Biscotti

As I have said before, biscotti are my favorite cookies to bake. These twice-baked cookies are easy to make and the perfect sweet, and sometimes savory, treat for any occasion.

I came across a forgotten bag of coconut hiding in my freezer. My friend, L, loves coconut, and I was at home all day. So it should come as no surprise that biscotti is what I chose to bring to dinner with friends last weekend.

COCONUT BISCOTTI

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 cups sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 heaping cup sweetened coconut

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Combine dry ingredients and set aside.

In a food processor, process sugar and butter until creamy.  Add vanilla extract and eggs, and process until combined. Then add dry ingredients and pulse until just incorporated. Stir in coconut.

Form dough into two logs on a lined baking sheet. Sprinkle logs with additional coconut and bake for about 30 minutes until logs begin to color.  Remove from oven and let cool 10-15 minutes.

Cut each log into slices and place standing up on baking sheet. Return to oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. If they color too quickly, turn oven down to 300 degrees.

Cool completely and enjoy!

Note:
You may or may not want to decrease the sugar a bit, as the coconut adds additional sweetness.
Makes about 20 cookies, depending on how large you choose to cut the slices.

September Days

I've never been one to lament the end of summer. Don't get me wrong, I love the days at the beach and the plethora of fruits and vegetables that summer brings, but by the beginning of September I'm looking forward to fall. The idea of pulling on my favorite jeans and cozy cashmere sweater is quite appealing after the heat and humidity of a New Jersey summer.

John and I spent a few days last week on Cape Cod where our friends P and K have a home. While we anticipated spending the last days of summer on the beach, the brisk winds and chilly weather made that idea moot. Fall is arriving in New England.

I can see the changes already taking place in the markets. Gone are the juicy, fuzzy peaches which now are replaced with towers of shiny red apples and golden pears along with multiple varieties of  brightly colored winter squash.  It makes me excited to think of cooking with these ingredients that have been more or less hibernating for the summer.

The afternoon before we left the Cape, K and I stopped at Cape Abilities farm stand on Route 6A in Dennis. Along with their display of pumpkins and apples, they had an amazing number of ripe tomatoes, and we immediately thought, "tomato soup."

I must admit I've had tomato soup on my mind ever since I read Kath's post over at The Ordinary Cook, in the beginning of September. Her idea of roasting the tomatoes with garlic sounds perfect. But I defaulted to my fallback recipe--one that first appeared in Food and Wine in 1979. Yes, I know my last post, regrettably, was filled with typos--but I really have been making this soup since 1979.

It's a flavorful soup made with a base of onions, garlic, celery and carrots. Add some fully ripened tomatoes, chicken broth and some seasonings and you are on your way to a very comforting dinner. If you have some end-of-summer tomatoes and some time to spare, give it a try.

Tomato Soup
              Broadly based on a recipe by Richard Sax   Serves 6-8

4 Tablespoons unsalted butter
2 Tablespoons olive oil
5 medium onions, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
3 ribs celery, with leaves if you like, sliced
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Pinch cayenne pepper
Large pinch fresh basil, chopped
3-4 sprigs parsley, chopped
4 lbs. ripe tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Pinch freshly grated nutmeg
5 cups chicken stock

In a large pot, melt butter with olive oil. Add onions and toss to coat with fat. Cover pot and sweat the onions over medium heat, tossing occasionally, for 5-6 minutes, or until slightly softened.  Add the celery and carrots, toss to coat, and salt, pepper, cayenne, basil and parsley. Toss, cover, and sweat until vegetables are slightly soft, about 5 minutes longer.

Meanwhile, prepare the tomatoes. Cut out stems and core; cut in half horizontally and squeeze out seeds; then cut each half in two.  Add tomatoes to pot along with the sugar and nutmeg.  Heat the mixture uncovered; when it comes to a boil, lower the heat and simmer, stirring often breaking up the tomatoes, until the vegetables are beginning to cook down and thicken, about 10-12 minutes.

Add the chicken stock, and bring mixture to boil. Lower heat and simmer, partially covered, about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pass the soup through a food mill, pressing the cooked vegetables through firmly.  Reheat the soup, and correct seasonings to taste.

NOTE:

Since my food mill has been lost in action for quite some time--and I never realize this until I go to use it-I peeled the tomatoes before seeding and used my immersion blender to do the pureeing.  I served the soup garnished with a chiffonade of basil along with crostini topped with Gorgonzola cheese run under the broiler.  My friend K, served hers topped with herbed croutons.


"By all these love tokens
  September days are here,
  with summer's best of weather
  And autumn's best of cheer."
            Helen Hunt Jackson

Alone In The Kitchen With A Tomato

I found myself at home for lunch the other day with a few very ripe tomatoes and a small piece of fresh mozzarella.

I decided to cut one of the tomatoes in half, sprinkled the halves with some thinly sliced garlic, salt and olive oil. I then roasted the tomato in a 425 degree oven for about 15 minutes until softened.

Meanwhile, I cut a slice from the mozzarella. When the tomato was soft I removed it from the oven and sandwiched the cheese between the two slices as the heat from the tomato began to melt the cheese. Served with a slice of crusty bread, it made the perfect summer lunch.

Actually, I roasted the tomato a little longer, about 20 minutes, so it would be oozing its juices. I figured it was just me for lunch, and soaking up the juices with bread was an enticing though messy event.

If you roast the tomato until just done, then add a thin slice of mozzarella until it just turns soft, this would make a great first course for an end-of-summer dinner.

Since the rest of the tomatoes needed to be eaten that I day, I ran with it and continud the tomato theme for dinner with panzella salad. Bread salad. What could be better than that?

Cubes of crusty bread, chunks of tomatoes, cucumbers and thinly sliced red onions. All tossed with olive oil, red wine vinegar, salt and basil. 

With a shrimp vinaigrette on the side, it was the perfect light dinner for a hot evening.

The Figs

"Why are we surprised when fig trees bear figs?" Margaret Titzel

Although I grew up eating figs straight from the fig trees in our backyard, I am still amazed one can grow figs in New Jersey.

It's pleasant to conjure up visions of the sunny Mediterranean countryside dotted with fig trees. But honestly, my most vivid memories are of the fig trees in the Italian-American neighborhoods standing straight bundled up to ward off the onslaught of winter weather. Sometimes they were black tar-paper wrapped monoliths in a front yard; and at other times they stood in gardens wrapped in burlap or bent in half and buried for the winter.  Italian men would go to great lengths to assure that their trees would survive to bear fruit for another year.

John started our fig tree from a shoot cut from one of my father's trees. The shoot was wrapped up and placed in the basement refrigerator to lie dormant over the winter.  Once spring came, the shoot was planted, fed, watered and pampered.  It grew, but never produced a great yield.  When we moved, the tree came with us. We have very rocky soil, and the tree was moved a couple of times before we found the spot that was agreeable to the tree.

Fresh figs are quite perishable, but we are eating them as fast as we can. Mostly, we eat them out of hand, but I have been known to top grilled pizza dough with some grilled figs, prosciutto and arugula. Delicious. Or to grill figs, drizzle with honey and serve topped with a dollop of fresh ricotta. Or to stuff perfectly ripe figs with goat cheese or Gorgonzola. Or I am dying to try this recipe.

Yesterday I had just enough ripe figs to try my hand at a very easy fig jam. I sliced a little more than one cup of figs then crushed them with a little more than 2/3 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons of lemon juice. I let the mixture sit for about 20 minutes until it became syrupy. I then brought the mixture to a boil, and simmered it for about 5 minutes until it thickened slightly and the figs were soft.

I poured the mixture into a clean crock to cool before storing in the refrigerator.

Someone told us that it takes five years for the fig tree to bear fruit.  This year my father will be gone five years, and I am sure that he would be very happy to know that we are enjoying figs from his tree!

Pomodoro Crudo

"Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti." Sophia Loren

Spaghetti does not look the same on me as it does on Sophia Loren.  Nevertheless, I wait all year to make Spaghetti Pomodoro Crudo. August in New Jersey is the perfect time to make this quick and delicious  summer pasta. It is pure and simple. The quality of the tomatoes is paramount, and now is the time to use those farm stand or garden-grown perfectly ripe tomatoes.

For dinner tonight I cut three tomatoes horizontally, seeded them, and then cut them into smallish chunks. To them I added one clove of garlic, pressed, and a handful of basil cut up (or torn, if you like), some fresh mozzarella, and a couple of grinds of pepper. I then poured about 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil over everything. Covered, this sat on the counter until dinner time. The mixture needs salt, but I waited until about thirty minutes before using it to add the salt so that it didn't become too watery.  The sauce can sit out at room temperature for up to four hours. It's best to let it marinate for at least thirty minutes to an hour.

This sauce takes well to improvisation. So feel free to add whatever you might like--capers, hot pepper flakes, anchovies, olives--you get the idea.

Some use spaghetti in this recipe, but I prefer a pasta that can hold the sauce, such as orecchiette or shells.When the orecchiette ( I used 6 ounces for two servings) was cooked and drained, it was immediately added to the sauce. The heat from the just-cooked pasta began to soften the mozzarella and barely heated the tomatoes. Heaven. Be sure to have some crusty bread on hand to sop up the extra juices.

Green salads have seemed lackluster to me lately, so I made a cucumber and red onion salad. And it proved to be a cool counterpoint to the pasta.

Weekends

The comic strip writer, Bill Watterson, once said, "Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something pointless."  And as much as I would like to spend the weekends doing just fun things, most   weekends around here are a combination. You know, the dry cleaner, the post office, the gas station and dinner with friends.

This past weekend none of the usual suspects was around to play; but fear not, a couple married as long as we had no trouble finding something to do.  Friday evening the skies cleared and we were able to enjoy martinis on the deck before dinner.

I took a piece of tuna, briefly marinated it in a lightened teryiaki-type sauce, then pressed some toasted sesame seeds onto the suface. After the grill had heated to HOT, we barely seared it for a couple of minutes, then sliced it thinly on the diagonal and served it with some soy sauce combined with lime juice and a splash of sesame oil for dipping. Delicious with or without a martini.

  

For dinner we shared a nicely marbled rib eye steak (blurry photo below) and a Greek salad.

Saturday's weather forecast was promising, so we blew off our errands and went to  the beach. When we returned and were ready for dinner, I prepped some wild sockeye salmon for the grill, cut some farmstand corn off the cob standing ready to be sauteed in sweet butter and topped with a chiffonnade of basil. And figs for dessert.

By Sunday dinner  all we could manage was a farro salad and a bunch of grapes!

Not too bad for an old couple left to their own devices. Let's see what next weekend brings.

It's Not Easy Being Green--Or Is It?

I was recently sent a sample of eco-friendly disposal, biodegradable palm leaf plates to test. The plates come from Marx Foods, and are considered to be an alternative to "flimsy paper or "forever-in-the landfill plastic dishes."

Marx Foods is a fifth generation high-end restaurant distributor that has evolved into a unique company providing home chefs as well as restaurant chefs with fine, fresh food.  They have a strong belief in customer service as well as to be authentic and transparent and to connect their customers to the food source.  Check out their website to read more. They have recently added this line of sustainable palm leaf plates.

No trees are harmed in the making of these palm leaf plates. They are made from leaves that are naturally shed from the Adaka palm tree. After being processed using an environmentally conscious

production method, they are molded into differing sizes and shapes.

I received a package of the hexagon shape of two different sizes. They are attractive albeit a bit expensive. The 9 1/2 inch plates sell for  $33.50 per 25 pieces, and $77.25 for 100. Since the majority of us do not use disposal plates daily, they would be a nice alternative for a party. Their natural wood-like appearance would fit well into any party theme. Did I hear someone say Tiki Bar?

Since the hexagon shape is the only shape I am able to comment on, I found them to be a bit unstable as the bottom of the plates did not lay flat. Once filled with food, though, they seemed more stable. I also found that because of the higher sides on the hexagon-shaped dish, cutting food was a bit difficult. As promised the food did not leak through the plates!

Would I buy these plates?  Maybe--but I'm usually a real-plate kind of person. But I think they would be a great alternative for a large outdoor gathering. If you are going to use plastic plates anyway, and feel like splurging, why not give these eco-friendly care-free plates a try?

I received a sample of plates from Marx Foods. No remuneration was received.

The Zucchini Post

This is the time of year we are all inundated with the ubiquitous zucchini. To some it is a bland vegetable, but I have never found that to be the case. I think that summer squash adapts well to a variety of preparations. I could not leave these beauties behind at the Farmer's Market.

They were so fresh and so beautiful that I decided to make a "carpaccio" out of them. I know, "carpaccio" invokes images of raw beef--but raw, fresh summer squash makes a delcious treat.

Thin thin slices, some crumbled feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, a squirt of lemon, a drizzling of olive oil, and a sprinkling of mint. Delicious. I have also turned the squash into large thin ribbons with a vegetable peeler, tossed in some arugula, added lemon juice and olive oil and topped them with creamy shards of Parmesan cheese. Beautiful.

One of my favorite lunches when I was a kid was one my grandmother would make. She would go to the garden to pick some zucchini, green peppers and basil.  After sauteing the peppers, she would add zucchini slices and either fresh tomatoes, cut up, or a bit of tomato puree along with a sprig of basil. There was no such thing as crunchy vegetables in our family, but the slow stewing did not seem to make this dish any less tasty.

And one of my favorite zucchini dishes comes from a young friend who teaches at an outdoor environmental education center in the Santa Cruz mountains of Northern California.  In the summer when the education center is closed, her job is to tend the large garden along with her cat who thinks he's not, Wolfie. Despite her gofer problem this year, her zucchini harvest was overwhelming. Her fabulous recipe for Zucchini Feta Pancakes is a great way to use up excess harvest.

Cypress' Zucchini Feta Pancakes

4 cups coarsely grated zucchini
4 eggs, separated
1 heaping cup finely crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup minced scallions
3/4 teaspoon dried mint, or equivalent of fresh
1/3 cup flour
salt and pepper

Place grated zucchini in a colander and salt lightly. Let stand for 15 minutes to drain. Rinse and squeeze out all of the excess water.

Combine the zucchini, egg yolks, feta cheese, scallions, flour and salt and pepper. Mix well.

Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks; then fold them into zucchini mixture.

Fry spoonfuls of this mixture on both sides in butter until golden and crisp.

These are good topped with plain yogurt mixed with some minced scallion and a pinch of cumin or curry powder.

 Sounds perfect to me.

Spatchcocked!

Spatchcock. Now there's a word you don't hear everyday. Actually in the U.S your don't really hear it at all.  But I've always loved that word. Simply speaking it means "to butterfly'', specifically a chicken.  I bought a chicken at the market, but the thought of roasting it when outside temperatures were soaring into the 90's did not seem appealing.  OK, so the thought of standing outside next to a hot grill was not appealing either, but a girl has to eat.

I wanted to make something a little different, something a little spicy. Chicken Fra Diavolo.

I placed the chicken, breast side down, on the cutting board; and cutting on either side of the backbone, removed it. I then turned the chicken over and pressed down on the breastbone until the chicken was somewhat flattened.  I  massaged the bird all over with olive oil, salt and hot red pepper flakes, then parked it to marinate for a couple of hours.

In the meantime, I grilled some zucchini, seasoned it, and set it to wait at room temperature.

When the sun went down, I was as ready as I was going to be to light the grill. I heated it to about medium-high and placed the chicken breast side down, poured a glass of icy white wine, grabbed my book and settled next to the grill to keep my eye on the bird.  I let the bird cook for about 45-50 minutes, turning quite frequently to avoid burning.

The chicken was done just as John walked through the door. After letting the bird rest a bit, I cut it up and finished it off with a squirt of lemon.

A green salad added, and it was dinner.

Down The Shore

After a weekend at S and A's beach house, I thought that John and I would have to scale back on our eating last week. Put the four of us together with a beach, and all of our common sense eating habits evaporate. But truth be told it proved quite effortless to eat healthfully. That is if you don't count the tequila and that bag of cheetos. 

At the shore we are able to get fish fresh from the boat.

S briefly bathed these still quivering scallops in shoyu sauce--a Japanese soy with wheat added for a bit of sweetness--and a squirt of lime juice.  Then he barely seared them on a hot grill.

A perfect first course.

While we ate the scallops the swordfish was marinating.

Perfection!

A has not eaten red meat in years, but decided that weekend she might try it.  So before the opportunity escaped, we seized the moment and bought some prime porterhouse steaks to present to her that evening.

We added baked potatoes and sauteed spinach to complete our steakhouse meal.

Ice cream for dessert. 

Great weekend with friends.

On second thought we had better scale back our eating.