Going Away Peaches

I went with some friends to pick fruit in the valley. It was a beautifully hot summer day. I mean really hot - like in the 90's! I must miss summer. There is something about sitting around outside at night when the sun goes down... accompanied by a grill and a tasty beverage... to me that spells summer. We don't get many warm nights so we have to create our own feeling of summer. Delicious summer fruits help complete my illusion.

We picked peaches and plums. I have only picked apples and strawberries back in the good ol' midwest. (We had really good apples by the way.) It was fun. They said we could eat as much as we wanted in the orchard, if only the birds hadn't eaten the good ones! The farm we visited was pesticide free and organic, allowing those pesky birds to bite a little of each perfectly ripe peach. We picked some ripe and others that needed some time, which I appreciated because I had no idea yet what I might bake with them. They sat in the fruit bowl until they started to get a little soft. Panic mode set in and I feared I wouldn't decide in time and they might all turn to mush before I could make anything delicious.

I decided on Sunday that I was going to roast some and serve them with ice cream. I wanted to make something special for my husband who was leaving again on business the following day. He missed the fruit picking, and these peaches were too good not to share. I'm not sure why I haven't tried this before it was so fantastic. Truly simple too. If you are looking for an impressive dessert without the fuss you should try the recipe below. I created a simple syrup to roast the peaches and added vanilla bean. I was tempted with the idea of a white wine syrup reduction infused with rosemary, but we opted for the trusted vanilla bean. Good choice love. I think a half a peach would be plenty with a large dollop of vanilla ice cream - we ate a whole peach ourselves and felt very full. Well worth it. Definitely worth it.

I hear the Colorado peaches are coming into season, so those of you back home have something to look forward to. Check out Use Real Butter blog for another great peach dessert. I might make this one next.

Vanilla Bean Roasted Peaches

1 T butter melted

1/2 C white wine

1 tsp honey

juice from half a lemon

1 vanilla bean seeded

2 T sugar

2 peaches ripe but firm

preheat oven to 400˚. cut peaches in half seed, and set aside. in a shallow baking dish, whisk all of the ingredients together (add bean pods too). Place peaches cut side up and spoon some liquid over the top. bake in oven for 25 minutes, turning and basting half way through. remove from oven place in serving dish with a scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream. spoon some syrup on top. If you don't have vanilla beans just substitute 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.

Wheat Germ Cookies

Although they contain what germ, they are by no means "health cookies."

I must first confess that the best part of the cookie is probably the dough.... and as often as I sample the dough before baking cookies I have never been sick from it. The only time I've ever come close to sick is from eating too much of a slice and bake log when I was younger. If there are a lot of eggs I usually use caution and only take one lick - which I feel is my job since I am going to be feeding whatever I am baking to people. I wouldn't want it to be gross or anything. Self sacrifice... remember, it is very important to practice this while baking.

I've been meaning to make a cookie like this for a while. There is a chain of bakeries here in the city that serves a very similar cookie (though 3x the size and loaded with calories) and this is my first attempt to recreate it. I know the basics, wheat germ, oatmeal, and chocolate chips. From here I went in search of a cookie recipe that held its body, meaning it wasn't going to melt down into a thin crisp while baking. I came across a healthy-ish cookie recipe that was supposed to contain lots of seeds and coconut. Never anywhere did it mention chocolate! I forgive them for it and have turned that recipe into this new one for the collection. It's not quite like the one at Specialties, but it's definitely a good start. It is good. Plain and simple. It has a bit of crunch on the outside and plenty of chewy, chocolatey, goodness on the inside. (we give thanks to the wheat germ for texture). I also usually don't make large cookies. I have a great little scoop which produces uniformity but this time I decided to overflow it... they were definitely uniform in a big way. Next time I might play with the amount of wheat germ in the batter just to see if I can get closer to the giant tasty bakery cookie. I'll be sure to let you know the outcome!

Chocolate Chip Wheat Germ Cookies

1/2 C butter

3/4 C brown sugar

1 egg

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 T canola oil

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 C old fashioned oats

1 C wheat flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 C toasted wheat germ (sprinkle on baking sheet and bake at 350* for about 5-6 mins)

(1 T water see instructions)

3/4 C semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 375*. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Mix in egg, beat 1 minute. Add in vanilla and oil and mix thoroughly, then add the salt.

Whisk together the dry ingredients and add them in thirds to the wet mix. If dough doesn't seem like it will come together add up to 1 T water. Mix in the chocolate chips. Scoop heaping tablespoons onto a silpat lined baking sheet. Lightly flatten the tops a little. Bake for 12-13 minutes or until the bottoms are golden brown. Yields 2 dozen large cookies.

Wine for Breakfast - with Scones of course...

My good friend Rebecca has a bit of what you call the travel bug (read about it here). She can't stay in one place for long and seems to use up her vacation time as soon as she accrues it. She left on a trip to New Zealand a while ago and brought back some really tasty wines, Daniel Schuster being one of them. I got to meet him at the Jug Shop (our friendly neighborhood liquor store) where they occasionally do wine tastings. I almost came home with a bottle but they sold out - literally the person in front of me bought the last one. Thankfully, Rebecca decided it was time to share in this goodness.

She proposed a slumber party (which I have not done in years) and thought it would be fun to have this wine for breakfast. haha. Wine for breakfast seems silly I know... but it was fantastic! The glory of our breakfast goes to Daniel Schuster himself (who might I add is an excellent salesman). He convinced us the way to drink this wine was breakfast in bed and here is how he sold us.... A bottle of Late Harvest Rielsing, brandy soaked apricots, apricot studded stilton cheese, maybe he said something about roses scattered on the bed.... I can't remember it all, but Rebecca remembered the food part well.

We didn't have breakfast in bed - a little weird for 4 grown women - but we did all sit around our breakfast counter and devour our breakfast. We recreated the instructions fairly well and I made some scones with the Stilton cheese. It is amazing the flavor you get after taking a bite of cheese and apricot followed by a sip of deliciously sweet wine.

Late Harvest is one designation given for dessert wine. This means the fruit is harvested later in the season so there is less fruit but a higher concentration of sugar in each grape. This can be done with a lot of different types of wine, some of which are combined with Brandy to make Port or similar dessert wines. You also usually drink these types of wine in moderation since they have a higher alcohol content. This Riesling was not overly sweet and paired really well with the cheese. Schuster was right. We might just have to spend some money on a case and do this again.

Thanks Rebecca for sharing!

Stilton and Apricot Scones

1 egg

1/2 C cold buttermilk

1/4 C apple cider or unsweetened apple juice

1 3/4 C all purpose flour

1/3 C stone ground yellow cornmeal

2 T sugar

1 T baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick butter cut into small pieces

3/4 C crumbled stilton cheese with apricots

1/2 C dried apricots finely diced

Preheat oven to 400* and center a rack in the oven. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat.

Stir egg, buttermilk and cider together. Whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter with your fingertips until you get pea sized pieces and everything in between. Pour the liquid over the dry ingredients and stir with a fork until just blended. I promise at this point you have done everything right, the batter is just sticky, really sticky. Stir in the cheese and apricot. Fold with a spatula a few times. After this I found it easiest to drop it by the spoonfull or so on the silicone mat. Alternately, you can turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, pat into a 12" rectangle a half inch thick and cut with a dough cutter into 12 equal pieces. Bake 20-22 minutes, or until the tops are golden and slightly firm. Transfer to a rack to cool for about 10 minutes.

Serve with a delightful chilled dessert wine, preferably the one mentioned above, and do remember to soak some fresh apricots in brandy overnight.

Tea & Books, what more can you ask for?

Maybe some delicious finger foods, a small room full of girls, old friends, new friends, and lots of great conversation. I think we had it covered. A couple of weeks ago my good friend Joey and I hosted what we called the Tea & Book exchange. Our intention was to get a bunch of girls together to exchange books. Yes, that simple. Joey and I have been exchanging books back and forth for a while now and we decided it was time to branch out. We had a lot of girls show up (just over 20) and they brought the expected chick lit, some books stolen from husbands, and a few serious books. It was a hit. We requested each lovely lady bring one book but most people brought a lot more.

Joey and I concocted a menu that may have been a little over zealous but we pulled it off just in the nick of time. Here is what we had:

Cilantro Mint Chutney and Cucumber Sandwiches

Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

Brie with Apples and Crackers

Asiago and Parmesan Cheese Crisps

Chocolate Strawberries

Green Tea Shortbread Cookies

Blueberry Crumble

We also had an assortment of treats brought to us by friends for the event which were delicious (Thanks Girls!). Joey cracks me up - she doesn't really bake or cook much - and to this she states, "If you don't cook, you have to be a really good shopper - and I'm a really good shopper." So I coached her through her green tea cookies (the hard way since my mixer died) and they turned out perfect! She also had a lot of great ideas up her sleeve, like the Chutney (which she used to make in Boston and says is good on fish too).

I think we had a great assortment of sweet and salty with some of my favorites. In order to keep my rambling short I am going to give you some of the recipes we used and invented. We plan on doing this again in a couple of months to switch books again. If you really liked this idea, I think you could turn it into something that suits your style: Children's Book Exchange - for Mom and Dad, or older kids who enjoy reading, a magazine exchange, recipe exchange, whatever you choose I assure you it will be great fun! Joey also found this great little site that is still beta testing for online invitations, they are beautiful (more fun than Evite) and you can personalize them to suit your party, I hope you check them out.

Cilantro Chutney

1 cup packed cilantro ( leaves and stems)

1 cup packed mint (leaves only)

1/4 small red onion coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Up to 2 tablespoons water

Blend it all in a blender until you get a smooth paste. Add water if

needed to aid on the blending. Refrigerated chutney will keep for 4

day. Smear on bread with cucumber for a tea sandwich or add to fish too.

Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

super simple - no real recipe here

1 baguette sliced and lightly toasted

5 oz goat cheese

2 large tomatoes diced

handful of fresh basil leaves

olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

add garlic, basil, and some olive oil to a food processor and blend until pieces are small but not pesto! salt and pepper to taste. toss with tomatoes and set aside. Spread a little goat cheese on the toasts and top with a little of the tomato mix.

Green Tea Shortbread Cookie

2 cups flour

1-2 tblspns green tea powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter

1/2 cup powdered sugar

sift the flour, powdered tea and salt into a bowl. In a mixer bowl, beat butter and powdered sugar until fluffy. Add flour mixture to mixer bowl and mix slowly until dough just comes together.

Pull dough into a log aprox. 2" in diameter. Wrap dough log and place in freezer for 30 minutes until dough has firmed to the touch. Slice dough into 1/4" rounds and place on silpat lined cookie sheet, aprox 1" apart.

bake on preheated oven at 325 for 16 to 18 minutes or until cookies

start to turn golden

Blueberry Crumble

1 1/2 C quick oats

1 C flour

3/4 C brown sugar

3/4 C butter, cut into small pieces

1 C blueberries, frozen

1/2 C raspberry jam

zest of one lemon

juice of one lemon

1/2 tsp vanilla

Line a 8x8x2" pan with foil and preheat oven to 350*. In a small bowl combine oats, flour, sugar, and butter. Using your fingertips cut in butter until it resembles peas and flakes. Reserve 1 C of the mix. Press the mix into the bottom of the pan. Bake 25 minutes.

In another bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients. Gently pour onto half baked crust and top with the reserved crumble. Return to oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden. Cool in pan on a wire rack and cut into bars.

I like to make this one in individual cups (muffin tins work well) when I am not making them for a large crowd. Use foil for the lining. Bake as directed above separating the mix equally between the 12 muffin tins. Unmold and serve with a small scoop of great vanilla ice cream or raspberry gelato - or both!

click here to see all of the pictures from Tea & Tales

lemon tart

I am first going to apologize for the not so pretty pictures. It was late and the light was not good enough for the point-and-shoot. I don't have my fancy camera at the moment (and won't for the whole month!) because my dearest love took it with him to Hawaii for work. Ahh, if only I had to work in Hawaii for a month too.... I know it won't be all fun and games but it must feel more like summer than San Francisco. The quote is true you know, "The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco" ~ Mark Twain.

Since I am lonesome and it is cold winter here, I invited some girls over for dinner the other night. We had some good bread, good soup, and a fine dessert. I do recommend you visit Sass & Veracity for a wonderful Asparagus soup recipe. (I've had some frozen for a while now since I am the only one who eats it). The only things I did differently than the recipe is add a can of drained and rinsed cannellini beans and only add 1/4 C (maybe just less) cream vs cream and creme fraiche (what I had on hand). Very good.

I have come to terms with the fact that I am no Pierre Herme. I have not yet learned the fine art of pastry cream but am a willing student. This is my second attempt at this dessert. The first time my food processor broke just before I was able to blend in the butter... needless to say it wasn't a hit. This one though was rather good. The cream was not as stiff as I think it should be but definitely had a delicate flavor and texture. I should also mention that it is unsafe to hold your pastry crust in one hand while unwrapping it with foil as it is likely to break into pieces, which it did. Luckily we averted disaster because the tart shell broke off in a large chunk. Oh my. Thankfully, I was not being judged on looks! It is nice to have a disaster every now and then. It helps put things in perspective and keep a level head for my perfectionism.

Like I said before, it wasn't perfect. A little soupier than expected but good. Maybe I'll try something other than lemon next time to break the curse.

Strawberry Shortcake, Perfect for a Picnic

We celebrated another birthday this week! For some reason this past week I went a little crazy in the kitchen and baked something almost every night. Some for my own pleaseure and the rest were either challenges or birthday cakes. I really do love doing it, but baking all night after a 9 hr day sometimes is quite exhausting. The crazy week ended with me baking 4 cakes on Friday (luckily my day off) for a tasting on Saturday and the birthday. For this birthday I got a simple request for a cake. Nothing in particular - just birthday cake. She must trust me.... I sent her some images of berry tarts and cakes and she picked strawberry shortcake. I really wanted to invent a giant biscuit shortcake but didn't have enough time to experiment in case of disaster. Instead, I used a couple of recipes as a base to create an interesting bright citrus cake with some delicious strawberries on top.

I found some tasty strawberries from our local Coop, small enough in size that they would slice nicely and ripe enough to give up their juices. I am not a fan of recipes that require gelatin for berry toppings. I understand the point of it but find it sort of repulsive and unnecessary for fruit to stick together like glue. It will kind of do this naturally if you add some sugar and macerate them (it would be best to substitute with a good strawberry jam heated to a pourable consistency). I liked the way the cake turned out, unfortunately it had started to melt by the time we cut into it (melt in the whipped cream sense). Our birthday girl didn't mind and managed to take down two slices. For a tiny thing she sure can eat dessert! It is always nice to make fun cakes for friends. Especially when you get free reign to make up you own recipe!

Strawberry Shortcake

1/2 C butter

1/2 C sugar

zest from one lemon

1 1/2 C flour

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs + 2 egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 C whole milk

1 1/2 lb strawberries, sliced

squeeze of lemon

1 1/2 C heavy cream

1 T powdered sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

For the Cake:

In the bowl of a mixer zest the lemon over the sugar. Rub together with your fingers until the sugar is fragrant. Cream the butter and sugar. Add in eggs one at a time then the vanilla. Whisk together flour, powder, salt. Add 1/3 dry mix into the butter mix. Add 1/2 the milk, continue alternating flour and milk ending with flour. Pour into a parchment lined, buttered and floured 8" pan. Bake at 350* for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the top comes out clean. Cool in pan for 10 mins then turn onto a wire wrack to cool completely.

For the Strawberries:

Slice thin and place in a glass bowl. Spoon a little sugar over the top and a squeeze of lemon. Stir to coat, cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

For the Cream:

Whip with an electric mixer, add in powdered sugar about half way through. Continue whipping until fluffy and soft peaks form. Add in vanilla.

To assemble the cake:

Cut into two layers (don't forget to peel off the parchment!) and place the bottom layer on a cake stand or board. Spoon about 1/2 the strawberry mix onto the cut side of the cake. Add 1/2 the whipped cream and smooth with a spatula. Place the next layer on cut side down. Smooth remaining whipped cream on top. I recommend refrigerating the cake for 30 minutes to keep the cream cool but if you can't no worries. Just before serving, spoon the rest of the berries on top. If your cake has to travel to the park like mine and you can't wait to add the strawberries just make a little well for the strawberries to sit inside so the juice doesn't leak out all over the cake. Cut and serve.

Rice Krispie Cake for an Unwanted Birthday

I haven't made Rice Krispies in a while. It has actually been at least a year if not more. When I think of these delectable little treats I also think of kids. Not so for this cake. We have a friend who somehow escapes his birthday every year. When we first met him we just didn't know until it had already happened.... That was three years ago, and this year for his 40th he left work the Friday before his birthday (Monday) and didn't come back till Wednesday. Since We could not celebrate with him, I forced upon him a cake that he would eventually have to share in celebration since I dropped it off at the office.

Rice Krispie Cake sounded like a fun way to go. I ended up making one batch and dividing it into three 6" cake pans. I melted some chocolate for the centers and found it completely necessary to decorate the top with a ring of chocolate chips. This cake could be anything really. You could use any shape bowl you wanted or try your hand at sculpting your own. Just remember to line the pan with wax paper and spray with a light mist of oil. Decoration possibilities are endless as long as you get them to stick! I used a tiny bit of melted chocolate for the chips. It was so cute. I admit that I am obsessed with small cakes and plan to make many more.

Rice Krispies

(a slight variation of the original recipe)

1/4 C butter

1 16 oz bag mini marshmallows

7 C rice krispie cereal (or store brand)

Melt the butter over low heat and add the marshmallows. Stir until you get a nice buttery goo with no lumps. Add in the cereal and stir quickly to combine with the marshmallow before it sets up. Pour into a lightly greased pan and press into the corners. Make as flat a top as possible if stacking. Cool. Cut and serve. Or, cool into prepared pans, unmold, stack, and decorate.

Filling ideas:

1 oz melted semi sweet chocolate - Melt in a double boiler and allow to cool slightly (so it is not too runny). It makes just enough to stick the layers together but not be obtrusive to the flavor.

Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ganache - 5 ounces good-quality milk semi-sweet chocolate, coarsely chopped, 1 cup creamy peanut butter. In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust. Refrigerate 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.

Marshmallow Madness - Add some spoon fulls of Fluff to between the layers, go crazy and mix some fluff with Nutella or Peanut Butter. Exact amounts will vary depending on how much fluff flavor you want to have.