Almonds de Provence

If you learn one thing about me from reading this blog, you will probably learn that I love a good snack. My favorite parties are cocktail parties, my favorite dinners are tomato salads eaten standing at the kitchen island, while the man pours tiny juice glasses of malbec for me to try. When the man is off doing the things he does and I'm left to my own devices for dinner? Crackers - or baguette - and cheese. Hands down, always. Call me a simpleton, I love snacks. I'm more prone to picking a bit of this and a bit of that and making it into a meal. Its genetic: my mother has been eating cheddar on triscuits (if she eats anything at all between the hours of 12pm and 6pm) since long before me. Snacking, the way it happens in my house, is a learned behavior.

These almonds are perfect snacking, bright with lemon zest and fresh thyme, smoky and crunchy all at once. They are infinitely customizable, and delicious not only as cocktail snacks but also coursely chopped and added to salads (i like to top this salad with them) We enjoyed them this week with an undoubtedly French spread (more on that tomorrow) with some baked goods, kir, and a wedge of brie topped with that peach chutney. The nuts add a bit of protein (important when your snacking for dinner,) and a satisfying crunch.

Almonds De Provence

If you hate thyme and lemon zest, (Who are you??) feel free to sub in brown sugar and five spice powder, or chile powder and lime zest, or cinnamon and sugar ( I like to make those at Christmas) the beauty of this is the ability to customize to fit any palette.

1 egg white, beaten until loose
12 oz raw almonds
zest of one medium lemon
1 tablespoon of fresh thyme, minced
2 teaspoons herbs de provence
1 teaspoon kosher salt


Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
In a small bowl, beat your egg white until loose. Dump the almonds and give them a quick toss to ensure they are coated. Remove from the bowl using a slotted spoon and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Make sure you aren't taking any excess egg white with you, the almonds should just be coated, not sitting in a pool of egg white on the baking sheet. Lay out the almonds in a single layer and season liberally with the zest, herbs, and salt. give anothe quick toss and spread out the almonds in one layer.

Bake on the middle of the rack for 15-20 minutes, or until they are dry and slightly toasty.

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Weekend Food

A little peek into the kitchen over the weekend. A pizza made with tomatoes from my uncles garden and banana peppers, some lemon chicken with kalamata olives over israeli couscous, and a Sunday morning omellete featuring more of those garden tomatoes. I’m trying to get as much of them in as possible, before they go back to being those tasteless red lumps in the grocery store.

On Sunday our neighbors invited us to join them for a party, and we stuffed ourselves (I’m still full!) with Samak bi Tahini, Kafa, and Kabobs. They have a condiment made only of garlic cloves, lemon juice and salt, its the consistency of mayonnaise, and its not at all as strong as you would imagine. I think it would make a delicious sandwich spread. In any case it was all delicious, and there was so much of it, they must have prepared for days. These neighbors are more than we could have ever dreamed of when we were moving in to the cottage. They are so full of life. More...

Proof!

I just want to prove to you that I do eat more than pasta...


The other night I was certain there was a cryo-sealed bag of whitefish...probably halibut, in my fridge. Certain. I have been reading Around My French Table on the train (yes, I'm lugging an enormous, hardcover cookbok with me. Don't judge! You're reading this blog)

I wanted do something with herbs, with leeks and carrots. I wanted to know just what a radish tastes like when you roast it. I was going for it!

...Until I got home and realized that I had actually stowed not white fish, but tuna in the fridge. No worries, thought I, I'll just do it anyway, how bad can it be...?

And you know what? It wasn’t! Roasted carrots, radishes, and leeks nestled under a piece of well-seasoned fish. Wrapped in parchment and left in the oven while you do more important things, like stirring the risotto, or dancing with the man, who was at that moment wandering through the kitchen singing to the cat. You make a little caper dressing, which you won't even put on the table, for fear of the vicious scorn that capers garner from that same man who sings to a cat (he feels similarly about chard)

It was a lovely dinner. It’s always nice when something starts as a mistake and a whim and ends up in the small victory that is a well prepared meal with the one you love.

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Squash & Honey Pie

Yesterday in Boston, the air was steamy. Summer, it would seem was not quite ready to unclench its muggy grip from us. I love summer, barbecues and sunshine that lasts until 9pm? Who doesn't like it? But there is a romance, and a wistful quality to Autumn that I find irresistible. I was determined to make this Autumn, the first in our new home, not just my favorite season because of the impossibly blue sky and the chilly nights, but because of the warm home and - yes the delicious, seasonal food (this is a food blog, after all) With maybe the exception of spring asparagus, I think Autumn has the strongest, most wide reaching grip on seasonal food. When the nights dip low into the fifties, and the maples burn red, you'll be hard pressed to find anyone not thinking of apple cider, roast pork, and pumpkin...well, pumpkin anything, really...

To usher in the my favorite season, I decided I needed a pie. The quintessential sweet of fall, is of course, the pumpkin pie. But I wasn't quite ready for pumpkin. I had received some honey from my Aunt, direct from her hive of bees, that I wanted to incorporate it in to the filling as a sweetener. I wanted something a little different...something not so spicy, and more fresh tasting. (this is the beginning of the season, after all) Acorn squash was the answer I came to. Martha had even written a recipe I could use as a guideline. I was in business.

The recipe that you can find here, gave me a great jumping off point, (corn meal crust??? Yes!) but I didn't follow it. I wasn't about to make mini pies, lest I eat a whole one. Roasting these squash (which I did the night before, while roasting vegetables and fish for our dinner) gave them plenty of softness, and a depth of flavor I appreciate. The filling gets a kick from cinnamon and orange zest, as does the sweetened cornmeal crust. Pie crust is one of the rare moments in baking when I feel comfortable winging it. So I do. My squash were enormous, so I used two beastly sized specimens, If you don't have such prolific squash, use three smaller ones.

Acorn Squash & Honey Pie


For the Crust:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 cup stoneground cornmeal

1/2 cup sugar

1 stick of unsalted butter, dice into cubes and chill

1 egg yolk, mixed with about 1 tablespoon of ice water

1/2 teaspoon orange zest

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

more ice water as needed, added by the tablespoon.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl with the butter, using a fork (or your fingers!) until none of the lumps are larger than a pea. combine the egg and water with the zest and stir into the crumb mixture. Knead in the bowl until the dough is well incorporated and forms a ball. Wrap in plastic and chill until its time to roll out the dough.

For the Filling:

2 large acorn squash, (or three small ones)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspon fresh grated ginger

1 teaspoon orange zest

4 large eggs

1/2 cup milk

3/4 cup honey

egg wash

To Create the Pie:


Cut squash in half lengthwise and scoop out the insides (set some seds aside to dry on a paper towel, if you are anything like the man). In a 375 degree oven, roast the squash until its fork tender, (my large squash took almost one hour, but smaller ones should take about 40 minutes.) Let the squash cool to the touch, then scrape the orange fruit from the skin (an ice cream spade worked especially well for me) and whip in the large bowl of a mixer until smooth. Add spices and zest. whip some more. Add eggs, milk, and honey. mixing to thoroughly combined. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll out your chilled dough to about 1/8" thick. I like to do mine on a flexible cutting board, then flip it over into the pie pan. Brush the inside of the pie dough with egg wash.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. pour the filling into the crust and bake for 35 minutes, or until the middle of your pie is just barely set, The heat it carries over will finish it for you.

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Weekend Food: 9/17-9/19

This weekend was crazy, busy, and cold. We ate on the run almost all weekend. It was breakfast in the car, lunch standing at the kitchen counter, dinners at 9pm. As a result, alot of pasta was consumed. Its easy, it can be tossed with whatever is languishing in the back of the fridge, and if you pair it with salad, you don't feel so bad for eating a big pile of wheat. I have to be honest, I hate the being that busy. I want weekends to be relaxing. Especially when the crisp air of fall sets in, when walking home from the train at night becomes walking home at dusk. I want to read, leisurely mosey around making tea, and to make soup. This past weekend was not that idyllic fall weekend. We were in 2 states, went to bed at 4am, and were a total physical waste by Sunday night. Thank god someone else made dinner. (What? I made salad!) We got to have a delicious dinner with my family to celebrate a very special birthday for my now teenaged cousin. (The cake, I think gives it away)

 This week I'm hoping to be a bit more creative with my meals. I did a little spice shopping, and some reading. I feel ready.

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French Food

Sunday

I'll have the weekend edition up a bit later tonight, but for now I want to let you know that I've registered to participate in French Fridays With Dorie. Amazon is sending Around My French Table my way as we speak. Stay tuned for more!

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Apologies & Chutney

No weekend recap, no photos from the most amazing potluck I've ever been to, no photos of the worlds most involved cupcakes that I made for Brother's 21st birthday. No photos of the farmers market, or the beautiful Mediterranean market I discovered right in my own downtown. I was a bad blogger this weekend. I took photos, but failed to put the CF card in my camera. WHO EVEN DOES THAT?

Well, me. I do that obviously, or we wouldn't be in this predicament, right?

This weekend, I ate delicious Lebanese food. I visited the East Providence farmer's market, which is so much larger than our little Roslindale market,  (Why don't we have an empanada lady?). I kidnapped my cousin to keep me company while I spent four hours making these cupcakes, and on Sunday I met some amazing Boston area foodies and bloggers. I was too busy soaking it all in. Oops, sorry...I'm new at this, remember?

But I do not come to you empty - handed. I have something (a little, small something) to tide you over until tomorrow. A chutney. Yes when all else fails, turn to sauce...or get sauced. Your choice. I like the making sauce, it doesn't leave me with a headache the next day.

There is an ironic story about this chutney, in that I made it for my diabetic grandmother after she spent half an hour waxing nostalgic about chutney, and how there used to always be chutney to accompany roasted meats when she was younger (how young? I don't know, I also don't know where in rural Ireland she was finding chutney, but I assume it was made of crab apples or something...) I made this chutney, I canned this chutney, and I brought it to her, and then she asked me 'What am I to do with this?" and then,  "It has far too much sugar for me, put it in the fridge..." So, While I'd like to call this 'From the Goodness of My Heart Chutney' or 'My Grandmother is a Liar Chutney' I'll spare you my bitterness, and instead, give you something sweet, and just a little spicy...

Spicy Sweet Peach Chutney
makes 6 1/2 pint jars, or 3 pints


4 pounds sliced peeled peaches

1 large white onion, diced

3 medium green and red peppers, seeded and diced

1 jalapeno seeds and ribs removed, finely diced

1 cup raisins

2 cloves garlic, minced

5 ounces chopped crystallised ginger

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 cups white sugar

4 cups apple cider vinegar

Directions

In a large heavy pot, stir together the peaches, raisins, garlic, onion, peppers, jalapeno, ginger, chili powder, curry powder, sugars and cider vinegar. Bring to a boil, and cook over medium heat uncovered until the mixture reaches your desired consistency. It will take about 2 1/2 hours to get a good thick sauce. Keep in mind that this will thicken slightly more when its cooled in the jars. Stir frequently to prevent scorching on the bottom. Ladle into hot sterilized jars. Wipe the rims with a clean moist cloth. Seal with lids and rings, and process in a water bath for 10 minutes, ensuring that there is at least one inch of water over the lids.

Serve this over roasted or grilled pork, with goat cheese and crackers, or eat it with a spoon standing at the kitchen island with the fridge door open, I won't tell anyone. More...

Radish & Goat Cheese Galette

At 8:30 last night, the man and I were siting down to dinner. 8:30 is a little late for dinner in my world (considering I rise at 6am, eat lunch at 1, and didn't eat between meals yesterday...for once) I was tired, I was busy, I was worn out from the first day back after my ridiculously indulgent longer long weekend...I was so tired in fact, that I didnt want to eat, (this basically never happens) I wanted to sit in the living room and zone out in front of TopChef until my eyes closed...until I took this pretty thing out of the oven.

Topped with super thin, vinegar dressed radishes, the sour cream crust (apparently I'm turning into Paula Dean) is first baked with a slather of dijon mustard and a layer of black pepper laced goat cheese. the richness plays off the fresh radishes, and made it a terrific light dinner. If you were to cut it into thin wedges, it probably would make excellent fodder for cocktail hour, since its almost as good cold as it was when the dough and cheese were still slightly warm, and the radishes were a cold, crispy contrast. Get the recipe on Food52,  If you feel like throwing some love my way, give it a vote!

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Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes

I loved canning this weekend, but truth be told, I'm usually a freezer-bag-preservation kind of a girl. I get it from my mother. She will slave for a day over a "vat" of tomato sauce, only to let it cool enough to fill dozens of freezer bags so that her whole days' work stretches throughout half the year. I am always buying two if berries, peaches, or anything else I love that freezes well is available, and tucking it away for a rainy day. Evidence enough is the stockpile of blueberries in my freezer. This weekend, I was feeling rather sweet, and while the man slept in, I whipped up a batch of blueberry pancakes... Okay so truthfully, this came less from my heart and more than a little from an absurdly stubborn and, shall we say 'frugal' streak that runs through me. I had buttermilk leftover from a pan of cornbread I made almost a week ago, and since I hate waste, almost as much as I hate the idea of a dairy product sitting in our wastebin for a week, it needed to be used. What better use is there for buttermilk than pancakes?  

Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes



2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons sugar

1/2 tablespoon cinnaomon

2 large eggs

2 1/2 cups buttermilk

1/2 cup 2% milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup fresh or frozen (do not thaw) blueberries


I used my counter top griddle, because I'm obsessed with it, but these can easily be made in a heavy bottom (read: even - heating ) pan, set your burner to medium - high and keep it buttered (unless you have amazing nonstick cookware, )

Heat your griddle to 375 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and sugar in a medium bowl. Combine eggs, buttermilk, milk, and melted butter; add to dry ingredients gently, the batter should be a little lumpy, you dont want flat, tough pancakes.

Use your 1/4 cup measuring cup (or eyeball it, I won't tell) and pour pancake batter in pools. Dot the pools with your blueberries. When pancakes have bubbles coming through on top and are slightly brown around edges (slightly being key here), flip over. It will take much less time for the second side to reach golden brown so do not walk away to shoo the cat off the table, or to make sure your tea has steeped. Stay with the griddle!

A little tip from my mom (who probably stole it from Martha Stewart, truth be told) If you heat the oven to just under 200 degrees, you can slide your pancakes onto a cookie sheet and they will all stay warm together...Unless youre family is big enough to eat in shifts. Which occasionally happens where I'm from.

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An Extended Long Weekend

I took Friday through Tuesday off, to extend my long weekend into a vacation. It was the best idea I've ever had, honestly. With my extra time, we visited my parents in NH to celebrate with my brother on his twenty first birthday. Champagne and cake is always a winning combination, always. (and its even better when you get to sip it out of your mothers much coveted, rarely used, wedding crystal.) Do you remember champagne / sherbert glasses? Before flutes were 'the way' to sip champagne?

With all the extra time, I finally put the canning 'discovery kit' that I purchased to use, and canned a few jars of pickles and some spicy peach chutney (recipe to follow later, I want to make sure its edible first!) I like the 'discovery kit', because I can do super small batches (3 jars). Afterall we're are only 2 people, and we usually we don't eat alot of preserved food (although now that I can make my own...) making 6 jars of pickles would more than get us through the winter...

Now that I have a (mild) case of canning fever, Im on the hunt for other things I can process into jars, and store away greedily, so I can preserve the last days of summer.

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Spice Spiked Red Pepper Salsa

Up on Food52, my Moroccan inspired red pepper salsa. Go on over and take a peak and if it sounds good to you, give it a 'like'. I'll be following the weekly challenges as best as I can, and posting the recipes over there, and here. I must recommend that this sauce is perfect for these meatballs. I can not tell you about these turkey meatballs enough. They are moist, and delicious, and spicy, and...I could go on.

But I shouldn't really.

Instead what I'll do is post the recipe for the sauce. That, and encourage you to go over to view the meatball recipe. I will say that I only brown these meatballs and then bake them for 10-ish minutes at 350 to finish them, mostly because I have a tendency to mis-manage my oil temperature, and so I burn things...that, and I'm afraid of undercooked poultry. I might even  let you know, as a sidenote, that this is especially delicious when you serve it on top of cooled couscous combined with radishes, cucumbers, and fennel. Dress the whole thing in sherry vinegar and olive oil, and plunk down two meatballs on top. Perfect.

Red Pepper 'Salsa'

1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped

1 shallot, chopped

1/4 cup golden raisins or dried apricots, chopped fine

1 meyer lemon, zest and juice

1/2 cup cilantro finely diced

1/2 teaspoon cayenne

1/4 cup mint, finely chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

3 red peppers, roasted, seeded, peeled, and chopped

2 tablespoons olive oil

Combine the first seven ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside
Put 1 tablespoon of oil in a small skillet, add cumin and cinnamon, and heat until fragrant. This is the important part. In another bowl, dress roasted red peppers with the spiced oil, and toss gently to coat.
Add the remaining combined ingredients and fold to gently so as not to pulverize the softened peppers.
Dress with remaining oil, if needed





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