Sunshine Fruit

I sit at my desk on the 35th floor and look at the bleak skyline of downtown Seattle.  Days like this when the sky is every shade of grey at once and the buildings seem huddled together for warmth I seem to forget that it is actually summer. My thoughts drift to warm steaming pots of soup, crisp roast chicken right out of the oven and large piles of roasted root vegetables. Then I manage to rouse myself out of my chair to walk down to the market and summer blinds me at every turn, reminding me that it is indeed that glorious time of year!

Fuzzy golden peaches, piles of plump plums, shiny mounds of crimson cherries all send their siren song out to me and like Odysseus lashed to the deck of the ship I long to dive into the sea of produce in answer to their call. I think my husband would murder me if I spent our bank account on produce, but I could and would fill our kitchen with these hunks of edible gold churning out tarts, cobblers, pies, jams and syrups. Stone-fruits could be called sunshine-fruits. You can't help but taste the sweet golden light of a peach that baked in the hot sun of the Yakima Valley or the tart bite of a California cherry that was plucked under the azure sky in 100* heat.

Gallettes or rustic tarts are my favorite thing to do with these beautiful examples of common grace.  Just tossing the fruit with some sugar, a little flour, some spices and a squeeze of lemon then wrapping it up in a basic pie crust.  30-35 min in a 350* oven and you have summer right in your kitchen, fresh and steaming out of the oven.

My mum just brought me an apricot pie and a huge bag of peaches yesterday, I'm so excited!  First and foremost to eat her pie, (she is by far the most amazing pie maker, flaky crusts, perfectly golden and thick fillings...yum!)  and then to experiment with the peaches.  I'm thinking grilled with a brown sugar-rum glaze and then maybe I will attempt my first shot at peach jam.  Not to can of course since I don't as yet have the equipment for it, but just a small batch to enjoy over the next few weeks.

The Californian in me truly loves summer and all the sunshine fruits that come with it, but my inner Seattleite rejoices over the grey skies and the promise of autumn that they bring.

Clogging of the Arteries: Southern BBQ

Summer hit just last month, bringing with it the hot days and warm nights filled with breezes off of the Sound. In honor of this season change which came after a particularly long and cold winter we decided to fire up the BBQ and have a good ol' meat-filled, artery clogging meal of epic proportions.

The Menu:

Appetizers: Ladies Brunch Burgers & Pigs in a Blanket

Hush Puppies

Creamed Corn with Polenta

Baked Beans

Bourbon Baby Back Ribs

Fried Chicken

Biscuits

Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan Pie

Lattice-Topped Peach Pie

Sweet Tea, Beer & Whiskey

This was one of the larger MND's that we have had, we crowded 14 good friends around our groaning table to enjoy all the beautiful food that they had brought. The Ladies Brunch Burger was the contribution of our good friends the Hamonation. You can tell by the link above that one should only eat a serving of this concoction around once a lifetime as it contains bacon and a fried egg not to mention the two Krispy Kreme donuts that masquerade as a bun.

We all managed to sample a quarter of a burger as an appetizer but beyond that I do not know anyone who could stomach an entire burger. The saltiness of the bacon and the egg actually paired well with the sweet warmth of the fresh donut, but all in all it was an over-powering combination that only served to whet our appetite for rest of the food to come.

Josh and the infamous "Brunch Burger"

I actually took the day off work to make the baby-back ribs. All good things take time and these are no exception. Six to seven hours in the lowest oven possible to ensure the meat melts off the bones, followed by a quick sear on the barbecue to add the crispy, caramelized crust. I adapted the recipe from several I had found and tried from my favorite recipe source: Epicurious: basically using a dry rub for the meat in the oven followed by a sweet glaze on the grill.

Whiskey Baby-Back Ribs

2 racks of 2-3 lb baby back ribs (I made 4)

1/2 c Kosher salt

1/2 c brown sugar

3 T dry mustard

3 T dried thyme

3 T cayenne pepper (more if you want kick)

1 T cinnamon

2 tsp allspice

1 tsp nutmeg

Glaze:

1/2 c Southern whiskey

1/2 c apple cider vinegar

1 c brown sugar

1 c apple butter

1/4 c apple juice or cider

1 T cayenne pepper

Mix the brown sugar and salt with all the spices and herbs and rub on the racks of ribs. Ensure a thick covering over all areas. Place racks on a foil-lined cookie sheet and cover with another layer of foil on top. Place in a 200* oven and cook 5-7 hours until the bones are beginning to show and the meat is fork tender. Meanwhile, whisk together the ingredients for the glaze in a medium bowl and set aside.

Remove ribs from oven when finished and set to rest on counter (you can also refrigerate them at this point and finish them the next day if you so wish)

Brush top side of ribs with the glaze and place on pre-heated grill. Cook on medium heat about 5 minutes per side, continuing to baste with the glaze. (if cooking the ribs that were in the fridge from the day before, cook on low heat until they are heated through.)

Serve immediately with plenty of paper napkins!

Besides taking Monday off. I cooked and prepared most of the weekend, from making apple butter on Saturday to baking the peach pie on Sunday. I think it came off without a hitch, even frying the chicken, which I had never done before!

Chicken-frying operation from start to finish

The meal culminated with pies: an absolutely beautiful Chocolate-Bourbon Pecan pie made by Julia and a peach pie I threw together. The pecan pie was melt-in-your-mouth sweet with the crunch of crisp savory pecans and the occasional chunk of chocolate to sink your teeth into.

Chocolate Bourbon Pecan Pie

1 refrigerated (or homemade) pie crust

1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

1 cup semisweet chocolate morsels

1 cup dark corn syrup

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup bourbon (or to taste!)

4 large eggs

1/4 cup butter melted

2 teaspoons cornmeal

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon salt

Bake pie crust in a 9 inch pie plate for 8 mins or as package directs.

Sprinkle pecans and chocolate morsels into pie crust; set aside.

Combine corn syrup and next 3 ingredients in a large saucepan, and bring to boil over medium heat.

Cook stirring constantly for 3 minutes. Remove from heat.

Whisk together eggs and remaining ingredients. Gradually whisk about 1/4 of hot mixture into egg mixture; add to remaining hot mixture,whisking constantly.

Pour into prepared pie crust.

Bake at 325 for 55 minutes or until set; cool on a wire rack.

All in all it was a fantastic night! Jiggers of bourbon and bottles of ice-cold beer rounded out the meal and I do believe everyone went home quite satiated.

Early Days: Back in the U.S.S.R

Early on in the annuals of Monday Night Dinner (herein referred to as MND) we decided to tackle the Great White North of cuisine. Not Canada as I am sure you may be thinking, but Russia, the giant land-mass that straddles the European and Asian continents.

At this time MND consisted of 3 loyal diners, our friend Dustin, our historian Traver, and a friend and colleague Eby. Dustin would come early when he could and assist me in preparing the meal. The other two at that time were responsible for bringing an appropriate libation for the night's theme. The bringing of alcohol would henceforth continue to be the privilege and responsibility of the male guests who don't cook.

The Menu:

• Beef Stroganoff
• Golubzi (cabbage rolls)
• Cheese Pastry Dessert

Stroganoff to me always brings memories of the kitchen in my first childhood house in the Bay Area. White tiled counters covered in cutting boards and pots, my mum gently kicking a cat out from under foot while straining a pot of egg noodles over the sink. I would sit on the side counter and watch as she would serve up five heaping plates of egg noodles covered with the slightly tangy sauce of beef and cream. I would long for stroganoff night, and now as an adult I would attempt to make it myself for the first time.

My mum always made her stroganoff with ground beef, but I wanted to try something different. Since I was feeding four hungry men, I figured a heartier cut of beef would satisfy more. Fortunately, top sirloin was on sale and so I figured I could do my beef stroganoff with strips of steak in the cream sauce and cut much of the fat out of the dish. This is not to say that I don't appreciate a hearty helping of fat when called for, I will throw in two sticks of butter if I think a recipe needs it, but for this dish, especially since I was serving pork cabbage rolls on the side, some of the fat could afford to be cut.

Searching the internet and the local bookstore, I found that the best recipe for stroganoff was found in "The Joy of Cooking" however it needed a few tweaks. The Russian food site I found had several comments about "true stroganoff is served with mushrooms" or "vermouth or white wine must always be added!" So what follows is my combination of three separate recipes that made my beef stroganoff.

Beef Stroganoff (adapted from "The Joy of Cooking")

note: I was cooking for four big eaters and so I doubled this recipe

1 1/2 lbs top sirloin beef -thinly sliced

1 onion - thinly sliced

1 lb button mushrooms -sliced

5 T butter

1 T flour

1 c beef stock

1/4 c dry white wine

2-3 tsp of paprika (or to taste)

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 c sour cream

melt 2T of the butter in a large skillet (I actually used my wok) and sauté the onion until slightly soft. Set the onion aside and then sauté the beef in batches until evenly browned - 2 minutes or so, it should still be pink in the center. Set beef aside with the onion and cook the mushrooms in the same pan, adding butter if needed until they too are slightly soft, 5 min or so. Add the mushrooms to the onions and beef and wipe out the pan.

Meanwhile bring a large pot of salted water to boil and cook 1 lb of egg noodles according to their directions.

Melt the remaining 2 T of butter in the skillet and whisk in the flour. Cook slightly, but be sure not to brown it. Add the broth, the wine, the paprika and the salt and pepper, whisking so that there are no lumps. Bring to a simmer and simmer for 5-7 minutes until thickened and smooth. Add the beef, onion and mushrooms and stir to cover. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes or until heated through. Stir in the sour cream and serve over the egg noodles. Sprinkle extra paprika on top of each serving for added kick.

So there you have it. My Beef Stroganoff. The golubzi were also a success, but the less said about the cheese pastries the better. Let's just say that when one gets out of work at 4 and dinner is supposed to be served at 6:30 attempting to make your own sweet dough is a BAD idea.

We had ice cream for dessert.

And It Begins!

Starting off with a cliche title, but hopefully this will not be a cliche endeavor.

I'll start with a little history...

In the fall of 2007 one of our friends wanted to learn how to cook. We decided to set a schedule: every Monday he would come and help me cook dinner and we would invite several of our single guy friends over for a good meal and fun times.

This became a rolling stone that could not be stopped. Every Monday became more and more elaborate. We would choose themes such as Spanish, Provencial French, South African and Presbyterian (I'll cover that one later on) and our living room was soon filled with 8-15 friends on any given Monday.

The close friend who's cooking lessons began this all recently was married and now he and his wife join us periodically and our guest list has grown vastly larger than the handful of single men that originally sat around our table.

Our hope is to have a home that is filled with wine, laughter and amazing food. This is only possible because I have an incredible, supportive husband who is my sous chef, dishwasher and sommelier.

I hope whoever decides to read this little blog will enjoy the adventures of a girl, a boy and a stove.