Weekly Dish

Towards the end of last semester, I made a careless scheduling mistake in one of my classes — I miscalculated the number of minutes each student could have for his or her presentation, and it took me a good day to figure out why we kept running out of time. When I explained my error to my students, I told them I didn’t know how I could have come up with those numbers. One of my especially clever students raised her hand and said, “Do you think it has anything to do with your brain shrinking? I read in an article that pregnancy can cause your brain to decrease in size.” Now, of course, I know that science indicates that actual brain size has nothing to do with intelligence or with the brain’s ability to function properly. At the same time, I have to say that pregnancy has, at times, made me feel like part of my brain has gone inactive or shorted out on me. I am usually a very organized, task-oriented person, and all of a sudden, I have turned into a chaotically scatter-brained crazy woman. And the baby isn’t even here yet!

It isn’t just that I haven’t been posting. The holidays were nuts for us — we spent a lot of time away from home and our computers, and then getting back into the rhythm of a school schedule always makes life extra busy at the beginning of a semester — perhaps, it makes sense that I would take a blogging break until I’m in a more regular routine and things have settled down a little. No, the really troubling part of this whole brain chaos is that — I don’t know if I can make myself say this – I don’t really feel like cooking.

I am, of course. Cooking. Just not anything very interesting. I find myself poring over my new, glossy, pretty cookbooks and feeling completely at a loss for how to decide what to make. Part of it is that I am overwhelmed by what is actually happening in the formation of this new little person in my body. I feel so much pressure to make sure I am getting the right nutrients to help him or her grow that I find myself relying on familiar recipes (all of which you already know about).

Another part is that in some ways, I feel like all I do is think about food. I wake up starving, and if I don’t eat every two hours or so, especially in the mornings, I have dizzy spells. David’s favorite joke these days is, “Have you eaten all three of your breakfasts yet?” By the time dinner rolls around, I’m still hungry, but I can’t bear to really think about what to make. So, we have roast chicken and vegetables. Again.

I’ve only found one remedy for this culinary dry spell: baking.

Now, I know that sounds contrary to maternal instinct and, well, just plain good common sense. In order to gain a healthy amount of weight and get the nutrients the growing baby needs, one should avoid refined sugar and high-calorie sweets. So goes the conventional pregnancy-book wisdom.

But, the making of sweet, pretty things makes me so happy. It isn’t really the eating of them — although I won’t lie and say I don’t love that part too. It’s the sheer joy of putting them together.

Perhaps I’m still in holiday mode — my sister-in-law, Hannah, and I had such a lovely time whipping up fun treats in the kitchen, and then, before I knew it, her weeks here had passed and we were all on the road for Christmas celebrating, and then, to move Jon and her to Texas.

Or, maybe, it’s the weather. It has been wet and cold here for weeks on end, and if I don’t see more than one day of sunshine in a row soon, I’m likely to hide under my covers indefinitely. Folks in the Pacific Northwest, my sincere condolences. I don’t know how you do it.

Whatever the reason, after a long, long hiatus, I have not a menu or a quick dinner recipe to offer you, but what has been a bright spot in several a dark, rainy January day for me: a lemon cupcake.

I first made these for our friend Billy’s birthday right before we left for Christmas holidays, and I used the last of the Meyer lemon crop in these parts to make another batch not too long ago. The cake part of this recipe comes from the ever-reliable Rachel at Coconut and Lime: I adapted her Lime & Buttermilk cupcake recipe to suit my hankering for a lemon-only affair. To make the lemon flavor even more pronounced, and because I had some left over from a round of holiday gift-making, I filled the centers with lemon curd. Frosting, in my opinion, should match its partner: heavy buttercream works well with a hefty chocolate cupcake, but for these lighter, lemony ones, I opted for a dollop of plain whipped cream and a garnish of sugared rind.

If you need a pick-me-up in the midst of a hectic schedule, a rainy day, or simply the doldrums of winter, one of these cupcakes might just inject some sunshine into your soul. And if you’re six months pregnant and without the inspiration for a single meal, they might just make you feel like a cook again. Or, maybe that’s just me.

Lemon Sunshine Cupcakes

There are a variety of ways to make filled cupcakes, but most of them require some sort of assembly after the cupcakes are already baked. I wanted to see what happened if the curd baked right along with the cupcake batter. You won’t get a neat pocket of filling right in the middle of your cupcake that way; instead, the curd sort of soaks the whole cake, so that each bite is bursting with lemon flavor. Be forewarned: eating these cupcakes does make for sticky fingers.

For this recipe, I like long, thin strips of lemon zest, which you can get with a claw zester or with a really sharp vegetable peeler.

1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
Juice of 1 large lemon
Zest of 3 large lemons
About 1 cup of Lemon Curd
Half pint of heavy whipping cream

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with baking cups, aluminum or paper, and spray with baking spray. Stir together the dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. With a mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the eggs and continue beating, until the mixture is well-combined.

Toss half of the zest with a teaspoon of sugar and set aside; stir the rest in with the butter, sugar, and eggs.

Stir the buttermilk and lemon juice together in a glass measuring cup with a pouring spout. With the mixer on low, add the liquid and flour mixtures alternately, until the batter is thick and creamy.

Fill each muffin cup a little less than half-full and make a well in the center. Fill the well with a spoonful of lemon curd. Top with the remaining batter, to cover the curd. Bake for 18-22 minutes, until the tops are just beginning to brown.

When the cupcakes have completely cooled, frost with whipped cream and top with the sugared zest. Keep in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

PS: If you are reading this post, I’d just like to say THANK YOU for returning. After so many glimpses of my very fat cat in a Santa hat on your computer screen, I’d completely understand if you never came back. I truly appreciate all of your comments and emails and the simple fact that you’ve checked in again to see if I’ve managed to post again. I am also terribly behind in responding to those kind comments and emails, so if you’ve written and not heard back from me, please accept my sincere apology for my silence. If pregnancy has taught me anything, it’s that I can’t know what the future holds, so I won’t make any promises I’m not certain I can keep, but I will say that I hope to be a more regular presence, even if it’s just to tell you about another fun sweet that’s emerged from my oven. Just promise you won’t call the pregnancy nutrition police, okay?

PPS: After catching up on my blog reading, I was delighted to discover that Garrett at Vanilla Garlic and Cheryl and the Cupcake Bakeshop are collecting cupcake recipes! Head over to their sites to check out more ways to spend a rainy day baking on January 29th.

Can I just say how much I love having access to the opinions and expertise of real people about food?

When my good friend Garland mentioned that she wanted to have a birthday cake for her one-year-old daughter, Wilhelmina, she wondered what such a cake would look like. Because of a history of family allergies, their doctor recommended waiting to give her dairy, wheat, nuts, egg whites, honey, or other potential allergens until at least her second year.

I volunteered to do some research about allergen-free baking, knowing just the cook to turn to. I found a recipe on Karina’s site that looked like it might work, especially since Wilhelmina loves bananas, but I needed to make some substitutions. Karina was on hand with helpful suggestions and answered all of my questions, and I’m happy to report that the cupcakes were a hit! Here’s the birthday girl holding hers:

The cakes were tender and sweet and perfectly banana-flavored, but the icing was a bit trickier. I made the Maple-Orange icing first because I thought it would taste good (and it did!), but it wasn’t thick enough to decorate with. In fact, it was the wrong consistency altogether, and it separated not too long into the party. I also concocted a faux buttercream with shortening instead of butter, and while it didn’t taste as good as the maple icing, it allowed me to make some pink bunnies, inspired by Wilhelmina’s favorite companion: her pink bunny blanket. Were I to make these again and not need the bunny decoration, I’d make a simple powdered sugar glaze with orange juice and maple syrup. Or, if I baked the batter as a cake instead, I’ll bet it a slice drizzled with just maple syrup and topped with sliced banana would hit the spot too.

Banana-Corn Cupcakes

1 1/4 cups wheat-free, gluten-free baking mix (the mix I used was part garbanzo bean flour, part rice flour, part baking powder, and part xanthan gum)
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 t. Kosher salt
3 egg yolks
2/3 cup vegetable or canola oil
1 3/4 cup brown sugar
3 very ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup rice milk (orange juice would work here too, I think)
2 t. vanilla

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a muffin tin with greased paper or aluminum baking cups.

Mix the baking mix, cornmeal, and salt together in a small bowl. In an electric mixer, beat the egg yolks with the oil and sugar until well-combined. Add the banana until well-incorporated. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the liquid until all is well-distributed. Stir in the vanilla. Divide the batter among the muffins cups (I had enough left to make a cake in a small loaf pan), and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

–Thanks to Karina, the Gluten Free Goddess, for the inspiring recipe and suggestions for modifying it!

Maple-Orange Icing

1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 T. vegetable shortening, or butter
a pinch of salt
1 T. orange juice
1/4 cup maple syrup
On high speed, beat the powdered sugar, shortening, salt, and juice on high. With the mixer running, pour in the maple syrup, until the icing is a spreadable consistency. This icing probably keeps better at room temperature; I refrigerated mine, and it separated. The shortening could have been the culprit there too…

–Adapted from The Joy of Cooking

For the bunnies:

Ice the cupcakes with a thin layer of the maple-orange or other sweet, flavorful icing. You’ll also need a recipe of pink buttercream-like frosting; any thick, pipe-able frosting will do. I put mine in a small zip-top plastic bag, sealed it tightly, and cut a tiny hole in one corner of the bottom of the bag, but if you have the right equipment, you won’t have to improvise. Then, pipe a small swirly circle for the rabbit’s head on each cupcake. For the ears, slice a banana into rounds, and then slice each round into fourths. One fourth makes a good-sized ear. For the eyes, I used dried cranberries cut into tiny specks, grated carrot for the nose, and coconut slivers for the whiskers.

Happy first birthday, Wilhelmina!

This pizza sprung from my current love affair with figs and a hankering for grilled pizza. The restaurant where I worked in college — aptly named the Brick-Oven Cafe — served the most delicious wood-fired pizzas, baked, as you might expect, in a huge brick wood-burning oven. The texture of the crust was nice: a balanced blend of crisp and chewy, but the rich, smoky flavor was of the sort you can only get when flames are involved. Currently without a wood-burning oven of my own, I’d been thinking that grilling a pizza might impart a similar texture and flavor.

The trick, I learned from this experiment, is to roll the dough as thinly as possible. What happens in the cooking process is that the fiery heat licks the bottom of the crust, imparting its smoky flavor within a matter of minutes. But if the dough is too thick, it won’t cook all the way through, leaving you with a gummy texture in the center. We ended up pulling the pizza off of the direct grill, reducing the flame, and cooking it the rest of the way through on a foil-lined cookie sheet. It worked, but I would have liked it more if the crust had been thinner and more evenly crisp.

The toppings, inspired by recent fig pizzas at A Mingling of Tastes and at Milk and Honey, were figs, grilled in a drizzle of basalmic vinegar and cane syrup; grilled pieces of prosciutto; and large dollops of goat cheese, which melted nicely into the figs. David, not as big a fan of figs as I am, was a bit skeptical about this sweet/salty combo, but he admitted after several slices that he was pleasantly suprised. Given my penchant for contrasting flavors, fresh figs, and pizza, it should come as no surprise that I loved every bite.

The labor of this meal is in the prep work; once you get everything ready, it takes almost no time to cook on the grill. The grilling times I’ve included are guesses: my best advice is to stand at the grill the whole time and watch carefully. The amounts are also estimates, as it will depend on how much you want to load down your pizza, how big your crusts are, and how many figs you can get your hands on. As you can tell, this is no exact science.
Grilled Fig Pizza

Half recipe of Basic Focaccia/Pizza Dough or other dough of your choice
Figs (I used about a pint)
Basalmic vinegar
Cane syrup (honey would work too)
Kosher salt
Prosciutto, thinly sliced
Goat cheese (I used about 4 ounces)
Olive oil
Cooking spray

Heat the grill to a medium-high flame (we have charcoal, so I imagine a gas grill would be easier to keep consistently hot).

While the fire is heating up, get everything ready: Slice the figs in half, and spread them in a single layer on a foil-lined baking sheet (preferably with a lip) that will fit on your grill rack. Drizzle with a tiny bit of vinegar and syrup, and sprinkle with salt. Place the prosciutto slices on a doubled piece of foil that’s been sprayed with cooking spray. Divide the the dough into two balls, and roll each one out as thinly as you can manage with a rolling pin and place on wax paper sprayed with cooking spray. Rub a little olive oil onto both sides of each pizza crust.

Take everything outside: prepared figs, prosciutto, dough, and the goat cheese. (If you live in the hottest, stickiest climate you can imagine like I do, spray yourself copiously with bug spray first and be prepared to sweat.) You’ll also need a big metal spatula (or two regular-sized ones) to flip the pizza. Grill the prosciutto first on the foil, just until it crisps up; this won’t take but a minute. Next, place your baking sheet of figs on the grill, and cook until the juices are bubbly and the figs are very soft; maybe 5 minutes? Now you’re ready for the pizza. Place the oiled dough directly on the grill rack, and let it cook (we covered the grill because the wind was fanning the flame too much) until it’s brown and crispy on the bottom; it took ours about 3 minutes. Flip, and immediately cover with figs, prosciutto, and goat cheese, being careful not to let any of the fig juices drip into the fire (like I did). Cook for another few minutes until the bottom is crispy and brown. Remove from the grill and drizzle with olive oil; repeat the process with the next pizza. Eat immediately!

One lone sweet farmer — Buddy Miller — sells figs regularly at my local Saturday market. I see him every Saturday from late July/early August until his trees stop producing (probably any Saturday now) and I buy as many different kinds of figs as he has.

In their book on cooking with aphrodesiacs, here’s what Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge have to say about figs in the chapter on the fruit: “If you’ve never had a fig before, it will not — cannot– taste, smell, look, or feel as you imagined it would — because a ripe fig tastes sweeter than any dried nugget of trail-mix fig, and a plump one smells gentler than any hyper-syruped canned version. . . .When its juice runs over your tongue, you are drinking pure, unadulterated sensuality.”

It was only a few years ago that I first tasted for myself what they’re talking about. My taste buds still have not recovered; they often crave the sublime sweetness of these gorgeous little gems at the most random times. Last summer I tucked a few away in a freezer bag, and come January, when a craving hit, I was oh so glad. My freezer stash this summer has already begun.

A fig is a perfect fruit, in my opinion. The simplest of pleasures, figs win out for their blissful unfussiness. This fruit doesn’t need to be peeled, has no inedible seeds, and contains no pits or other obstructions to fool with. Some varieties are exactly bite-sized; most can be eaten in no more than two delicate bites. A tiny stem makes a good handle with which to hold your fig, and it tastes best eaten ripe and alone, or, on special occasions with the slightest dribble of cream. But it’s versatile also: the fig pairs well with cheese and wine, or cooks up to a mighty fine dessert or dinner.

I mostly eat mine straight from the fridge soon after they’ve been purchased. Occasionally, though, I’ll feel creative and want to dress them up. This appetizer is so simple, but it’s a great little before-dinner treat to serve to guests (especially if they’ve never had fresh figs before). Black Mission figs work really well for this preparation; they’re larger and firmer than some of the smaller, sweeter varieties. The filling tastes even better if you have time to mix it up the night before, but at least allow it to refrigerate for a couple of hours to let the flavors mingle. I like to serve these with a crisp Riesling, and if you’re going heavy on the hors d’oeuvres, shards of prosciutto and blue cheese on crostini.

In fact, these appetizers would make a great contribution to an al fresco dinner party, perhaps the La Festa Fresco that Ivonne and Lis are throwing? Stop in and see what other fresh, local outdoorsy foods other people made on September 5, when the round-up will be posted.

Creamy Stuffed Figs

4 ounces cream cheese, softened
4 strips bacon
1 T. chives, chopped, with a few reserved for garnish,
1/2 cup almonds or pecans
Cracked black pepper and Kosher salt, to taste
8 fresh figs

To prepare the filling, set the cream cheese in a small bowl to soften. Cook the bacon and set aside to cool. Then, toast the nuts (please, please do NOT skip this step — the toasted nuts add a lot of depth to the flavor of the filling) in a dry skillet or in a 350-degree oven for 6-8 minutes. When the bacon and nuts are cool enough to handle, coarsely chop, and add them to the cream cheese. Mix in the chives and seasonings. Refrigerate for at least a few hours.

To prepare the figs, first wash and pat dry. Remove the stems. With a small, sharp knife, carefully cut cross-wise into the top of each fig, as if you were quartering it, but making sure not to cut all the way through. Stuff each fig with about a tablespoon of the cream cheese mixture (or as much as the fig can hold and still stand up straight). You can refrigerate them again until ready to serve if you need to.

–Adapted from Intercourses by Martha Hopkins and Randall Lockridge

I hope that the gracious host of Paper Chef and this month’s illustrious judge will forgive this tardy entry!

I knew I’d be out of town the weekend the ingredients were announced, so I’d resigned myself to sitting out of this month’s competition. But when I checked Tomatilla! this morning just to see what the ingredients were, I knew I had to participate. For one thing, two of the ingredients–cherries and peaches–are among my most beloved fruits. For another, the third ingredient–an herb that you’ve recently discovered–has been sitting outside on my deck, waiting patiently for me to make up my mind about what to do with it: my new lemon verbena plant! And, lastly, I had an immediate idea for a dessert that combined the sweetness of summer fruits, the fresh herbal citrus of the verbena, and the last and final ingredient–something spicy.

So, because I’m hurrying to get this post in in time, I will not delay in presenting my Stone Fruit Tart with Lemon Verbena Cream and Chipotle-Balsamic Glaze. The crust is a buttery shortbread, accented with lemon zest to complement the lemon verbena in the cream layer, which consists of the delicate herb and sweetened mascarpone cheese. I topped the tart with fresh peaches and cherries–at this time of year, it almost breaks my heart to alter their fresh, summery flavor at all, so I wanted to keep them raw–and a spicy reduction of balsamic vinegar and brown sugar, with the added kick of smoky chipotle peppers.

I love the way the glaze plays with the fruit: a spicy hint here, a tangy, vinegary note there, all coated by the ethereal, citrus-tinged mascarpone and crisp, buttery crust. And, all in all, it came together in less than an hour! The only thing I might do differently next time is to increase the amount of lemon verbena. I used all that my new little plant could stand, but I think the tart could benefit from even more of its sweet, clean flavor.

Stone Fruit Tart with Lemon Verbena Cream and Chipotle-Basalmic Glaze

For the crust:
1 1/4 cups flour
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
1/4 t. salt
1 stick cold butter, cubed
1 egg yolk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor, process the flour, sugar, zest, and salt for several seconds. With the motor running, add the butter, a cube at a time, until coarse crumbs form. Add the egg yolk, and process until the dough comes together in a ball. Pat the dough into a prepared tart pan, and bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown. Remove from the oven, and brush with an egg wash (1 egg + a little water) to seal. Return to the oven and bake for another minute. While the crust is baking, prepare the lemon verbena cream and the chipotle basalmic glaze.

For the cream:
8 ounces mascarpone cheese, softened
1/3 cup powdered sugar
2 T. lemon verbena leaves (or more)
Whip the mascarpone and the powdered sugar in an electric mixer or by hand until well combined. Wash the lemon verbena leaves and dry thoroughly. Mince as finely as you can, and stir them into the cream. Set aside.

For the glaze:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup basalmic vinegar
1 t. chipotle and adobo, mashed

In a small saucepan, melt the sugar, vinegar, and pepper paste together over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved, stirring constantly. Set aside to thicken.

To assemble:
2 peaches, peeled and sliced
6-8 cherries, stoned and halved

Spread the crust with the lemon verbena mascarpone. Arrange the fruit on top and drizzle with the glaze. Serve with extra fruit. Yum!

Barbara, over at Tigers and Strawberries, has invited food bloggers to participate in an event centered on the uses of a variety of spices. For the first three rounds, I was a passive onlooker, reading the entries and gleaning inspiration from those who contributed. But when she announced the most recent edition, The Spice Is Right IV: It’s Too Darned Hot!, using chiles in any form, I knew I’d have to get off the sidelines and get in the game. We love spicy food around here, especially in the summer. (Mostly because it gives us the excuse to pair our food with very cold, fun beverages.)

But immediately, I was stumped about what to make. You see, my favorite spicy cuisine is Thai, and my favorite way to use chiles is in my attempts to make Thai food at home. But that seemed a rather silly entry for this event because Barbara knows way, way more about Thai cuisine than I do, and if you really want to learn how to make it properly, you should go dig through her archives.

So then I thought perhaps I’d try to find some sort of exotic and unique chile and concoct a new inventive creation all my own.

But, well, the thing about the heat (and, wow, is it ever hot in south Louisiana) is that it makes me crave simplicity. It’s almost as if my palate is lazy too–my tastebuds don’t want anything that’s going to make them work too hard, much like my body doesn’t want me to cook anything that requires my being in the kitchen too long.

So I return to the most common of chiles, the dark green one that grows abundantly in the garden, the one that appears most frequently in my cooking, the ubiquitous jalapeno.

Some people like their food to be either savory or sweet, but nowhere in between, no blurring of the lines. I, on the other hand, fall in the contrast camp. When I snack, I find that I need two–a sweet and a salty–and I like to alternate them (a handful of popcorn followed by some M&M’s, and so on). Perhaps that makes me odd.

But it also makes me a huge fan of recipes like this one, where the flavor (and texture) is all about the contrasts. Spicy, sweet, sharp, tangy, salty, herby, soft, crunchy–this quesadilla has it all. Pair it with a frozen margarita (rimmed with salt, of course), and a handful of lime-flavored tortillas to serve with the extra salsa, and I am one happy girl. Even in this heat.

And, I haven’t even had to work hard–with minimal effort, all the contrasts I need are packed snugly into one, crispy tortilla. What more could my taste buds ask for?

Blue Cheese and Mango Quesadillas with Mango Salsa
–inspired by a recipe in The Cheese Lover’s Cookbook and Guide by Paula Lambert

2 ripe mangoes, pitted and peeled
2 T. red onion, finely chopped
4 T. bell or banana pepper, finely chopped (I used one purple bell and half of a yellow banana)
1 jalapeno chile, minced (and seeded if you prefer less kick)
2 T. cilantro leaves, chopped plus a few extra leaves
Juice of 1 lime
1/4 t. Kosher salt
1/8 t. cracked black pepper
4 small flour tortillas
4 ounces blue cheese
Olive oil

In a small bowl, toss together the red onion, peppers, chile, cilantro, and lime juice. Dice one of the mangoes and gently mix it in. Finish with salt and pepper and set aside.

Slice the remaining mango into wedges, and have them, the extra cilantro leaves, and the blue cheese handy.

Heat a drizzle of olive oil (just enough to coat the surface) in a heavy skillet over medium heat. When hot, add a tortilla. Cook until the bottom is crisp and brown, and flip it over. Crumble 1/4 of the blue cheese on the surface. Lay 5 slices of mango on top of the blue cheese, and place a cilantro leaf between each of the mango spikes.

Continue to cook until the cheese is melted. Remove to a plate, top with a spoonful of salsa, and repeat the process for the remaining 3 tortillas. To eat, fold the tortillas in half and dig in! Oh, and don’t forget the margaritas. Serves 2 as a light meal.

Notes: You may have to add oil between quesadillas; a dry skillet will burn your tortillas in a hurry. And, you can, of course, go ahead and fold the quesadillas over while they’re in the skillet as you normally would. But, I think they look so pretty served open faced, and if you add the salsa before you fold them, then you don’t have to worry about making sure you get everything on your fork before you take a bite. Less work even in the eating!

Last year was insanely busy for my family. In order, from youngest to oldest, the four children in our clan graduated from high school and started college, graduated from college and started law school, got married, and finished one graduate program and entered another. All of us except one moved. My parents, after trotting swiftly from one major life event to another, suddenly found themselves with an empty nest.

Needless to say, it has been a year of adjustment for all of us. The hardest thing for David and me is to know how to negotiate holidays, how to see everyone we need to see without completely wearing ourselves out, and how to mesh quality time with people who matter a great deal to us with our new lives in a new, not-so-near place.

So, when my entire family loaded up to come down for a visit for my birthday in June, I was ecstatic. It was the first time all of us (except my sister-in-law who was badly missed!) had gathered in the same place without a million other people to see, places to go, and things to do. It was just us, and I loved it.

I floated the idea of building a deck in our backyard over Christmas holidays, and my sweet father (who is a builder) immediately offered for him and my brothers to come help. One hot, sticky, 14-hour day later, a perfect structure jutted out from my back door, exactly as I had envisioned it.

To celebrate and to say thank you, I spent the day with my mom and sister preparing food. During the day, we made BLTs for lunch with fresh summer tomatoes, salsa to snack on, and supplied plenty of water, Gatorade, and, as the afternoon wore on, beer for the crew. For dinner, we boiled shrimp, roasted potatoes with rosemary, and tossed together a big salad with crusty bread.

My favorite part of the meal, besides the fact that the people I love were sitting at the table with me eating it, was dessert. For as long as I can remember, my mom has made this peach dessert for my birthday. It’s funny now–Cool Whip, Jello, and cream cheese are not ingredients that regularly find their way into my kitchen, but this dessert screams summer to me, and it’s one of my favorite ways to enjoy fresh peaches.

It’s a quintessential southern layer dessert in many ways–buttery crust, creamy sweet middle, and jello and fruit top, but it’s the combination that makes it so divine. The buttery crust crunches with chopped pecans and provides the perfect salty canvas for the sweet peaches and tangy cream cheese.

We ate about half of the 9×12 pyrex dish the night after the deck-building. Over the course of the next week or so, I proceeded to eat the rest of it nearly by myself, for breakfast, mid-morning snack, just like I did when I was a teenager still living in my parents’ house.

Some things I guess we never grow out of. Favorite desserts and the love of family are two that come to mind every time I step outside my back door.
Mom’s Peach Dessert

1 cup flour
1 stick butter, diced
1/2 cup pecans, chopped finely, plus extra for serving
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese, softened
1 cup Cool Whip plus extra for serving
1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup peach flavored Jell-O
2 T. corn starch
1 cup sugar
2 cups water
4 cups peeled, sliced peaches (about 10-12 whole peaches)

For the crust: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pulse the flour, butter, and pecans together in a food processor until crumbly. Press the mixture into the bottom of a 9×13 casserole. Bake for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool completely.

For the top: Stir together the Jell-O and corn starch. Bring the water to a boil, and add the Jell-O mixture. Stir until dissolved; add the sugar and continue to cook and stir until the mixture is completely clear. Turn off the heat and set aside.

For the cream cheese layer: Whip the cream cheese, Cool Whip, and powdered sugar until thick and creamy.

To assemble: Once the crust is cool, spread the cream cheese layer evenly on top. Arrange the peach slices in a single layer on top of the cream cheese, and pour the Jell-O mixture over. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours, preferably overnight. If you need it to set up in a hurry, the freezer will do it in about 2 hours, sometimes less. To serve, cut into squares and top with a dollop of Cool Whip and a sprinkle of chopped pecans.
If you’re looking for a last-minute Fourth dessert, this one feeds a lot of people. Happy Independence Day, everyone!
If you happen to be looking for me, I’m likely to be in the hammock or the swing pictured below. Dad, Jason, and David, you are my heroes!

What to do when torn between two fruits, ripe and ready for the picking the very same Saturday? Have them both, of course! Throw them together with long, tangy strips of citrus zest, a faint sprinkle of fresh nutmeg, and a bit of brown sugar. Bury them beneath a cloud of butter, oats, and sugar, and bake until the aroma of summer seeps into the sunny corners of your kitchen. Serve warm with coffee, and, if you need a spot of cool, a dollop of vanilla ice cream. I’ll take mine straight, thank you–straight from the bush/tree to my oven and then my mouth, adorned only with fresh slices of peach and a couple of raw berries.

Peaches and blueberries: simultaneously ripe for a reason.

Peach Berry Crisp

About 10 ripe peaches, pitted, peeled, and sliced
Zest of 1 orange
Zest of 1 lemon
1 pint fresh blueberries
1/8 t. grated fresh nutmeg (optional)
3/4 cup brown sugar, divided
1 1/2 cups + 2 T. flour
1/4 t. salt
1 cup sugar
1 cup quick-cooking oats
2 sticks butter, cut into small cubes

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cover completely the bottom of a 9×12 pyrex dish with peach slices (10 medium- to small-sized peaches were enough for me). Sprinkle with the citrus zest (I like it in long strips for this dish, but grated works too), 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 T. of flour, and the grated nutmeg. Add the berries and mix gently together until well-combined (I use my hands.) Make sure that the fruit mixure is in an even layer.

For the topping, you can use a food processor or a stand mixer with a paddle attachment. Stir together 1 1/2 cups flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1 cup white sugar, salt, and oats. With the mixer (or processor) running, add the cubes of butter until small, coarse crumbles form. Spread this mixture evenly over the top of the fruit. Bake for about an hour; the filling will bubble at the edges, and the top should be light brown and crisp (thus, the name!).

Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa’s Peach and Raspberry Crisp.

This dessert is my contribution to Sweetnicks‘ ARF/5-a-day Tuesdays: blueberries are packed with anti-oxidants, among other fantastic health benefits (which somehow diminishes the amount of butter in this crisp in my mind…)

My parents might say that I cook this way because I’ve always been one who delights in not following the rules. I attribute it to my adventurous and imaginative spirit (which they would probably say is a nice way of saying I am a non-conformist, a bad word here in the South). Of course, now I’m a grown-up who gets to say, “Rules? What rules?” At least in my kitchen, anyway.

One of the things I love most about experimental cooking is to take flavors and preparation methods from different regions. Quesadillas are a perfect format for experimenting; they are so quick to make, and the crispy tortilla shell can hold just about anything well. For this variety, I chose the classic French flavor combination, pears and blue cheese, and served it with a tangy mango salsa (which didn’t quite make it into the picture).

Before I give you the recipe though, I have to announce the birth of Ren William Partridge, son of Jessie and Jerrod, our good friends from Jackson (Jessie is the one who inspired the idea for this site). Ren was born yesterday around 1:15 (I think that time is close), and he weighed 9 pounds, 12 ounces (!!). Jessie and baby are doing well; I hope to have pictures to post soon.

Here’s how to make the quesadillas (blue for boy!):

Blue Cheese-Pear Quesadillas

2 T. butter

3-4 cloves garlic

1/2 cup green onions, sliced

3 ripe pears (I used Asian ones), sliced thinly

1 T. red wine vinegar

1/4 t. cayenne pepper

1 T. brown sugar

4 large tortillas

8 ounces crumbled blue cheese

2 T. butter

In a large skillet, heat the butter over medium heat. Add the garlic, and sauté until softened. Add the green onions and pears, and cook for about 10 minutes, until the pears are very soft. Add the vinegar, cayenne, and brown sugar, and cook while stirring for another 3-4 minutes. Remove the filling from the skillet, and heat another 2 T. butter over medium-high heat. Arrange one-fourth of the filling and cheese in half of each tortilla, and fold over. Cook until brown and bubbly, about 5-7 minutes per side. Serve with mango salsa.

Mango Salsa

1 ripe mango

1/2 red onion, chopped very finely

1 cup cilantro leaves, chopped

1 jalapeno pepper, chopped

Juice of 1 lime

1 t. Kosher salt

Mix all in a bowl. Can be made ahead and refrigerated. If you have any leftover, it is delicious with lime-flavored tortilla chips.

Tuesdays are my busiest nights. I have class all day, until 7:30, and when I get home, I’m both exhausted and starving. Tossing ingredients onto a plate is a great way for me to fix the hunger part without adding to the exhaustion. With grilled chicken from the night before, some strawberries, goat cheese, red and green onion, bacon, and a simple dressing, this salad comes together in no time flat. AND, it tastes good. (Which when I’m really, really tired is sometimes beside the point. But not often). Here’s how this one comes together, for 2 servings:

Cook 6 slices bacon in the microwave. While the bacon’s cooking, slice about 8 strawberries, small-dice about a quarter of a red onion, slice 2 or 3 green onions, chop the leftover chicken, and chop some nuts (I used walnuts; pecans would have been better.) Lay out some greens on 2 plates, top with your prepared ingredients, sprinkle with a good handful of goat cheese, and top with the cooked bacon, crumbled. Drizzle each salad with about 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar, 2 tablespoons olive oil, and 1 teaspoon honey. Sprinkle with Kosher salt and cracked pepper. If you have some crusty French bread (as you can see I did not), it would be a great accompaniment. The key to the dressing is to make sure you toss the salad together on your plate really well before you eat it, mixing it so that all the salad ingredients are coated with some of each component of the dressing.