High Holiday Dinner

The High Holiday Season has arrived, and that means some serious cooking. We started our Rosh Hashanah feast with the traditional Matzoh Ball Soup.....

Followed by a main course of tzimmes (potatoes and yams tossed in olive oil, salt, pepper and a drizzle of honey, roasted at 400 degrees for 45 minutes, stirred occasionally),

Cumin-dusted cauliflower and cherry tomatoes (tossed in oil with salt and a generous sprinkle of cumin seed, roasted at 400 degrees for 30 minutes),

and rack of lamb--slathered with mustard, chopped fresh herbs and garlic, then coated with panko, and roasted at 400 for 35 minutes.

Dessert was an apple tart topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

The year is off to a great start!

Peach Desserts

Peach season is in full swing, and I'm loving every juicy, fuzzy bite. But sometimes I get carried away at the market and buy too many of these irresistible summer treats. At such times, I churn out baked goods using the surplus.

Remember our cherry tart?  The peach version is equally delicious, and happily devoid of that tedious task of pitting all those cherries.  Peel and chop 4-5 peaches and use the same recipe.  Dee-lish!

I also inserted peaches into this basic cake.  Follow the steps indicated in the link, but substitute peeled, chopped peaches for the blueberries.  This is an incredibly versatile recipe; served plain with a cup of coffee, it's breakfast.  With a scoop of vanilla ice cream, it's a simple dessert.  With a drizzle of caramel and mascarpone whipped cream, it's a show-stopper.  (It works really well with strawberries, too, but that is a topic for another day.)

These simple, grilled peaches were stunning.  We splashed them with a couple of drops of balsamic vinegar, sprinkled them with brown sugar, and grilled them, starting with the round side down, cut side  up.  The sugar and vinegar melted into the fruit and then we flipped them to get that dramatic sear.  These were great with vanilla ice cream, but you could also reduce the brown sugar and serve them with grilled chicken or fish.

How to Make a Cherry Tart

With summer fruits bursting at every market and farm stand, I am always tempted to buy too much.   Which is good and bad; it encourages consumption of a supremely delicious and healthy snack, but the fruit is only good for a short time and will rot if left to sit.

I had a surfeit of farm stand cherries last week, having been seduced by the rustic wooden bucket of them for a relatively modest price.  We ate our fill of them, but even with steady consumption, after 3 days, the remaining half bucket began to look tired.  Swift action was needed, and I concocted this very simple tart, riffing on the raspberry bar recipe we posted earlier this year. 

Crust

2 sticks butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 1/4 cup flour

Filling:

2 cups pitted cherries have been a success
2 TBSP  brown sugar
2 TBSP butter
1 TBSP water
sprinkle of cinnamon if desired

Heat oven to 350. 

Prepare fruit--if you're pitting cherries, get comfortable;  this task is kind of the pits.

Place pitted cherries in skillet with other filling ingredients and cook over med-low until juice is rendered and cherries are very soft, approximately 6 minutes.

Meanwhile, make dough.  Mix all ingredients on medium speed until dough is crumbly and just starting to hold together.  Place 2/3 of dough into an ungreased fluted tart pan with a removable bottom; press dough firmly into bottom and up sides of pan about 1/2 inch.  Pour fruit mixture into tart.  Crumble remaining dough over the fruit and press gently into the tart.  Bake 40 minutes until crust and topping begin to brown.   Serve with mascarpone whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

Cheese at Reading Terminal Market - as recommended by the experts!

We assembled our own "flight" of cheeses from merchants at the Reading Terminal Market

What's a cheese condiment?  It's a food that plays a valuable supporting role on your cheese plate.  It includes chutneys, pastes, preserves, fresh or dried fruit, nuts - you name it, use your imagination.  The sensational cheese plate we enjoyed at Talula's Garden (see previous post) tipped us off to how these food pairings enhance one's appreciation of cheese.  We also stumbled upon a learned website, appropriately enough called The Nibble:  Great Food Finds which explains in detail the pseudo-science behind this food combining.  Interesting to note, that no-one mentions crackers anywhere...

To reproduce the visual and epicurean feast we enjoyed last month at Talula's Garden, we nipped into the Reading Terminal Market and interviewed the cheese merchants there; both Downtown Cheese and Salumeria were especially helpful. 

We also loved the labelling at Fairfood Farmstand - you felt like you were on first name terms with the cow that made the cheese by the time you'd read the label. 

Blue Suede Moo Cheese from FairFoods

And, most impressively, Fairfood Farmstand does all the work for you by recommending not only the condiments best suited to accompany that particular cheese, but even suggests the type of beer or wine that will bring out the best in that cheese.

Our own cheese plate featured, amongst others Cherry Glen Crottin; Uncle Joe's from Clover Creek Creamery; Bichrun Blue Raw Cow (these last two came from FairFood and have comprehensive 'tasting notes') and best of all a near liquid soft cheese called Delice de Bourgogne from Downtown Cheese.  This cheese is quite soft straight from the fridge; imagine it when served at room temperature!  It turned positively gloopy and was unanimously voted the star cheese on our cheese plate this weekend.  Try it, do.

The following cheese and condiment pairings were suggested by Aimee Olexy, owner and Maitre d' at Talula's.

1. Parmesan with olives (a dry, crumbly cheese works well paired with juicy olives).
2. Gouda cheese, which is quite oily and rich, served with caramel provides an unexpected contrast.
3. Cheddar for good reason is traditionally served with something tart like an apple slice or a quince paste (membrillo is the Spanish name for this conconction).
4. A fresh local (PA) farm cheese like ricotta or mozzarella is lifted to even greater heights by the addition of sweet - now in season - cherry tomatoes.

Other vendors worth visiting at the Market to source exotic condiments include gourmet grocer Jonathon Best (for marcona almonds and preserves); Salumeria for a wide selection of olives and the Pennsylvania Dutch for preserves and fruit chutneys.

Rhubarb compote, a wonderful flavor foil to cheese, and it beautifies the presentation with its gorgeous color.

Check out the olives at Salumeria.  Ummm.

We also tried this unusual fig bread, a compressed block of figs, which you slice thinly before serving.  This version from Downtown Cheese provides an interesting talking point because it includes chocolate, which we'd never seen before....

So what's your crowd-pleasing combo?