gift!

foraged beach plum and strawberry crisp

So this weekend was my first one without wires in over 5 weeks. I celebrated by heading out to Long Island with Nathan. There, we spent time with our respective families and enjoyed ourselves out on the water. In addition to sailing in Northport Harbor with my dad, we also got to take a motor boat out to Fire Island, which was surprisingly beautiful. It really felt like it was miles and miles from anything. Gorgeous.



Here we are out on the beach. The surf was incredibly rough courtesy of the otherwise utterly unimpressive Hurricane Earl, so we couldn't go swimming, but it was still awesome.



That first photo is just a small sample of the mind blowingly beautiful view. What you can't see is that the small, scrubby looking little bushes on either side of the walkway are actually laden with these tiny and tart beach plums. They look a little bit like overgrown blueberries, and are sweet with a tangy bitter aftertaste. Nathan and I had never seen them before, but we foraged a few handfuls, which we transported in my camera case, and took home to bake with.



Like the friendly Fire Island natives who assured us that these strange fruits were edible, my mom knew exactly what the beach plums were, and that they are most commonly made into jam. I like jam, but I don't use it all that often. Instead, I decided to make a nice beach plum crisp for dessert.



Here is the recipe, which either my mom or I clipped from Newsday years ago, although it says it was distributed by Los Angeles Times Syndicate. Anyway, I was only able to forage a small amount of beach plums, so I had to scale everything way down. We had only enough for four very small servings, so it must have been less than half the amount. I did not adjust the ratios in the written recipe, because I don't think I could accurately represent them. The great thing about crisps is that it's not a real topping, but just a crumbly topping that basically toasts on top of the fruit. It's very hard to mess up.



I also made a few substitutions with the ingredients, so I made those adjustments. The topping called for half butter and half oil, but my mom insisted on all butter, which worked perfectly. I also swapped out a couple of tablespoons of apple juice in the crust for maple syrup. The fruit filling was the most significant change. Originally, it included plums, blueberries and peaches or nectarines. I obviously used beach plums instead, and also strawberries, or else it would have been a little bitty baby crisp. Obviously, you can interchange whatever kind of fruits you have around. Also, I accidentally used regular sugar instead of the prescribed brown, with no ill effects. Finally, the serving suggestion was with vanilla frozen yogurt, but we went with Philadelphia style vanilla. Yum.



Without further ado:

Beach Plum-Berry Crisp
Topping:
¾ cup brown sugar, packed
¾ cup rolled oats
¾ cup flour
4 tbsp butter
2 tbsp maple syrup

Fruit Filling
2 pounds ripe beach plums, pitted and sliced
2 cups sliced strawberries
¼ cup maple syrup
3 tablespoons sugar
2 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp fresh lemon juice
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
dash ground ginger

1 qt vanilla ice cream, optional

1. Preheat oven to 400°. For topping, combine sugar, oats and flour in large bowl. Blend in butter until crumbly. Stir in maple syrup with fork until mixture is evenly moistened. Set aside.
2. For filling, combine beach plums, strawberries, maple syrup, sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice, nutmeg and ginger and toss gently to combine in a shallow 2-quart baking dish.
3. Sprinkle topping evenly over the fruit mixture. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until top is golden and filling is bubbling. Let cool about 10 minutes. Serve hot or warm, with vanilla ice cream. Makes 8 servings.



It was slightly tart because of the beach plums, but super delicious and easy. And I got to forage! So cool!