Thursday, June 30, 2011

French Friday with Dorie: Chunky Beets and Icy Red Onions

BEETS & RED ONIONS WITH DRESSING MAKES THIS SIMPLE SALAD
I am in the mood to cook today.  I did well yesterday on my office paper work and on my to-do list and feel I deserve a fun day, especially one that results in good food for my family.  It is  extremely hot at 117^right now in Gilbert  (Phoenix is 114^ and these temps will continue for the next 2 weeks).  My readers may think I am off my rocker, but the heat invigorates me.  The AZ sun is like solar power that I have adjusted to feel is comforting and even addicting.  I love being outdoors, and I love to prepare foods that can be cooked and eaten outdoors.  

The Fourth of July holiday is coming up so I've decided on several summer salads,  red-white-and-blue desserts to bake, and foods for grilling.  (We will celebrate this holiday a few times...holidays sometimes go on for weeks around here...we just did Father’s Day twice.)  I  have decided to include our assigned Chunky Beets and Icy Red Onions as part of our pre-Fourth of July menu...the red works with our color scheme.

FOR CRISPY AND LESS BITTER TASTE, SLICE THE ONION AND SOAK IN COLD WATER

When we first moved to the Phoenix Valley, I was excited to plant a wonderful vegetable garden at our new home.  I staked out my plot and dug up the hard sunbaked ground, added good soil and fertilizers, bought my seeds and baby plants, and during the month of February, before the summer heat kicked in, my garden seemed to be flourishing.

Growing up in Utah and also living in upstate New York for 7 years, we had always enjoyed bountiful gardens that supplied not only our needs but the needs of all our neighbors.  It was part of my life to prepare, plant, care for, harvest, juice, pickle, preserve, freeze,  or can.  It is what one does in the summer and during harvest time.

I knew I was a great gardener and I was willing to work hard to grow my family’s organic foods, but AZ has other plans.  First of all, there is no good soil here and something happens to new, good soil that gets brought in....just disappears.  Second, it is just too hot.  Things start to die over 100^ no matter how much care they get.  Third, I can grow giant tomato plants, but only a few cherry tomato sized fruits are harvested.  Fourth, there are the dessert bugs...they appear in hoards all in one day and eat everything all at once before you can get to the poison store–and there goes the organic foods idea.  Fifth, we have birds.  And I mean birds.  Thousands of them and they know just when I plan to pick the food because in the night before I plan to harvest (happens that way every time just like clockwork) they eat everything the bugs did not want.  I wake up to nothing left.  No exaggeration.  One year I had beautiful and abundant apricots.  I was excited and planned to pick them in the morning, but during the night the birds got every apricot.  And, of course, they don’t eat the entire fruit, they peck a bite out one  fruit,  and then they go to the next and peck a bite, etc.  All totally ruined.  (I have Anna apples almost ready to harvest now...so I will have to pick them  green  because if they get ripe the birds will get them first....and apples don’t ripen after picking but they will be good enough for pie.)
WHISK TOGETHER  DIJON MUSTARD, HONEY, VINEGAR, EVO, AND SEASONINGS
My garden rows of beets and carrots looked good.  I’ve tried to grow them different ways 3 or 4 times and they always look good in the beginning.  I must have thought that I had learned to be an AZ farmer and could grow beets.  But the hard-as-concrete dirt we have here (the Indians built homes from our dirt hundreds of years ago buy just adding a little water...and the homes are still here, even our monsoon rains do not wash them away...you can just guess what happens to mud that gets into the bottoms of our shoes) grows root veges that are also hard-as-concrete and small as pebbles.  Very frustrating.  I think the hot sun petrifies them like the AZ pertified wood forest that turned to rock.

I harvested my beets, which were small, but I thought they might be lovely “baby beets.”  I boiled them and boiled them more, and boiled them more...and they remained hard as rocks.  Can’t be peeled because how do you peel a rock?  Can’t stick a knife in them so how could we ever put out teeth into them?  

I learned that, like I was told but wouldn’t listen, beets do not grow in AZ.  Sad.  Beets had previously been a “go to” vegetable along with peas, corn, and green beans...one of the big 4.  My little kids had loved them, especially pickled or hot with melted butter.  But I find that in AZ most locals have never tasted beets.  You can purchase them at the grocery store, but they are trucked in from somewhere, not fresh, and are expensive.
I FOUND MY READY-TO-EAT BEETS AT TRADER JOE'S
I was at Trader Joe’s and found beets in their fresh salads area, all cooked, peeled, and ready to eat.  I decided to try them in Dorie’s salad.  The prepared beets made the salad very quick and easy to ready, but I must say, I was disappointed with the results.  I was glad I had made several other summer salads for our meal.  The beet salad was tasted by most of my family, but no good comments...one son-in-law actually tasted beets for the first time with this salad, and it was not a good introduction.  I had thought my Russian daughters might enjoy the salad as they make lovely beet salads where they chop up the beets very small, add canned peas...must be canned...and chop up eggs, etc. and use a mayonnaise dressing.  It is quite good.  But they did not touch this Dorie beet salad.

Dorie suggests accompanying this beet salad with other foods such as goat cheese.  I’m happy that I just let this salad accompany a great meal that included other wonderful salads and foods.  In the end, it became unexciting leftovers.
COMBINE BEETS, ONIONS, AND DRESSING AND THIS EASY SALAD IS COMPLETE
But I will share a tasty and simple pickled beet recipe from my grandmother who was a terrific gardener and made my favorite pickled beets which she canned every year and brought to every family party.

Pickled Beets
as made by Kris’ grandmother, Hazel Baird

1 peck tender young beets

Cook until tender.  Peel off skins.  Make the following syrup:

2 C sugar
2 C water
2 C strong vinegar
1 tsp allspice
1 thinly-sliced lemon
1 Tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp cloves

Bring syrup to a boil, pour over beets which have been placed into a pot, and simmer 15 minutes.  Pack in sterilized jars and seal.  (Or enjoy eating them without first canning.)   
Note:  If beets are larger than very small “baby” size, they can be sliced or quartered and used.

Happy Fourth of July to you all!  Hope you enjoy your holiday and have a great week!!!


Thursday, June 23, 2011

French Friday with Dorie: Mozzerella, Tomato, & Strawberry Salad

FRESH, QUICK, & DELICIOUS

WITH JUST A FEW INGREDIENTS

AND A DASH OR SPLASH OF THIS AND THAT

TOSSED TOGETHER

AND ARRANGED  INTO A SALAD WITH A SIDE OF ARTISAN BREAD

AND OUR EVENING AFTER SWIM MEAL IS READY TO EAT

EASY & DELICIOUS IN 5 MINUTES

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Baked Sunday Mornings: Rosemary Apricot Squares

APRICOT SQUARES WITH A SCOOP OF ICE CREAM--YUM!
Well, this week was fun, but this is not just an apricot squares post...it is the day.  I cheated. I did not bake the squares.  I did get out all the ingredients, but Em, daughter #2 made them.  She is home for a week with Baby M because her best friend is getting married and she is maid of honor and also the wedding cake baker.  So...I can't put Baby M down; can't get enough of him.  I was in the kitchen watching the bars get made, but I confess that Em did all the work.  And daughter #3, Stephy-Wephy helped with the photos and they can help me do this post too which means that they will add what they want.  I'll just have to see how it turns out.
THIS IS ME HOLDING AND FEEDING BABY M, WELL I CROPPED THE ME PART OUT
EM IS MIXING UP THE BARS
Em started out with the apricot layer as it needed simmering time,  Then she made the crust which was pressed into a parchment lined pan.  Em balked at adding the rosemary, but I insisted, explaining that these strange dessert ingredients and flavors are part of the experience.  I'm glad she picked it fresh and added it to the mixture as it added to the exquisite flavor of these bars, and it was not as strong a flavor as we first imagined it might be.
HONEY CLIMBED UP ONTO THE KITCHEN TABLE AND TOOK CARE OF HERSELF---IT'S TERRIBLE TO BE DISPLACED BY ANOTHER BABY, BUT SHE DOES NOT SEEM TO MIND
Then, after baking the crust Em added the apricot filling which she processed after simmering for almost an hour


APRICOT FILLING HAS BEEN ADDED
STEWING THE APRICOTS
OUR FAMILY DOG PASSED ON A COUPLE OF MONTHS AGO...MEET THE NEW PUPPY (STILL NAMELESS)

MIXING THE CRUMB TOPPING
  You may notice we added rolled oats in our crumb topping and they were really good.
HONEY IS INTO BANANAS TODAY, BUT SINCE SHE JUST ATE ONE, SHE WANTS TO SHARE THIS ONE WITH THE NEW PUPPY
While the bars baked, the girls and their babe's went out for a swim.  Since Em lives in NE Idaho, AZ is quite hot for her...Baby M has never been so hot in his entire 6 months of life...loves the water.
SPLISH, SPLASH HE'S GETTING HIS BATH
BABY M'S 1st SWIM

ENJOYING A BEAUTIFUL SUNNY AZ DAY
 When the swim was finished so were the bars and they are looking good.  Thanks, Em.


JUST OUT OF THE OVEN
 
BABY M HAS HAD A REALLY GOOD DAY
Then, Em got busy on the reason she came home...wedding stuff.  Here is the wedding cake she created for her best friend and we all agree that it matches the bride perfectly.





GETTING HER CAKE ALL SET UP AT THE OUTDOOR RECEPTION


 Well, Em, I think you did a pretty good job!
 Back to the bars:
MY BITES
 My only regret with these bars is that we did not double the recipe.  I was dreaming about them and wanted one for breakfast the next day, but, alas, they had all been eaten.  So sad.  Guess we'll have to make them again.  Love apricots and love this recipe...and the rosemary is a wonderful addition!


30 (or 39 with 4" tartlets) Pies for Church Supper

KRIS'  PIES--17 VARIETIES/30 PIES
ACTUALLY...COUNTING 9 TARTLETS, I MADE 39 PIES

Hubby and I were asked to be in charge of a church supper for 100 of us "old" people.  Last evening we enjoyed meeting with our church friends for a BBQ sandwich meal /program/and pie.  Everyone had a great time visiting, eating a delicious meal, enjoying Dr. Brad Barrett's presentation on the History of Gilbert, AZ which had us all laughing so hard our full stomachs ached, hearing Sue Robinson sing and she does have a very lovely voice, and eating lots of pie and ice creamThe "party" was a huge success, many people helped, and I was amazed at the enthusiasm for my pie table.  

I chose pie for three reasons:  1.  Tomorrow is Fathers' Day and men seem to enjoy homemade pie over many other desserts,  2.  I have agreed to provide a "Wedding Pie" table for my nephew who will be married in August.  I wanted to find out which types of pie general people enjoy most and look beautiful after sitting on a table unrefrigerated for an hour or two  (cream pies were my concern on our 107^ day), and 3.  I wanted only homemade pies with butter crusts and fresh ingredients...nothing from a can or a wrapper and definitely no shortening or lard!
HUBBY AND RALPH MOUSSEAU READY TO MAKE THE SANDWICHES
GREG BARLOW, HUBBY, & RALPH READY FOR THE CROWD
We used my BBQ sandwich recipe and Hubby ordered fresh buns from Alpine Bakery...they were just out of the oven when he picked them up...they were perfect for this dinner.  People brought a few condiments such as sliced cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, pickles for the sandwiches.  This is my BBQ recipe:

        Kris’ Sloppy Joes

2    pounds  extra lean ground beef
1    large  yellow onion, finely chopped
1    green bell pepper, finely chopped
1    red bell pepper, finely chopped
4    tablespoons    chili powder
1/4   teaspoon    ground black pepper
2    teaspoons  salt
2    cloves garlic, minced
1/4   cup brown sugar, firmly packed
2    cups  tomato puree or crushed tomaties
1    cup  ketchup
1    tablespoon    mustard
BBQ Spice or Seasoning to taste

Brown and crumble the ground beef with onions, peppers, garlic, salt, pepper.  (Or if the beef is too fatty, cook separately and drain off fats before adding next ingredients.) Add chili powder, brown sugar, tomato puree, and mustard.  Let simmer for an hour.  Makes about a dozen Sloppy Joe sandwiches.

Note: adjust the spices, brown sugar, ketchup, and tomato puree to your own taste.  You may like to add other spices such as cumin, hot pepper sauce, etc.

Instead of the tomato puree, you may like diced and smashed tomatoes, larger pieces or peppers, etc.  You may like celery added.  We like a little more brown sugar and a little less ketchup.  We also like a slice of cheese added to the sandwich.

Enjoy!
PEOPLE STARTED COMING AND THEY ARE HUNGRY
Carol took care of  bringing her distilled water and ice which is always a pleasure, and Marcia/Greg made the punch which had a lemonade base and was enjoyed.  We went through 6 bags of ice, 10 gallons of water, and 5 gallons of punch.

CAROL AND I HAVE "TWIN" WATER JUGS AND PUNCH BOWLS

MORE PEOPLE

FLOWERS FROM MY YARD
 I went out early in the morning and cut 200 of my zinnias which Marina arranged for our tables.  The containers are Carol's and they used ribbons to decorate, actually tied like a tie for Fathers' Day.  We used many colors of bandannas and bandanna fabric to decorate...goes with our BBQ.
PEOPLE CONTRIBUTED LOTS OF YUMMY FOODS

YUM!

MORE YUM!

THE SALADS AND FRUITS WE ASSIGNED OUT ARRIVED AND WERE WONDERFUL

MORE

ABD MORE!

JANET JUSTESEN ROASTED KALE TO GO WITH HER SALAD

EVERYTHING IS FRESH AND TASTY...WE HAD MORE THAN ENOUGH


I was surprised at the most enjoyed pies.  I made the following:
Chocolate Malted 4" Tartlets   (people cut 1/2 ...we used 9)
Sugar-Free Fresh Strawberry
Dark Chocolate Cream
Blueberry
Apple with Pecan Crumb Topping
Blueberry Cream
Lemon Merringue
Fresh Fruit Tart
Strawberry Rhubarb
Apple
Banana Cream (with an entire bunch of bananas)
Bumbleberry (Raspberry, Blackberry, Blueberry) --- this was a favorite
Pumpkin
Coconut Cream -- one lady only wanted pie if her husband could find coconut cream on the table and would bring it to her.  He found it and bought it to her and she was elated.  Made me happy to because I know that she has lost 80% of her hearing from both ear drums being ruptured on plane travel about a month ago...she has been in true misery.
Lemon Custard with Fresh Fruit
Orange Creamsicle
Blueberry

My favorite is Chocolate cream out of all the cream pies...just need my daily dose of chocolate, but of the two I made Hubby ate 1/2 pie and no one else tried it.  Frolicking Night Owl daughter swiped one of these leftovers.

Banana Cream went fast. I was surprised.
Strawberry Rhubarb---people were wanting more.
The Sugar-Free Strawberry went, but I think, just because dieters had a choice.
Could have used several more Chocolate Malted Tarts.

The balance was enjoyed but not to the same degree as the above.

It was fun to see the pie table mobbed.  People were lined up to get to the pies, then for seconds, and many for thirds and even fourths.

Average amount actually eaten  per person was 1/4 a 10" pie and .6 cup ice cream...that is really quite a large serving of dessert average per person...all the more fun.  There were a few people who only ate pie...they commented that they could have the other foods anytime, but homemade pie is a treasure.  

It was fun to watch, especially the men gawking at the table before dinner began, eying out the pies they would go for and almost drooling over their favorites.

These pies were homey, a little rustic, and delicious.  Because it is so hot it was hard to transport the creamy and fresh fruity pies, and it was also hard to keep a nice shape on the crust.  Even though the dough was chilled and some pie shells were frozen before baking, as soon as the dough was out of refrigeration it started melting fast.  My kitchen must have been 90^ even with A/C...the outside temp was 107^ and I had two ovens going all day.  I'm guessing that my Nephew's reception which is near Salt Lake City, will be a bit cooler, even in August which is their hottest month.

I also learned that I need more than one pie table!!!  It was mobbed and difficult to maneuver the cutting, etc.  For the wedding I will need a drink table, an ice cream table, room for paper products, and 3 pie tables.  There will also be a small wedding cake that one of my skilled decorating daughters will make....and Grandpa is making a cake stand to fit onto the tables that will be  18" high  and  and surrounded by pie???   That is the request.

Also, people were requesting my large dinner size plates for the pie and ice cream...so they could cut a few varieties to taste...did not like the smaller dessert plates.  I also need to take a daughter to decorate the pies better than I have time to do...always living in the fast lane.  The next large pie project needs to produce prettier pies.  So, all the toppings will need to be added by a careful, non-rushed baker.

I think I can made and freeze ahead all the pie crust dough and tart doughs.  I can pre-make some fillings such as for apple pie  (our apples will be ripe this week and they make THE BEST PIE!!!  They are Anna Apples and are similar to Golden Delicious...they are a great baking apple.)  I can also make the pastry creams and puddings the day before we travel and keep in coolers...should keep for 3 days.  Then, we can just put together the pies and bake them at Grandma's and someone can make the cake while I'm baking pies.  Sounds like a good plan.  I'm ready to gather ingredients so all I'll need will be the fresh foods.  

I'm looking forward to this next project and am glad to have had an opportunity to learn a few things.

THIS WAS A FUN PROJECT

Thursday, June 16, 2011

French Friday with Dorie: Roasted Rhubarb

MY RHUBARB MADE IT INTO A STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE

I grew up in Utah, not too far from Salt Lake City where the elevation is a mile high and this time of year the temperatures reach 80. When I was back home 2 weeks ago one day barely passed 50^ and others struggled to rise up to 60^.  But this year is unusually cold.   Rhubarb thrives in that climate; it is like zucchini in our former upstate New York gardens where there is always an abundance and even excess.  Creative cooks and bakers try to think of new ways to use it, but most of this beautiful leafy green, red stocked vegetable goes unused.

 
MY UTAH PIES
As a kid I loved to pick rhubarb and chew on the stocks.  I remember taking it in the car  and chewing on it, sometimes with salt, all the way to wherever we were going.  It was tart and made my mouth pucker, but it was in the same category as green apples and I loved it.
 
DICING RHUBARB FOR MY PIE
Now, living in hot Arizona, where this delightful vegetable does not grow, it is hard to find and many natives have never heard of it.  (Including the check out clerk at the store where I did finally find it.)

When we first moved to AZ I planted a vegetable garden.  I’d always had a nice garden with a wide variety of produce.  I found rhubarb plants at the nursery and since they were selling this plant I figured it must grow in our climate.  Not so.  I planted it in the winter, which in AZ is like spring everywhere else, and my 4 little bushes were doing well until the temperature climbed and stayed over 100^.  One by one my little plants shriveled up and died and I learned first hand that rhubarb and our desert heat do not mix.                                  

MIXED WITH QUARTERED STRAWBERRIES
Back in Utah, my dad had just picked a beautiful bunch of rhubarb as we were driving up to the house.  My mom asked if I had a good rhubarb pie recipe and I do.  Two springs ago I came across a lovely bunch of rhubarb in a farmers’ market where the sellers traveled into town from cooler areas.  I had used Williams-Sonoma’s recipe that can be found online for a wonderful strawberry rhubarb pie with a crust very similar to Dorie’s buttery version.

We unpacked the car, and I got to work.  It felt good to stand and make 3 delicious pies after the long 12 hour drive.  And of course, my parents were elated.  The pies turned out great and when my extended family came to see me, we enjoyed pie and ice cream while we chatted.  It was lovely and my mom, who is in her mid 80's and just got a pace maker was thrilled to have me make pies for her to share.

But for this week’s Dorie Rhubarb recipe, I had a very hard time finding any rhubarb...I should have brought some back from Utah with me.  I have been looking in all the grocery stores and markets since I learned that during this month of June I had been assigned to roast rhubarb.  I have never roasted rhubarb, so I really wanted to give it a try.  As a youngster my favorite recipe for this vege was stewed with lots of sugar, dessert style. And like Dorie suggests, it was served over cake or used as a topping in other ways.   I’m guessing that the roasted rhubarb will be similar to my childhood favorite of stewed rhubarb except that the stewed is more watery; otherwise the ingredients are similar.

After running into 4 different stores today I finally found rhubarb but compared to the fresh Utah variety, the specialty store had old, going slimy, leafless stocks that looked like they had been sitting in the vegetable isle for at least a month.  I dug through the entire section and found enough to make a pound and a half that were usable and I figured I’d have to trim off at least a half pound of grossness to have a pound of OK product.  Sad.  But even sadder was the price. $8.49 a pound for this rotting produce.  Unbelievable.  I’m sure it was shipped in from somewhere just waiting for someone like me who would be desperate to try a special recipe and buy it.
 
I also found a package of frozen rhubarb in this same store and also purchased that package just in case the “fresh” was too awful to use.  I only looked in the freezer section because I was being helped by a fellow FFwD friend who made the suggestion....I’ve never looked for this vege in the freezer before, just grew up with so much fresh that it never crossed my mind.

 
JUST OUT OF THE OVEN
I washed and trimmed the rhubarb and put it into the fridge for use the next day.  Unfortunately, the next day it did not look really great...not good enough to roast and actually eat. And the frozen does not excite me.  So, I’ve decided to make pies, again, because they were so good in Utah, and because I need to bake 39 pies for a church party which is in 2 days.   (And today was “only” 107^ here in Gilbert, AZ so I’m pretty crazy to want to spend a couple of days baking.)  I get myself into these things, but I enjoy it.  Hubby is setting up tables and chairs, in charge of the program and cleanup, helping decorate, and I am in charge of food for 150 adults.  I’ve assigned out all the dinner, but I’m making dessert and it will be pie.  So, I’ve not completed today’s assignment.  I plan to visit my Utah family again in August when a nephew is getting married and I’m doing his reception food.  Never ends.  But it is all fun.  And everybody just loves the wedding food/dessert lady:).  So while there, I’ll get some great fresh rhubarb and I’ll try roasting it after seeing how all your rhubarb roasting turns out.

MY SLICE--DELICIOUS!