Saying goodbye to the Barefoot Bloggers

Well, it appears that this will be my last post with the Barefoot Bloggers. I was taken off the member list because I didn't participate for two months over the summer, and I respect the decision of the group's mods (though I won't say I'm happy about it). I did make both of September's recipes though, and I think they came out pretty well, so I still wanted to post about them.

Both of the September recipes were cake recipes - apparently a coincidence but sort of a difficult situation given the fact that there's only two of us and we'd never eat that much cake (nor should we!) Luckily, though, I had an out - my office has a dessert party every month to celebrate all of the employee birthdays during that month, so I just offered to provide the cake this time. Everybody won in that situation - I had an appropriate way to offload a metric buttload of cake, and our office administrative staff didn't need to go to spend the money on a store-bought cake and go to the trouble of picking it up.


Please ignore the horrible photos - the lighting in the conference room at work is less than optimal.

The first cake was a white sheet cake with chocolate ganache frosting, and was a particular challenge because A)I don't own a sheet pan of the right size and shape to make it as directed, and B)the recipe was given fairly bad reviews on foodnetwork.com, claiming the cake was dry and too sweet, Luckily, my best friend Cristen happens to be an amazing baker (check out her mail order bakery on Etsy!), so I showed her the recipe and asked her advice on how to fix it. She recommended omitting the cornstarch to fix the dryness issue, and cutting the sugar back to 2 cups. I also followed the recommendations made in the FN reviews to reduce the baking soda by a 1/4 tsp, as the indicated amount is apparently too much for the flour called for, and added lime zest in addition to the requisite lemon because I had a flavor combination of raspberry and citrus in mind for the finished product. These all seemed to be good alterations, because the cake came out reasonably moist and with just the right amount of sweetness and a complex citrus flavor (the extra cup of sugar called for in the recipe definitely would have been too much) though it seemed unusually dense to me and had a weird swiss-cheese-like crumb with big air holes.

Lacking the proper pan, I also opted to make this a layer cake instead of a sheet cake and baked it in two batches in a 9" square cake pan.

For the ganache frosting, I opted for white chocolate instead of semisweet. I don't have a real double boiler and have had awful luck with the standard rig of a bowl over a pan of hot water, so I opted to make the frosting by heating the heavy cream in a pan with the vanilla, corn syrup, butter, and more lemon and lime zest, then poured the hot cream over the white chocolate chips in a bowl and let it sit until the chips were melted and could be stirred evenly into the cream. After a stint in the fridge the frosting thickened to the perfect spreadable consistency.

For filling and additional topping I made a raspberry mousse of sorts by folding seedless raspberry jam into some stiffly whipped cream (plus a drop or two of red food coloring, because the all-natural jam I bought didn't have the lovely red hue of normal jams).

To assemble, I leveled off both cakes and spread the top of the first layer with store-bought lemon curd, then spooned on a generous amount of the mousse and spread it edge to edge. Then I added the second layer of cake and spread it with more lemon curd, then covered the entire cake with the ganache. On the day I served it, I poured the remaining mousse over the top of the cake and spread it so that it would spill over the sides a bit. In retrospect, I wish I'd either put the mousse into a piping bag and piped it neatly around the edge of the cake, or used just plain raspberry jam thinned with a bit of water and drizzled it over the top - the way I did it, I think it was kinda ugly. Ah well, lessons learned.



The second cake was Beatty's Chocolate Cake, a deep chocolate cake with mocha buttercream. The secret ingredient in this cake is brewed coffee, which isn't recognizable as an individual flavor in the finished cake but which enhances the flavor of the chocolate. Aside from turning this cake into a layer cake as well, I pretty much followed the recipe as written, and as far as I'm concerned it was perfect. The cake was exactly what I think of when I think of chocolate cake - soft and moist with a fluffy crumb and a deep, dark chocolate flavor that wasn't too sweet.

The buttercream recipe was perfect too, smooth and rich with an ideal balance of chocolate and coffee. I was actually really proud of my buttercream, because this was the first time I'd ever made one from scratch and I was absolutely convinced that it was going to break on me when I added the melted chocolate. The key, I found, was simply going slowly and not overmixing the frosting - I added the chocolate one large spoonful at a time and mixed it slowly with my handbeater on its lowest setting, and only beat it until the chocolate was evenly worked into the butter and sugar base. It was so much easier than I would have expected, and so much tastier than any store bought or bakery buttercream that I've had. I'll never be afraid to make real frosting again!

With all the coffee and chocolate, my immediate thought was to turn this into a sort of tiramisu, which I did by making a filling of sweetened mascarpone blended with powdered espresso, and lining the sides of the cake with ladyfingers. After creating and filling the cake layers (same technique as witht he first cake, minus the crumb-coat layer of lemon curd - this cake was so moist it didn't need it) and spreading the whole thing with that beautiful buttercream, an extra sprinkle of chocolate chips finished the job. If the first cake was a bit of an ugly duckling, I think this one was much closer to the beautiful swan I envisioned.



Though both cakes were tasty - extremely so, as a matter of fact - and my coworkers seemed to prefer the white cake option, the mocha tiramisu cake was the hands-down winner in my eyes. The cake and frosting were simply superior to the sheet cake recipe, and although I love raspberries and citrus together I am generally hard-pressed to come up with a better dessert flavor combination than coffee and chocolate. The only thing that might have made it better would have been a bit of spice, either a warming sweet spice like cinnamon or a tingly heat from some kind of chili. Perhaps next time.

So with this I wave farewell to the Barefoot Bloggers - its been fun and I've learned a lot, but I suppose its time to move on and seek out other opportunities. I'll be looking for new groups to join, so stay tuned!

Summer, foodified

So, its come to this. I'm making up words now. My college writing professor would either be ashamed or delighted, depending on her mood. But if anything is worth butchering the English language for, its this meal.

Jamie Oliver has wormed his adorably-mop-headed British way into my heart as a chef who really knows his way around good, simple, honest food. J bought me "Jamie at Home", the companion book to his show of the same name, for Christmas last year, and although we've only tried a few of the recipes they've all been winners. (The "Hot and Sour Rhubarb and Crispy Pork with Noodles" on page 58 is a particular hit, but that's a post for another day.) But so far, my absolute favorite recipe from the book is his "Incredible Smashed Peas and Fava Beans on Toast" from page 156, and it was the star of this supremely summer meal.

There's very few things quite as delicious as a bowl of homemade soup and some crusty bread, and our hot-weather take on this common pairing consisted of smooth and creamy vichyssoise and Jamie's fava and pea crostini. Cool, fresh, light, and beautifully green, this meal was both satisfying and refreshing on a muggy August evening.



I made the vichyssoise based on this recipe from Epicurious, and made it the day before we intended to eat it so that it could chill and the flavors blend thoroughly. I made some changes to make it a bit healthier, and to account for the fact that I'd only bought one leek (oops!). I sauteed the white and light green parts of the leek as per the recipe, but reserved the tough dark green tops to infuse the broth later and inject more leeky flavor into the soup. I also added an equal amount of white onion to ramp up the oniony sharpness and better balance the starchy weight of the potatoes. I used a good amount of white pepper instead of black for an earthier kick, and used non-fat Greek yogurt in place of the milk and cream which gave the soup a delicious, though probably non-traditional, tang. I also had to skip the chives because I didn't have any, but I don't think that the soup suffered much for it.



The finished soup was cool, creamy, smooth and savory, with just a bit of heat tingling on the tip of the tongue. It could have used more leek, obviously, but its hard to imagine a better soup on a hot day. Except, perhaps, a simple cold tomato soup, but we've been over that already.

But really, I'd be lying if I didn't say that the soup, as good as it was, paled in comparison to these simple, vibrant green toasts.



The base of the toasts were homemade English muffins (I'll need to make these again so I can blog about them too - they're shockingly easy and perfectly delicious!), split and toasted and brushed with extra virgin olive oil. Thick slices of fresh, lightly salted mozzarella topped the bread, followed by a tumble of fresh, peppery arugula dressed simply with EVOO, kosher salt and coarse cracked black pepper. Then the whole thing got topped off with a big spoonful of the fava and pea mash, made with the aforementioned beans (this really needs to be made with fresh peas and favas - their bright sweetness just sings here - but since I had neither and frankly didn't feel like buying and then shelling enough of them to make this meal, I made do with frozen. It was still excellent.) coarsely pureed with lemon juice, EVOO, salt, black pepper, fresh mint, and a bit of parmesan.

Biting into one of these babies is a little taste of heaven. Sweet, verdant, peppery, and lightly creamy; the smooth mozzarella, tender but lightly textured mash, crisp greens and crunchy bread... I could eat this every day. Its got a little bit of everything, the perfect blending of flavors and textures. And despite its lightness, its surprisingly satisfying. A few of these would make a wonderful lunch all on their own. But paired with a bowl of vichyssoise and a glass of chilled, dry white wine, it was an excellent summer dinner, one I hope to repeat in the very near future.

Barefoot Bloggers - White Pizza with Arugula

I've been out of the loop with the Barefoot Bloggers for far too long, and I think its time I get back on the horse. I'm not sure if I'll get through both recipes this month, but if I was going to choose only one I knew that this had to be the one: Ina's White Pizza with Arugula, chosen by Angela of Nummy Kitchen.

I've been wanting to try a salad-topped pizza like this for some time, and this was just the excuse I needed to do it. There's just something about the juxtaposition of warm, crisp, cheesy pizza topped with fresh, peppery greens and tart dressing that appeals to me on a very base level - I guess its just the unique satisfaction that only comes from that perfect balance of tastes and textures.

The most involved part of this recipe is the pizza dough itself, and although I thought I had already found my go-to pizza dough recipe I decided to give this one a shot. I'm not sure if it was actually the recipe or the way I went about making it, but it came out head and shoulders above my old recipe. I tried to be patient with this one, adding the flour gradually to be sure I'd get the right consistency to the dough (soft and silky and pliable, unlike the rather dense dough the other recipe gives me) and I let it rise three times over the course of nearly 8 hours so that it could really develop some nice flavor and chewy gluten. I also used a 1-4 ratio of semolina/durham pasta flour to AP flour for a little extra complexity. The finished dough was extremely stretchy but delicate, admittedly difficult to shape and move, but with a light and airy quality that I've never achieved before.



I opted to grill my pizza rather than bake it, partly because it was hellishly hot and humid the day I made this and the thought of turning on the oven was not even close to attractive, and partially because I still think that grilling is the ideal way to get that puffy but crispy crust which I've never quite accomplished indoors. It was a good decision, and the finished crust was as close to perfect as I think I will ever get making pizza at home.

I brushed the crust with the garlic/thyme/crushed red pepper-infused oil and put it oiled-side-down on on the heated grill grate. The crust cooked until the bottom was just getting golden brown, then I brushed the top side with more of the oil and flipped it. Immediately the cooked side got another coat of the oil, some scattered slices of fresh mozzarella, Italian fontina, and low-fat feta (the original recipe called for goat cheese but I wasn't really interested in that) and a sprinkle of diced red bell pepper. By putting the cover on the grill it was transformed into an oven, allowing the cheese to melt and the dough to cook through. About 5 minutes later, the pizza was perfectly browned and crispy on the bottom and gooey-melty on top.



Bringing the pizza back inside, I tossed some fresh young arugula in a dressing of lemon juice, olive oil, salt, black pepper, and a smidge each of sugar and spicy brown mustard for flavor balance and body. The dressed greens got piled on top of the hot pizza where they began to wilt just a bit, but before they had a chance to get too limp I sliced it in quarters and served it up.



Man, was this tasty. The combination of cheeses, the perfect (seriously, I mean it, it was perfect) crispy crust, the peppery tangy greens, the occasional sweet pop of the red bell pepper - just delicious. Surprisingly light but totally satisfying, it was an ideal summer dinner.



I would make this again in a heartbeat. As a matter of fact, I think I'd consider making this in personal pizza form at a bbq - a bit non-traditional maybe, but I think it'd be a hit.

Barefoot Bloggers: Catching Up

I know, I know - I've sort of abandoned this blog for the past month or so. I've been in something of a funk recently, and despite the fact that we continue to cook really great food on a regular basis, and I've been keeping up with my assignments for Barefoot Bloggers, I just haven't had the motivation to come here and sit down and spend the hours required to get any of it down on virtual paper. To tell the truth, I still am not feeling particularly motivated, but I'm trying to force myself through some of my self-imposed backlog in the hopes that once that source of stress is gone, I'll be more interested in writing about the new stuff.

To that end, I'm going to bend the BB rules a bit and post the last three challenges in this post, so I can start fresh with the second recipe for April.

------------------
1st Recipe for March: Chicken Picatta
plus a bonus recipe, Sauteed Broccolini



Chicken Picatta is definitely one of those classic dishes that I think every cook should know how to make, and though I've made it myself once or twice, I was usually guessing my way through it. I was thrilled when Lindsay of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings chose Ina's recipe as one of the challenges for March, as I would finally have a recipe to follow from a cook I trust.

I made only a few small changes to this recipe (and for once, halving it wasn't one of them - I made the full recipe in the interest of having leftovers for lunch the next day). First, I used panko breadcrumbs that I seasoned myself in place of the seasoned Italian breadcrumbs Ina calls for. Second, I couldn't quite see my way to making chicken picatta without capers, and I put garlic in everything, so when I saw that Ina's recipe called for neither I knew that would have to change. I used a couple of tablespoons of brined capers and a couple of minced cloves of garlic and sauteed them in the pan before adding the stock, wine, and lemon juice. I also used just a tiny bit of cornstarch near the end to thicken up the sauce a bit, as I wanted it to sort of hold its own on top of the chicken rather than being immediately absorbed, as clear-liquid-based sauces are wont to do even when reduced. Finally, I topped our servings of chicken with a fine fresh grating of real parmiggiano reggiano, because everything deserves a little cheese.



I also used this as an excuse to make one of the BRCs (Bonus Recipe Challenges) for March, Ina's Sauteed Broccolini (technically I guess this was supposed to be February's BRC, but whatever) as chosen by Mary of Meet Me in the Kitchen. Since the recipe called for garlic and lemon and I already had all that out for the chicken, it seemed like a perfect match.

And indeed, it was. This was just about exactly what I expect when I think of chicken picatta. The chicken was toasty and crunchy on the outside while still being tender and moist inside, and the sauce was tangy, savory, briny, and bright from all the fresh parsley. And I'll say it again, I really can't imagine this dish without capers, as the little pop of salty pungency you get when you bite into one with the chicken is just perfect.



The broccolini was also a really great side for this, very clean and fresh-tasting, the simple preparation and seasoning allowing the flavor of the broccolini to really shine. I love broccolini though and cook it pretty frequently, and this is pretty much my usual method for cooking it - sometimes I roast instead of sautee, sometimes I use balsamic or soy instead of lemon juice, but the basic idea is the same - so I knew before I even made it that it would be good.

I do feel like the meal as a whole could have used something a little bit neutral, like some whipped potatoes or bread, to help counteract the acidity from all that lemon, so next time I'll probably add another side to help round things out. But overall, this meal was definitely a winner, and I can certainly see myself going back to these recipes.

------------------
2nd Recipe for March: Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts



I just recently saw Ina make these Tomato and Goat Cheese Tarts on her show, and I remember thinking that it sounded extremely good. I was pretty happy when I saw that Anne of Anne Strawberry had picked this as one of our challenges, because I was sure it'd be tasty.

I had to make a few small changes to the recipe out of necessity, specifically because we neglected to buy either basil or thyme that week at the grocery store. I had dry basil that I could use as a substitute (not that dry basil is ever a good substitute for fresh) but didn't even have dry thyme, so I had to improvise with some oregano and poultry seasoning. I couldn't find garlic and herb goat cheese that didn't cost an arm and a leg, so I bought fresh plain chevre and added seasonings myself (a grated garlic clove, some dry basil, oregano, and poultry seasoning, and some black pepper). I couldn't find a nice big tomato that looked like it'd be tasty to cut into big single slices, so I had to use a small vine-ripened tomato and use two slices per tart, halved and arranged as evenly as possible. Finally, I grated the parm instead of shaving it, which was really just an aesthetic change more than anything else.



The tarts came out perfectly, they really did - I was actually really shocked that Ina's technique for creating the tart shell worked as well as it did, and I think I will be using that technique quite a bit in the future - but I have to say, I was not thrilled with this. At all. And its not Ina's fault.

See, I used to love goat cheese, but last summer J and I had sort of a binge on it after visiting an incredible cheese shop in Mattituck and picking up the best chevre we'd ever tasted, a local product from Catapano farms. It was mild and creamy and incredibly fresh, and I think we ate goat cheese on bread every night for a week as an appetizer. But at the end of the week, after eating said goat cheese, later in the evening I wound up sick for some other as-yet-undetermined reason, and let me just say that no matter how good that cheese tasted on the way down, it was NOT pleasant on the way back up. I know, TMI, but I think you'll all understand when I say that ever since then, my taste for goat cheese has waned somewhat.

Its a shame, because recipes that call for it always SOUND so good, much like this one did. But I just couldn't do it. I got through half my tart, and despite it being perfectly cooked with deliciously sweet caramelized onions, juicy tomato, and crisp pastry, that pungent goaty flavor just got in the way. So, unfortunately, the remainder of my tart went in the trash. Sorry Ina... its not you, its me.



J gave the tarts his seal of approval though, so that's something. I'm thinking that if I ever made these again, I'd just make mine with feta - I KNOW I'd like that.

(I have since discovered that I'm still pretty much ok with goat cheese when eaten plain, just on some bread or crackers - I think when it gets muddled up with other flavors, though, particularly sweet ones, it just doesn't work for me. Will continue to experiment until I figure it out.)

------------------
1st Recipe for April: Chinese Chicken Salad



This recipe was a surprise hit. When I saw that McKenzie of Kenzie's Kitchen had chosen this recipe for Chinese Chicken Salad, I was a little skeptical - my first thought was of that salad that people make with uncooked instant ramen noodles, which I happen to love but couldn't imagine Ina making in a million years. When I saw the actual recipe, and how simple it was, I expected it to be ok, but not great. I must admit to being totally wrong.

As usual, I made some changes here, but the biggest one was something I really had no choice over. I have a very severe peanut allergy, so the peanut butter-based dressing was definitely a no-go. Instead, I used tahini, as its texture and flavor seemed like the closest thing to peanut butter that I could safely use. (Am I the only one who always thinks that toasted sesame smells vaguely peanutty?) I also upped the veggie quotient by adding some sugar snap peas and baby carrots to the asparagus and red bell peppers that the recipe called for, making this even more springy and fresh. Finally, I made some small adjustments to the dressing itself to compensate for the tahini substitution and my own tastes, adding a bit more soy and using sugar in place of honey (which I didn't have) and even a smidge of spicy dijon mustard for tang and body.



This salad was excellent - a great mix of flavors, colors and textures, supremely fresh and light while still managing to be completely satisfying all on its own. I was a hair's breadth away from cooking up some soba to have with this, but it really didn't need it. I had one noodle-bowl's worth of the salad and was perfectly content and full, without feeling stuffed. We loved this, and I am certain we'll be making it again when the weather gets warmer - I think this will be perfect picnic and bbq chow, just screaming to be eaten outside in the sunshine and fresh air, preferably with a cold beer or a glass of white wine.



Even though I didn't try it this time, I do think that this dressing would be perfect for a cold soba salad as well, so I'm pretty sure I'll be trying that out at some point soon.

------------------
PHEW. All caught up. I've got some other backlog to work through, along with another Ile de France cheese review (more goat cheese... ack!), but then I promise to start posting new stuff again. I've got a great original soup recipe to share, and my first original cookie recipe, both from the past week. So stay tuned!

Hummus Pizza

Just a quickie here to tell you all about a revelation that J and I had recently: hummus? AWESOME on pizza.

This particular specimen was made with an appropriately Mediterranean spin, beginning with a generous layer of hummus (a very simple basic recipe flavored with lemon, olive and garlic) topped with chopped fresh broccoli, caramelized onions, pine nuts, and a modest finish of shredded sharp cheddar and grated parmigiano reggiano (the good stuff), all on homemade pizza dough.



This was utterly satisfying as a pizza dinner, despite being way light on the usual fatty toppings. The hummus itself was actually extremely low-fat, because I used some of the liquid from the can of chickpeas to thin it out rather than a whole crapload of olive oil, and made up for the lack of olive flavor by tossing a couple of chopped brined green olives into the food processor. It came out delicious and you'd never know there was virtually no fat added (just 1 tbsp of olive oil for a little richness on the tongue). We've made practically guilt-free pies before by using skim milk ricotta or part-skim mozzarella, but unsurprisingly those pies would never hold a candle to this one when it comes to flavor and all around tummy satisfaction. It was delicious.



Now, I'm wondering just how far we could take this variation to mimic a real NY Italian-America pizza. Chickpeas are pretty much a blank slate when it comes to flavor - I mean sure, they have a taste all their own but they mix well with almost anything. Could we season the hummus with Italian herbs and spices to make a better fake-out for ricotta on a white pie? Could we add fresh tomatoes and basil to the hummus to make sort of a thick marinara paste? I'm not sure, but I totally want to try. And I want to explore the Greek and Mediterranean angle as well - topped with black olives and crumbled feta and Greek-style braised or sauteed greens, man would this be tasty. Or perhaps chicken souvlaki and thin slices of haloumi, cooked under the broiler till golden brown and crispy, then topped with a light, crisp, fresh cucumber salad. Mmmm. Am I drooling? Sorry.

And who says this variation should be relegated to chickpeas? Why not white beans in one of those Italian-style applications, or black or pinto beans to make a Mexican pizza? (Because we all love those - go on, admit it.) It'd be easy to mimic refritos on a pizza this way, without the extra, well, frying. In lard. Which is delicious, but not something I can really allow onto our dinner plates very often.



And as an added bonus to those of you (read: all of us) who are trying to save money on everyday food, this was seriously cheap to make. Less than $1 for a can of chickpeas on sale, and pennies' worth of flavoring ingredients added to make the hummus; half an onion, a small head of broccoli, probably less than $2 worth of cheese; pizza dough is nothing bu flour, yeast, and water in its most basic form, all very inexpensive if you're like me and buy them in bulk; and the pine nuts, while very tasty here, are really an unnecessary indulgence and could be omitted in the interest of tightening the belt a bit more. All told, when you consider that most of what went into this pie were pantry items for us, this couldn't have cost more than $5 or so to make. Not bad, considering how filling and delicious it was.

At any rate, I'd encourage anyone who likes hummus to give this a shot - even if you're not aiming for low-cal or don't care about your fat intake, try it anyway. Its still an incredibly flavorful way to approach pizza in a new way.

Barefoot Bloggers: Meringues Chantilly

I'm a couple of days late on February's second challenge for the Barefoot Bloggers, but to tell the truth I think I might have been even more late if this dessert hadn't turned out so spectacularly well - I just couldn't wait to tell you all about it!

Ina's Meringues Chantilly, chosen by BMK of Reservations Not Required, are composed of a simple vanilla meringue base topped with orange-scented whipped cream and stewed mixed berries. Certainly a lovely combination on their own. But in my part of the world, its still winter, and not only are berries not exactly at their best right now, but I'm in desperate need of food that evokes memories of warmer weather if I'm going to make it to spring without a serious case of cabin fever. So, I opted to take a more tropical approach to this dish, and man oh man did it work.



I followed Ina's directions for the meringues (which, from past experience and a lot of research, could use some clarification in parts - there's an awful lot of subtlety involved when making meringues, and her recipe as-written doesn't address a lot of the more common tips and tricks and pitfall advice that I've seen in more thorough recipes) though I only made a half batch. For flavoring, I replaced the vanilla extract with coconut and ground up a 1/4 cup of Just Tomatoes brand dried mangoes in my coffee grinder to mix with the sugar that would be added to the egg whites.

If you've never had Just Tomatoes dried fruit, I really recommend checking them out - these aren't soft, chewy dried fruit like you normally find in the grocery store. They're crisp and crunchy with no moisture left in them at all, with an intense fruit flavor that you just can't get otherwise. (If you've ever had Special K Red Berries, think about what the strawberries are like - that's basically what these are.) They can be eaten out of hand or added whole to other things (cereal, yogurt, oatmeal, or baked goods come to mind) but what I'm starting to experiment with is grinding them up to make intense fruit powders. Imagine mixing dried raspberry powder with ground coriander and ginger to make a spice rub for pork, or shaking up some strawberry powder with aged balsamic and olive oil for a super smooth and flavorful salad dressing, or stirring some peach powder into white chocolate ganache for truffles. The possibilities for applications are endless, especially considering the variety of fruits and even vegetables on offer from the company. Don't get scared off by the price - the potential for unique and creative recipes is endless.



The ground mangoes were absolutely perfect here - after the meringues had their long slow bake and even longer drying time in the oven, the mango flavor had intensified and bloomed, yielding a crispy airy bite with the unmistakable sweet-tart flavor of mango and a subtle aromatic whiff of coconut underneath. Some of my meringues came out a bit chewy in the middle, which I think was partially caused by a slightly truncated bake time (forgot to set my oven timer at first and had to guess to make up the time) and some difficulty whipping the egg whites to their proper soft peaks. I really think that Ina has you add the sugar too early, and that the use of regular granulated sugar was a mistake - it was too heavy and weighted down the meringue so that no matter how long I beat it, it never got quite stiff enough. That's why my meringues didn't come out with those nice ridges as well, despite being piped with a star tip - once they hit the heat, they couldn't hold their shape (though at least they didn't spread much).

No matter, the flavor was perfect and that's the post important thing, especially since they would just soften up later anyway under the fruit and cream toppings.



To go along with my tropical mango meringue shells, I decided to make a pair of fruit toppings: a very simple blackberry sauce made with a half-pint of blackberries (the only kind that looked good at the store), a bit of white sugar, some lemon juice and lime zest; and a fresh mango salsa dressed with lime juice, brown sugar, and some fresh basil and mint cut in a chiffonade. The whipped cream topping also got a hit of lime zest and a tiny splash of coconut extract to bring the whole thing full circle.

I assembled them as per Ina's instructions - a dollop of blackberry sauce on the plate, spread out a bit so it'd peak out beneath the meringue that was set on top of it. Top the meringue shell with a dollop of whipped cream, then a big spoonful of the mango salsa and another drizzle of the blackberry sauce. Finish with a small spoonful of whipped cream and some fresh mint, and dessert is served.



This, people, was the best dessert I have ever made in my life. I'm calling this restaurant-worthy.

The combination of flavors was exactly what I wanted, tropical and summery and reminiscent of a hot day in the Virgin Islands, with a nice balance of sweet and tart, verdant herbs and bright citrus, aromatic fruit and creamy dairy. The interplay of textures was exciting - slightly crisp meringue becoming chewy and toothsome under the fruit and cream, tender sweet morsels of mango, smooth cool whipped cream, slightly crunchy seeds in the blackberry sauce. Totally perfect. I do think it tended a bit too much to the sweet side of things, which I would remedy next time by cutting down on the sugar in the meringues, the blackberry sauce, and the cream. The mango in the salsa was also a bit underripe so it wasn't as soft and juicy and intense as it would be in the summer. But even with those small shortcomings, this was excellent. Mouthwatering. Craveable. Totally deserving of a spot at the end of a fancy dinner party, or as a regular offering on a restaurant menu. Honestly, it's THAT good.

And I get to have it again tonight.

I love my life.

In Photos: "Cutting Board Meals"

We originally made this meal last month as an entry for the Barefoot Bloggers' Bonus Recipe Challenge for January - Cheese Platters. However, I never got on the ball enough to post it in time to submit it to the group, so I've just been sitting on the photos ever since. However, I decided to share them with you as an example of one of our favorite types of meals to make on a weeknight. We call them "cutting board meals".

Similar to an Italian antipasto, our cutting board meals always involve a couple varieties of cheese, usually one or two types of cured meat, some bread, and a few types of veggies, occasionally with a dip or spread depending on what components we've chosen. These meals are fantastic because they're lightening fast to make (usually involving no more work than some slicing and possible blanching of veggies) and can be adapted to any culinary ethnicity you like (Asian, Italian, Indian, Mexican, and Spanish cuisines work especially well here). Plus, they're fun to eat. We'll sit for maybe an hour or so, leisurely picking a bite at a time, playing with combinations of ingredients, trying to find the best all around bite out of what we've assembled. It's interactive and relaxing, and a nice change from our usual modus operandi of spending over an hour in the kitchen for a meal that only takes 15 minutes to eat.



This meal was sort of an antipasto with an identity crisis, comprised of two cheeses (Jarlsburg swiss and Prima Donna), two sausages (sweet soppresetta and a really fantastic spicy salami with fennel), roasted red peppers, quickly blanched sugar snap peas, roasted garlic ciabatta, and for a fun twist, some baked brie in puff pastry with pecans and raspberry-champagne preserves. It was delicious.

How would you make a cutting board meal? Give it a try!

Homemade Membrillo, Pork Roulade

I love membrillo (quince paste) and have seen other bloggers make their own, but assumed I'd never have access to the fresh fruits to try it myself. As such, I'm not sure I can adequately communicate my excitement when I discovered fresh quinces at Iavarone on our last shopping trip. I think I considered it for all of 5 seconds before picking out three firm, unblemished fruits and dropping them into our cart. Homemade membrillo would be mine, after all!

That afternoon I took myself away to the kitchen to deal with my quinces. A quick search online taught me that quince were similar in texture to apples, but harder and drier, and had a tough core and skin that must be removed. This was an accurate description, and the fruit was easy to peel but difficult to cut. With a little elbow grease I managed to get all three fruit cored, sliced, and diced, and into a large saucepan they went along with some cold water, a squeeze of fresh lemon, and about a cup and a half of white sugar. From here it was easy - I just cooked the fruit over medium heat until it softened and turned a dull red, which I must say took a lot longer than I expected, close to an hour and a half. The fruit never really broke down, so when it was done I took my stick blender to it to create a smooth, slightly grainy paste. The flavor was lovely, sweet and floral and aromatic, but subtle. I poured it into a tupperware container, and after sitting in the fridge overnight it had stiffened properly into a firm, sliceable block of membrillo.



There's something really beautiful about this stuff, isn't there? Shiny and jewel-like with that lovely knobby texture on the surface, it spreads like a jam but can be cut into cubes or slices with ease. Its sticky, mind you, but I don't mind getting a little messy for something this tasty.



Now, the obvious thing to do with membrillo is to eat it with a good manchego cheese, perhaps some marcona almonds, a few water crackers. But, J and I being who we are, we had to come up with something more interesting. We had a bit of prima donna cheese in the fridge (because when do we not?) and a small pork tenderloin, and after a bit of thought came up with the idea for a quince-glazed pork roulade filled with grated prima donna and herbs.



I took a knife to the tenderloin and used a lengthwise accordion cut to create a large, thin, flat surface with the meat. A 1/2 cup or so of the membrillo was warmed up on the stove with an equal amount of water and a sprig of fresh rosemary, and kept on the heat long enough to infuse the glaze with a subtle evergreen aroma. I seasoned the pork with salt, freshly ground black pepper, a sprinkle of garlic powder, and some chopped fresh rosemary, then spread a thin layer of the glaze all over the meat. I grated some prima donna, about half a cup, and piled it near the middle of the meat, leaving an inch or so around all the edges to try and prevent leakage during cooking. Then a quick roll and tie with some butcher's twine, and it was ready for some heat.

The roulade was seared on the stovetop first, then placed in the oven at about 450 degrees to roast. I brushed it with the glaze 3 or 4 times as it cooked, creating a golden brown sticky-sweet crust.

Meanwhile, J made some simple panko-crusted zucchini slices but cutting two small zucchini into 1/2" slices, seasoning with salt, pepper, and paprika, and dredging with egg and light, crisp panko crumbs. They were lightly panfried in some vegetable oil and then left to drain briefly on some paper towels as I removed the pork from the oven and set it aside to rest and let the juices redistribute and the filling firm up a bit.

Once untied and sliced, the pork retained its shape to yield lovely spiral slices with a thin layer of sweet and savory cheese filling. To plate. we dolloped each serving with a bit of the remaining membrillo glaze and a bit more freshly grated cheese, with the fried zucchini alongside.




My goodness, this was good. The combination of flavors - salty, tangy, sweet, herbaceous - was just fantastic on the mild tender pork. The meat itself could have used a brining period prior to cooking, and next time that's what we'll do, but the concept behind the dish was definitely sound. The slightly sweet, crisp zucchini slices made a nice fresh-tasting foil to the richness of the meat, and all together it made for a fantastic meal.

And the best part is, I have plenty of membrillo leftover to enjoy. I wonder what else we can make with it?

Barefoot Bloggers: Mexican Chicken Soup

Hi folks! We're away on vacation, visiting J's parents in the wilds of Wyoming for the Thanksgiving holiday. I actually wrote this post almost two weeks ago, because I knew we'd be gone when it was supposed to go up, and I didn't really want to think about it in the days leading up to our departure.

Wyoming isn't exactly known for great cuisine, but I know we'll be making one hell of a Thanksgiving dinner with the folks, so I'll be sure to embarrass myself and take lots of pics to show y'all when we get back. Hope everyone has a fun-and-food-filled Turkey Day!

This week's Barefoot Bloggers recipe is Ina's Mexican Chicken Soup, chosen by Judy of Judy's Gross Eats. As far as I can tell, this is basically just Ina's riff on a chicken tortilla soup, but I certainly can't find fault with that - I love soups, I love tex-mex flavors, and unsurprisingly, I loved this recipe.



I have to admit, I kinda screwed up a bit on this because, well, I didn't read the entire recipe all the way through before we did our grocery shopping last weekend. Shame on me. I totally missed that the corn tortillas were not, in fact, intended to be baked or fried for the tortilla chip garnish mentioned at the end of the recipe, but were actually supposed to be added to the soup as a thickener. Since we usually skip the chips when it comes to Mexican soups and chillis, I didn't buy the tortillas. And then I pulled up the recipe on the night we were going to make this, and realized my mistake. Whoopsie!

Luckily, I had a box of quick-cooking polenta in the pantry, and figured that a few tablespoons of that added in near the end of the cooking time would basically accomplish the same thing as the tortillas added near the beginning - it'd thicken the soup, give it some really interesting texture, and infuse a bit of subtle corn sweetness into the final flavor. And in the end I think it worked just fine, and both J and I really enjoyed it just the way it was. Unfortunately that means I can't really weigh in on the success of the recipe as written, but I think the food gods will forgive me just this once.

Aside from that one little foible, I pretty much made the recipe as written with just two small changes. I used dry cilantro instead of fresh, because I just can't bring myself to buy fresh cilantro anymore unless we're going to be using it in every meal for a week. Its impossible to get anything but a bunch the size of my head around here, and every single time we buy it we end up have to throw half of it out because we can't use it fast enough. Given the price of fresh herbs, I just can't keep letting that happen. Also, I substituted a long hot chili (a serrano, I think?) instead of the 2-4 jalapenos that Ina's recipe calls for, mostly because I'm a total wuss and that much jalapeno would probably kill me, but also because we had this other chili lying forlornly in our vegetable drawer and I wanted to use it up before buying more. It actually ended up being the perfect choice, because it definitely added some heat, but not enough that I needed a loaf of bread and a handkerchief to get through the meal. Got my sinuses to open up a bit though, that's for sure.

I guess I should also include the fact that we used some of the leftover chicken from the roast bird we made the weekend before instead of roasting fresh chicken breasts just for the soup, but that's kind of a no-brainer as far as I'm concerned, and all it basically changed was the amount of time needed to make this soup from start to finish.



Unfortunately, my other screw-up was forgetting to bring my camera and tripod into the kitchen while making this, so I don't have a bunch of photos of the raw ingredients and prep work to share this time. Honestly though, this recipe is so easy, I doubt you need the photographic help.

The technique is basically the same as almost every other soup I make - sautee the base flavor ingredients (in this case a standard mire poix with the hot chili and some garlic added in) in some olive oil at the bottom of your soup pot until they are softened and beginning to brown a bit. Toss in your liquid ingredients, herbs and spices (chicken stock, canned tomatoes with their juice, and some cumin, coriander seed, and dry cilantro) then bring to a boil and let 'er rip for awhile to get the veg nice and soft. Give it a taste for seasoning - I found it needed a bit more of both cumin and coriander for my tastes, and I threw in a splash of red wine vinegar for a bit of balancing tang. Then add in the chicken, followed by about 1/4 cup of quick-cooking polenta, which I added very gradually while stirring constantly to avoid clumps. Keep it on the heat for another 5 minutes so that the polenta can rehydrate and thicken the soup nicely, making sure to stir once in awhile to keep things from sticking on the bottom. Once its done, ladle it into some bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream (I spiked ours with a bit of fresh lime juice) and a sprinkling of cilantro. Couldn't be easier, really.

We enjoyed our soup with a double-decker quesadilla made with these fantastic multigrain tortillas from Mission and some fancy Sargento shredded cheese (2 varieties, one with seasoning and one without), which is frankly one of my favorite things in the world to make and eat because its so easy its almost stupid and well, is there really anything better than tortillas stuffed with gooey, melty cheese? I don't think so.

All you do is heat up a large, flat pan on the stove (we use an old, warped griddle pan that desperately needs to be replaced but still does the job) and brush one side of one tortilla with some melted butter or vegetable oil. Put it on the hot pan, lube-side down, and top with a decent sized pile of one kind of cheese, spreading it around to make an even layer. Top the cheese with a second tortilla (no oil or butter needed here), then top that with a second kind of cheese. Finished with a third tortilla, again brushed with butter or oil and this time placed lube-side UP so that when you flip it, the oil will come in contact with the pan. Weigh down with a flat pot lid or a plate to help the bottom tortilla get nice and crisp and brown and to help the cheese melt, and let it sizzle away for a few minutes. Check after 3 or 4 to be sure its not burning, but don't flip it until you see plenty of golden toastyness down there. When you DO flip, do so carefully in case there is cheese in that top layer that isn't quite melted yet and the thing doesn't stay together - you really don't want shredded cheese flying all over your kitchen. Trust me. Now put the pot lid or plate back on top of the quesadilla and give it another 2-3 minutes to crisp up on the second side. When its done, just cut it into wedges with a pizza cutter or a big, sharp knife (a chef's knife or santoku works well) and serve. The wedges make absolutely awesome dippers for this soup.



I would totally make this dinner again. I'd make it all the time, in fact. Its hot, spicy, hearty and comforting, and a really nice change from a regular bowl of beef-and-beans chili. And, well, anything that gives me an excuse to make quesadillas is just fine in my book.

Its a crying shame that J managed to get all the leftovers, because I could really go for a bowl right now.

Ooey Gooey Crispy Savory-Sweet Heaven

Its not often that we make sandwiches here at Table for Two. Mostly because we try to keep our carb intake at a pretty low-level, and sandwiches are arguably defined by the bread they're made with. Don't get me wrong - I love bread. I love it in a way that is not entirely healthy or chaste. But if I ate it all the time I'd be a whale.

That being said, part of the appeal of receiving that free sample of Ile de France cheese was the opportunity to enter a recipe contest using the cheese. And as much as I love soft-ripened cheeses exactly as they are, I really go ga-ga for them when they're given a bit of heat and turn into molten, decadently-creamy bliss. And I also think that this particular application of the cheese is perfectly suited to sandwiches, particularly pressed sandwiches, where the heat melts the cheese and helps it act as a binder for all the other fillings. So, upon receiving and tasting my wheel of camembert, I just knew that it needed to go in a panini.



I'll admit, this maybe isn't the most original sandwich recipe in the world, but it IS sinfully delicious. Crispy-outside/tender-inside ciabatta rolls are spread with a lemon garlic aioli, then topped with fresh, vibrant spring mix, crunchy and pungent red onions, herb-rubbed turkey cutlets, slices of camembert, and finally, sweet apples. In the absence of a panini-press or, perhaps, a George Foreman grill (my favorite and most-missed kitchen appliance from my two years living with three friends in Queens), the sandwiches got wrapped in tin-foil and pressed beneath foil-wrapped bricks that had been heating in the oven for almost an hour.



The final product is a significantly flatter, crispy, crunchy sandwich just oozing with ooey, gooey, melty cheese, acting as the glue between the turkey, apples, and roughage. Biting into this sandwich is like getting a little taste of early fall, warm and comforting with the aromatic flavors of autumn produce and herbs. This is one we'll be making again, for sure.

------------------------
Pressed Turkey Panini with Camembert and Apples

Its fairly easy to get thin-cut turkey cutlets in most grocery-stores nowadays - we're partial to Shady Brook Farms, ourselves, and buy them often. This time, we bought a whole boneless breast from Iavarone and sliced off four cutlets ourselves, pounding them to an even thickness before cooking. Whatever method you use, just be sure you have enough turkey (one cutler or two) to create a single even layer on the sandwich.

Also note that we aren't going for overstuffed, here - the key to this sandwich is even distribution of fillings and the proper balance of flavors, and a huge sandwich will never press correctly.

I'm writing this recipe using our hot-brick method, but if you happen to own a panini press or George Foreman grill, you can use that however you normally would.

4 thin turkey cutlets
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil

1/4 mayonnaise
1 clove garlic, grated
1/4 tsp black pepper
zest of one lemon

2 fresh ciabatta rolls
1 cup spring mix salad greens or arugula
1/2 small red onion, sliced thin
1 small sweet apple, cut into 1/4 inch thick slices (we used a Macoun but any sweet or semi-sweet variety would do)
4 oz Ile de France Camembert, cut into 1/4 inch slices (trim the rind if you like)



Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Wrap two bricks in foil and place in the center of the oven and allow to heat for 45 minutes to an hour.

For the turkey:
Sandwich the turkey cutlets between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound then gently with a meat mallet to flatten and tenderize them - you want them slightly less than 1/4 inch thick. If your cutlets are already very thin, you can skip this step.

Season the cutlets with the poultry seasoning, salt and pepper.



Heat the oil in a large skillet until a drop of water flung into the pan pops and sizzles. Carefully add the turkey and sear on each side for about 2-3 minutes until golden brown and cooked through. Remove from heat and set aside.

For the aioli:
Stir together the mayo, garlic, lemon zest and pepper.

To assemble the sandwiches:
Split the ciabatta rolls and pull out some of the bread from the center - this will make more room for the fillings and keep them from being squeezed out during the pressing step.



Slather the tops of the rolls with the aioli. Stack the fillings on the bottom half of the roll, starting with the salad greens, followed by the red onions, then the turkey cutlets, the cheese slices, and the apples. Divide your fillings evenly between the two sandwiches, and don't try to use all of them if you don't have room. Remember, less is more here.

Finish with the tops of the rolls and press down slightly with your hands. Wrap each sandwich tightly in tinfoil, and place on a baking sheet.



Using hot pads/oven mitts, carefully remove the now VERY hot bricks from the oven. Again carefully, place one brick on top of each sandwich, pressing down to be sure they will be stable. Place the entire baking sheet back in the oven to give the sandwiches a chance to heat through - 5 minutes or so should do it.



Remove from the oven and remove the bricks. Unwrap the sandwiches enough to expose the tops of the rolls, then replace the bricks or a few minutes to crisp up the crust. No need to put them back in the oven for this - the sandwiches will be plenty warm and the bricks will have retained enough heat to do the job.

Remove the bricks to a safe place to cool down, cut the sandwiches in half, and enjoy!



This is my entry for the Ile de France recipe contest. If you like this recipe, please visit the Ile de France blog and vote for me between October 16 and November 3!