Summer is Here!

 

                                                        A Sort of Improvised Nicoise

Shishito Pepper and Roasted Corn Croquettes

It's corn and pepper season!

These are beyond scrumptious and I serve them with a simple

Chive Aioli as not to take away from the flavors of the peppers

and corn.

you'll need a couple cups of mashed potatoes.

I prefer to use Yukon Golds, leaving the skin on, when cooked and mashed.

Blister a pint of Shishito peppers and cover til soft.

Cut 2 ears corn off the cob and roast in a little olive oil til the corn is cooked

and soft. Undercooked corn will explode when you fry them and take it from 

me , you don't want that to happen!

rough chop the peppers, remove the stem of course and mix with the corn

season with sea salt  and fresh cracked black pepper.

then mix in gently the potatoes, a beaten egg and a couple tablespoons

of flour.

let cool.

then you form the croquettes either by using two spoons to shape

or make little balls. .

You'll fry them in hot vegetable oil until golden

using a slotted spoon to remove and drain on paper towels.

They can easily be re- heated.

 

 

                                      A Culinary Ode to my Grandmother Alexandria                    

I have two powerful memories of Apricot pie. Both of which were created by the matriarchs of my family,

my maternal grandmother Alexandria who immigrated from Lebanon and my father's eldest sister Nell, also an immigrant, from Wales.

They both had this essential understanding of the Apricot, both had trees that bore abundant fruit in their respective yards, Alexandria's high atop suburban Mar Vista, California, a sea breezed enclave wedged between the beaches of Santa Monica and the West Side of Los Angeles. Nell's rambling old Victorian sat on the water's edge in the tiny town of Rodeo, California , a small little spot on the San Pablo bay north of San Francisco.

Both Alexandria and Nell knew the mysteries of stone fruits ,seemingly imbedded in their DNA.

Every June we would go to my grandmother's home to pick fruit. She would arm us with buckets and we'd make our way to the huge Apricot tree that grew on a southern slope beside her house. She was not so much a pie maker. It wasn't her culture but she made Amerdine, a shoe leather like dried fruit paste that she rolled out in sheets. One could tear off a piece and just hold it in one's mouth til it dissolved in infused one with the esssence. She used the Apricots in stuffings with roasted Lamb and blanched almonds and made a compote which was scented with Lebanese Orange Blossom Water. 

Nell, being Welsh was a master baker and her apricot pie was tart, and not too sweet , fragrant with a buttery, flaky crust, served warm with vanilla ice cream. The fruit softened and creamy, redolent.

This is my tribute to them both. Aa fusion if you will.

An Orange Blossom Scented Apricot Galette

Try to find beautiful fresh ripe Apricots, deep in color and taste.

 

Ingredients

1 pound fresh ripe Apricots.

1 cup sugar ( i prefer organic)

1/2 cup fine tapioca

the juice of 1 lemon

1/4 cup Orange Blossom Water

Quarter the Apricots and place in a bowl with the sugar, tapioca, lemon juice and Blossom water. Mix well and let stand while preparing the dough.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour

a pinch of sea salt

1/2 lb of  COLD good sweet butter.  ( I use Kerry Gold or Plugra, the high fat contact makes for a flakier crust)

a splish of apple cider vinegar in ice water

1 egg yolk

In a mixer, mixx the flour salt and butter ( add butter in small chunks) mix with paddle til the consistency 

of corn meal. Add the water little by little til the dough forms, just enough to bind but not too much to make gooey.  Take the dough out and chill .

Roll out in a large circle, and place in preferred baking vessel, add the macerated fruit and juices, add a few pats of butter on tope and gently fold the dough around the fruit.  Make a wash of the yoke and brush on to the dough.

Bake for 1 hour or until the crust is a golden brown and the fruit is bubbling. About 10 minutes before removing from the oven, pull out and sprinkle sugar over the top.

Let cool for a bit and best served warm . 

Yummy with Vanilla ice cream or a Creme Anglaise.

An Abundant Summer Repast

                                             

                                                Beauty and Bounty from my Garden

A Lazy wife dinner.

Seared Ahi, Julienned green beans, sticky rice , Wasabi Aioli, Shiso leaf and Nori 

Cabbage Magic! Kraut!

A Wild Blackberry Chocolate Coffee Cake

 

                             A Wild Blackberry Dark Chocolate Walnut Coffee Cake

                                To soothe our troubled souls during a pandemic and

                                                                   the Election Season from Hell 

 

Ingredients

1 cup Organic Unbleached Flour. ( for gluten free folks, use your go to favorite)

1/2 cup Organic sugar

1 Tsp Sea Salt

1 Tsp Baking Powder

2 whole eggs

1/3 cup buttermilk

3 Tablespoons melted butter

1 pint blackberries

1/2 cup dark chocolate pieces

1 cup toasted walnuts

1 shot of vanilla extract

The Topping

1/4 cup flour

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 stick butter

Break up the butter with your hands and massage in the flour and sugar til crumbly.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Butter a 8 inch baking dish ( or springform pan)

In a mixing bowl blend together the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder. Then add the eggs, buttermilk, vanilla extract . whisk until the batter is smooth ( about 2 minutes) then add a third of the berries to the batter and gently fold in.

Pour into Baking dish, sprinkle the top with remaining berries and chocolate bits. Sprinkle with the topping, then the walnuts

Bake in oven for about 30 minutes or until done. Test with a tooth pick to the center , if it comes clean from the batter , it's ready!

Cool on rack, but be sure to have a piece warm from the oven!

A Winter Potato Gallette

Persimmons!