Monthly Archives: August 2012

Pizza for Breakfast?

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I don’t think I’m the only one who loves a slice of leftover pizza for breakfast. What about a fresh, grilled pizza for breakfast? The thick meaty tomatoes from Wolfe Spring Farm prompted us to give it a try. Our weekend guest had brought a few cheeses. A buratta which we used on our bruschetta and a nice fresh mozzarella from Murray’s in Grand Central Terminal. Tomatoes, mozzarella? Fresh basil in the garden? Caprese salad? No, PIZZA! We had two crusts from Berkshire Mountain Bakery in the freezer and did this: Sliced the tomatoes, pushed out most of the seeds, salted them and let them drain for an hour or so in the sun. They got nice and tender and dried out a bit. Fortunately, I had roasted some garlic this week so we smeared a few cloves of roasted garlic on each crust, then rubbed some olive oil on them too. Sliced and layered on the mozzarella. ;aye red on the cheese, added a little salt and lots of freshly found black pepper, and grilled the whole thing for about 15 minutes. Then, we sprinkled one of them with fresh basil from the garden, and the other one with basil, fresh chopped oregano and some nasturtium flowers. I have to admit, the nasturtium flowers were for looks. Even though they are edible and have a delicate peppery taste, it was unnecessary and, frankly, weird. The pizza had a delicious blackened crust and a simple earthy taste from the garlic, tomatoes and cheese. Tonight, we’ll have leftover breakfast pizza for dinner!


PS – Deb, blogging is hard! I don’t know how you keep up!

Nearly Rained-Out Bruschetta Bar

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It was so hot and humid Saturday night. It drizzled and cleared up so many times we didn’t know whether to stay outside or not. Just in time for some wine and snacks, the weather stabilized. Low heavy fog, sunny up on the top of the hill, wine and bruschetta. What’s not to like?

So, back to the point of all this. With the lovely cherry tomatoes from Wolfe Spring Farm we made a classic, simple bruschetta. We quartered a quart of the tomatoes, tossed them with some salt and drained out the liquid for an hour or so. Then, we tossed them with a little bit of chopped fresh garlic (one or two cloves) black pepper and a bit more salt, let them sit and drain for another half hour then tossed in some fresh chopped basil from our garden and, presto! It was summer on a piece of grilled toast (Berkshire Mountain Bakery sourdough baguette, sliced, drizzled with olive oil and grilled until crispy). We also served some buratta (courtesy of our weekend guest) and some homemade hummus (nothing local or fresh except the parsley……nobody is perfect.) this was supposed to be the first course but we were so satisfied we stopped and went straight to the banana black pepper ice cream.ImageImageImageImageImageImage

Fired-Up Fingerlings

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The first thing we did with the awesome Wolfe Spring Farm bounty that Deb and Paul so kindly shared with us was to roast the fingerling potatoes. It’s a basic recipe that can be made with a number of different ingredients. Here, we washed the WSF potatoes, pricked them with a fork, tossed them in salt, olive oil, sliced jalapeño peppers (WSF), smashed garlic (WSF), a little lime juice and some fresh lime slices (Stop and Shop, kind of local: Canaan CT) and stuck them on the grille in an enameled metal pan (sourced locally: the New Marlborough transfer station dumptique!). They brown nicely, take on a delicious char and are delicious tossed with some fresh chopped epazote (our garden) when still warm. You could do this with lemons and black pepper and parsley, or any combination of spices and herbs you want.

Bayside Dinner in Bristol

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Had a delicious meal last night at cousins Kara and David Milner’s beautiful bayfront home in Bristol, Rhode Island. Is nothing better than a lovingly prepared home-cooked, market-driven meal prepared by someone else?? Add a to-die for view and easy-going companionship and you’ve got a recipe for a perfect evening. Kara prepared Campfire Salmon, Israeli couscous and a crunchy seasonal salad.

Kara’s Camfire Salmon

The Campfire Salmon is a variation on a recipe from a handy cookbook called Simply in Season. Kara kindly walked me through the recipe briefly. Good thing about it is that you can prepare it in advance, wrap it up in tin foil, and pop it in the fridge until you are ready to grill (or bake in oven). Kara sliced up onion, placed a large filet of wild salmon on top, sliced up lemons and local zucchini to go on top, sprinked with some fresh dill, a dash of olive oil and a splash of white wine. Fold up the tin foil and cook immediately on a heated grill or 450 degree F oven, or store in fridge until ready to do so. This versatile recipe is a great way to feed a large group and you can add/subtract veggies based on what’s in season. Like it.

On the side, I loved Kara’s crunchy salad featuring heirloom cherry tomatoes and yellow cucumbers from a local CSA, crunchy fresh corn kernels, spinach, maybe some watercress (?) and sliced sweet red onions. Kara, chime in if I missed anything.

Kara’s Salad: tomatoes, yellow cucumbers, corn, spinach, red onion and watercress

And did I mention the Sour Cream Blueberry Pie for dessert?? So yummy, with a crispy lattice top and crust. Hubs refused to even taste at the mere mention of the words “sour cream.” His loss – was scrumptious. I haven’t bugged Kara yet for the recipe and probably won’t. Fear if I make it, it will go straight to my hips.

Thank you, Kara & David!

Cornucopia

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Substitute blogger Dan here. This morning, we picked up these beautiful veggies (and sunflowers) from Wolf Spring Farm, thanks to Deb and Paul’s generosity. They were having a tag sale at the farm and we picked up a few books. A swarm of perhaps a hundred cyclists buzzed by on the road while we were there. Also swarming was a hornets nest right over our car.

Stay tuned for what we do with these lovely ingredients. I’m thinking bruschetta with the tomatoes, ratatouille or baba ganoush with the eggplant. The corn, well, we’re purists. We’ll boil it it and have it with salt and butter tonight with our Moon in the Pond pork chops

Sharing is Caring – Double Trouble Tomato Bruschetta

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At least that’s what Barney says. Those of you with small kids will get a smile out of that. Those of you without will likely scorn me and unleash the unbabyme app on my web presence.  Ah well, can’t please everyone.

This afternoon’s post is about sharing. I am fortunate to have awesome readers who frequently send me recipes.  Going forward, I will periodically invite readers to post to this blog as well. I love sharing recipes and  collaborating to improve a meal.  And, clearly love talking about cooking with all of you.

I will be out of town the next few Saturdays, so will sadly miss my beloved CSA Pick-ups at Wolfe Spring Farm. In my place, I have drafted friend, neighbor and fellow foodie Dan Doern to wax poetic on summer’s finest. I am also sad to miss this period because it is really peak season now in the NE. Readers may remember Dan Doern from pickled haricot verts fame. No pressure, Dan, but don’t let us down.

In reality, I fear Dan will handily out-foodie me. Bring it, Dan.

And, also in the spirit of sharing, I wanted to pass along a recipe sent to me this morning by  long-time friend, social media superstar and part-time vegan, Nicolette Barber. Everyone’s trying to figure out what to do with this year’s tomato bounty. Nico shares a timely recipe for Double Tomato Bruschetta that looks scrumptious. Take your basic bruschetta recipe, add sun-dried tomatoes to increase depth of flavor and melt some mozz on top. Kick it up a notch, why dontcha?

All Recipes: Double Tomato Bruschetta

Haven’t tried the recipe, but want to. Readers, please keep sharing!

It’s PYO Time

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Everything you need to know about how, where and when to pick your own fruits and veggies can be found at http://www.pickyourown.org.  What a great resource for seekers of local, farm-fresh foods and farmers. The site also has a lot of valuable tips on what I call the “lost arts” of home canning, preserving and freezing, as well as a Harvest Calendar for each state so you’ll know what’s in season where you live.  The site itself has a homegrown feel, too. And if you know of a farm that’s not listed, just submit it.  In Western MA, we’ve got blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and peaches in season right now. And I am already looking forward to fall apple picking.

I learned about this website from Red Rabbit Foods, a great organization that makes healthy lunches for school children in the NY area.

What are you picking now?

Monday Night Dinner: A Day Late, but Still Worth Talking About

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I made an easy-peasy salmon recipe last night that’s definitely worth sharing. It’s from Cooking Light  – Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes. Minimal prep time, and delicious outcome. The only con is that you do have to use your oven, which can be a downer on a summer night.

From Cooking Light: Salmon with Roasted Tomatoes

What I love about this recipe is that you don’t even have to halve the tomatoes. Wash and dry them, toss with some olive oil, garlic cloves, thyme and salt and pepper. Done! The recipe tells you to mince the garlic, but I simplified it further by leaving the garlic cloves whole and smashing them. I also added a quartered hothouse tomato simply because I had it on hand. All tomatoes and garlic were from my CSA Pick-up on Saturday. This week’s tomatoes are done and done.

Tomatoes Ready to Roast

I do like roasted tomatoes. Check out another great roasted tomato recipe here.

And here’s my final product:

Final product: Salmon with Roasted Cherry Tomatoes

Another Great Corn Recipe: Sauteed Corn with Fresh Herbs Galore

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Sure everyone loves corn on the cob. But after the first few butter-slathered corn on the cobs of the season, most folks start to wonder what to do with all those ears of corn. We had a bunch from our CSA pick-up, and as June reminded me, corn does not last. Fresh corn is a limited time only treat, and we all want to make the most of it.

Hubs and I discovered an awesome recipe in Bon Appetit a few years ago that has become one of our go-to recipes for summer corn. Sauteed Corn with Tons of Herbs is simple, easy and takes advantage of other seasonal items like fresh herbs and shallots. What else are you going to do with that parsley and basil gone wild in your garden?

From Bon Appetit:Summer Corn Saute with Tons of Herbs

This is an easy recipe, but it does take some elbow grease. First, remove the corn from the cobs.

Preparation: Corn removed from cobs

Next, chop up your herbs and shallots:

Hubs Handiwork: perfectly minced herbs and shallots

Then saute the shallots and cumin seeds in some butter, add the corn and continue to lightly saute. Remove from flame and fold in herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste and serve. Delicious warm or cold. Leftovers always welcome.

What do you do with summer corn once your love affair with corn on the cob has ended?

Restaurant Sub-cultures – Terms of Service by Ben Schott

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I found this article by Ben Schott in today’s NY Times absolutely fascinating. The articles’s entitled “Terms of Service” and lists insiders’ lingo at some of New York City’s top restaurants. Ever wonder what they say behind closed kitchen doors? Or when that snooty reservationist puts the receiver down?

Some abbreviations are downright funny, some offensive, some clever. Interesting also how the -phrases used represent the establishment’s culture and vibe. I did find a few surprises, too. Who ever thought the clientele at Daniel, Daniel Boulud’s formal restaurant on the Upper East Side, would be referred to as Original Gangstas?

Happy reading and let me know what you think…