Caramel Apples

I love the idea of caramel apples, but hate the corn syrupy, sticky, impossible-to-eat apples on a stick that you see everywhere this time of year. Dipping slices of apple into caramel seems superior to trying to eat the whole thing off of a stick. It's still messy, but your face is spared. Rosemary caramel goes perfectly with crisp apple slices- the tarter, the better- worlds better than that fake corn syrup goo.

ROSEMARY CARAMEL

Combine 1+1/2 cups sugar + 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir until sugar is dissolved and let boil until it becomes caramel colored- remove from heat immediately and pour in 1+1/4 cups heavy cream. Return to heat and stir to break up any sugar. Once it's smooth, remove from heat, add 2 sprigs of rosemary for 20 seconds, remove the rosemary, stir in 1 tbsp lemon juice and let cool.

Goodbye Summer

Summer always seems to go faster than any other season, and no matter how unbearable the heat and humidity can be, I'm sad to see it end... And whenever I'm a little sad, a bit of baking will generally cheer me up. So here's an easy galette with what may be the last nice white peaches and blueberries of the season. I added rosemary and ginger to give it a little kick towards those wintry flavors. If you mix a little pinch of the fresh ginger, rosemary, and lemon zest into the dough before it chills, it'll be even more delicious. Enjoy.

TINY WHITE PEACH & BLUEBERRY GALETTES WITH ROSEMARY AND GINGER

FOR THE CRUST: mix together 1+1/2 cups white flour, 1/3 cup sugar, and a pinch of sea salt in a mixer. Add 6 tbsps butter, and mix until the butter is somewhat incorporated. Then add 1 egg (beaten) and 1 tbsp of heavy cream and continue to mix until dough comes together. Refrigerate and chill for at least 90 minutes.

FOR THE FILLING: Chop 2 white peaches and sit them in a bowl with 1/2 pint of blueberries, drizzle with honey, lemon zest, a pinch of fresh grated ginger and chopped rosemary. Let sit for at least an hour so the flavors can combine.

Preheat oven to 375. When the dough is chilled, divide into 6 balls and roll them each out into little disks- about 4-5" diameter. Then place a small amount of the peach-blueberry mix into the center of each one. Leave about an inch and a half of space around the edges and then fold the crust up over the fruit to create little open-faced pies. Bake for about 25 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and fruit is bubbly.

Homemade Soda

 

It's fair to say I drink a lot of sparkling water. So much in fact, that my boyfriend, recently pointed out that our amount of weekly recycling has quadrupled—ever since I discovered you can buy it by the case at Trader Joe's. So, in an attempt to sweeten the deal for him (as he's the one on recycling detail) I occasionally make homemade soda, which is basically just any sort of flavored simple syrup added to sparkling water. 

You can do a great spicy soda with cinnamon sticks, cardamom, ginger, star anise & a couple of peppercorns; or any sort of citrus-y soda- just simmer the peel in the syrup. Homemade ginger ale is infinitely better than the bottled kind. Just a simple cinnamon soda is pretty damn good too, as is a vanilla one, or a rose one. Follow your tastebuds and use your imagination, the choices are infinite.

So here's a vanilla soda with fresh mint to add a herbal, fresh note. Could not require less effort- in honor of not laboring on labor day.

VANILLA SIMPLE SYRUP/ SODA BASE

Combine 1 cup of sugar (I used brown this time) and 1 cup of water in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir to dissolve the sugar, add 1 vanilla bean, split open. Let the syrup come to a boil and then simmer for ten minutes. Pour in glass jar and cool in refrigerator. When cold add to sparkling water and ice for homemade soda. 

Comfort Food for Earthquakes and Hurricanes

It's been an unsettling week here in Philadelphia. On Tuesday I experienced my first-ever earthquake. 

And while it may not have been that bad, seeing the walls in my office move definitely seemed like a fantastic excuse for indulging in some serious comfort food. 

What's wrong with extra cheese when the world seems to be ending sooner than later? 

And now, just a few days later, we are waiting to be walloped/ smacked/ demolished (real adjectives from real newscasters) by a hurricane. So instead of what I had planned to be a lovely weekend in Brooklyn, I am home making hurricane preparations. These include stacking up on wine and baking butter-almond cookies. 

Hopefully that will be enough to see us through.

BUTTER ALMOND COOKIES

Preheat Oven to 375 • Cream together 1 stick butter and 1 cup brown sugar • When fluffy add 1 egg and 1 tsp good quality vanilla • When combined, blend in 1+3/4 cups flour and 1/2 tsp sea salt, when batter forms add 1 cup toasted almonds, bake for 10-12 min • makes 24 small cookies

SERIOUSLY COMFORTING PIZZA

Preheat oven to 450  • roll-out pizza dough and pre-bake for 5 minutes • Remove from oven and top with sliced and salted baby heirloom tomatoes, proscuitto, and caramelized onions (I've been adding pimenton de la vera- or spanish smoked paprika to mine, for a great smoky sweet kick) • Top liberally with mozzarella and bake for 7 minutes or so, until crust is golden ad cheese is bubbly.

On Location: Montana

A couple of weeks ago, I flew to Bozeman, Montana to art direct, and prop-style a shoot for a cookbook that I will be designing. The book is called Open Range, and is by Chef Jay Bentley of the Mint in Belgrade, MT, to be published by Running Press in the fall of 2012. It features his delicious food, as well as all things Montana. The food shots are by the very talented Lynn Donaldson and the food styling by the incomparable Ricardo Jattan. The best part for me- sourcing all of the props from an amazing antiques store.
Montana is a gorgeous state, and everyone was incredibly friendly.  Here are some of my favorite snapshots of the trip, and just a tiny preview of what will be in the book...

On Location: Gardens

I took these at Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, PA. We had to go out and grab some shots of vegetables growing for a cookbook that I'm designing, and it just happened to be a perfect day. Enjoy..

Caramelized Sage

One of my favorite places to go on a saturday, when I'm at home, is the local farmers' market, and yesterday I got to make the trip. I came home with a bag filled with heirloom tomatoes big and small, sweet onions, creamy white eggplants, white peaches, and a big bunch of sage. Last week I had the good fortune to eat caramelized (ok, maybe just fried?) sage for the first time, and it was fabulous. I've been craving the taste ever since and decided to try to recreate the recipe.

Caramelized Sage:

18-24 fresh sage leaves + 2-3 tbsp butter + pinch of sea salt; Melt butter in a hot pan until sizzling, turn the heat down, throw in the sage, add the salt, and watch the leaves closely, turn them often, making sure they get crispy, but don't burn, about 5 mins. Remove from heat, set on paper towels to cool. Eat on just about anything savory or just eat them on their own.