I hope you had an excellent weekend. A hurricane was suppose to cause chaos in the city, but luckily it just brought a little rain on Saturday. When we woke up Sunday, the sky was bright blue and the sun was shining. That was extra good news for us because we had planned a day trip to the North Fork of Long Island to participate in the North Fork Foodie Tour. This week I’ll be giving you little peeks into some of the farms we visited and things I learned.

I finally found a way that I can drink whisky without wincing, mix it with a little iced tea. I’ve been really into iced tea this summer, in fact I’ve had way more in this one summer than I have in my whole life. I’d dabbled in Thai iced tea, but I’d never been really interested in it otherwise. Then I tried this minted iced tea at the greenmarket that was sweetened with maple syrup. That’s how I got hooked.

This was my first attempt at making iced tea at home, and I have to say it turned really well, although I didn’t try the maple syrup version. Once I’d taken the tea bags out, I poured my tea in a little tea pot that has a built in infuser and stuck some fresh mint leaves in it, then let it sit in the fridge for a bit. When I was ready for a cool beverage I poured myself a glass added a shot of whisky. The sweetness of the whisky really lends itself to the minted tea.

Cheers to it already being Friday! I have a fun event lined up this weekend that I can’t wait to share with you.

whisky iced tea

4 cups water
6 tea bags of black tea
1/2 cup sugar
4-5 fresh mint leaves
whisky

1
Bring water to a boil in small saucepan.
2
Add tea bags and sugar. Let simmer for 5 minutes.
3
Remove tea bags and pour into pitcher or tea pot.
4
If your tea pot has an infuser, stuff the mint leaves in it. Otherwise use a loose tea infuser and let it hang out in the pitcher. Let it cool in the refrigerator for a few hours.
5
Pour yourself a glass, add a shot of whisky and relax.

The Times had a nice article about corn yesterday. In it, they include this recipe for Brown Butter Cornbread with Farmer Cheese and Thyme. Needless to say I’ll be picking up some corn this weekend.

photo by Andrew Scrivani for The New York Times

Mint’s been on my mind lately. There’s something about the fresh kick that you get from mint leaves that has me dreaming about ways to use it. Last year I made some fresh mint ice cream that was really, really good and I’ve been thinking about it ever since. The thing is, making ice cream takes so much time and effort and sometimes that just seems a little exhausting. Then I thought of a genius idea that would take less time and give me similar satisfaction. Mint pudding!

I pulled out some fresh mint, ground it with some sugar in my mortar and pestle and I was on my way to some tasty pudding. I also added a few sprigs of mint into my milk mixture so it would further infuse into the flavor. In less than a half hour, I had the lovely scent of mint wafting through my kitchen and homemade pudding at my fingertips. I ran the mixture through a fine sieve and put it in the fridge to chill. A bit later I tried it out and to my satisfaction, my little idea turned out great. The pudding was creamy and minty with hints of vanilla, although I wish it would have been just a tad silkier. But when I told Aaron that, he said the texture let you know it was homemade. He knows how to make me feel better.

mint pudding

1/3 cup sugar
1/3 cup vanilla sugar*
4 sprigs of mint
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups milk
4 large egg yolks
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

*vanilla sugar is not necessary, it just adds a little more flavor. if you don’t have it just use regular sugar.

1
Place a fine-mesh sieve over a medium bowl; set aside.
2
Mix 1/3 sugar and 2 sprigs of mint in your mortar and pestle and grind until mint is finely incorporated.
3
In a medium saucepan, off heat, whisk together sugars, cornstarch, and salt. Very gradually (a few tablespoons at a time) whisk in milk, taking care to dissolve cornstarch. Whisk in egg yolks.
4
Whisking constantly, cook over medium heat until the first large bubble forms and sputters, about 10-15 minutes.
5
Reduce heat to low; still whisking, cook 1 minute. Remove from heat; immediately pour through sieve into bowl.
6
Stir butter and vanilla into hot pudding.
7
Place plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding (to prevent skin from forming); chill at least 3 hours and up to 3 days. Before serving, whisk pudding until smooth.

The first few stops are in Somerville, which is about a 15 minute walk from Cambridge. We started Sunday morning at a delightful coffee shop named Bloc 11. The coffee was really top notch and gave me the kick I needed to get my day going. Along with coffee, they serve a ton of different teas and their pastry area was filled with awesome looking baked goods. The space was really interesting as well. The building was once a bank, so it’s quite an ample space filled with different rooms to sit in, including the vault.

Our next stop was just down the street. It’s a great little Portuguese restaurant called the Neighborhood Restaurant. When it’s warm out, all dining takes place outdoors under grapevines and brightly colored umbrellas. There’s nothing fancy about the place, but the food is undeniably mouthwatering. To start every meal comes with a choice of fruit or cream of wheat and a super tasty orange juice. Our friends recommended the Portuguese Meat Plate, which consisted of two crab cakes and shrimp cakes, potatoes, eggs with all sorts of goodness mixed in and rice and beans. That was one meal. Aaron chose pumpkin pancakes with cinnamon and walnuts, which also came with a side of sausage, eggs and potatoes. Ok, that’s just a little nauseating to read the amount of food that was given to us. I’m happy to say we didn’t eat it all, but it was so, so good. The kind of good that makes you sad that you have to leave some behind.

After brunch, we somehow rolled ourselves home and packed up the car to take a little trip outside the city. On the way out, we stopped at the dreamiest little gourmet shop called Formaggio Kitchen. I’m not quite sure how we were still able to think about food after that brunch, but as soon as I stepped inside, it was like the day was a blank slate and I got lost thinking about all the possibilities. First there’s the cheese, which is the key to my heart. They have two big cases of cheese and helpful staff to answer any questions. We somehow walked away with two lovely choices, a spicy blue and a 3 cream cheese. Yum. After the cheese room you walk into a room filled with chocolate and candy, both homemade and from around the world. The last room was like a visit to the farmers market, with a few extras tossed in. There were baskets of fresh fruits and vegetables, fresh flowers, assorted beverages including coffee and beer. I tried to be good inside, I really did, but I still came out with a few bags of goodies.

Finally, we took a short car ride to a park called World’s End in Hingham, MA. The park is actually a little penninsula where you can see great views of the Boston skyline from across Boston Harbor. We set up a blanket, opened up some violet lemonade and blueberries that we picked up at Formaggio, and just relaxed. Cheese, crackers and beer came a little later after our stomachs had forgiven us for the earlier meal.

I actually can’t think of a way the day would have been any better. Great friends, delicious food, the great outdoors and a little relaxation…  I mean come on. That’s the life.

Three day weekends are so dreamy. We took advantage of the extra day by taking a trip to Boston to visit some of our best friends, Ari and Jillian. They led us to some great food that I’ll be sharing later this week. Before we left, I whipped up my first ever batch of caramels. Oh. Boy. Bad news my friends, bad news. Not because they turned out a disaster, but because they were so dang good it was hard to keep my hands off them. I’ve dabbled in caramel sauce before, sometimes it turns out good, other times it takes a wrong turn and turns into a burnt sugar mess; so I was prepared for whatever came my way. But with a little patience, this recipe turned out perfect.

The recipe calls for fleur de sel, which is a fancy salt that may take a little looking to find. I haven’t done a taste test or anything, but something tells me that the caramels would still be delicious if you substituted sea salt for the other. Beyond that, there are only 5 other ingredients, heavy cream, butter, sugar, corn syrup and water. It always amazes me that something so deliciously good is so simple. As I mentioned before, patience is key to this recipe. You need to be able to stand over the stove top and wait for the syrup mixture to turn golden, then for the cream and syrup to hit the right temperature and finally for the whole thing to harden. So give yourself some time and get ready for a decadent treat.

fleur de sel caramels
via design sponge via gourmet
makes about 40 candies

1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 teaspoon fleur de sel
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/4 cup water

1
Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly oil parchment.
2
Bring cream, butter, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.
3
Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.
4
Carefully stir in cream mixture (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 248°F on thermometer, 10 to 15 minutes.*
5
Pour into baking pan and cool at least 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch pieces, then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

*This actually took me about 25-30 minutes for some reason, so it seems to vary a bit.

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!

- 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.