Strawberry Brown Bettys from Smitten Kitchen

I’ve been obsessed with berries this season, mostly eating them straight or maybe drizzled with lemon juice or coated in some vanilla yogurt or perhaps with a swirl of balsamic and a little sugar. But maybe it’s time to get baking. I’m dying to eat Smitten Kitchen’s Strawberry Brown Bettys… maybe made with some nice Pain de Mie from Acme down the hill. Or maybe the luscious Peach Crumble from over at Local Lemons who is flaunting the beautiful peaches she picked up at the Berkeley farmers’ market… I need to get back to that farmers market ASAP I see. We’ve been slacking on the cooking but we’re getting back to it and some amazing stone fruit is definitely high high high on my list of must-eats.

Before the dessert (or maybe after?) a nice salad like Macheesmo’s Asian Chicken Noodle Salad would really hit the spot. Mango sesame dressing? Yum. The only drawback is that it feels like it has a lot of different components to cook separately… I might be more inclined to do it with some leftover chicken so it felt that little bit easier… The Farro and Shrimp Salad from over at Serious Eats has a lot of components too but seems like a breeze to just boil up the farro and maybe get either some pre-cooked cocktail shrimp or just flash-cook fresh shrip in the pan… either looks like a super refreshing dish to eat out in the sun on the deck. Ahhh, sunshine!

And in other news… I am dying to eat at The American Grilled Cheese Kitchen just opened in South Park. If you’ve been please let me know what sandwich I should scarf down first. Also, Revival Bar & Restaurant has opened in Berkeley in the old Downtown space. We’ve already been there. I loved it, Gus was a lukewarm. Review coming probably after we eat there again and actually remember to take some pictures.

Welcome to this week’s foodblog round-up — the “all dessert all the time” edition! Maybe it’s because I’m in the middle of my quest to get in shape, but so many sweet luscious photos caught my eye this week. Irresistible. I’m thinking that if I blog about them, maybe I will be able to resist actually baking and eating them.

Strawberry Limeade Granita from The Waspy Redhead

The Waspy Redhead took votes for her featured post, and since I voted for Strawberry Limeade Granita, it seems fitting to rave about it here. It looks so beautiful and refreshing… perfect for springtime but even more perfect for summer. In the same theme, Strawberry Shortcake Sliders from Elise at Simply Recipes is ushering in the season beautifully with little mini-shortcakes. And the fact that they are “mini” is no barrier to being able to pig out on them.

Then we move to Pithy and Cleaver’s Momofuku Compost Cookies. They are awesome because they’re kind of like an “everything in the pantry” cookie with random salty-crunchiness and sweet (maybe chocolate-y or peanut butter-y) melty goodness. But if you are really looking for a depth charge of chocolate and peanut butter, Almost Bourdain’s Peanut Butter Chocolate Fondant looks lusciously rich and scrumptious. I love peanut butter and chocolate, in anything from Reeses’ to chocolate peanut butter ice cream… this looks dreamy. Unfortunately the hubby is way less excited about the chocolate peanut-butter combo than I am. But I think he (and I) would both love these Chocolate Cherry Brownies with dried cherries drenched in port. I happen to have some dried cherries sitting around (I was thinking about using them with seared duck breast) and some port… it’s a match made in heaven. I think my port is already leaning in the direction of the dried cherries and chocolate in anticipation.

The other thing that caught my eye this week is Michael Bauer’s renewed hunt for the Best Burger in San Francisco. For one thing, it’s fun to read about Bauer’s burger indulgences. For another, I checked out the Marlowe menu and I am now dying to go and hoping the dinner is just as good as the burger. Crispy brussels sprout chips? Berkeley burrata? Roasted bone marrow? Anson Mills potenta? Lamb mixed grill? Smoky cauliflower gratin? Brown butter brussels sprouts?

Spring is sprung, and berries are all over the market (at least here in California… maybe where you are too). And as the weather gets warmer a nice refreshing dessert is in order. This is a great fruit salad — easy to make, not even any chopping or slicing since it’s all berries whole. You can make variations of course with strawberries (I’d cut them in half or quarters in that case) or other fruits. Of course, you want to start with great berries. But the element that brings it all together is aged balsamic vinegar. Make sure to choose a nice, rich and thick one.

Rinse the berries. Here we have raspberries, golden raspberries, blueberries and blackberries, about 2 pints or so. Drizzle the luscious balsamic over the top (I used less than a tablespoon I think, but I didn’t measure). Spoon a little sugar over the top (I used 1 tablespoon, but you can use less if you want to keep it more pristine). Don’t go fully sugar-less however because the sugar helps to bring out some of the juices to stir in with the balsamic, which brings the salad together. Enjoy as a stand-alone dessert, or over some vanilla ice cream.

This week I observed that the stock at Ciao Bella Gelateria on Shattuck in Berkeley was getting thinner and thinner and got down to the reason for it yesterday: they were closing. I stopped by yesterday and I’m sad I didn’t pick up one last treat (I would have if I had known it was their last day). Well, now there is just more excuse to make my own gelato.

Since the hubby has been out of town I have cooked almost nothing (multiple pots of popcorn probably don’t count). But my mouth is still watering over the blog posts I’ve been reading… and I’m looking at some of the Quickies but Goodies: Hummus with Green Goo over at 101 Cookbooks and Capellini with Fresh Ricotta at Serious Eats. I love the hummus idea and doesn’t it look cool with the eerie green parsley / jalapeno / garlic “goo” on it? Heidi calls for soaking and cooking dried chickpeas, which will definitely make the best hummus, but as with other recipes it can be sped up by using canned chickpeas, which is why I think of it was quick. Or prep the chickpeas over the weekend and bust them out as needed during the week.

Image of Hummus with Green Goo from 101 Cookbooks

And then we are onto the meat… yum… definitely worth the time…

Slow Roast Wild Boar Belly with Cider and Puy Lentils caught my eye over at Eat Like a Girl. Oh my god it looks so lusciously brown and lovely. I don’t even like lentils that much but I’m willing to give them a go in this dish since they’ve been in there with the boar belly and all of that fatty goodness… ok, my mouth is watering again. The only real question is how to get hold of the wild boar. I’m going to hold tight though and as soon as I see it this is first up on my list.

And then onto dessert: Hazelnut Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies at Smitten Kitchen. I’m not kosher (or Jewish at all for that matter), so I like that Deb made two recipes: one for Passover, and, as she puts it, “for the other 357 days of the year.” I’m crazy about hazelnuts and chocolate, and hazelnut and chocolate together is a dream combo. Just ask Nutella. Now I just have to overcome fear of baking and get back in the kitchen. And put my new Kitchenaid mixer to work.

Here’s where I make good on my promise to share not just the good, but also the bad and the ugly with you. Yep, no fooling you. That picture shows a pretty glorious looking apple tart there in the middle, right? And what’s that all over the edge? Could that be horribly charred something-or-other ringing the entire tart? It could be! Ooops!

Last week I churned up a batch of Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream to go with this apple tart. That was optimistic because I really didn’t know whether either had any hope of turning out. The ice cream turned out great, this tart a little bit less so, but it was good enough to eat (at least mostly — after cutting off the charred parts) and it was completely gone within two days.

Here’s the deal: this tart is yummy and easy. And super easy if you take the cheater route, as I must admit I did, and use frozen puff pastry bought at the store rather than homemade. I didn’t plan far enough ahead, either for the ice cream, or for the pastry. So no self-made puff pastry this time, not even the quick type, but next time, I swear! Really!

Crispy Apple Tart

• One recipe of puff pastry dough or quick puff pastry dough (4 turns) or one box of frozen puff pastry
• 4 large apples, Golden Delicious or local tart (but not Granny Smiths, apparently, according to Paterson)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup butter, sliced thinly

See? I said it’s easy, and with such a short list of ingredients, how hard could it be?

Preheat oven to 425°F; sprinkle water on a 13×17″ sheet pan to keep the bottom of the tart from burning. This didn’t precisely work for me, so next time I’m thinking I’d sprinkle a bit more water. Anyway, roll thd dough out into 12×15″ rectangle and transfer to the pan; trim to 11×14″ and dock — poke with a lot of holes — A LOT — to  keep from puffing up.

Prep the apples: peel, halve, core and slice very thinly. Peterson’s got this classy way of doing it that I’m still working on — leave barely attached on the side away from where you’re cutting, and then cut off that strip later and fan out the slices. Yeah, right. I did do this, but still mastering how to stop the blade from going all the way through, at exactly the same depth for each. Arrange the apple slices in 4 rows along the length of the pastry. Sprinkle the sugar on top and then lay the butter slices on top of that.

Instructions say to bake for about 50 minutes or until the edges are a deep brown. Start checking the tart after 20 minutes to make sure it isn’t puffing up. I’m pretty sure this is where I screwed up a little. I opened the oven early and tried desperately to poke the puff parts to get the puffing to go down. I ended up keeping the oven open too much and the heating element turned back on, so I think that’s why the whole tart burned itself up. (Hubby said… hey, there’s smoke coming from your oven!) But it was done in definitely less than 50 minutes, so if you bake this, watch the tart more closely.

Peterson’s directions do say that it always sticks and usually burns a little on the bottom — and that if you notice any burned parts, just scrape them off. So, I’m thinking this worked out ok. At least all the people who ate it thought so. We just left the burnt parts behind.

(from James Peterson’s Baking)

I think I’m in love. Yes, in love with an ice cream. It’s rich and creamy and just a touch bitter… and maybe a little too sweet. And when I eat a spoonful, I think, ooh, that’s enough, it’s too rich and too sweet, that’s all I need. Until I find myself dipping my spoon back into the container for another spoonful. And another. And it’s almost gone. I might have to make another batch soon. Or another one of David Lebovitz’s awesome recipes. Because this one is just a teaser for all the others. Or is it the culmination? Or perhaps it’s that every time I make one of these recipes it tastes so dreamy? (except for the frozen yogurt, which I didn’t really like and is still actually living in my freezer).

I had no idea when I decided to make this ice cream yesterday that it would be such an unqualified success. I just wanted to make something nice and caramel-y to go with the crisp apple tart I was also baking up for a dinner we hosted last night for Gus’s graduate students. A trip through A Perfect Scoop didn’t reveal the recipe I was looking for but a quick search of David’s website revealed the secret (and a story about why it didn’t appear in the book): Salted Butter Caramel Ice Cream.

It’s a little intimidating, because making caramel can be kind of scary, all those stories about it seizing up, getting grainy, burning… but this method (dry caramel) was actually so easy, I think I am now past all caramel fear. My advice? Don’t use a thermometer for the caramel… learn to follow the color and the smell, just past the smoke point when the color has turned a lovely dark rich brown. I was scared at first, but I was actually able to smell the smoke and pull the caramel off the heat and throw in the butter, right at the right moment. And since the recipe has you do it twice, once for the ice cream and once for the praline crunch, I got practice and the second time was even easier.

I’m going to send you over to David’s site to read the recipe rather than recreate it here. Suffice to say, it’s a dreamy mixture (how many times have I used the word “dreamy” in this post?) of homemade caramel, top-quality salt (make sure it’s a good one), salted butter, cream, and whole milk. Not to mention the five egg yolks that turn the whole thing into a custard. And for the custard phase, just like the caramel stage, I love that no thermometer is necessary… just cook and stir until the mixture thickens enough that a line drawn through the liquid on the back of a spoon stays put. And if you’re like me, lick it off your finger just to “check on the flavors.” Ahem.

Chill the mixture thoroughly in the fridge. I recommend making up the mixture the day before so it really has time to chill, otherwise you may be stuck like me trying to figure out how to get it cold enough. I split time between the fridge and the freezer. After chilling, churn the mixture in your ice cream machine.

When it’s done, mix in the crumbled up caramel praline pieces  if you want to. The praline gives it a little more salt and a little crunch and texture in the overall silky richness. It was great. But next time I think I’ll try it without. Either way, yum.

Remove from the machine and put into a storage container and then freeze to set up. Enjoy.

They may not look very attractive, but they smell AWESOME.

Recipe adapted using Michael Ruhlman’s Ratio cookbook. Slightly less butter because I wanted less spread.

1 1/2 sticks of butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
I didn’t have any vanilla left or ordinarily I would have added it. Next time.

all mixed up, and then folding in

1 1/2 cups of flour
Pinch of salt
1 tsp of baking powder

and then folded in

1 cup of Recchuiti’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Pearls.

I wanted to make smaller cookies so I went with heaping teaspoonfuls instead of tablespoonfuls. In the oven @ 350F for about 10 minutes.

I haven’t made pie very many times in my life. But today we had some of Gus’s students over for a mini-holiday party — putting up the Xmas tree — so I thought I’d go out on a limb and whip up a pie. I was intrigued by the Brown Butter Pecan Pie from “I Made That” because I love pecan pie — and I love brown butter even more.

It was my first attempt at following Ruhlman’s Ratio: 3-2-1 flour-fat-liquid crust recipe. It was easy to follow, and the dough came out well, even if it doesn’t look that attractive in the photo. And due to failure to butter the pie pan, most of the crust stubbornly refused to be served with the rest of the pie. I have the other half of the dough left to make something else tomorrow or Tuesday and give it another shot.

As for the filling — the filling was a huge hit. Easy to make, wonderful caramel pecan flavor, rich, sticky and decadent. Definitely will make it again, in fact I might consider this to be a trial run for Christmas.

Next time: (1) I’ll remember to butter the pie pan; (2) I’ll probably bake the crust a little less than I did this time during the blank-baking phase. The filled pie could probably have stood a little more time in the oven to hit the “cracked” phase, but the crust was already getting really dark. (3) Some bourbon in the whipped cream, I think, for that finishing touch.

(Rest of dinner: bison chili; roasted brussels sprouts; potato latkes and condiments)