raspberry tart

The crazy weather this spring and this summer has done terrible thing to crops like sour cherries, but at least the raspberries are doing okay.

gazpacho for the heat wave

Another heat wave is on its way to Chicago, so I'm stocking up on Gazpacho. My last recipe came out of things I had from the market, and this is only slightly modified: 4 large tomatoes, an orange and a red bell pepper, a cucumber, a head of garlic, a red onion, a splash of vinegar, a half bunch of cilantro, salt, freshly ground cumin and pimentón de la Vera dulce, a smoked Spanish paprika. Lastly I added a dose of very good olive oil (maybe a third or quarter cup?), which really rounds it out and makes a difference since it isn't cooked. (This had to be done in two batches in a standard 14c food processor). Makes about two liters.

risotto (without arborio)

I started making risotto and after sautéing onions and having already chopped the asparagus, I realized that I was put of arborio rice. Japansese short-grain rice made for a great substitute, and Grüner Veltliner made for a great base to start the risotto (the broth was chicken-based otherwise).

too hot for real cooking

At 97ºF (36ºC), it is too hot to cook. Naturally, I have time to cook for the first time in months, but can't get myself to do more than blanch asparagus (good stuff too, it's from the local farmer's market).

Blanch asparagus, drop 'em in an ice bath. Drain them and toss with paper-thin spring onions and lemon juice. Top with parmesan and tuna and finish with a nice fruity olive oil.

It's very refreshing. Especially with an almost effervescent vinho verde.

banana cakes

Dan Lepard's banana bread recipes are pretty great (Dan Lepard is the Guardian's dreamy baker-writer); this is the first one, which is akin to a pound cake. It's very moist and has great texture. Beating melted butter, sugar and flour sounds like an odd process (and does not resemble the traditional method for pound cakes) but the result is truly wonderful.

The second recipe, a ginger banana bread, is really great. It uses whole wheat flour, muscovado (I used brown sugar instead) and candied ginger. Below is the first try; the second time I beat it a bit more which I think more fully hydrated the whole wheat flour — I also let it sit for about five minutes before going in the oven — these two things gave it a really great texture. It's a perfect afternoon snack with coffee or tea.

 

seared lamb and endive

I don't cook as much as I used to, sadly. (Oh, grad school!) But sometimes I get around to it, such as seared lamb rib chops and endive (with potatoes). This came out really well. Lots of garlic and rosemary were used, and the rare lamb and seared endive pair very well.

lapin au saupiquet

Lapin au saupiquet: rabbit marinated in vinegar and stewed in wine, finished with prunes cooked in stock, butter and brandy. The sauce/gravy is probably one of the best I have made... ever. So delicious. We started with shaved fennel salad and ate the rabbit with parsley potatoes. Finished with a plum-frangipane tart. This is from vol. II of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1970).

birthday

I started with my favorite cake, a génoise, and with some fresh peaches and raspberries from the farmer's market and some various creams — whipped and bavarian (pastry cream and more whipped cream) — I made myself a pretty satisfying birthday cake.

Odd Bits

I haven't been this excited about a book in a while. Yesterday I turned thirty, and today this arrived in the mail. Perfect birthday present to myself. (Now I just need to make time for some head cheese making).

Moreover, Tongue with salsa verde and potato-radish salad? Yes, please. Beef heart tartare? Swoon. Finnish blood pancakes? Tripe in Calvados? I can't wait.

Another great work of culinary writing and creation by Jennifer McLagan.

frangipane apricot tart

The farmers market near my house has had the most wonderful stone fruits from Michigan; last week was sadly the final week of sour cherries so my caneton Montmorency fantasy will have to be fulfilled next summer as the last few weekends have been oppressively humid and the idea of roasting a duck in such conditions was less than desirable (meanwhile, I have some sour cherries saved in rum and others in Luxardo, which should make for some great late-summer cocktails). I decided to make a frangipane tart; above is the prep for a basic flaky pastry, which doesn't need to be pre-baked as the frangipane — a divine almond-butter-egg mixture — bakes into a cakelike consistency and the excess butter drains nicely out of the false-bottomed tart pan (and hopefully not onto the floor of your oven).


Setting up the tart I almost wished that I had made a fresh tart with pastry cream as the color was so vivid. The plums were very ripe, a rich vermilion, and the apricots were perfectly firm and smooth.


I glazed the tart with apricot jam; the upper edges of the apricots are perfectly caramelized and the frangipane firm but moist.

black raspberries

Pretty excited to have found black raspberries from Michigan at the farmer's market near my house (I don't think I ever saw these when I lived in Massachusetts). They are a bit too good to do anything but eat on their own.

leek-asparagus quiche

The key to a great quiche is cream, not milk. I cooked ½ lb. sliced leeks in water, salt, and butter until they were soft and the water had mostly cooked off. I added ½ lb. sliced asparagus stalks and cooked that for a minute or two. That was added to 3 eggs, 1½ c. cream, some nutmeg, pepper and shredded emmenthaler and poured into a partially-baked crust. I topped it with the asparagus tips and cooked it until it was set and just starting to brown. Chervil on top was a great touch.