4 posts tagged “balsamic vinegar”
Okay, I take back most of the nasty things I've said about summer, because figs have arrived at my local farmer's market this past weekend. I did a happy little boogie and dragged my poor mother over to the booth so I could examine them closely, and I ended up leaving with a basket of black and green figs in hand and considerably happier than I'd been walking in.
(And that's already pretty happy, since I love our local Saturday morning farmer's market.)
Of course, the poor figs have been languishing in my mini-fridge since then while I indecisively thumbed through my file of fig recipes. Due to problems with the big fridge, the college mini-fridge has once again become my main refrigerator-- Which means I don't have crème fraîche, and I lost the Salem blue cheese that I ordinarily love to broil figs with in the toaster oven, and so on, and so on...
And then, thanks to my recent obsession with Serious Eats, I found just what I was looking for on the site's new source for food porn feature, Photograzing.
Oh, yes. That's JUST what I needed for inspiration.
.. These herbed frommage blanc fritters are definitely next on the list to make, once I have a fridge with enough room for all my beloved types of cheese.
Fig & Prosciutto Pizza
1 12-14" pizza stone or tin
cornmeal for scattering
1 TJ's garlic and herb fresh pizza dough
White sauce:
Toppings:1/4 cup olive oil, divided
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2-3 tbsp fresh shredded Parmesan
1 tsp balsamic vinegar, preferably white
1 pint black figs, de-stemmed and sliced thin
2-3 oz. prosciutto
4 handfuls quattro formaggio cheese mix
1 handful fresh shredded Parmesan
Preheat oven to 500 deg F with your pizza stone / metal pizza tin inside. Let the dough rest and rise for about 20 minutes while the oven's getting warm.
While things are heating, make the sauce: Put the four cloves garlic and one tbsp of the oil into a small blender, mortar and pestle, or other hand-chopper and go to town 'til it forms a small, thick amount of paste. Drizzle in more oil and add in your desired amount of Parmesan: Repeat. Drizzle in the last tablespoon and the balsamic vinegar and stir until combined -- This will make enough to thinly paint your pizza dough. Scale up as you feel necessary, but the cheese will more than make up for any perceived dryness.
Carefully remove the pan / stone from the hot oven with heat-protectors of choice: Scatter lightly with cornmeal to keep the dough from sticking too much. Stretch the dough out roughly 12" with your fingertips and do your best to center it on the hot round: It WILL stick the moment you put it down, with the dough starting to cook. This is good, it'll prevent the dough from slipping away while you put the toppings on. Roll or pat the dough out further, taking care not to burn yourself.
Paint with the white sauce, and sprinkle with about a handful of the quattro formaggio. Lie down strips of prosciutto, cut to your desired size. (I went for long, thin strips, draped around in a spiral.) Sprinkle with another handful and a half of cheese. Top evenly with the thin-sliced figs, and sprinkle evenly with the desired amount of the remaining quattro formaggio and Parmesan.
Pop it in the oven and reduce to 450 F. Check it after ten minutes, and every 2-3 minutes thereafter: My thin-crust pie was perfect after 15 minutes. Enjoy!
I loved how the sweet of the figs paired with the salty of the prosciutto, and the savory of the cheese and garlic 'sauce.' I have to remember to make this one again the next time I get my hands on a pint of figs -- though how can you go wrong with figs + thin slices of cured ham + cheese?
And in case you don't want or happen to have access to pre-made quattro formaggio, here's the proportions:
1 cup (4 oz) shaved provolone cheese
1 cup (4 oz) mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup (2 oz) shaved Asiago cheese
1/4 cup (1 oz) freshly grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
One really, really good thing about taking part in a weekly food challenge?
...Well, aside from guaranteeing that I'm going to eat at least one home-cooked meal a week, or getting motivated to cook more frequently...
I love that I'm near always looking for new things to do, and taking inspiration from existing recipes. After all, I took one look at the Epicurious recipe for a fresh fig tart with rosemary cornmeal crust, and then wondered how it would taste with something less sweet.
The answer? Pretty darned good.
Now, if only I could improve my "photography skills."
Fresh Tomato Tart with Cornmeal-Thyme Crust
Yield: About 3-4 servings
Crust:
- ¾ cup all-purpose flour
¼ cup yellow cornmeal (not stone-ground)
1½ tsp sugar
pinch to 1/8 tsp salt
¼ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
¾ tbsps finely chopped fresh thyme
2 to 3 tablespoons ice water
- 3-4 small to medium tomatoes, washed and sliced 1/6-inch thick
½ tsp fine-grain sea salt
2½ - 3 tbsp crème fraîche
½ cup mascarpone cheese (4 oz)
1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp honey
fresh thyme leaves, to taste
Gently squeeze a small handful: If it doesn't hold together, add more water, ½ tablespoon at a time, pulsing after each addition and continuing to test.
Press dough evenly onto bottom and up sides of tart pan(s) with floured fingers. Smooth dough with a small spatula or the back of a spoon (floured if necessary), and roll a rolling pin over top of pan to trim dough flush with the edge (if necessary). Prick the crust bottom with a fork. Chill until it's firm, about 30 minutes or so.
While waiting on the crust to chill, prep your tomatoes: To avoid a soggy mess later on, you'll want to rid the tomatoes of some of their water. Clear a space on your counter and put down a double layer of absorbent paper towels. Slice the tomatoes into eighths or so, making very fine, thin wedges: Place the tomatoes in a single layer on the paper towels and sprinkle them with about 1 tsp (+/- accordingly) fine-grain sea salt. Cover the tomatoes with another layer of paper towels, press gently. Let them sit until you're ready to use them.
Preheat oven to 400°F. Bake crust in middle of oven until center and edges are golden, 20 to 30 minutes.
Whisk together sour cream, mascarpone, sugar, and salt in a bowl until well combined and slightly stiff. (I found that while the mascarpone and the creme fraiche were fairly stand-up on their own, they liquefied slightly when combined -- probably the addition of the salt and sugar.) Refrigerate until ready to use.
Let the crust cool to room temperature before filling: Heat balsamic, honey and thyme (if desired) in a small saucepan over moderately low heat, whisking about 4 minutes, then cool glaze slightly. Take care not to breathe in over the pan, as the scent can be a little overwhelming for the sinuses, but the results are stunning.
Remove tart shell(s) from the pan(s) and spread mascarpone cream in shell. Pat dry the tomato slices and arrange decoratively over cream. Drizzle with honey-balsamic glaze and serve.
The tart is really ridiculously good on its own -- I honestly think mascarpone and creme fraiche are now my favorite mixture of flavors ever, and even better than sweet cream ice cream -- but a drizzled teaspoon or so of the balsamic glaze makes it to die for. Wow.
Or, food / semi-review post! Don't read this if you're hungry.
The other night, I went out to dinner with the co-workers: We all earned a service award, essentially, and the dinner was our thank-you from the company. When we earned the same award last year, our reward was a dinner at Claim Jumper's (and I'm still dreaming of their ginger creme brulee) -- this year, we were treated to the Kitchen Table at Buca's.
While not my first trip to Buca's, it was my first experience at the Kitchen Table -- and if you ever get the chance, I'd say, take that table at least once. It's interesting to watch everything going on in the kitchen, they'll bring dishes by your table and tell you what they are as they go out, and you get to interact directly with your chefs.
I have to say, I was really fond of ours. She had some excellent suggestions, and, er, we may have gotten to talking about unusual food combinations (like the ingredient choices made in the porchetta rustica -- more on that later). Also, she was a former California Pizza Kitchen chef, so she was listening intently when we started talking about them -- and then she and I got to talking about the Peking Duck pizza that (alas) is no longer on the CPK menu.
I had a lot of fun, and it was interesting to see how the kitchen worked. But I digress from the real reason we were there: The food.
I'm sad to report that for the first time in the years since I've been going to our local Buca's, I did not get the caprese. I'm an enormous fan of the way they make it, but there was just not enough interest at the table, it seemed -- though the day's salad special made its way onto our table, and I wasn't sorry in the least. The Bossman and I polished off most of that (and the leftovers, such as they were, made it home with me) -- he more after the spinach, and me attacking and devouring the fresh, flavorful wedges of tomato.
It was a 'warm spinach and tomato salad,' but it was also so much more than that. They touched the spinach, slivers of red onion and beefsteak tomatoes to the pan just long enough to warm them, and then added candied pecans and what I believe was a house balsamic vinaigrette -- if I'd been able to think past the goodness dancing on my tongue, I would have asked what went into it -- and then tossed with a mild, white goat cheese. The tomatoes were definitely my favorite, though chasing the onions and pecans around my plate were a very close second. -- I may very well have to call over there and ask what balsamic they use, because theirs was so much more mild than the stuff I keep at home, and managed to be sweeter without being cloying. (Time to upgrade!)
I do not know what kind of goat cheese they used, alas, but I think it needed a little more oomph to really make itself known: It didn't stand up all that well when paired with the dressing. Feta'd be all wrong, but it needed something... Guess it's time to go cheese tasting and expand my goat cheese repertoire.
Before that, though, we had bruschetta and the trio sampler -- battered shrimp, calamari, and mozzarella, only one of which I'll touch. The breaded mozzarella wasn't what I was typically used to: They appeared to be thin, breaded rounds of cheese, and tasted more baked than fried; I was so relieved to see something other than the fat, leaky fingers of fried, breaded cheese dripping with grease, that I did perhaps snitch one more than I should have. (No one complained since the shrimp and calamari were otherwise theirs.)
The bruschetta was little more than fresh chopped tomatoes and basil atop the house bread, drizzled with garlicky olive oil. I did love it, but the toppings were a little light. Maybe they needed a touch more garlic and onion, who could say?
And then we ordered the main course.
I was first to pipe up, and I requested the porchetta rustica: Herb-rubbed pork sliced into rounds, and topped with a sauce of red wine, balsamic, blueberries, capers and hazelnuts, served with a side of roasted potatoes and veggies. (I have to admit, I've recently found a mild obsession with capers, especially when in these kind of dishes.)
The boss wrinkled his nose at the blueberries -- "Blueberries? In a wine sauce, on pork?" -- but I persisted and received backup from the rest of the group, so it made its way to our table and I was so very not sorry. (Neither, for that matter, was he -- he actually admitted it worked, in spite of the perceived weirdness.) I'm now going to have to dedicate my life to duplicating that dish. ;)
Of course, our chef was listening in while I announced to Bossman that I make it a point to try my hand at making ans tasting 'weird foods.' It was an amusing couple minutes while I defended myself by pointing to his reaction to the blueberries and capers on pork. ;)
There were other things we ordered, though I did not touch the linguine fruitti di mare -- Again with the calamari and shrimp, only including mussels and clams, which are also not my cup of tea. Meant more for the co-workers, right?
We also ordered some pasta dishes (that were tasty, but I was way too full to truly appreciate) and a side of tuscan beans and escarole in marinara. It was my first time knowingly trying escarole, and I have to say I enjoyed it: I like it in much the same way I like cooked spinach, but it's got ... Hm. Perhaps not 'more' flavor, but that's the best term I can come up with at the moment. Cooked spinach can be a background flavor: Escarole isn't. I'm probably going to have to track it down fresh to form a better educated opinion.
I discovered something, however: While the co-worker-turned-friend at my left was squeezing his lemon onto his linguine di mare at his seat next to me, I took my first bite of the Tuscan white beans, and wow. The scent of lemon that hit me was enough to make that dish pop, and I was actively disappointed that the bites afterward lacked that citrus-y hint. I've decided that this weekend, I will be making white beans with greens (likely spinach, since I always have that on hand), olive oil, and lemon juice/zest.
Honestly, I only had enough room for a spoonful of tiramisu. In-sane.
Great food, though. I'm clearly going to have to drag people back that way to go get more of the things I really liked.
Threw a house party, and it went swimmingly.
I am exceedingly pleased. :D
I now also know that I can semi-reasonably fit twelve to sixteen people
in the house, and so long as the windows and doors are open, there's no
lack of people talking to each other or contributing from the yard. :)
Yes. The trite phrase 'pleased as punch' comes to mind.
Apparently, I fed people too much -- and I didn't even get through everything! Sheesh. ;)
Things that were sadly omitted:
- Strawberry tomato halves with saffron aioli
Bagel bites
Spanoptika
Mini quiche
Things I personally made:
- Bansidhe's infamous garlic
Salem blue cheese and chive popovers
Crepes made with almond milk
Grilled cheese baguette sandwiches with bacon and pear
Lil' smokies in maple and molasses
... And technically, I was also bartender, since D. brought me margarita mix and a big thing o' tequila, so I suppose I also made margaritas on the rocks. ;)
And the Starbucks-liqueur spiked coffee, but who's counting?
Things I bought that were a hit:
- Sliced baguettes (duh)
A selection of Trader Joe's bruschetta varieties
Olive tapanade
Fruit tray
Veggie tray
Chips & salsa
Spinach dip (for bread or the crepes)
Mini cheeseburgers
Mini bread-bowls
Wrap-style sandwich wheels
Cream puffs
Also, K. brought mozzarella wrapped in prosciutto, green olives stuffed with garlic, and sliced cucumbers. I could not leave that tray alone. And the other K. at the party brought macaroni salad: A. and his partner's carrot- and death-by -chocolate bundt cakes were also very popular. (Cake? Popular? At a party? Who'da thunk? ;))
Let's see. Who else brought food or booze... S. gave me these fabulous candles and a selection of tequila that we have yet to crack: I am all set for the next time I have a margarita craving, clearly. ;)
Oh! Drinks: Note to self for when hosting this batch of friends, buy more of the diet coke than the regular one, as they burn through the diet. On the plus side, this means I don't have to worry about keeping it in my house. ;)
Everyone was simply faboo! L. and her hubby brought this really COOL looking game -- It has pieces of
eight and everything -- and my friend D. brought me Tokaij and some
actual household stuff. One of the fiance's
co-workers gave us a really big rooster-shaped cookie jar, so we were
inviting people to look at the giant cock in our kitchen all night. (It
never got old. I'm so juvenile.)
Penny brought me herbs so I can honestly start on my garden. :D!
And
I know there was more, but my brain is refusing to call up the answers
right now: Let it be said that the night had me wonderfully turned
around and busy, and there's so much good stuff to remember that it's
not surprising I'm being absent-minded.
This was my first time hosting a party in my home.
I
am so very tickled at how well it went: Stress clearly wasn't
necessary, but I wonder if I would have gotten as much done if I
hadn't. ;)
Bansidhe's Salem Blue Pop-overs
Yield: 24 pop-overs
Originally Roquefort pop-overs from Williams-Sonoma's Hors d'Ouvre
collection, it was changed enough ingredient-wise that I think I can
claim it. (Not having the ingredients you thought you had make for
wonderful experimentation.)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/4 tsp white pepper
1.5 tbsp chives, finely chopped (dried acceptable)
1¼ cup milk, room temp
2 eggs, room temp
2 to 3 tsp olive oil
+ Extra olive oil for the pans
3 oz. crumbled Salem blue cheese
After moving a baking rack to the center-low position, preheat the oven to 450 F and then start mixing all the dry ingredients (flour, chives, salt and pepper) together in a large bowl. In a Pyrex measuring cup or other lipped cooking bowl, whisk the milk, eggs, and olive oil together until well blended. Slowly stir the wet ingredients into the dry ones, and whisk until combined. (Don't worry if there are still lumps -- It happens, and it won't hurt.)
Grease your mini muffin tin (preferably two, but it can work in batches if you need to) generously with the olive oil: If you can leave somewhere around a half a centimeter / sixteenth of an inch of oil in the bottom of the tin, the popovers will come out without any issue. Drop a tablespoon, tablespoon and a half of the batter in each of the tins: Be sure to leave close to a ¼ inch between the top level of the batter and the top of the tin, since these will rise.
Add a few pieces of the crumbled blue
cheese into the center of each cup, and put the tin(s) in the 450 F
oven. Bake for 10 minutes. Now comes the hard part: DO NOT LOOK. At all. Opening the oven door will cause these light little buggers to fall.
When
the timer for ten minutes is up, without opening the door, reduce the
oven heat to 350 and put the timer for 8 minutes. (It can take up to
10, but I found they were a wee bit too golden when I went for that
long.)
When the second timer goes off, remove the pop-overs
immediately and turn the tin out over a napkin-lined bowl. Best when
served warm.
Also note, you CAN reheat the things by putting them in
a 350 F oven for five to ten minutes: You do not want to put these in
the fridge, because I'm told they become irreversibly soggy.
Almond-Milk Crepes
Yield: 20 Crepes
- 2 cups all purpose flour
3 eggs, at room temp
1 cup almond milk
½ cup water (or more, if needed to thin out the batter)
2 tbsp peanut oil, divided
Sift the flour into a large mixing bowl. Create a well in the center and add the eggs, stirring into the surrounding flour. Add the almond milk a little at a time: Try to keep from making lumps, though I've found some are unavoidable. Add half the peanut oil, and then add the water a half-cup at a time to thin the batter out: Remember, these are crepes, not pancakes. (Although, let it be said that with a quarter to half teaspoon of salt and the recipe exactly as stated here will turn out some fabulous almond-milk pancakes. Funny what you learn with the 'oops' crepe, isn't it?)
Take part of the remaining peanut oil and heat it in an 8 to 10-inch nonstick frying pan over high heat: Tilt the pan around, and when the oil races easily, it's ready. Your first crepe will likely be an oops crepe if you add too much oil: Don't sweat it, it's still tasty. I have a small quarter-cup ladle that worked perfectly for this -- You want to pour about a quarter cup of the batter in the center of the pan, and quickly tilt it around so the batter covers the bottom. Let it sit until you see the batter bubbling slightly on the up side: Flip it with a wide spatula and let it brown some more.
Depending on how high your stove's high heat really is, you'll probably need to fluctuate it a little bit while you're cooking: If you can't get the batter to circle around the entire bottom of the pan before it cooks, it's too hot. Likewise, if you're sitting there and tilting the batter over the same places several times, it's a little too cool. At any rate, test the edges of the crepe with your spatula: You should be able to slip it under and flip it. Let it cook the other side about 5-15 seconds, and then slide it off onto a napkin-lined plate.
Repeat until you're out of batter, adding oil as necessary. (I find the almond milk crepes are a little easier to handle than traditional crepes: They aren't quite as delicate, which should you ever have the pleasure of listening to me making traditional crepes in the kitchen, my exclamations of "Oh, fuck!" when I tear through one I'm trying to flip are reduced to one out of ten instead of one out of four.)
Serve warm with your filling of choice!
Bansidhe's Family Recipe: Lil' Smokies
You'll need:
- 3-4 lbs. Lil' Smokies sausages, beef preferred
16 - 20 oz. Maple Syrup
½ cup molasses
A crockpot or fondue pot
When making party food, start with this one: It'll take several unattended hours to cook. Toss the little sausages in your crockpot: Cover with the maple syrup. Drizzle the molasses over the top of all that and stir until combined. Set your crockpot on low and leave it there for as long as you can: When the sausages are plump and vaguely mahogany-tinted, they're ready. Serve with toothpicks or long skewers.
Bansidhe's infamous garlic
For each 3 heads of garlic prepared, you'll need:
- 1 to 1½ cup extra virgin olive oil
½ to ¾ cup balsamic vinegar
Pinch of sea salt
I
cheat: I have this fabulously large Visions stockpot that I use, and I
entirely eyeball the recipe. If you also have a large glass pot, you'll
probably want to use it too: I usually fill the pot about a quarter
full (sometimes less, sometimes more) of the olive oil, and then use
that as a measure for filling it half again with the balsamic. If
you're using the 'whatever' recipe like this, toss in about a quarter
to half a cupped palmful of salt, and then add the CostCo-size two to
three pound container of pre-peeled Gilroy garlic. Stir the whole mess
together and make sure that the cloves are entirely covered in oil: If
not, go ahead and add a little more oil. Stir until you see little
droops of balsamic floating around the garlic, and then put over low
heat.
Stir intermittently and plan to leave it there at least two to
three hours: You'll know it's done when the balsamic is almost entirely
a foam on the top of the oil (and therefore, almost completely
evaporated) and the garlic crushes easily when pressed against the side
of the pan. Use a slotted spoon to fish out the garlic and serve with
baguettes: Everyone will love you for it, as the garlic spreads like
warm butter.
I strongly suggest reserving the oil, as it's now garlic infused and fabulous for use in just about any savory dish: Imagine the blue cheese popovers with this, hmm?
Grilled Cheese Sandwich with Bacon and Pear
I found this recipe on Simply Recipes, and honestly? Enough good cannot be said about this recipe. It's extremely simple and tasty, and I'm so VERY glad to have found that cooking site. Trust me, give it a look: You won't be sorry.
You can find the original recipe linked above: Here's what I did with it.
- 1 baguette, sliced at an angle
8 slices thick-cut hardwood smoked bacon
1 very ripe organic Bartlett pear
½ to ¾ pound Dubliner cheese
I pulled out the cast iron skillet for this, and started by cooking the bacon on the 'grill' lined side, turning frequently -- Word to the wise, bacon will stick to the raised parts if you leave it sitting too long. Once I had the bacon cooked but not charcoal, I transferred them to a paper towel-lined plate. Let them cool, and turn the heat under the skillet to almost nonexistent: I wanted it to still be warm when I was ready, but didn't want to worry about a grease fire.
While waiting on the bacon, I peeled and sliced up the pear. Keep the slices thin, as they'll work better than chunks: You want to assemble the sandwich by taking a slender slice of the cheese (which I did by cutting the Dubliner along the short end, giving me a ½-inch by two-ish inch rectangle), a third of a slice of bacon, and then the slice of pear. Raise the heat back to medium, medium-high and put the sandwich cheese-side down on the still-warm and bacon-greased skillet. Turn when you see the cheese getting melty off the side so everything sticks together.
If you're doing this on a long skillet, you can certainly do this with more than one of these at a time. Please do, it'll save your sanity. When both sides are toasty (and have grill lines, yay!), transfer to a plate and serve.
Makes 16-20 of the sandwiches, or as much as your sanity can take. ;)
