crusty bread + good butter + sliced radishes + salt
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Channeling Lars here. There were some flowers from my cousin's wedding on our kitchen table. They were too pretty to let them die a normal death so I took some of the drier (or more dead) flowers and put them together on this sign with acrylic paint, straws, butchers paper and sharpee.
Custom sodas and syrups. They should be a thing. So why oh why are 98% of the syrups we see nothing more than extract from a bottle mixed with corn syrup? Some things will never make sense to me.
As you're making plans for summer entertaining, let me throw an idea out there. The last few years, Yoni and I have thrown a Soda Spash. It was supposed to be a splash, until I forgot the L in the sign and just decided to go with it. Here's how it works: make a vat of simple syrup and a vat of caramel. Then mix that with malt powder, peanut butter, and pretty much every ingredient listed above. Get ice cream, sparkling water and TADAH! Baller party with a fresh take on ice cream sodas. You don't have to go as crazy as I do on the syrups. Maybe start with one or two, then you can improvise from there. The options are as varied as your imagination, but this should give you a good start!
FIRST ...
Simple Syrup
1 Part Sugar (I like to make one brown sugar batch and one white sugar batch)
+
1 Part Water
Boil sugar and water together until sugar dissolves and consistency is slightly syrupy. Usually 5-10 minutes. This keeps for a long time. No need to put it in the fridge either.
THEN ...
Salted Chocolate Syrup
1 Cup simple syrup + 1 Cup dark chocolate chips + 1 tsp salt (optional)
Warm simple syrup. Add dark chocolate slowly, stirring until melted into the syrup. Add salt. Cool, but allow to come to room temperature before serving. Store in the fridge.
Strawberry Malt Syrup
Simple syrup + Frozen strawberries + Malt powder
I'd try about 1/2 the amount of simple syrup as strawberries. Pulverize strawberries in blender with a few hefty tablespoons of malt powder. Add simple syrup and stir. Allow strawberries to melt and macerate in the simple syrup. Refrigerate in airtight container.
blueberry maple cream, sour cherry and strawberry malt.
A FEW TIPS:
Try sodas with about 1/2 inch of syrup in a 6 oz cup. You can always make it sweeter.
Buy a large carton of whole milk, half and half or whipping cream and add a shot to make cream sodas. You can do this with any non-fruit syrup.
Sometimes we make the sodas on their own and sometimes we do ice cream sodas. I make my life easier by only getting one flavor of Ice Cream -- a good Vanilla. People can still go wild with the flavors but you have fewer variables involved.
I wanted to enter the county fair and win a blue ribbon ... bad.
A few months ago, I started concocting recipes and outsourcing them to my sisters. I enlisted help from my mom, uber domestic goddess Ginger and a few others so we could locally source ingredients. Mercina and Glorianna were going to be in town and I was working overtime to lure Kimber to Colorado for the fair. It was gonna be awesome and if it was the last thing I did this summer, we were gonna win.
And then life happened.
My cousin got married just when we were all supposed to head out West. One of my best friends decided to get married a few days after the wedding (the nerve of them both, right!?). I had two performances the week before. Mercina and Glorianna decided to stay in Washington. Kimber needed to go to California. Yoni's business partners needed him in New York. Mom was out of town and the dogs needed some serious loving. It was just me an Liberty. The day before we needed to register for the fair, we had no jars, no produce and no real chance.
There was an epic rains storm. While I braved the elements to collect every ripe (and some not so ripe) thing in Mom's garden, there was no way I had time to visit Ginger's house to get the remainder of the ingredients. But when Liberty opened the door to her house somehow, I knew everything was going to be alright. Vast stores of copper pots and pans pans emerged. Soon, the hum of blenders and cadence of knives on cutting boards echoed through her kitchen. Settling on two time-honored family recipes, we decided to focus on a salsa verde and a Hungarian sauce studded with tomatoes, peppers and onions. We roasted and chopped, boiling jars and doing things that are WAY out of our cooking league. The scent of paprika, caramelized onions, hot peppers and garlic filled the air. Finally, at about 2am, we called it quits, hoping our jars would vacuum seal.
The next morning, Libby and I raced to the fair grounds. We sat in the car for a few minutes, trying to decide if it was worth taking in our entries. The tomatillos were not ripe and made the salsa a little bitter. The jars took longer than expected to sterilize and the Hungarian lesco had become too salty.
Finally, with no time to spare, Liberty marched in our entries. The person at the desk (amusingly named Harmony. She should have been one of our sisters, right?) explained that we would receive an email as soon as the winners were announced.
Then we waited ... and waited ... and waited ...
Silence.
Then, the tirades began. The judges must be related to the entrants. Their palates weren't refined enough. They figured out our canning method didn't meet protocol. The tomatillos destroyed everything. We reduced the Hungarian Lecso for too long. Really, the whole thing was just super annoying and we were never going to do it again.
After church, I was going home. With noon day sun streaming through my car window I had almost forgotten the entire county fair debacle, when I opened my email.
Liberty and I rushed to the fair and ... well ... we liked the county fair after all ...
Have you ever been pleasantly surprised by an outcome?? We'd love to hear about it!!
Before anything... Go and get American Grace at www.charitysunshine.com. It drops tomorrow and it's gonna be epic.
Now, a recipe request from Paige:
Kimber's Stuffed Figs*
A dozen figs
aged English cheddar with truffles (not too spendy from Trader Joe's!)
honey from Dave's hive on the roof (I suppose honey from a jar would work in a *pinch*)
chèvre
balsamic vinegar reduction
prosciutto
flower pepper to garnish
1. Slice figs in half, longways. If you're feeling ambitious, grill them, seeded side down on a hot, lightly greased pan with a sprinkling of sugar for about 30 seconds.
2. Place about a teaspoon of cheese on each fig -- 12 with truffled cheddar and 12 chèvre.
3. Drizzle balsamic reduction* on figs with chèvre and top with strips of prosciutto.
4. Garnish cheddar figs with local honey.
5. Grind flower pepper over the whole yummy lot of them.
6. Eat one or two before your guests arrive, so they don't feel bad taking the first gorgeous morsel, which actually might taste even better than it looks.
7. Impress everyone.
*reduction: a cup of balsamic vinegar with a half cup of sugar on medium heat until it reduces in volume by 50%
Whenever I contemplate a cheese board (<--a great activity, by the way), I like to find something to put on the crackers/bread which isn't cheese. Golden syrup, tapenade, chutney, jam, pesto, and honey all work well!
I love Goat Cheese, but sometimes it's a little bland on its own. I like to roast nuts (almonds, pistachios, pine nute - you name it!) and press them onto the outside of the log. It tastes wonderful and makes the cheese board look a little more interesting, too.
I also like to add extra things to nibble on. A little ramekin filled with (in our case vegan) smoked apple sage sausage is always a hit. Dried fruit is a wonderful addition, too!
As are roasted hazelnuts and pistachios.
Sharp Asiago, Mild Jarlsberg, Soft Golden Syrup, Rich Dates, Irish Cheddar with Porter Beer, Smooth Goat Cheese with Roasted Almond Crust.
Like Goat Cheese, Brie is a wonderful cheese to dress up. For this one Glorianna roasted some pecans in brown sugar and butter and poured them on top.
Yum.
Raspberry curd was a new discovery for us. It. is. amazing. And extra delicious with the Candied Pecan Brie.
I think the best cheese boards have a variety of colors, textures, shapes and sharpness - and allow for a bunch of different combinations. But, if you like what you're putting on the plate, you really can't go wrong!
Last November, a wonderful friend taught me how to make this magical bread. It's crazy good, and super simple; it only requires four ingredients! We whipped up four loaves yesterday; they were scrumptious. Do yourself a favor and make some TONIGHT!
No Knead Crusty Peasant Bread
What you’ll need:
1 cast-iron pot which has a lid & can withstand 450 degrees
1 bowl
Parchment paper
3 cups (13.5 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast (more for a quicker rise)
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces) tepid water
Whisk flour and salt together in a mixing bowl. Make a little well in the middle and put your yeast in center of it. *If you want to add cheese, nuts, dried fruit, etc., now is the time (a list of yummy options is at the bottom of this recipe)! Pour water directly over yeast. Stir mixture with a spatula or wooden spoon until a shaggy ball forms. No need to knead! Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rest.
8-24 hours later
Place a sheet of parchment paper over a mixing bowl that is about the same size as the pot you’ll use to cook the bread. Spray the center of the parchment paper with a little cooking spray. Dump dough onto a heavily floured counter top. With floured hands shape the dough into a ball. It won’t cooperate but that’s ok. Just lift up the blob and transfer it to the prepared parchment paper. The dough and paper will sink into the bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise while a cast iron pot preheats in the oven, at least 30 minutes but preferably 45 minutes to an hour.
Place a *3-quart enameled cast iron Dutch oven with a tight fitting lid into the oven and preheat to 450 degrees while the dough rises. Remove the pot from the oven and take of the lid. It will be crazy hot, so use a hot pad. DO NOT FORGET THAT THE LID IS 450 DEGREES. IF YOU DO YOU WILL BURN YOUR HAND. BADLY. AND YOU WILL HATE ME FOREVER AND YOU WILL HATE MAKING BREAD. Using parchment paper as a sling, lift the dough out of the bowl and gently place into the preheated pot, paper and all. The parchment paper will stick up all around the sides, but don't worry. Just put the lid on as tightly as possible and put the pot in the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 420 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking for 15 to 20 minutes or until the loaf is a deep golden brown. Dump the loaf out of the pan, place onto cooling rack. If you have enough self-control, let the loaf cool for 30 minutes before cutting. If the bottom of the loaf is too dark for your taste, reduce the oven temperature by 5 or 10 degrees and/or reduce baking time next time.
-zest of a lemon, 2 tbs chopped rosemary, ½ cup cubed cheese (gruyere, jarslberg, white cheddar & asiago work well)
-zest of an orange, ½ cup tart dried cherries, ½ cup roasted chopped hazelnuts, and ½ cup dark chocolate
-1/2 cup chopped kalamata olives, ½ cup cubed cheese, 2 tbs rosemary
-1/4 cup roasted hazelnuts, ¼ cup roasted slices almonds, ¼ cup white chocolate, ¼ cup dried cranberries or dates
Now, I'm no football fan, but I do love a good Cinderella story, so, huzzah for happy endings! And even though I wasn't watching the big game last night, we did have lots of good company for a yummy meal that just happened to be an appropos shade of victorious green.
Check out these adorable vintage Packers -- I think I'm in love!
Green Green Butter
Check out these adorable vintage Packers -- I think I'm in love!Green Green Butter
2 sticks butter, softened
1 large bunch parsley
a handful of spinach
1/2 cup green Greek olives (pitted)
zest of one whole lemon
juice of one half lemon
Kosher salt
fresh ground black pepper
Put it all in a VitaMix or food processor and whirl until smooth and very green. It is so bright and fresh and tangy in the most delicious way. We stirred about 1/3 of this into 2 lbs of steaming orzo mixed with 2 lbs of baby spinach and 14 oz good feta (I'm a big fan of Dodoni), then put the rest on the table to dollop on roasted tilapia and balsamic glazed carrots. The leftovers, (pictured below. Apparently, Fast Sunday appetites are not conducive to laborious pre-meal foodie glamour shots -- Sorry!), would be delicious on everything from zucchini to shrimp to turkey sandwiches to cardboard.