Gastronome Tart

Individual Blueberry Cobblers

Who doesn't love things that are made just for one? Cupcakes, popsicles, cake pops. The list is literally endless and we love them all. Which is why when I saw these blueberries at the farmer's market recently, the first thing that popped into my head was pie, but for me, only me! Bru ha ha ha!

Now I must admit there was a bit of some guilt running in my head after I purchased three pints. You obviously know that you are a gastronome when pie is the first thing you think of and not a healthy smoothie. Besides, I like to think that the world is a better place because pie exists. Specifically blueberry pie.

When I got home I noticed that I still had some crumb topping from my strawberry pie that I recently made. So, I figured what could be better than individual blueberry crumbles?! (As in more than one. As in, okay I'll share) Not much in my mind. Enjoy!

Serves Four

Ingredients

For Blueberries

1 pint blueberries

1/8 cup flour

1/4 cup sugar

For Crumb Topping

2/3 cup AP flour

1/4 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 cup butter, sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Combine all the ingredients for the blueberries together and add the blueberries. Gently toss until the blueberries are coated. Once coated, place in four ramekins.

Combine all the ingredients for the crumb topping. Mix with your fingers until crumbly and distribute evenly on all of the ramekins.

Place all the ramekins on a baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes or until bubbly. Once finished place on rack to cool slightly and serve.

 

 

Sausage, Chard & Lemon Lasagna with Garlic Herb Bread

I am a huge fan of baked pasta. The hubby? Not so much. However, that hasn't seemed to stop me from making it or anything else that he isn't a fan of. Okay, okay, there are some things he doesn't like that I won't make, but as you have seen on here, I obviously make lasagna and salmon. Both of which are on that seemingly long list of his.

I was very drawn to this recipe because since I love baked pasta and Rob doesn't like traditional lasagna, this seemed like the perfect fit. Besides, I have never had swiss chard in a lasagna before and the swiss chard at the farmer's market has been looking mighty good lately.

This recipe calls for two layers of the lemons. When I make this dish again, I plan to use just one layer of lemons as it was a little too tart for me. Enjoy!

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living

Sausage, Chard and Lemon Lasagna

Ingredients

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup finely grated parmesan cheese (about 4 oz)

3 cups milk

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

5 cups coarsely chopped swiss chard (about 1 bunch)

1 pound sweet italian sausage, casings removed

1 lemon, very thinly sliced

6 no boil lasagna noodles, preferably Barilla

Directions

1. Melt butter in a saucepan over high heat. Stir in flour; cook for 2 minutes. Whisk in milk. Bring to a boil, stirring. Reduce heat. Simmer for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Whisk in 3/4 cup cheese, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Stir in chard.

2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Cook sausage in skillet over high heat, breaking up pieces, until no longer pink, about 4 minutes.

3. Cover lemon slices with cold water by 3 inches in a saucepan. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer for 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate using a slotted spoon.

4. Spread 1/4 cup sauce in an 8 inch square non-reactive baking dish. Top with 2 noodles, half the sausage, and 1 cup sauce. Repeat. Top with a layer of lemons, 2 noodles, then remaining sauce and lemons. Bake, covered with parchment-lined foil, for 27 minutes.

5. Remove from oven. Heat broiler. Uncover lasagna; top with remaining 1/4 cup cheese. Broil until bubbling, 2-3 minutes.

Garlic Herb Bread

Ingredients

3/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

1 garlic clove

1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 loaf ciabatta bread, cut in half horizontally

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Finely chop parsley and garlic in a food processor. Add butter, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and puree until smooth.

2. Spread herbed butter on cut sides of bread, then place cut sides back together. Wrap in foil. Bake until bread is warm and butter melts, about 15 minutes. Cut into wedges.

Richmond Vegetarian Festival

I'm back from my volunteering duties at this year's Vegetarian Festival. I'm sure many of you may be asking what on earth was I doing at a Vegetarian Festival? Especially since I have always shown my love for bacon and pork products. However, I must admit that there are times when I do go a little healthy from time to time, and the healthy aspects of my diet is usually when I eat meat free meals (Hey now! You know you have seen my meatless options on here from time to time. I'm not playing! I swear! Go ahead, click on my healthy category. I dare you!)  I apologize in advance for the gritty photos. Since I was volunteering, I decided not to bring along my trusty 7D and instead opted for the camera on my Blackberry.

 Anyhow, I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer at the speaker's tent where the bulk of my volunteering duties took place during the Meatless Gourmet "Iron Chef" competition. There were three chef's competing for the "Meatless Gourmet Iron chef" title. Each chef had there own "sous chef" that accompanied them.

 

Let's introduce you to the three chef's who competed this weekend:

Team One:  Nick Bergheimer. Nick brought along his brother to stand in as his sous chef for the day. Nick has worked in some of the best restaurants around Richmond and he currently works at Whole Foods in Short Pump. I happened to be closest to Nick's cooking station and let me just tell you, his presentation was absolutely beautiful. I was actually lucky enough to taste his dishes after the event. For me, what made his dishes so delicious was how he was able to keep the ingredients fresh and in the forefront. My favorite dish of his was his cold corn soup. I know it sounds a little crazy, but it was absolutely divine and perfect. I could literally eat that by the bowl full. Repeatedly during the summer.

 

 
Bergheimer Brother's 

 

 
 Nick Bergheimer's Dishes

Team Two:  Jen Hurst. Jen is the mind behind the blog River City Vegan and had brought along her friend Kayla as her sous chef. Kayla has apparently NEVER eaten meat in her entire life! Kudos to her for sticking with what she believes in, however, I don't know if I could be that strong if I was to pass by bacon. Unfortunately, I did not have the opportunity to taste any of Jen's dishes, however from what I saw of the judges scoring sheets, they seemed to be pretty impressed with the taste of her dishes.

 

 
 
Jen Hurst's Sous Chef, Kayla on the right

Maat Free and Carol Brown on the left

Team Three: Maat Free. Ms. Free is the owner of the company Vegi Love as well as Vegan Valet which is a personal chef service. Maat had brought along her friend Carol Brown of Hausfrau Cakes which is located here in Richmond. Maat was very passionate about not only food, but all things vegan. She was also the winner of the competion and I had the opportunity to taste one of her dishes. It was a sesame and olive kale salad. I could have eaten just a huge plate of that and been perfectly content. Anyone who knows me, knows that I absolutely love kale. However, I must admit that I have never been very fond of raw kale. This salad did feature raw kale and to be honest, I was not fazed one bit. That salad had victory written all over it. She had also used nutritional yeast in some of her dishes. To be honest, this was a new product to me. Especially since I will literally eat almost anything so I have never needed to supplement my diet in any way. I could be completely wrong, however I'm sure Vegan and Vegetarian's eat more nutritional yeast than the average consumer?  Maat had mentioned that it is derived from sugar cane and she use's it a lot in her cooking since she likes to fuse different food styles together. She said she likes to use nutritional yeast a lot as it is a shout out to her heritage. When she mentioned this, it reminded me of when I was in Rwanda this past October. There were so many women carrying sugar canes around, that I couldn't help but wonder what they would do with such a large piece of sugar cane. I don't remember Rwandan dishes being very sweet, however, I'm sure there are other uses for sugar cane that us American's may never realize. However, apparently we have figured out that it can be used to make nutritional yeast, so I guess we may be on to something.

Woman Carrying Sugar Cane in Rwanda

Now on to the judges...

Judge number one would be Brittany Mullens. Brittany is the mind behind the blog Eating Bird Food. Which is an awesome blog dedicated to healthy, clean eating. When I had the opportunity to check out her site, I must say it was very motivating to help get myself back on track and realize that yes, healthy food can be quite tasty after all.

Judge number two was Deveron Timberlake of Style Weekly here in Richmond. Deveron is the voice behind the Short Order column and I was quite impressed with her ability to say it like it was for several of the dishes. Which I must admit, I do appreciate from time to time some true honesty.

Seeing that this was my first foodie experience here in Richmond, I was very impressed and excited to be living in such a food centric city. Here's to many more foodie events here in Richmond in the future!

 

Orzo Salad with Celery, Radishes and Herbs

Sometimes, I just want something a little fresh and to be completely honest, simple. Now that summer has arrived, I find myself scouting out recipes that don't require a lot of time in the kitchen. Because, let's get real here, who wants to really slave over a hot stove when it is nearing 100 degrees anyhow? 

This salad is the perfect summer salad, incorporating my early summer favorite, the radish. So, go ahead, make a batch. It stays well in the fridge and is the perfect accompaniment to any barbecue get together. Enjoy!

 

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit's website

 

Ingredients

2 cups whole-wheat orzo

1 1/2 cups very thinly sliced celery (about 3 stalks)

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved (for my recipe, I omitted)

1 bunch radishes, trimmed, thinly sliced

2/3 cup fresh herbs (I chose parsley and oregano)

5 tablespoons olive oil

4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar

1 cup (about 5 oz) crumbled fresh goat cheese (preferably 4 peppers)

Directions

Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Rinse under cold water; drain. Transfer to large bowl; add celery, tomatoes, radishes and herbs.

Whisk oil and vinegar in small bowl. Season with salt and pepper and pour over salad; toss to coat. Season salad with salt and pepper. Fold in half of goat cheese. Sprinkle remaining cheese over and serve.

 

Bacon and Date Scones

Growing up in Arizona, once I was able to choose where I wanted to go to college, I did what most "zonies" (what Californians like to call Arizonians) do. I headed to California. Although, my choice was Los Angeles and not San Diego. San Diego seems to be the "go to" place for people who move out of Arizona and into California.

At the time, I was enamored with Los Angeles. San Diego had lost it's allure with me. Every time my family wanted to go to the beach, San Diego (or Florida depending on my parent's mood) was where we would go as it was such a short trip. Every summer the people of San Diego would proclaim that the "zonies" were a comin'! And we were. Every summer Mission Bay was chock full of us. Jet skiing around like we owned the place. 

Due to this, I needed to break away from the mold. I needed something a bit different, a bit out there, a bit of La La Land. I needed extreme, fast and shall we say it? A complete food addicts dream. Which I find completely ironic because Los Angeles is chock full skinny girls and beautiful people whom you can't help but wonder what and if they really eat. 

Which is what made this recipe such a complete surprise. I was thumbing through a recent Bon Appetit magazine and came across this recipe for Bacon and Date scones from Gjelina restaurant which is located in Venice. Gjelina didn't seem to be around, or we weren't aware of it when Rob and I lived in Los Angeles. Although I wish it was around or we had known about it even though our favorite brunch spot was The Rose (also located in Venice) 

Who would have thought that people in Los Angeles would be eating these babies up with such conviction! I would have never known. However, I am so glad that I have this recipe in my arsenal now. I must admit that these are probably the best scones I have ever tasted. Sweet, savory and oh so rich. They may not stay off your hips, but trust me they are worth it. Enjoy!

 

Recipe by Gjelina Restaurant Los Angeles as featured in Bon Appetit

 

Ingredients

10 ounces thick-cut bacon slices

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon coarse kosher salt

3/4 cup coarsely chopped pitted Medjool dates

1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter

2/3 cup buttermilk

Raw sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Cook bacon in heavy large skillet over medium heat until cooked through but still tender and not crisp, turning occasionally. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; cool. Pour bacon drippings from skillet into small heatproof bowl and reserve.

Whisk flour, 1/2 cup sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Coarsely chop cooled bacon. Add bacon and dates to flour mixture; toss to coat. Coarsely grate butter into flour mixture. Using fork, stir in butter. Add buttermilk; stir until large clumps form. Using hands, knead mixture briefly in bowl until dough forms. Transfer dough to floured work surface.

Pat into 8-inch round. Cut into 8 wedges. Transfer scones to sheet. Cover and chill scones for 2 hours. Brush with reserved bacon drippings. Sprinkle with raw sugar.

Bake scones until golden brown and tester inserted into center of scones comes out clean, 16-18 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature. 

Lemon-Thyme Salmon Over Asparagus

Sometimes you just have to eat something healthy and my go to recipe at least once per week is salmon of some sort. This is very much to my husbands despair. He is not a salmon eater. I have pleaded my case repeatedly, every time this fish ends up on our dinner table.

 "It's good for you!"

"Reduces inflammation!"

"Is high in Omega 3's!"

 What does it matter? I seem to be reciting the benefits as he seems to be feeding the cat what scraps he can. How could he not like salmon? I don't buy farm raised, only buy fresh and prepare it the day I bring it home. 

Needless to say, I am constantly trying new salmon recipes in the hopes that he will one day appreciate this mighty fish. I may have found that magic recipe right here.

I remember tearing out this recipe from Martha Stewart Living and catalogued it away in the hopes of preparing it one day. Well, that day finally came and I was more than excited to finally use the technique of en papillote. Basically just steaming the fish inside parchment paper pockets. The technique is a lot of fun because it is almost an entire meal wrapped all up in that paper. Just put a pocket on a plate and voila! Dinner!

This recipe comprises everything from the protein to radishes, countless spices and seasonings and asparagus. What a great recipe to highlight two of early summer's best ingredients. Radishes and asparagus. Enjoy!

 

Recipe Adapted from Martha Stewart Living Serves 4

 

Ingredients

20 asparagus spears, trimmed to 6-inches and halved lengthwise

4 large radishes, very thinly sliced

4 boneless, skinless wild salmon fillets (5 oz. each)

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

1 small onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon thinly sliced lemon zest strips; plus 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

3 fresh thyme sprigs

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon extra-virgin olive oil

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cut out four 12x17 inch pieces of parchment paper; fold each in half crosswise to form a crease; then open.

2. Divide asparagus and radishes evenly among 4 parchment pieces, arranging mixture on 1 side of each crease. Lay 1 salmon fillet on each top of pile. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Toss together the onion, zest and juice, thyme 2 teaspoons oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt; divide among salmon, spooning over tops. Fold parchment over ingredients; make  overlapping pleats to seal.

4. Bake on 2 baking sheets (2 packets per sheet) for 11-12 minutes for medium-rare or 13 minutes for medium. Unwrap ; drizzle fillets with remaining 2 teaspoons of oil.

Banana Butterscotch Cupcakes

 The cupcake craze. Seriously, I don't think they will ever go away. And, why should they? Who doesn't love individual, hand held goodness?

Okay, I know there are cynic's out there. Not into the  whole cupcake debacle. I feel you, there is a part of me that does understand. There seems to be a million cupcake shops and every one  touts that they have the best. However, in my mind, there is nothing like homemade. 

Back in 2007, when the craze was at full throttle, my sister-in-law gave me The Cupcake Deck. It was a small deck of cards where each card represented a cupcake recipe. Each one looked delicious and everyone that I made was. 

This past year for my birthday (knowing my obsession) she gifted me with Martha Stewart's Cupcakes. She knows me all too well. Although I have been thumbing through my recent gift, there is still my go to stand alone favorite little deck. So, when I saw that I had a few bananas that needed salvation due to their time almost being up, I decided to jump. I mean, who doesn't love bananas and butterscotch? Together? Delectable. Enjoy!

 

Recipe from The Cupcake Deck by Elinor Klivans

Ingredients

Cupcakes:

1 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 medium bananas, broken into 1-inch pieces

2 large eggs

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup buttermilk

1 cup butterscotch chips

 

Frosting:

1/4 cup half and half

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

Position the rack in the middle of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line 12 muffin tin cups with paper cupcake liners.

Make the Cupcakes:

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the butter and sugar until well blended and creamy, about 2 minutes. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. Add the banana pieces, mixing until they are blended into the mixture; you will still see some small pieces of banana. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until each is blended. Add the vanilla and beat for one minute. On low speed, add half of the flour mixture, mixing just to incorporate it. Mix in the buttermilk. Mix in the remaining flour mixture until the batter looks smooth. Stir in the butterscotch chips.

Fill each paper liner with a scant 1/3 cup of batter, to about 1/4 inch below the top of the liner. Bake just until the top feels firm and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool the cupcakes for 10 minutes in the pan on a wire rack. Remove the cupcakes from the pan onto a wire rack and let cool completely.

Make the Frosting:

In a medium saucepan, heat the half-and-half  and brown sugar over low heat, stirring often, until the brown sugar begins to melt. Increase the heat to medium-high, bring to a boil, and boil for one minute, stirring often. Pour into a small bowl and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and powdered sugar with an electric mixer on low speed until smoothly blended, about 2 minutes. At first the mixture will look crumbly, but then it will form a smooth mass. Add the vanilla and brown sugar mixture and beat on medium speed until smooth and creamy, about 1 minute.

Use a small spatula to spread about 1 1/2 tablespoons of frosting on top of each cupcake.

 

 

Bourbon Braised Pork Belly with Creamy Stone Ground Grits & Garlicky Kale

I know, I know. Who really slow-braises ANYTHING during the summer right? But, this was a recipe that was always worthy of redemption.

You see, I was on a recipe redemption. I had tried this recipe about two years ago (during the Fall as braises start to become more common obviously) to an epic fail. At the time, I went all throughout our city in Nashville looking for pork belly. I couldn't believe that I couldn't find it anywhere! I mean, Nashville is the south right? Isn't pork belly supposed to be a staple there? I even trekked all the way to Whole Foods and was informed that they do not carry pork belly. Okay, well what about pork cheek? That's supposed to be a good substitute right?

"We do not carry pork cheek as it is inhumane." Said the guy behind the butcher counter.

"Really? How is that possible? Wouldn't it be inhumane to not use ALL of the pig after slaughtering it?" Hmmm... okay. Well a Boston Butt slow braised shouldn't be that bad.

Wrong. Very, very wrong, and this all had to happen at a dinner party I was hosting. Nothing like a full mouthful of pork that tasted like pure Bourbon. We are talking straight up shot of bourbon, not cooked out at all bourbon. Horrible. I was bummed. How could this have happened? Well, I knew the reason. My substitution of something other than pork belly was the reason.

Which led me to this recipe being prepared here in June 2011. This recipe has forever been filed in the back of my mind as a comeback. It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago when I was at the farmer's market here in Richmond that I remembered this wonderful recipe. I knew it was destined for greatness.

As I'm grazing the vendors, I walked right by a vendor who was selling pork and chicken products of all kinds. Chorizo, eggs (both of which were the star of my recent post Chorizo Potato Hash) sausages, whole chickens, even honey (Holla! Shout out to another beekeeper!) Those are just to name a few. The name of the vendor was Ault's Family Farm and the one thing that stuck out on their menu, the main reason that I stopped was that pork belly. There it was staring right back at me. Pork belly, available. It was as if I was meant to walk by and look over at that very exact moment. I immediately remembered that recipe. I remembered that I had a bottle of Maker's Mark in my liquor cabinet and I remembered that this recipe deserved redemption.

Redemption is what it got. Call it recipe and ingredient perfection. Amazing pork belly, amazing flavor pairings. It made braising something on a hot Richmond day, a day where our air went out in the morning by the way, so worth it.

Let's not forget about these grits either. Creamy perfection and absolute heaven as it helped sop up all the lovely juices from that pork belly. I like to think that maybe there was a reason why I couldn't find that pork belly, it was meant to be that I stumbled upon this couple's family farm as their pork belly was some of the best I could have come across. However, do not be deterred if you don't live anywhere near Richmond to pick some up from Ault's, this dish is so worth it. Enjoy!

 

Bourbain Braised Pork Belly with Stone Ground Grits & Garlicky Kale

Recipe adapted from The Blackberry Farm Cookbook

Ingredients

For the belly:

2.5 lb. slab of pork belly

1/4 cup kosher salt

1/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup bourbon

1 cup vegetable broth

 

For the grits:

2 cups milk

2 cups water

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 cup stone-ground grits

2 teaspoons unsalted butter

2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

 

For the kale:

1 bunch kale (any variety) coarsely chopped or sliced

1/2 tablespoon olive oil

3-4 cloves minced garlic

kosher salt

freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup vegetable broth

 

Directions

1. To make the belly, sprinkle all over with the salt and sugar; place on a rimmed baking sheets, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 12 hours and up to one day.

2. When ready to cook the belly, preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Rinse the belly briefly under cold water to remove the excess salt and sugar and then pat it dry. In a large skillet, heat the oil over high heat and cook the belly for 6-8 minutes, turning it once, until browned on both sides.

3. Transfer the belly to a large casserole dish and add the bourbon and stock. Cover with foil and bake for 4-4.5 hours, or until the belly is fork tender. Remove the belly from the cooking liquid and let it sit on a cutting board for 5 minutes before slicing and serving. 

4. About 1 hour before the pork is to be served, make the grits. In a large saucepan, bring the milk, 2 cups water and 1 teaspoon of the salt just to a boil over medium- high heat. Whisking constantly, very slowly whisk the grits into the milk mixture. Switch to a wooden spoon and stir the grits until the liquid returns to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover the pan, and cook, stirring occasionally to prevent the grits from scorching and sticking, should be done in about 45 minutes. However, depending upon what kind of grits you use they may cook in less time. The finished consistency should be that of thick oatmeal. Stir in the butter, pepper and remaining one teaspoon of salt.

5. While the grits are cooking and have about 20 minutes left to go, heat the oil for the kale over medium-high heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. 

6. Add the kale and cook, stirring until the kale just begins to wilt. Add the vegetable broth and cover. Cook for about 10-15 minutes until very tender.

7. To serve, place a scoop of warm grits in the center of each plate, and put a serving of the belly on top with the kale on the side.