calm before the storm

I write this beneath a window being pounded by squalls of wind and rain from Tropical Storm Fay.  In these bunkered down conditions it’s hard to imagine that I spent the weekend in a swim suit bouncing from pool to grill.  I also faced another one of my culinary fears: whole fish.

Tucked between the freshwater Everglades and the turquoise Atlantic, Miami is a paradise for fishermen and fish eaters.  I’ve been accompanying my father on fishing trips since I could walk, but I tend to stick to rod and reel duty and avoid anything slimy and alive.  More often than not we released our catch, but when we did keep a fish for dinner Papi would prep it at the dock and return home with pretty filets as unlike their animal selves as store-bought beef or chicken.  At the store on Saturday I found myself eye-to-eye with a beautiful red snapper and decided that it was the perfect day for an honest and simple grilled fish dinner.

I enlisted Papi’s help with scaling and prep, and together we created two beautiful grilled snapper overflowing with lemon and bunches of fragrant thyme and fennel greens.  On the side, we grilled the sweet anise flesh of the fennel bulb.  The flavors were light and clean and sincere.  It tasted like a Provence afternoon.

Along with the snapper I served oven-roasted miniature bell peppers, zucchini, carrots, cherry tomatoes, and red onion with lemon zest and basil.

Though dinner was delicious, it was also bittersweet; Joanna returned to college in St. Louis and this was the first meal since the inception of mumble pie without my sister and blogging partner by my side.  Check back for future posts from the heartland!

summer strawberries

Today we came back from our annual family vacation in Marco Island. While there, we indulged in fresh seafood dinners, hours of reading by the waves, and “3 o’clock snacktime,” where the beach attendants would bring around frosty cups of sorbet to clean our salty, sandy palettes. We may be back into the swing of things at home, but I still wasn’t ready to surrender my cool afternoon snack.

Luckily, I had just come across a recipe for strawberry frozen yogurt on one of my favorite blogs, Baking Bites. It uses Greek yogurt, which is an unsweetened yogurt that has been strained, making it thick, tangy, and almost sour cream-like. Though many people are turned off by its lack of sweetness, I think it’s the perfect palette for fruits, nuts, and other mix-ins at breakfast. This frozen treat gives me even more reason to love it. In less than an hour I made a creamy and healthy treat with a refreshing strawberry flavor and a vibrant pink color. I may not be eating it with my toes in the sand, but it’s still a delicious reminder of summer’s sweetness.

Recipe after the jump

double the sweetness

Both of us undertook a baking project this weekend and left our kitchen with a lingering aroma of butter and sugar that lulled us into the week.

Joanna. On Thursday my baking business received its latest customer! She requested a fruity cake for a Sunday brunch. I capitalized on the recent plethora of plump blueberries at the store and made a Sour Cream Blueberry Coffee Cake from Ina Garten. I doubled the amount of blueberries, which bejewled the golden cake with juicy violet gems. The crumb topping was flavored with a bit of cinnamon and nutmeg and piled thickly atop the moist batter. Though I didn’t taste the cake myself, I received word today that it was a hit. I hope to do more business in the near future!

Erica. Clearly, I’m not the baker of the family (see above). However, since I first spotted the recipe for Espresso Cheesecake Brownies in Baking: From My Home to Yours, it’s been lingering in the back of my mind. Cheesecake, anything coffee-flavored, and brownies all rank extremely high on my list of favorite desserts, so these bars seemed to be a given. Homemade cheesecake is delicious, but for all the work of crust-making and waterbaths and springform pans, I’d just assume brave the Factory. The most pleasant surprise of this stratified treat was that everything baked at once in a yum-o 30 minutes. The top tier was dense and sweet—everything that makes a great cheesecake—with a strong espresso flavor. The brownie layer could have been a bit more crumbly and a lot more chocolaty, but overall it was a dessert success. I brought these treats into the office today and my co-workers couldn’t have been more grateful for this simple Monday morning pick-me-up.

green pea risotto

This is such an elegant one-dish meal that looks and tastes like a lot of work went into it. Risotto isn’t as intimidating as it seems; and once you’ve mastered the recipe, it’s hard not to dream up a thousand variations for the relatively blank slate of buttery rice and cheese. I feel like risotto is a dish more often ordered out then cooked up at home, but I’ve had some really mediocre risotto at some really good restaurants. Perhaps this paradox exits because the ideal risotto requires something readily available to the home chef yet hard to come by in a busy restaurant kitchen: twenty minutes of undivided attention.

The only other requirements are constantly simmering liquid and a flat wooden spoon. The other elements can be altered according to your whim. But what about Arborio rice—imported from Italy and sold at some markets for upwards of five dollars a bag—you ask? If you give your risotto the proper attention, any starchy short-grain rice will do. My pick is Valencia rice, known for it’s starring role in paella. Sushi rice and certain short grain American varieties would also work well.

Risotto is cooked by the constant addition of simmering broth (vegetable or chicken) to rice in a wide flat pan until the rice is al dente and the broth is absorbed. The risotto pictured gets its beautiful green color by substituting the last cup of liquid with a purée of broth and sweet petit peas. It is finished with a pat of butter and a generous portion of grated parmiggiano. Before serving, I topped each portion with shaved romano and summer basil from mom’s garden.

Other additions to this dish are best cooked on the side and added at the end along with the grated cheese. Some tried and true ideas include crimini mushrooms sautéed in olive oil and butter, blanched asparagus and/or zucchini cut into pea-sized pieces, and of course, whole peas, either fresh or frozen. My preferred topping for risotto is a sunny-side-up egg. The marriage of creamy yolk and sharp cheesy rice creates a luxuriously rich vegetarian meal that would satisfy even the most carnivorous appetite.

Recipe after the jump.

soup and sandwich

I could sense the feigned excitement in Papi’s voice when I called him to relay tonight’s dinner menu: soup and sandwiches. He tends to think of this combination as a frilly one that suffices for luncheon with the ladies, but is far too insubstantial for his most important meal of the day. Needless to say, I think he was quite surprised when he arrived home from work this evening to find my boyfriend, Scott, and me busy in the kitchen, slathering homemade pesto on thick ciabatta bread and stirring a simmering pot of aromatic carrot soup.

I was more than happy to have Scott join me in the kitchen tonight. Though he enjoys eating far more than cooking, he does have a few signature dishes up his sleeve. My favorite is his pesto, an off-the-cuff, harmonious blend of basil, pine nuts, garlic, cheese, salt, pepper, and a squeeze of lemon. We made it the base of paninis that were filled with mozzarella, prosciutto, caramelized onions, and roasted eggplant, zucchini, squash, and peppers. They were quite messy, but totally delicious. The sweet warmth of the veggies and the saltiness of the ham and cheese were widely awakened by the brightness of the fresh pesto. I could see Papi’s soup-and-sandwich skepticism waning as he raved about the winning combo of flavors.

The soup was a light, yet comforting, combination of carrots, apples, and sweet onion that were spiced with fresh ginger and curry powder. It was a cinch to make, but resulted in a very complex set of flavors that was heightened by the addition of fresh lime juice and cilantro. Coincidentally, Papi had carrot soup from the cafeteria at work today, but declared that this one was worlds better. I think it’s safe to say that dinner was a success, not only in its appetite appeal, but in its ability to convert Papi into a soup-and-sandwich believer.

Backtracking a bit, I made a delicious and somewhat healthy loaf of carrot bread this weekend. It’s a variation on my usual quickbread base, with slightly less oil and flour and some soymilk for moisture. I added crystallized ginger, which I enjoyed, but others found to be overpowering. Next time I think I’ll replace it with chopped walnuts. This bread is great for breakfast, snack, or dessert, and would be good topped a-la-carrot cake with some whipped cream cheese (almost like frosting, just a tad less caloric).

The recipes for the soup and the bread are after the jump. Enjoy!

tomatillo-phobia

I suppose that in certain areas of the country what I’m about to say is laughable, but here goes: tomatillos have always intimated me. The kiwi-green orbs look as nonthreatening as tomatoes, but their papery husks and sticky skins—combined with their mysterious absence in recipes other than sauces—gave the impression that only a Mexican mother or trained chef could do the fruit justice. Then at the farmer’s market last week I spotted a beautiful basket of tomatillos calling my name; the time had come to find a recipe for my must-have condiment at every Mexican restaurant, salsa verde.

My intimidation was in vain, because the salsa couldn’t have been easier to make. Everything is tossed in the blender, thus eliminating all the chopping and dicing that goes into other fresh salsa and pico-de-gallo recipes. I learned that tomatillos are usually cooked—either roasted or boiled—before consuming. Though the former method probably yields a more complex sauce, I opted for the ease of the latter and boiled the tomatillos in salted water with onion, garlic, and jalapeño. They only need a few minutes of cooking, then it’s off to the blender with cilantro and lime (I used key lime) juice. The whole recipe takes less than 10 minutes from pot to plate and is the near replica of the spicy cool green salsa I crave from my favorite Mexican hole-in-the-wall joint.

Sadly, the restaurant is far away in my former college town, but they’d be proud of my mean salsa verde, which dually elevates a dish by introducing fiery heat and bright acidity. To date I’ve enjoyed it on ribeye fajitas, taco salad, and blue corn chips. An added perk of homemade tomatillo salsa is the price-less than three dollars for about 4 cups. I’m never buying the jarred stuff again.

return to paradise

Today we were back in beautiful Stiltsville, swimming and sunning on a luxuriously lazy summer Sunday. A monster storm passed overhead in the morning, but left in its wake calm turquoise waters and large schools of tropical fish who had gathered for shelter in the shallow shade of the house.

For Joanna and me, a day on the water provides a great excuse to prepare multiple picnic meals. For breakfast, we shared bakery-bought fruit and nut bread and a beautiful fruit salad with lots of summer berries. (California raspberries have been superbly sweet this week–I could single-handedly [single-mouthedly?] devour pints a day.)

For lunch, we feasted on Joanna’s famous curry chicken salad made with Greek yogurt and loaded with dried fruit and nuts.

I made almond-pineapple broccoli slaw, which is a tastier and healthier substitute for typical picnic slaw recipes, and is full of fresh herbs and crunchy veggies.

Papi made poke, a Hawaiian-style fresh tuna in a sesame marinade.

Finally, for dessert we turned to the old picnic standby: a giant wedge of watermelon. It’s a luscious yet light treat and the perfect fuel for a swim in the turquoise sea.

Recipe for Curry Chicken Salad after the jump.

one batch serves all

I’ve baked a lot of brownies lately, but to me, the one-bowl ease coupled with the intoxicating smell of chocolate that fills the house just as the brownies reach their pinnacle of fudgy perfection never gets old. Plus, I’m always looking to try new recipes and techniques to further exalt this classic dessert.

That being said, I got a call yesterday from my cousin, Jason. He needed help planning a beachside picnic for his girlfriend. I was touched by his romanticism and eager to lend advice. He wanted to do all the cooking himself, but appointed me to make a dessert. His request was for brownies, and I leaped at the opportunity to spend some quality time with my spatula and a couple ounces of Ghirardelli. I found a recipe and was about to set out to baking when I received a call from my Papa who needed brownies for an office party. Since Jason only needed a few bars for his picnic, I made one batch and was able to accommodate everyone (and even leave a few for the family and boyfriend). How oh so serendipitous!

I tried out Dorie Greenspan’s recipe for Tribute to Katharine Hepburn Brownies and will definitely be bookmarking it. Apparently Katharine Hepburn loved a very chocolate-laden brownie with a minimal amount of flour—my kind of woman. I substituted the nuts in the recipe for peanut butter chips, as per Jason’s request. The result: sixteen ooey gooey, chocolate-peanut-buttery bars of deliciousness. I hope all the recipients enjoyed them!

Here’s Dorie’s original recipe.

aubergenius

Our eggplants from the market were perfectly ripe, glistening purple, and begging to be used for dinner. Mom found a great recipe for Shrimp and Scallops with Asian Eggplant. This happens to be her favorite dish when we go out for Thai food, and we were all excited to discover how easily it could be made in our own kitchen. She served as chef for the night.

The eggplant was firm and juicy and the seafood was tender. The sauce was sweet, salty, and spicy at once, lightened by slices of fresh basil. We served it all over a bed of rice noodles, which cooked up in minutes. It was a satisfying meal that temporarily transformed our kitchen into a veritable Asian bistro. We will definitely add this to our repertoire and to our list of reasons to venture again to the farmer’s market.

sunday at the farmer’s market

Today we trekked down south to the Homestead Farmer’s Market. With tightly packed kiosks, makeshift taco shops, and a soundtrack of produce names and prices being called out in Spanish, the excitement was palpable. Amidst the sweltering heat and amongst a crowd of weekend shoppers, we eagerly strolled the aisles, marveling at the freshness and insane cheapness of everything that surrounded us.

But before we could make any purchases to bring home, we had to get something to savor in the moment. Having already eaten brunch, we were looking for a light snack and found our perfect match in the fresh-sliced fruit cups sold by many of the vendors. We split a copious cup of ripe mango and an overflowing bowl of watermelon, cantaloupe, pineapple, and fresh coconut. They were both seasoned with a sprinkling of salt and chili pepper and a squeeze of fresh lime juice. It was heaven.

Our first purchase of Japanese eggplants beckoned us with their bright amethyst sheen. They were sold 3 for $1, and we excitedly loaded them into our canvas tote. We’re hoping to use them for dinner tomorrow night. We also bought a huge bag of key limes ($1), a bag of tomatillos ($1), an avocado ($1 – other vendors had them even cheaper), half a pound of cherry tomatoes ($0.50), and two yellow tomatoes ($0.50). The drive to get there may be long, but the prices and the freshness are hard to beat.

For dinner we were inspired by our afternoon’s purchases to make a Mexican twist on shrimp and grits. I made polenta sweetened with fresh corn and honey and emboldened with some grated cheddar. We topped it with a simple sautee of chorizo and shrimp, diced tomatoes and avocado from the market, cilantro, lime, and the ultimate topper: Erica’s homemade tomatillo salsa (not pictured, but to be blogged about soon). It was a great meal to enjoy a summer night and to celebrate our day’s adventures.

Information on the market:
Homestead Farmer’s Market
Intersection of US-1 and 244th St.
Although it’s open during the week, there aren’t nearly as many vendors as there are on the weekends.  Saturday and Sunday during the day are the best times to go.