eat make read

Whew, that’s a mouthful, but this beer is amazing. It’s another from Bell’s Brewery in Michigan and unfortunately for us it’s the last one in the fridge. The best way to describe it is rich. Rich with cherry and hints of bourbon, but not overwhelming. It’s unlike any other dark beer I’ve had.

We’re off on an impromtu visit to Boston this weekend. I hope you have something fun lined up to celebrate the end of the summer.

Cheers!

- explore farms on long island during the north fork foodie tour

- exercise my drinking skills to prepare for ny craft beer week 

- begin a dinner club because this makes me jealous

I’ve been meaning to do a post about a handful of vintage cookbooks I picked up on our midwest adventure last month. I just love old cookbooks, especially when they’re filled with fun illustrations like a few of these are, plus they often have some wacky recipes inside.

The first one is made by Cutco Knives and is filled super cute illustrations like that chicken with a beret above the “French Fried Chicken”. Awesome. Another one I picked up is called “Cooking Round the World and At Home”. I think it’s the precursor to Martha Stewart. Not really, but not only does it have recipes from round the world, it also gives helpful hints on how to avoid lumps in gravy (add salt) and how to wipe walls easily (wrap a broom in flannel). I actually don’t know if ever wiped my walls… oops.

My favorite of the bunch is Betty Crocker’s Cooking Calendar. The recipes are broken down into seasonal categories, so for instance, May is filled with recipes that include asparagus and rhubarb, because that’s what’s in season that month. Sound familiar? It’s the locavore movement before it had to be a movement and it was just a way of life.

Each book is delightful to look at and provides inspiration as both a designer and an eater.

I’m really intrigued by figs lately. I just love the way they look, plus they’re the perfect pairing with cheese. We all know any excuse I can find to bring a little cheese into my life is an excuse I’ll be using. There’s a recipe in my new cookbook, “How To Eat Supper” for figs with rosemary and honey that made my mouth water the second I saw it.

I didn’t follow the recipe to the T because I didn’t have fresh rosemary, but I did have my favorite crackers, Carr’s Rosemary Crackers. Time out for a second. Have you ever tasted these crackers? They are so, so delicious. I think it’s in your best interest to get a box the next time you’re at the store. Ok, back to the recipe. It’s super simple and only takes a few minutes to prepare this super lovely treat. I simply cut the figs in half, placed a half on a cracker, topped it off with a little goat cheese and drizzled honey over top. I mean, could it get any easier? Your tastebuds will go through a little journey of crispy, savory cracker to grainy fig to creamy cheese to sweet honey. Yum.

Rosemary Figs with Honeyed Fresh Cheese

8-10 oz ripe dark figs
4-5 ounces fresh goat, sheep or cow’s milk cheese
3-4 Tablespoons honey
1 box Carr’s rosemary crackers OR 1 teaspoon fresh rosemary leaves

1
Halve the figs from top to bottom.
2
Smear each half gently with about a teaspoon of cheese.
3
Either place the figs on a rosemary cracker or arrange on a platter.
4
Drizzle with honey.

It was a super lovely weekend here in brooklyn, and like always, I’m sad to see it go. We veered away from our normal routine and headed into the city to visit the Union Square Greenmarket, which is about 3 times the size of our usual market in Brooklyn and full of goodies. I made a list before we left home so I wouldn’t buy every pretty fruit or vegetable I saw… I was pretty good about sticking to it, until I saw the cutest little watermelon. Weird, I know, but it was just a little bigger than my fist, the perfect city-size, plus it was yellow… something new to try.

I brought it home and cut it open for an afternoon snack and it was oh-so-lovely. I wanted to jazz it up with a little something, so I mixed some sugar and fresh mint in my mortar and pestle. The result? Awesomely delicious. You might think that it sounds silly to add sugar to watermelon, but in fact it not only added a touch of sweetness, it also provided a nice textural contrast. It’s a hit my friends, try it out and you will see.

watermelon with sugar and mint

1 Tablespoon sugar
4-5 mint leaves
1 watermelon, cut in little chunks

1
In a mortar and pestle, combine sugar and mint leaves. Crush leaves until mixture becomes greenish and leaves are well integrated into sugar.
2
Cut melon into small, dippable chunks, about and inch square.
3
Dip and eat!

This week’s happy hour is an excellent recommendation from my friend erik. After seeing my post on vanilla sugar earlier this week, he clued me in on a recipe for pomegranate mojitos that’s pretty dang tasty. And I have to say, sometimes I get really frustrated with mixing drinks that seem fancy, but this one was easy and came out tasting delightful. Maybe that’s because I made Aaron use his muscles and muddle the mint, but whatever the case, this is definitely worth trying out.

Cheers! To good friends and and a great weekend!

erik’s fancy pomegranate mojito

2 oz pomegranate juice
2 oz white rum
1 tbsp vanilla sugar
4 oz club soda
6 mint sprigs
cracked ice

1
In a cocktail shaker, combine all ingredients except the mint and shake well.
2
Mull the mint in the bottom of a cocktail glass.
3
Strain the pomegranate mixture into the glass with the muddled mint, and serve.

I kind of fell in love with Lynne Rossetto Kasper on our Midwest trip. If you’re not familiar, visit The Splendid Table or iTunes and subscribe to her podcasts, they’re a great treat. She talks about food in a holistic way, so there are recipes, interviews with chefs and farmers and producers, tips on utensils, restaurant recommendations and lots more.

Lucky for me, now you can not only can you listen to the show, but Lynne and her producer Sally Swift just came out with a book called “How to Eat Supper“. It’s not your ordinary cookbook, oh no. In fact, the description of content reads “Recipes, Stories and Opinions”. I’ve just done my first skim through the book and with every page turn it gets better. The book concentrates on dishes that are easy, use fresh ingredients and are doable after a hard days work. In between recipes, there are interesting stories about how to season a wok or the man who had synesthesia. On top of that, it’s a really beautiful book. The design is well thought out and easy to read with lovely photographs to accompany each recipe.

Basically it’s a dreamy, dreamy book. In fact, I’ve decided to that I’m going to cook a recipe a week from it for the next month, so be on the look out for some tasty dishes coming your way.

Growing up I practically lived on macaroni and cheese. It was one of a handful of foods I actually liked, but then to make matters worse, I only liked the stuff that came in a box. When my mom tried to lure me away with the homemade variety, I’d just turn up my nose and whine about how mushy it was. What a silly child I was.

Now I’ve done a 180. Awhile back ago I was craving the boxed stuff and made it at home. The thing was, I didn’t like it. Nothing about it had changed, it was that my tastebuds had done some growing up. I must say I was a little disappointed, but then when I thought about it a little more, it was exciting to think my palette maturing. Sure it’s a decade late, but hey, I guess I’m a late bloomer. Just because I’m not into the boxed stuff anymore doesn’t mean I don’t still get a craving for some cheesy goodness every now and then.

I picked up a few cheeses from Cato Corner and brought them home to search for the perfect recipe. I found this one that called for panko crumbs over top and it sounded like just the right thing. I divided the recipe in half because the last thing I need is 20 servings of mac and cheese sitting around the house. I kind of loosely followed the recipe by using 3 different cheeses, a gouda style, a manchego and a cheddar, and a different kind of pasta called Cavatappi, which is kind of like a cross between spiral and elbow. The cheese combination made for a delightfully smooth flavor that was cheesy without being overwhelming and the pasta kept a nice firmness yet still grabbed onto the sauce well. And I have to say, I’ve never totally understood the whole breadcrumbs over macaroni thing, but the panko crumbs won me over. They added a perfect, golden crunch to contrast the creamy and rich interior.

Next time you need a little comfort, reach for this recipe to give you a little love.

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese
adapted from this recipe from epicurious

makes a hefty 9×9 pan

For topping
1/4 stick unsalted butter
1 cup panko (coarse Japanese bread crumbs)
1/4 pound coarsely grated Cheddar (1 1/2 cups)
For macaroni and sauce
1/2 stick unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups 2% milk
3 cups gouda cheese, shredded
1 cup manchego
1/2 cup cheddar
1/2 pound cavatappi pasta (or spiral or elbow)
Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle.

1: Topping
Melt butter, then stir together with panko and topping cheeses in a bowl until combined well, set aside.
2: Make sauce:
Melt butter in a heavy medium saucepan over medium-low heat and stir in flour.
3
Cook roux, stirring, 3 minutes, then whisk in milk. Bring sauce to a boil, whisking constantly, then simmer, whisking occasionally, 3 minutes.
4
Stir in cheeses, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper until smooth. Remove from heat.
5: Make Macaroni:
Cook macaroni in a pasta pot of boiling salted water (2 tablespoons salt for 4 quarts water) until al dente. Reserve 1 cup cooking water and drain macaroni in a colander. Stir together macaroni, reserved cooking water, and sauce in a large bowl.
6
Transfer to 9×9 baking dish.
7
Sprinkle topping evenly over macaroni and bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes.

Here’s something simple to jazz up your baked goods, vanilla sugar. It’s super simple to make and adds a lovely hint of vanilla to recipes that call for sugar.

Vanilla Sugar
1 vanilla bean, cut in half lengthwise
2 cups sugar

1
Pour sugar into air-tight jar.
2
Scrape the insides of the vanilla bean into the sugar, then toss the bean in the sugar.
3
Close the lid and give the sugar a good shake.
4
Let the sugar and vanilla sit for a week or two and tada, you’ve got yourself vanilla sugar.

Brooklyn Based just posted a good article on what to do with all those heirloom tomatoes that are showing up at the greenmarket. I’m so glad they did because I go every weekend and want to buy them because they’re so dang beautiful, but I don’t know what to do with them except maybe make tomato sauce, and that just seems a little boring. So here you go, I hope you enjoy the article as much as I did.

photo from Brooklyn Based