summer

Guest Post: A Day in the Life of a Berry Pie Addict

July 9, 2014 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

Ok, ok…Don’t get too excited; I didn’t bake or take the photo for this luscious, sinful berry pie. My food photo crush, Jaime, took it. I’m secretly obsessed with him….and want him to be my best friend and cooking mate forever and forever…and I want to live inside his Instagram account (@immediatelycookies)…and eat everything in it. Today I have the privilege of having Jaime pen, or should I say pie? (Hahaha! Pie pun. Sorry. Couldn’t resist) a guest post for the bloggy. Take it away, Jaime!

My name is Jaime, and I’m a pie addict.

The other day I was at the farmer’s market in San Diego’s scenic Little Italy to buy pie ingredients, and I was particularly drawn to the pervasive smell of peaches and cherries filling the air. Stone fruit season is upon us! Of course, as always, I’m mainly drawn to the smell of meat, and the Thyme of Essence booth hooked me up with some fennel chili salami. Their display is always beautiful and their dried meats give me strength until my next coffee fix. And yes, I have high blood pressure. I made my way down the street and found myself at the Patisserie du Soleil booth, where I sampled delicious French macarons and lemon mascarpone tarts. Chef Michel was featuring some killer mushroom risotto to pair with his quiches this week, and it all looked so delicious, but the best part was the pile of cakes he had set up next to his fresh bread basket.

And suddenly, my mouth was filled with amazing mocha coconut macaroons at the Rickaroons stand. They make vegan, gluten free macaroons that are packed with flavor, and they were the perfect things to combat my swiftly developing food coma. For some reason when I left I wanted to do yoga, which I haven’t wanted to do in like ten years.

… Wait, sorry, I got distracted… Back to pies! Much to my horror, as I walked down the long aisle of farm stands devouring every bit of free sample I could get my hands on, it registered that it was the last week of Ranier cherry season! Then I realized I hadn’t made a single cherry pie this year! I can’t be blamed for not realizing that it was cherry season; in San Diego there are no perceivable seasons. Yes, the flood of cherry blossom pictures on Instagram in April should have alerted me to the upcoming cherry season, but I am a blind fool!

Anyway, the end of cherry season is upon us, and as I stuffed like 30 Raniers into my mouth it became clear to me that I had to A.) give the farm stand some money for wrecking their sample supply and B.) make a pie out of their remaining cherries. So I got some. Around this time of year, the Ranier cherries are extremely ripe and sweet. They are pretty much mini peaches. When I got home, I taught my friends how to make pie dough and we watched Pacific Rim. Here’s how we made each pie:

Pie Dough:

2 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt
6-7 tbsp ice cold water
¾ cup + 2 tbsp cold Crisco (warm Crisco will result in a flakeless crust)
Heavy cream for brushing

Combine the salt and flour in a large bowl. Cut the cold Crisco in by jabbing it into the flour with your fingers. Add the water, one tablespoon at a time, until a dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and cool it for about an hour. This cooling stage is very important. The dough will be highly sticky and difficult to work with if it is warm.

Mixed Berry Pie

4 cups mixed berries, washed and dried well
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly flour a work surface and rolling pin. Cut the dough in half and roll each half out to fit a 9-inch pie pan. Gently mold one of the rolled out dough halves into a pie pan so that the edges are hanging over the sides. To make the filling, combine all of the ingredients in a bowl and let sit for five minutes. Do not wait longer than this or the berries will become a complete mush mess. Add the filling to the pie pan and top with the remaining rolled out dough half. Brush with heavy cream to achieve a perfect golden brown finish. Bake for 15 minutes. Lower the oven temperature to 325 and bake for another 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack for about ten minutes and then transfer to the refrigerator for 30 mins.

This pie comes out great every time and it can be served cold or hot. I like it cold with some fresh berry sorbet and basil cucumber water, which is just water with cucumber and basil in it. It’s the perfect way to enjoy a hot summer afternoon.

Ranier Cherry Pie

4 1/2 cups ranier cherries
1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp cornstarch
pinch of nutmeg
pinch of cinnamon

This pie is sweet, but earthy. It is best served warm with vanilla bourbon ice cream, or just vanilla if you don’t feel like making your own vanilla bourbon. Eat it with some warm apple cider, even though it’s summer, because the combination is just that good.

A Grill’s Best Friend: The Cedar Plank

May 19, 2014 by Eva Louise Leave a Comment

My cedar plank salmon with fresh herbs

Oh jeez, oh jeez! Summer is just around the corner and I’m already smackin’ my lips thinking about all the delicious things I want to throw on the BBQ. Fancy grilling tools like spatulas in the shape of American flags, pig-shaped BBQs, or inappropriate aprons like the ones with naked man or human-sized turkey print (my preferred choices) are obviously important, but all my votes go to the cedar grilling plank as the most essential BBQ accessory.

I soak the cedar planks in water for 4 hours (to keep them from burning), then place a simply-seasoned salmon filet on top before placing on the grill. The woody aromas completely penetrate the salmon; the tree sap caramelizes around the filet and it’s just **sigh**… yea…wow. Amazing. You must try it.

Food52’s ears must be burning because they are featuring a 4-pack of grilling planks on their Provisions website right now and One King’s Lane is featuring a Plank Grilling Cookbook. Get ’em while they’re hot!

Food52’s Grilling 4-pack. Photo by James Ransom

One King’s Lane is selling Plank Grilling by Dina Guillen

Lend me your ears!…for some Eva-style Elote

August 29, 2013 by Eva Louise 9 Comments

I don’t really like ears of corn. There’s something so cumbersome about the way they look that turns me off…as in, they look like a real commitment to prepare and eat. You know? No? OK, yea, I forgot that everybody else on the planet freakin’ loves corn…Which means I need to have a few corn recipes in my repertoire. FINE.

Luckily, my Mom decided to buy a million ears of it for our recent trip to British Columbia, so this was the perfect time to practice. I decided to do a riff on elote, Mexican street corn and used our BBQ to char the corn before preparing the dish. Not revolutionary, but it took the dish to a totally stellar level.

Eva-style Elote

Ingredients

3 ears of corn, husks off, stub on (makes it easier to BBQ)
1/2 medium red onion, diced
1 bunch cilantro, rinsed and roughly chopped
1 can black beans, rinsed
2 heaping dollops of crema (Mexican sour cream), creme fraiche (French sour cream) or just regular sour cream
1 heaping T mayonnaise
1/4 cup crumbled cotija cheese or grated Parmesan
juice of 1 juicey lime
pinch of cayenne pepper
1 ripe avocado

Char the ears of corn for about 8-10 minutes on a seriously hot grill or griddle pan, probably, 375-400 degrees. Let them cool long enough to take a knife to chop off the kernels. Reserve a small bunch of kernels, cotija, cilantro and avocado for garnish later, then mix corn with all of the other ingredients EXCEPT the avocado. Careful on the mayo and crema to make sure you don’t add too much. Taste and adjust flavors accordingly. Fold in the diced avocado near the end so it doesn’t squish. Cover and refrigerate for about 30 minutes. Garnish the mixture with the remaining corn, cotija, cilantro and avocado, then serve!

Israel Homecoming

August 12, 2013 by Eva Louise 1 Comment

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I’m back from the motherland – the beautiful, complex country of Israel! I was there this past week for 10 days on a Taglit Birthright Trip getting my Jew on. I was carted around the Jersey-sized country, to Tel Aviv, to Jerusalem, to the Golan Heights and to the Negev Desert in a big ol’ tour bus with 39 other Jews. I don’t doubt we barely scratched the surface of Israeli exploration, but I really felt like I experienced a lot of the country…And most importantly, I can say I ate my weight in hummus and shwarma on this trip.

I had high expectations for the food there, and save for a few janky Kibbutz meals, I was seriously impressed. My three highlights were Shakshuka, Ahi Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips, and of course, ze Shwarma. Seriously, I freaking love shwarma. While there is no way I’d ever attempt making it, I can’t wait to attempt the Shakshuka and Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips!

Photo credit shout out to my amazing new friend Justin Drazin, author of the Pillow Monster Series. (He took the pretty pictures, I took the food pictures.)

Shakshuska

Eggs baked in a scrumptious tomato, onion, pepper, herb mixture served with side salads and crusty bread.

Kosher Ahi Tuna Fish ‘n’ Chips with Curry Mayo

Only the most brilliant riff on fish ‘n’ chips ever in the history of man.

Shwarma

Just…yea. Mmmm. Mmm. Mm!

Some other amazing images from our adventures:

Inside a water cistern at Masada

The Kotel at Dusk

Syrian farmland, view from Golan Heights

I want them all

Grapes almost ready for harvest

Shalom, Tel Aviv!

No Jew trip would be complete with a Jew nose pic

In case there was any doubt…I’m definitely a Jew!!

End of the Heat Wave!: Asparagus Ravioli with Seared Scallops

July 24, 2013 by myfriendsinfood 2 Comments

We’ve just survived a brutal, swassy heat wave here in New York and I swear, you couldn’t pay me to cook in my kitchen these days. Luckily, protein bars and happy hours have been sustaining me, but man, I’m really fiending some of my own food.

I started flicking through some of the dozens of unposted food photos I have on file and picked this homemade asparagus ravioli with lemon zest and mascarpone with seared scallops to share today. I made this earlier in spring time, at the beginning of asparagus season and cheated by using wonton papers which I’ve used for other recipes as well. (Link to that post here) I’d love to try this with ramps or garlic scapes (maybe too late in the season??), or some other funky farmers market vegetable. I’ll definitely be trying this dish again.

Asparagus Ravioli with Lemon Zest and Mascarpone

zest of 1lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 bunch asparagus
1 small dish of mascarpone cheese (about
block of Pecorino or Parmesan
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic (optional), smashed or rough chopped
S/P to taste
wonton papers

Rinse and pat dry the bunch of asparagus and cut each stalk just below the crown. Set the crowns aside for garnish later*. Cut and discard the dried or discolored bottoms of the stalks. These are normally dry and tough and not tasty. Rough chop the remaining stalks and toss into a food processor.

To the food processor, also add: 2 cloves of rough chopped garlic, a handful of chopped chives (they are so mild I love using a lot), 1 teaspoon of lemon zest, 4 – 6 Ts of the mascarpone, 1/4 cup of pecorino, cracked pepper (hold on the salt until you taste the blended mixture). Pulse the mixture in the processor until mostly smooth and incorporated. Taste and adjust flavors accordingly. Salt, more garlic or more cheese might be necessary. The consistency should be a bit stiff and asparagus-y; you don’t want the creaminess of the cheese to drown out that flavor, or for the filling to be too soggy.

Once the filling is a good consistency, prepare your station and start assembling your raviolis. For this, you need:

a big plastic cutting board
a drying rack (wipe with oil or spray it with Pam to keep the raviolis from sticking)
small ramekin of water

Lay out the wonton papers onto the cutting board and place a small dollop of filling in the middle. Dip your finger in the ramekin of water and wet the edges of the paper. At this point you can either fold the wonton into a triangle, or place another wonton paper on top (recommended) to keep its square shape. Make sure the edges are sealed fully and place on the drying rack.

Once all the raviolis are assembled and drying, boil water a shallow pot. Add salt and one layer of raviolis. Cook 2-4 minutes until the wonton paper is tight around the filling. Continue to cook the rest of the raviolis (or freeze the remainder). Use a slotted spoon to place on a pretty platter or on individual plates.

*In a saute pan, heat a generous splash of olive oil and saute the reserved asparagus crowns with a few pinches of the chives for 2-3 minutes until al dente. Distribute evenly among the plated raviolis.

Garnish the asparagus ravioli with lemon juice, lemon zest, chives, and pecorino. The pasta water, olive oil and lemon juice will naturally create the sauce for the dish. I served mine with seared scallops, but chicken or salmon would be awesome as well!

Heaven is a South African Kitchen

July 11, 2013 by Eva Louise 4 Comments

***This is the third and final post from my trip to South Africa. The previous posts are here and here***

Heaven on a plate

On our final morning at the whimsical Miner’s compound, something amazing happened – I met the Miner’s wife, Jackie, who had been in the city during our drunken escapades the day before. We bumped into her at the back door of her kitchen in our efforts to say goodbye to our host and friends. She was directing a platoon of housemaids, with a voice so sensational it was like the Cheshire Cat or an Afrikaans Miranda Priestly were yelling orders from behind a buzzing fan. She had fiery red hair in a coif that Marge Simpson’s sisters might request at the hair salon and gorgeous bright eyes that will keep her looking youthful even when she turns 100. Just amazing.

“Come, come, come. You must have something to eat!” She said in same breath as her introduction.

Instead of staging our departure, Stingray and I let Jackie take us hostage (rather willingly) onto the back porch to enjoy a decadent breakfast of fruit salad, fresh yogurt, charcuterie and her homemade preserves (umm…is this real?!). We ended up staying so late that it was already time to enjoy lunch which we did, at the very same table.

I was gorged, spoiled and feeling rather useless so Jackie was gracious enough to let me cook with her in her amazing kitchen. She and I whipped up a Tuscan-style tuna salad with cannellini beans, fried eggplant with cilantro, a simple salad with a vino cotto vinaigrette, and a caprese salad with olive oil so rich it looked like gasoline.

As I chopped, (she and I in matching aprons) she told me the story of her gorgeous Chinese linens, her fruit trees, herbs and spices from her travels to the Middle East, and the painting class she’ll take in France later in the Summer. So intimated by her amazingness, I interrupted her a few times to ask, “How do you want this chopped? What else should I add to this? Am I doing this right?” “Dahling, everything you’re doing is just perfect, simply perfect. Add whatever you’d like!” My only thought was: Eva, burn your passport so you can live with Jackie forever!…Do it, burn it now!

Once I finished shaking up my vinaigrette and the meal was almost ready, I started to chop a littler slower in attempts savor this moment with her. When I go to Heaven, I know that the cafeteria will look just like Jackie’s gorgeous kitchen.

Tuscan-style Tuna Salad

Ingredients

1 can of good albacore
1 can of canellini beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 shallot or small red onion, diced
1-2 garlic cloves, grated
juice of 1 lemon
1 cup chopped cilantro
Olive oil
S and P to taste

Toss all ingredients together, in a beautiful bowl, except for tuna. Add tuna and incorporate gently to try to keep it from breaking up too much. Taste, adjust flavors accordingly.

Fried Eggplant with Cilantro

1 large eggplant
1 cup chopped cilantro
1-2 garlic cloves
juice of 2 lemons
Pepper to taste
maldon salt

Chop eggplant into 2 inch “pegs” and fry in olive oil until crispy and tender. In the meantime, mix the lemon juice, grated garlic and pepper in a large bowl. Once the eggplant is done, put directly in bowl with lemon juice mixture. The olive oil absorbed in the eggplant will naturally balance out the acid. Sprinkle maldon salt or another large-grained salt right before serving.

Caprese salad (everybody knows this one, right?)

Tomatoes, mozzarella and basil with high quality olive oil (lemon juice or balsamic were not added to the version pictured)

Green Salad with Vino Cotto Vinaigrette

1/2 cup walnut oil
1 pinch sugar
1-2 T vino cotto (Italian sweet wine syrup)
1 heaping T dijon mustard
1/2 clove garlic, pressed or grated (optional)
S and P to taste

Shake all ingredients in a jar. Too sweet add more dijon, too thick add more oil. I served this with arugula and butter lettuce, some red onion left over from the other salads, a ripe avocado and some paprika for color.

Spiced, Wine-Poached Pears with Homemade Vanilla Ice Cream

In case I wasn’t already in food ecstasy at the end of our lunch, Jackie brought out some of her spiced, wine-poached pears and homemade vanilla ice cream and served it drizzled with grappa. It’s a miracle I didn’t implode into stardust after that.

Spiced, wine-poached pears with homemade ice cream

A diptych of her lemon tree…why not?