Occasional Photo: A Line of Lollipops

Yum!

Dinner: Raw Tomato Sauce

It’s too hot to move and it’s tomato season. The perfect combination for pasta with raw tomato sauce. I diced some tomatoes, and mixed them in a bowl with garlic, red pepper flakes, extra virgin olive oil, and basil. Let the flavors combine till the pasta’s done, then mix that in. Basta!

Afternoon Snack

Greek yogurt, honey, and raspberries. Yum.

A French Bakery in New England

A write up in both The Economist and the NYTimes? Not bad for a small town bakery.

Dessert: Brownies

All chocolate! None of those icky nuts.Though I may add coffee next time to make them even richer.

Brownie Recipe

1c. butter (2 sticks)
3.5 oz unsweetened chocolate
3T cocoa powder
1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 t baking powder
1t salt
4 eggs
2c sugar
1t vanilla
1c chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. Melt butter and unsweetened chocolate, stirring ocassionally. Set aside to cool. Sift together cocoa, flour, baking powder, and salt into a small bowl. In a medium bowl, beat egs until creamy. Gradually add sugar, beating constantly. Add vanilla and cooled chocolate-butter mixture. Stir in dry ingredients until just combined. Spread batter in a 9×13 pan (though I’ve done it in a 9″ square and it works – cook for ~5 min longer). Sprinkle chocolate chips over the surface. Bake for 30 minutes. Cool, then cut.

Ocassional Photo: Kitchen Mess

Sometimes, after I cook – particulalry if I’m cooking to relax – the kitchen ends up looking like this. And then I never want to cook again so I never have to deal with the mess. Then I eat a brownie and everything is better.

The kitchen still isn’t 100% clean, but it is better.

Supper: Fast Saute of Beef

This is a Julia Child recipe – simmer some shallots in broth, pan-roast two diced potatoes, sauté some mushrooms, and then sauté some beef cubes. Mix them all together in a pan-sauce made of vermouth and cream and broth. It’s in The Way to Cook, if you have a copy.

Dessert: Key Lime Bars

My husband loves key lime pie. Loves. We seriously considered having little key lime pies at our wedding. This is a variation – key lime bars – that uses an animal cracker crust. I bought too many limes at the farmer’s market this weekend and this seemed like a good way to use the leftovers.

Lunch: Cajun Sausage with Remoulade

Remoulade is, shall we say, subtly flavored. It’s not a powerhouse and its inclusion of creme fraiche as an ingredient (not to mention the julienne-ing) make it more trouble than it can be worth.

Until! It turns out that nothing can beat it as a spicy sausage topping. Now, it will be on the menu as long as celery root is in season. (Trader Joes garlic fries are the accompaniment.)

Julie/Julia Movie Trailer

I, god help me, enjoyed the book and will probably see this movie when it comes out.

Food, Inc Trailer

There’s a new movie coming out soon, Food Inc, all about the industrialization of the food supply system and why it’s Bad. I’m generally in favor of locally grown, not-derived-from-corn, organic everything, but I also understand that you need efficient systems to make sure everyone can afford to eat.

Supper: Gyros

It’s not so much gyros as it is Greek-style sandwiches. Still good, nice and minty. Recipe, as usual, is from Cook’s Illustrated.

Supper: Cheeseburgers

Because the entire world doesn’t already know that hamburgers are a good quick weeknight meal? (I will say that adding salt and pepper to the meat is crucial for flavor.) Whatever, I liked the way the picture turned out.

Supper: Crepes

Crepes, to me, are street food. They’re what you get in Paris when you need a quick meal or snack. I’ve got a crepe cookbook that has all of these elaborate recipies, and at the end of the day my favorites are still the ones you could get at a corner vendor. The square ones are ham and cheese, while the half-moons are sugar and lemon. I put some tarragon in the vinagrette to make everything just that much more French.

Lunch: Chicken Noodle Soup

There was very little in the house to have for lunch today. I scraped together some leftover ingredients to make a quick chicken noodle soup: a shallot (no onions), carrot, a stalk of celery, a chicken breast, and a handful of egg noodles. I sauteed the vegetables, then added a few cups of water. While that came to a boil, I diced the chicken breast and dropped it in. I simmered the soup for ~5 minutes, then added the noodles. Once the noodles were finished, I added salt, pepper, and thyme for flavor. All in all, around 30 minutes from start to end. It made way more than this one bowl – which is good since the flavors need more time to blend.

I had it with a stale crust of bread that I’d baked on Monday.

Dessert: Crumb Cake

Cook’s Illustrated calls this a New York Style Crumb Cake. My husband and brother-in-law (who grew up in upstate New York) have never heard of such a thing. We all, however, agree that it’s delicious. I was personally surprised by how moist the cake was. It’s a nice treat.

Supper: Remoulade

The first picture is of a celery root. The second picture is what I turned it into: remoulade. We had it with some flavorful hot Italian sausages, and it was a perfect combination.

Occasional Photo: Lollipop Bouquet

I put the lollipops that CultFigurine sent me in a cup for a centerpiece. It lasted about ten minutes before my daughter grabbed the first one out.

Supper: Fruit and Cheese

Sometimes, if we’ve been eating more than normal or particularly poorly, we’ll have a fruit and cheese night. It’s a light supper that gives us an excuse to buy fancy cheeses we wouldn’t normally, like aged Gouda or garlic and herb goat cheese or Stilton. Mmm… Aged Gouda.

Supper: Tacos

These are the most American tacos, but they’re amazingly yummy. (Cooks Illustrated ground beef tacos, for those of you who are curious.) On the table, we have: soft shells (under the towel), lettuce, refried beans, cheese, avocado, salsa, sour cream, the meat, and hot sauce.

Someday I want to adapt this for chicken. I suspect that the liquid is what I’ll have to play with the most.