Blueberry Buckle

(adapted from http://www.marthastewart.com/)

What is a buckle? Well, not only is it delicious but it was a perfect solution for the heaping pile of blueberries in my fridge. It is also basically the same thing as a crumb cake. It was excellent! The blueberries stayed plump and the cake was moist and not at all soggy.

Ingredients

1 9X9 inch pan
10 tablespoons (about 1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ teaspoon lemon zest
4 cups blueberries
Streusel Topping

Streusel Topping

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Using a pastry blender or fork, cut in the butter until fine crumbs form. Using hands, squeeze together most of the mixture to form large clumps.

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Butter baking pan, and dust with flour, tapping out excess. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside.

4. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar and lemon zest on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

5. Reduce mixer speed to low, and add egg and vanilla, beating until fully combined. 6. With mixer running at low speed, gradually add in flour mixture; beat until flour is incorporated, about 20 seconds.

6. Remove bowl from mixer. Using a rubber spatula gently fold in blueberries.

7. Pour batter into prepared pan.

8. Sprinkle streusel topping over cake.

9. Bake until toothpick comes out batter-free, about 60 minutes.

10. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes.

11. Remove from pan; cool for 15 minutes before serving.

Classic Apple Pie

That’s why my friend Jackie requested when I asked her what I should make to bring to her birthday BBQ. So I did! It came out really great- particularly the top. I am usually a lattice-style pie girl, but I am glad I decided to go with a closed top pie with this one because the dough fell perfectly into the apples beneath and created this rippled, lumpy, delicious look! Served with vanilla ice cream, you can’t go wrong!

Old Fashioned Apple Pie

Martha Stewart Living (November/December 1991)

Ingredients

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
Pie Dough (I used store bought- two deep dish pie crusts)
12 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (I used 9 apples)
3/4 cup sugar, plus additional for pie top
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch ground cloves (I omitted b/c I didn’t have any!)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large egg, beaten


Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine apples, sugar, lemon zest and juice, spices, and flour. Toss well. Spoon apples into pie pan. Dot with butter, and cover with remaining pie crust. Cut several steam vents across top. Seal by crimping edges as desired. Brush with beaten egg, and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake until crust is brown and juices are bubbling, about 1 hour. Let cool on wire rack before serving.

Mango Oatmeal

I recently ordered the most amazing thing for breakfast- mango oatmeal. I couldn’t resist the description on the menu and the dish fully lived up to all of my expectations. I have developed a strong love for oatmeal over the years and this was a take on the oats that I never considered. I’ve been dreaming of it ever since… So, when Tony brought home a canister of steel cut oats AND a jar of mangoes from Trader Joe’s I knew exactly what to do! I’ve never made steel cut oatmeal before so that was a challenge. I am a fan of Quaker Oats Old Fashioned Rolled Oats (and believe me, I’ve tried many brands). For my first try I think the oats came out well. However, I did burn the bottom of the pot so I lost a good portion of the oats… Steel cut oatmeal takes A LOT longer than regular oats. I usually make my Quaker Oats in the microwave for 1 minute and 33 seconds (exactly) plus a half cup of water. Simple. Steel cut oats are very demanding and require a lot of attention and stirring (lest they burn!). The result is definitely worth it- but it’s a commitment.

I didn’t follow any particular recipe- I just added a number of ingredients to taste.

I started with a ½ cup of steel cut oats and cooked them on the stove following the directions on the can. Once cooked, I added pieces of mango and cinnamon, nutmeg and brown sugar. Perfect!

Heaven!

Blueberries are one my FAVORITE foods, if not my absolute favorite. So imagine how excited I was to come home and find that Tony had bought TWO POUNDS of these!:

Now all I have to do is figure out the best way to use them!

Happy Birthday to Me!

My parents gave me this wonderful gadget for my birthday this year:

Behold the Cuisinart Griddler!I have been eyeing my parents’ Griddler for awhile now, and the last time I was at their house they took note! This guy does everything! There are four separate cooking options: closed Grill, a Panini Press, or an extended double Open Grill or Griddle. I’ve only touched the surface of its possibilities. So far we have grilled vegetables, meat, fruit and made paninis. We have yet to use the “open griddle,” but there are definitely some pancakes in our near future.

Tomato, Eggplant and Mozzarella Panini

Grilled Peaches with Vanilla Ice Cream

New Beginnings

We are finally settled into our new house and love it! We couldn’t be happier! So now with a new kitchen to break in, I am ready to get back to this blog!

I took these pictures a month ago, but they are worth documenting in cyberspace for eternity:

Peonies are my favorite flower and, of course, they are only in bloom for what seems like three days of the year. My wedding bouquet was supposed to be peonies. The florist promised I would have them. However, as the big day approached, I learned they had gone “out of season” and in order have them I would have to ship them in from Holland. I chose to have an actual reception instead, so I went with roses. That is how my love/hate relationship with these beauties began. So I was very surprised when I walked into Whole Foods one afternoon in June and saw row after row of peonies staring at me!

Have I been able to find them again since? Of course not. The next weekend I went back and they were out, as were three other florists in the city. The way I see it, peonies are like my unicorn or four leaf clover. I need to document their existence because it will probably be another 100 years before I capture them again:

Artichoke Risotto with Mascarpone, Lemon, and Thyme

Our new kitchen is officially broken in! We had family dinner at our new place this past Sunday night. My friend Andrea and I teamed up and made this great dish. However, the grocery store did not have baby artichokes so we were stuck with the large, normal, scary sized ones! We made it work and pulled it off quite well! We just trimmed and cleaned the artichokes and then steamed them whole for about 45 minutes (!). We (or I should say Andrea) cleaned them out and we added the yummy artichoke meat to the risotto at the very end. Perfect solution!

We served the risotto with a Summer Salad of Tomatoes, Green Leaf Lettuce, Basil, Fennel and Mozzarella and a simple Balsamic and Oil vinegrette. We also served a Spinach Torte, which was an Andrea family recipe consisting of spinach, rice, bread crumbs and cheese. Yum!

(Picture from Martha Stewart.com)

Ingredients

Serves 6

2 Lemons
10 baby artichokes (or four large!)
3 cups low-sodium chicken stock mixed with 3 cups water
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 garlic clove, minced
Coarse salt
2 cups short-grain Italian rice, such as Arborio
1 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons finely chopped fresh thyme, plus sprigs for garnish
Freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup mascarpone

Directions

1. Remove 3 teaspoons grated zest from 1 lemon; halve the lemon, and squeeze out 1 tablespoon juice. Set zest and juice aside. Cut remaining lemon in half, and squeeze into a medium bowl of cold water; add all rinds to water.
2. Prepare the artichokes: Working with 1 artichoke at a time, snap off tough out­er leaves until pale-green leaves are exposed. Cut off top third. Using a paring knife, peel dark-green layer from base and stem; trim stem. Quarter artichoke lengthwise. Transfer to lemon water.
3. Bring stock to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low.
4. Melt butter with oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic, and a pinch of salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is slightly softened, about 6 minutes. Drain artichokes, and add to pan. Cook, stirring often, un­til artichokes are just tender, about 12 minutes. Add rice, and stir until coated, about 1 minute. Pour in wine, and cook, stirring, until wine has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes.
5. Add enough hot stock (about 1 cup) to just cover rice. Cook, stirring, until stock is almost absorbed. Continue adding stock, 3/4 cup at a time, waiting for each addition to be absorbed before adding the next; cook, stirring, until rice is tender but still slightly firm in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Remove from heat, and discard bay leaf.
6. Stir in chopped thyme; season with salt and pepper. Add mascarpone, 2 teaspoons lemon zest, and the lemon juice; stir until mascarpone is melted and rice is moist and creamy.
7. Serve immediately, garnished with thyme sprigs and remaining teaspoon lemon zest.

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