Al Dente

Missy's Jumbleberry Jam Bars

What do you make with a couple of nearly empty jars of jam?   Jumbleberry Jam Bars, of course!

Earlier this week, I was organizing the pantry and the fridge. Many items were being evicted simply because they were past their prime.  When I surveyed the “jam department” on the top shelf of my fridge, I realized I had quite a collection of very good jam at hand-- Bonne Maman blueberry preserves, Bonne Maman strawberry preserves, Huckleberry Haven Wild Huckleberry Jam, and Maury Island Boysenberry Jam! 

 I decided that I needed to deal with this motley collection.  Jumbleberry Jam Bars were the simple sensible solution for my no nonsense housekeeping task. 

When I make jam bars, I like to use my 8-inch-square pan from the Pyrex Original 8-piece Bakeware Set. The pan bakes the bars beautifully. The lid makes it easy to store the bars right in the pan. Here's the recipe:

 

 

 

 

 

Missy’s Jumbleberry Jam Bars

2 ½  cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup butter, at room temperature
1 egg
about ½ cup miscellaneous jam, such as blueberry, boysenberry, huckleberry, and strawberry
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup pecans

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter an 8-inch-square baking pan.

2. In the bowl of the food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse together the flour, sugar, and butter until it resembles coarse meal. Add the egg and pulse a couple more times.

3. Pour half the mixture into the baking pan and press the mixture into the pan.   With a spoon, spread the jam over the crumb crust, being careful not to reach all the way to the sides or the jam will burn during baking.

4. Add the cinnamon and the pecans to the other half of the mixture, which is still in the food processor work bowl. Pulse four or five times to chop the pecans. Sprinkle the remaining crumb mixture over the jam.

5. Bake the jumbleberry jam bars in the middle of the oven for about 35 to 40 minutes, or until the crumb topping is brown.  Let the jam bars cool completely before cutting into 24 bar.

Note: I think ½ cup jam is about right, but some other members of my family think I could increase the jam quantity even further. It’s your choice.

Photo by Carolyn B. Trainer

--Melissa A. Trainer

Where Do Orangette and the Blue Grotto Converge?

If you''ve read the memoir by Orangette creator Molly Wizenberg, A Homemade Life, you already know the answer to this question. It's one of the books I brought along with me to Capri, and devoured in a day or so. Initially I found it hard to get into, but I was coming off of Anthony Bourdain's Medium Raw, and the styles and personalities are distinctly different: Wizenberg a little more country, and Bourdain a little more rock 'n' roll.

Serendipity struck today, as I finally made it to the Blue Grotto this morning, and coincidentally came across her recipe for "Italian Grotto Eggs," a dish she made for her dying father. At first glance these eggs have nothing to do with Italy or grottos: you'll have to read the book to discern the deeper meaning. (Note: Be sure to use salmonella-free eggs for this dish!)

Italian Grotto Eggs

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon (1/2 ounce) unsalted butter
5 large eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon heavy cream
3 tablespoons of fresh goat cheese, such as Laura Chenel, coarsely crumbled
Freshly ground black pepper, for serving

Directions:

1. Melt the butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.

2. Crack the eggs into a small bowl and beat them lightly with a fork. Add the salt and cream to blend.

3. When the pan is hot, pour in the eggs and swirl to coat. Reduce the heat to low, and using a heatproof rubber spatula, stir the eggs gently, scraping the spatula along the bottom of the skillet, until they are loosely set in large, pillowy curds. They should be slightly runnier than you want them. Remove the pan from the heat and scatter the goat cheese over the eggs. Give them one more gentle stir to melt and distribute the cheese.

4. Serve immediately, with additional salt and black pepper to taste, and if you like, slices of buttered toast.

Serves: 2

Recipe credit: Molly Wizenberg, A Homemade Life, 2009
Photo credit (Blue Grotto, Capri) StellaCadente*

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

100 Perfect Pairings and Cold Peach Shooters

 Ever wonder what appetizer to pair with your favorite bottle of Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir? Tired of giving up in frustration and settling for the same old run-of-the-mill cheese plate or bowl of olives?

Then pick up a copy of food writer and recipe developer Jill Silver
man Hough’s new book, “100 Perfect Pairings: Small Plates to Enjoy With Wine You Love” (Wiley, 2010, $16.95). This lovely hardcover tome, handily packaged in a small format so it’s easy to tote along to the wine shop or grocery store, is organized by the 12 most common wine varietals.

You’ll find everything from Chardonnay to Zinfandel paired with 100 sophisticated, yet easy-to-make appetizers—small plates such as Lobster Claw Slaw (paired with Viognier), Green Apple Caesar Salad (Pinot Grigio), or Peppercorn-Crusted Tuna (Syrah).

Hough begins each chapter with a broad-brush description of the varietal followed by the recipes for that section. The recipes often include more detailed food- and wine-pairing tips, such as “If you want a wine to work with a recipe, it always helps to put the wine in the recipe.” The book also includes 40 luscious color plate shots for inspiration.

Hough’s Cold Peach and Mango Soup Shooters pair perfectly with  the fruity, floral, often spicy notes in a good Gewürztraminer. The cool, sweet gulps are sublime for simple summer sipping at a cocktail party, on the patio, or by the pool. They also make a creative alternative to sorbet as an amuse-bouche between courses.

Hough also suggests serving the soup as a first course for a summer-time dinner party. If that’s your plan, double the recipe to make six one-cup servings.

Cold Peach and Mango Soup Shooters

Wine Varietal: Gewürztraminer

Makes 12 Shooters (1⁄4 cup each)

Ingredients:
2 limes
1 ripe freestone (the flesh doesn’t cling to the pit) yellow peach, pitted and cut into chunks
1 ripe mango, peeled, pitted, and cut into chunks
3⁄4 cup buttermilk
1⁄2 cup orange juice
1⁄2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt, or more to taste
Pinch cayenne pepper
12 fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Zest the limes. Set the zest aside. Juice the limes to yield 3 tablespoons of juice. In a blender or food processor, combine the lime juice, peach, mango, buttermilk, orange juice, salt, and cayenne and process until very smooth, scraping down the jar or bowl as necessary (you may have to do this in batches).

2. Transfer the soup to a container and chill for at least 2 hours. (You can prepare the soup up to 3 days in advance, storing it covered in the refrigerator.)

3. Taste, ideally with your wine, and add more lime juice and/or salt if you like. Serve the soup chilled, each serving garnished with a cilantro leaf and some of the lime zest.

Cook’s Hint: For best results, make the shooters in the summer when fresh peaches are in season. In a pinch, you can use frozen fruit, but make sure it’s unsweetened.

Food and Wine Tip: If your fruit is particularly sweet, you might notice that the soup makes your wine seem a little sour. To fix this, just add more lime juice, a teaspoon or two at a time, until the soup and the wine nicely complement each other.

Photo Credit: Lucy Schaeffer

Visions of Lemons Dancing in My Head

Nothing represents Capri, Italy more iconically than the lemon. Ok, maybe the Blue Grotto, which I have yet to see, or the Fariglioni. But the lemon and its image are ubiquitous on the island, dangling from trees and painted on majolica tiles, vases, key chains and ashtrays. Drunk as limoncello in chilled glasses after dinner. Dressing your plate of pasta as an al limone sauce. 

I have been daydreaming about Capri for weeks, so I just had to smile this morning when my manager at the Meals on Wheels-type nonprofit where I work part-time asked me to research some lemon dessert recipes for the seniors. Some kind of kizmet. I am taking this as a sign that there should be lemons in my life. But the sweet kind.

This is one of the recipes I came across that I want to try myself. It met both of the the criteria that I was given: lemon-y and easy to prepare.

Lemon Brown Sugar Bread Pudding

Ingredients:

1 loaf Challah bread, cut into 2-inch dice
6 eggs, beaten
2 cups heavy cream
1 cup light brown sugar, loosely packed
2 lemons, zested
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whipped cream, for garnish
1/2 cup blueberries, for garnish
Powdered sugar, for garnish

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees-F. Put bread cubes into large bowl. Mix eggs, cream, brown sugar, zest and vanilla together; pour over bread. Mix well and let sit for a minimum of 15 minutes.

2. Butter a casserole dish and pour the mixture into the casserole. Put into the top half of the oven until the center is slightly firm to the touch, about 30 minutes. Remove and serve warm, topped with whipped cream, blueberries, and powdered sugar.

Serves: 6 to 8

As for Capri, I'll be soaking in the island and it all its citric glory starting on Monday. Somebody pinch me.

Related items:

*Casserole dishes
*Lemon zesters
*Majolica
*Whipped cream whippers

Recipe credit: Dan Smith and Steve McDonagh

Photo credit: Capri.net, Da Paolino Restaurant

--StellaCadente*

Take a virtual vacation with me: I'll be posting from the Old Country starting August 23 here on Al Dente, and at www.pomodorista.com. 

Simply Delicious: Fresh Corn Salad

It's been hot, hot, hot everywhere I've found myself this summer. Not use to such heat, (sometimes days of temperatures at 100 degrees F), I haven't had much of an appetite. But I have been excited by the many easy-to-make and cooling-to-eat dishes I've come across. Here's one from Vermont, courtesy of my friends Zachary and Clark:

It's corn season in New England, and we couldn't be happier. We love corn almost any way. But we give this salad pride of place. We were astonished at how good it was when we first tried it years ago. The combination of blanching the corn and then adding these few ingredients highlights the flavor of the corn beautifully. It's an easy salad, too, an important criterion for a relaxed summer evening.

Be sure to treat your corn carefully. Once it is picked, corn begins to lose its sweetness immediately. So try to buy corn that is as fresh as possible (we know when it's delivered to our local farm stand each day). Then refrigerate it until you're ready to eat it or cook it.

What's your favorite recipe for fresh corn?

Fresh Corn Salad

Ingredients:
5 ears fresh corn, shucked

1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1-2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Directions:

1. In large pot of salted boiling water, cook corn for 3 minutes. While corn is cooking, prepare ice-water bath in large bowl. After 3 minutes, immediately remove and immerse corn in ice water to stop the cooking and set the color. When cobs are cool, remove corn and drain; cut kernels off cobs into large bowl.

2. Add second group of ingredients and mix (add as much olive oil as you like, being careful not to muddy the corn taste or make the salad overly oily).

3. Just before serving, chop and add basil. Serve at room temperature.

--Tracy Schneider

That's a S'more, Eh?

I was in Cortina's market last week with my mom and Auntie Phyllis shopping stocking up for a pizza party, when a handwritten flyer with a recipe suggestion for Italian s'mores caught my aunt's attention. Simple yet brilliant. Wish I would have thought of it myself. I can't wait to try this Italian twist on an American classic.

Cortina's was also touting Nutella imported from Italy in a glass jar over that produced in Canada and packaged in plastic. They claim the stuff in the glass is better. Has anyone done a taste test? Nutella definitely is *not* on my present diet, so I will have to postpone my research to a later date.

Italian S'mores

Ingredients:

8 pizzelle
4 tablespoons Nutella
4 roasted marshmallows, large

Directions:

1. For each s'more, spread nutella on one side of two pizzelle. Place the roasted marshmallow between the two pizzelle. Repeat.

P.S. If you don't want to make your own pizzelle, you can find them pre-made at most Italian grocery stores.

P.P.S. I am thinking some smashed banana might be a nice addition, too.

Photo credit (pizzelle): StellaCadente*

Rome Industries Marshmallow Roasting Fork Set pictured bottom right

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

Sophisticated & Slim Summer Cocktails

Summer heat has us drinking slimmer, or at least thinking about it!  Vodka definitely comes to mind in that category. But though vodka is typically a neutral tasting spirit, I had the pleasure of tasting an amazing vodka recently. Yes, that’s right--tasting!

Purity Vodka is an organic brand of vodka that is still new to the US markets (available only in California, Georgia, New Jersey, and New York so far).  But don’t let its “new” status fool you! Made from estate grown wheat and barley mixed with the purest water from an artesian well, Purity Vodka is full-bodied, complex, and loaded with character--a front-runner in the new, and what I like to coin as the “Complex Character,” genre of vodkas. Vodka with taste!

To be clear, this is not vodka for the mainstream. The Purity Vodka-making process comes to life in small batches at the 13th century Ellinge Castle in the south of Sweden. Thomas Kuuttanen, Purity Vodka’s master distiller, uses a proprietary pot still made of copper and gold, which produces a unique spirit. A spirit so refined that no filtration is necessary.
 
I met with Thomas a few months ago at my Food Studios for a more formal introduction to Purity Vodka. As he spoke, you could feel the passion in his story in how it took him nearly a decade to complete this vodka recipe. As we sat, sipped, and talked, my mind was reeling with ideas to mix up with this unique vodka.

What is totally interesting is that the week before Thomas’s visit my friend brought me a fresh bottle of the new Bainbridge Legacy Organic Vodka from Washington’s Bainbridge Island. This vodka also has a complex flavor character. So I whipped out the bottle for Thomas during our meeting to taste and he was very excited to see others also making vodka with character! I love his attitude of “the more the merrier” in this category!

After much tasting and brainstorming, the cocktail development started. The vodka definitely had to be the star and I wanted to mix it with ingredients that would highlight its unique characteristics. So first up was the Frisk (Swedish for “fresh”), in which I wanted to incorporate a bit of Swedish flavors. Muddled fresh cucumbers with a light wash of aromatic aquavit and shaken hard, all made for a clean crisp cocktail. A tiny dill sprig garnish gives a fresh herb scent as you take your first sip. An excellent cocktail on its own or paired with a tasty appetizer of smoked salmon on a crostini with a shallot and caper crème.

My next cocktail creation was inspired by the very spa-related movement in cocktails. The trend is seen heavily in healthier drinks like skinny margaritas moving up rapidly on the popularity chart. Yet many sippers are looking for something more sophisticated and less sweet; something clean and crisp. So the Berry Purity H2O came forth. I infused water with berries, then shook it with Purity Vodka … dry, fresh and H2O enhanced--very pure and simple.

Happy summer sipping!

Frisk
The clean flavor of Purity Vodka dances well with the crisp, fresh cucumber in this cocktail. A whisper of aquavit and the fragrance of dill enhance its complexity.

Ingredients:
2 ounces Purity Vodka
1/8 ounce wash of aquavit  
3 slices cucumber
Small sprig of dill for garnish

Directions:
1. Add the aquavit to a cocktail shaker glass and roll around. Shake out any excess.

2. Drop in the cucumber slices and press with a muddler to release the juices.

3. Measure in the vodka and fill with ice. Cap and shake vigorously.

4. Double strain into a martini glass and garnish with a small sprig of dill.

Berry Purity H2O
This cocktail is lightened with a refreshing berry infused water. It’s slim and sophisticated with a dry berry finish.

1 ounce Purity Vodka
3 ounces Berry Water (recipe follows)
Fresh berry on a pick for garnish

1. Serve the vodka mixed with the Berry Water--either shaken and served strained, or just combined over ice.

Berry Water

Makes about 10 servings

Ingredients:
1 cup mixed berries, such as raspberries, strawberries, blackberries, or blueberries
1 long piece of lemon zest
4 cups distilled or bottled high-quality water

Directions:
1. Combine the ingredients in a glass pitcher and let sit, refrigerated, for at least 4 hours--or preferably overnight, before serving.

--Kathy Casey

© Copyright 2010 by Kathy Casey Food Studios®

© 2010 Photos by Kathy Casey Food Studios®-Liquid Kitchen™ for Purity Vodka

For more Dishing with Kathy Casey and recipes visit www.kathycasey.com/blog. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/kathycaseychef. Become a Facebook fan at Sips & Apps.

No Ordinary Burgers

My friends in Vermont, Zachary and Clark, are up to their old summertime tricks--grilling something new and totally unexpected on the barbie. They've already shared some favorites, like roasted pork souvlaki and grilled fish tacos. Today, they're making lamb burgers.

We've had this recipe for years, and every summer when we make it for the first time, we wonder why we don't make it much more often. Zachary even braved the 90+ degree F. heat to make these--which if you know Zachary says a lot!

This dish's simplicity is its genius--just lamb, salt and pepper, homemade mint sauce, and soft Butter lettuce. It needs nothing else, as long as you don't overcook the lamb. This time around may have been the best of all, since all the ingredients were local (the mint was even from our garden). As always for simple meat dishes, try to get it freshly ground from your butcher.

Lamb Burgers with Mint Sauce

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
2 teaspoons hot water
1/2 cup minced mint leaves

1 pound ground lamb
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 hamburger buns

2 large leaves of Butter or Boston lettuce

Directions:
1. Stir together sugar, vinegar, and hot water until sugar has dissolved; add mint, mix thoroughly, and set aside.

2. Mold lamb into two patties; season liberally with salt and pepper; refrigerate until ready to grill.

3. Over hot charcoal fire, grill lamb 3 minutes per side for medium-rare (to an internal temperature of 120 to 125 degrees F); set aside and quickly toast buns.

4. Garnish burgers only with mint sauce and lettuce.

Serves 2

--Tracy Schneider

Pop Art: Palette-Pleasing Mexican Popsicles

I love the "Fare" section of Saveur magazine, which features a writer waxing poetic about a food memory. This month's issue highlights paletas, or Mexican ice-pops. The brightly colored pops caught my eye, but the sweet narrative accompanying the article really hooked me on wanting to try these myself. I've enjoyed eating fresh mangoes on the beach in Mexico with chili, lime and salt, so for me, this is the flavor to try.

Paletas de Mango Con Chile

Ingredients:

1 cup store-bought mango juice or nectar
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon ancho chile powder
1 large mango peeled, seeded, and cut into small cubes

Directions:

1. Heat mango juice, sugar, lemon juice, and 1/2 cup water in a 1-qt. saucepan over medium-high heat and stir until sugar dissolves. Transfer mixture to a bowl and refrigerate until chilled. Stir chili powder and cubed mango into the chilled mixture and pour into eight 3-ounce ice-pop molds. Insert a Popsicle stick into each mold and freeze until pops are solid, about 3 hours. To release pops from molds, run the bottom of the molds briefly under cold water.

Additional recipes:

*Tamarind-Chile Paletas
*Rice Pudding Paletas
*Pineapple Paletas
*Strawberries and Cream Paletas

Related Items:

*Popsicle molds
*Saveur magazine

Recipe credit: Saveur Magazine, No. 131, August/September 2010

Photo credit (mango paleta): Michael Kraus

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista

You Say Tomato, I Say Tomato Confit

If you took a zealous approach to your garden this summer, like me, chances are you have a bumper crop of tomatoes right about now. One of the simplest ways to utilize fresh tomatoes, other than slicing them up and eating them fresh, is to roast them for a couple of hours in a very low temperature oven. The roasting process helps to concentrate that sweet tomato flavor even more. You can use the confited tomatoes as a side dish, on pasta, or eat them straight off of the baking sheet. I think I am going to give mine a whirl in the blender and spread the confit on some crostini. Mmm.

Tomato Confit

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground white pepper
3 cloves garlic, peeled, split, germ removed and finely sliced
10 basil leaves, torn
4 sprigs thyme, leaves only
2 bay leaves, broken
20 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sugar

Directions:

1. Center a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 200 degrees-F. Line a baking sheet with foil and pour about 2 tablespoons olive oil evenly over the pan. Sprinkle the oil with salt and pepper. Strew a little of the garlic, basil, thyme, and bay leaves over the oil.

2. Cut each tomato lengthwise in half and carefully, with your fingers or a tiny spoon, remove the seeds. Lay the tomato halves cut side down in the pan, wiggling the tomatoes around if necessary so that each tomato has a floss of oil on its cut side. Using a pastry brush, give the tops of the tomatoes a light coat of olive oil. Season the tops of the tomatoes with salt and pepper and a little sugar, and scatter over the rest of the garlic, basil, thyme, and bay leaves.

3. Slide the pan into the oven and bake the tomatoes for 2 1/2 hours, or until they are very tender but still able to hold their shape; turn the tomatoes over at half-time and open the oven for just a second every 30 minutes or so to get rid of the moisture that will build up in the oven.

4. Cool the tomatoes to room temperature on their pan. When the tomatoes are cool, transfer them to a jar, stacking them neatly. Pour whatever oil remains in the pan over the tomatoes and then, if you plan to keep the tomatoes longer than 1 or 2 days, pour in enough olive oil to cover and refrigerate.

Recipe credit: Daniel Boulud, Cafe Boulud Cookbook, Scribner 1999

Photo credit: StellaCadente*

--StellaCadente*

Follow me on Twitter @pomodorista