Making Summer Last: Panzanella

Today is officially my last day of summer vacation.  School starts for most kids next week, so for us teachers, the mad rush to the first day of school begins this week.  While I love teaching, the transition each year is a tough one.  To go from the long, relaxing summer days where the biggest decision is what to have for dinner, to getting up at 5:15 AM and hitting the ground running is a tough one.  Teachers look forward to summer each year, not necessarily for the reasons you would think.  While we love the free time, what we really need is the long strand days where we do not have to plan what we are doing the next day or the next class. For ten months each year, the first thought I have when I wake up is "what am I doing in the classroom today?"  The summer provides the break from that.

Don't get me wrong.  By the end of the summer, I am ready to go back.  It is time to use my brain again, and of course, time to earn a paycheck again!  But I still feel that sadness at the end of each summer.  Time is passing too quickly, the kids are growing up much too rapidly.  As the saying goes, 'the days are long, but the years are short.'  So I do what I can to extend that summer feeling.  In addition to making a point of getting outside to enjoy the beautiful weather that September brings to Connecticut, I also continue to cook like it is summer. 

The vegetables in the garden and at the farmer's markets are hitting their peak right now, and nothing is more delicious than late summer tomatoes. We have been working toward real panzanella all summer, and waiting for the garden to yeild those sweet, juicy, red tomatoes.  They are here in spades, almost too many to eat.  Almost.

Summer Panzanella:

4-5 excellent summer tomatoes

1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and sliced

1/2 medium red onion

2 tbsp. capers (optional

big bunch basil

salt and pepper to taste

1 small loaf Italian bread (I used a small ciabatta loaf), cubed

Extra Virgin olive oil

3 tbsp. balsamic vinegar

Toast the bread cubes by drizzling with 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil, a sprinkling of salt, and placing in a 300 degree oven for about 20 minutes, or until crunchy.  Cut up the tomatoes into bite sized chunks, and place in a large bowl.  Add cucumbers, onions, capers, if using, and basil.  Once the bread is toasted and cooled, add to the tomato mixture.

Mix 4 tablespoons of olive oil with 3 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar, and whisk together.  Drizzle over the bread and tomato mixture, tossing to coat.  Add salt and pepper to taste, and mix again.  Add more dressing if necessary.  Serve immediately, and savor the taste of summer.

A Salad Nana Would Love: Wedge Salad with Homemade Blue Cheese Dressing

As I was growing up, it seemed that all around me were wonderful examples of smart and strong women.  In addition to my mother and maternal grandmother, there were many dear friends of my mother who were raising children, taking care of a household, and still forging careers and contributing to the world around them.  My mother's dear friend Dolly raised five children as a single mother, created a career for herself by identifying a need in our community and filling it, and still managed to be the life of the party and a riot to be around.  My mother's friend Ellen was so interested in the world it was contagious, and my Aunt Kathy often reinvented her professional self while always remaining true to who she was. 

My father's mother, my Nana, was an example of a strong woman who was in many ways ahead of her time. She had a good career working for the telephone company at a time when many women did not work outside the home.  She spoke of those days so proudly, and it was clear that although she needed to work financially, she enjoyed what she did and the people she met and with whom she became lifelong friends.    She was a character and a great lady, my Nana.  She smoked her Pall Malls until the day she died, which was well into her 80s, she salted her beer, and she pronounced potatoes "pa-DAY-das."  One of the things I always appreciated was the fact that while we were in college, my Nana would take my sister and me out for dinner whenever we were home from school on break. I think it was her way of getting to know us as adults, having a little quality time with us, and catching up with us.  Usually we would go to a place called The Seafarer, a seafood restaurant, where, ironically, we would all order the stuffed chicken breast.  But before the entree, we always got a salad, and Nana introduced us to Blue Cheese dressing, which we loved.  Nowadays, it seems that the "Wedge Salad,' with its signature blue cheese dressing  is on just about every restaurant menu, and I love it.  The crisp iceberg lettuce seems so retro, but in the best way.  If tomatoes are in season, and the bacon is crispy, it is a beautiful thing. What is old is new again. Even in this, Nana was ahead of her time.

Wedge Salad  (Serves 4)
1 head iceberg lettuce, cored, trimmed and washed
8 strip thick cut bacon, cooked until crisp
2 really good tomatoes (I used heirloom from my garden), cut into small chunks
2/3 cup light cream or half and half
6 ounces Gorgonzola or bleu cheese crumbled and divided
1/2 clove garlic, minced fine
1/2 tsp. black pepper

To make dressing:  Put cream or half and half in a microwaveable bowl, add garlic and pepper.  Microwave on medium heat until very warm.  Crumble 5 ounces Gorgonzola (eyeball it) into the warm cream and stir until it is mostly melted into the cream.  Put it back into the microwave if necessary.  Place the dressing in the fridge until very cold.  Right before serving, add the remainder of the cheese to make it chunky.

Cut the lettuce in half, then in half again, keeping it in the wedges.  Place the wedges onto either 4 plates, or line them up in a platter.   Place tomatoes on top of lettuce wedges.  Crumble bacon and scatter over lettuce and tomatoes.  Drizzle dressing over the whole salad.  Enjoy!  Delicious with a salted beer (just like Nana liked it).

Hot Soup in August: Tortilla Soup

Mid-August is hardly the time most people think about making a hot soup.  The weather is already hot and soupy here in the Northeast.  More typical fare would be salads, cold soups, or even something on the grill.  I keep running across recipes for tortilla soup, which is probably because I am several months behind in some of the food magazines I read. As I looked at the pictures, I saw corn, avocado and tomatoes.  Something said summer to me, so I decided to make tortilla soup for dinner.  It turned out to be a "Top Five"  dinner, according to my daughter Emily. Along with the corn, avocado, and tomato, the cilantro and lime give it a little bit of that summer feeling, although this soup will certainly become a regular in my house year round.

Tortilla Soup:

2 small boneless chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I poached them in some water with a bay leaf and some spices, but grilled will do, or some shredded rotisserie chicken)

2 tbsp. olive oil

1/2 medium onion, finely chopped

1/2 cup chopped celery

1/2 cup chopped carrot

2 tbsp. flour

3 large garlic cloves, peeled and crushed

1/2 tsp cumin

3/4 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp black pepper

64 ounces low sodium chicken stock

3 tomatoes, chopped, or 1 can of diced tomatoes

1-2 cups of water

juice of 1 lime

zest of half a lime

1 can small white beans, drained and rinsed

2 ears corn removed from the cob (frozen corn can be used when it is not corn season)

1/4 cup of cilantro, chopped, plus more for garnish

1 avocado, cubed

1/3 cup green onion, for garnish

8 corn tortillas, cut into 1/2 inch strips

In the bottom of a soup pot, saute the onion, carrots, garlic, and celery in the olive oil for about 4-6 minutes.  Add the flour, and whisk until the flour is cooked and golden brown, creating a roux.  Add cumin, paprika and black pepper, and whisk through.  Add the chicken stock, bring to medium heat, then add tomatoes, beans, lime zest and juice, and cilantro, and lower heat to simmer. Add cooked chicken.  I added the corn about 5 minutes before serving, and I really liked the 'al dente' quality.  Taste the soup, and add water if needed.

About 15 minutes before serving, take the tortilla strips, place them on a wire rack set on a cookie sheet, and spray with cooking spray.  Sprinkle a little salt and paprika on the strips, and place in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, or until crispy and golden.

Serve soup in a large bowl, garnished with cilantro, green onion, avocado, and several tortilla strips.

A Tribute to my Grandparents: Roasted Summer Tomatoes

I cannot think of, eat, or even smell tomatoes without thinking of my beloved Grandma and Grandpa.  As I have mentioned before, I was fortunate enough to grow up in the same house as my maternal grandparents.  They were both originally from Italy, emigrating to this country around the time they were married in the early 1930s.  They settled, had four children, raised their family, made friends, were good neighbors, and contributed to their community.  They lived the American Dream at a time when the American Dream did not mean chasing after wealth.  My grandparents, Vincenzo and Vincenzella, wanted only a good life.  They wanted a home of their own, they wanted to watch their family grow; they wanted the riches of a simple life.  My Grandpa and Grandma carried their heritage with them when they came here.  They told many stories of their childhood in the small village in Southern Italy, they cooked the food they grew up with and welcomed many to their home and their table with graciousness and generosity. 

My grandfather had a large garden in our backyard every summer.  He grew squash, eggplant, peppers, string beans, herbs, and plenty of tomatoes.  They were really the main focus of his gardening.  Grandpa would sit out at the garden for hours each day, getting up from time to time to tie a plant to its pole, or pick a tomato that was ripened.  He kept a mason jar with a little water in it out at the picnic table and would circulate through the garden now and then, using the jar to capture beetles that dared to try to munch on his baby tomato plants.  He was protective of these prized goodies.  My sister Betsy  found that out many times, as she would try to sneak into the garden while our grandfather was not looking.  She would always bring the salt shaker with her, so that she could pick, salt, and eat her fill of tomatoes right there, among the tall plants.  There is something about a tomato that is still warm from the sun that is irresistible.  Grandpa would shoo her out of the garden, both of them laughing a little.  But I always wondered why my grandfather would just sit there, watching, looking, contemplating. To me, it looked boring.

 This year, as my garden is growing and maturing, I understand it for the first time. It is a beautiful thing to watch what you have planted grow and bear fruit.  It is slow gratification, but gratifying nonetheless.  

Once the tomatoes were ripe, it was my grandmother's turn.  She canned tomatoes for days on end, through the heat of those late summer days, putting up enough to get the entire extended family through the winter.  She would then make sauce, soups, and countless other delicious things to feed their family.

I think this effort was really symbolic of how my grandparents lived their lives.  Though their marriage was arranged, they built a beautiful life together.  They loved each other in the deepest sense.  They tried to nurture and protect those they loved and do the best they could for their children and grandchildren.  They worked together, not always harmoniously, but in the end, the fruits of their combined labor were even more gratifying to them than those tomatoes were. 

As I do not have the patience or fortitude of my sweet Gram, I take the easy way out when it comes to preserving my tomatoes for the winter.  As I harvest them, I cut a batch of them up into chunks, and stew them with some garlic, olive oil, and of course, basil.  I use 2 large cast iron skillets, and roast them outside on my gas grill, so as not to heat up my house on these hot days. I freeze these stewed tomatoes in plastic freezer bags or containers, and take them out throughout the year to use in making sauces, soups, or anything else that calls for tomatoes.  And with every sweet, soupy bite of those tomatoes, I am reminded of the comfort and love that was always given so readily by my dear grandparents.

Stewed Tomatoes:

As many fresh, ripe, native tomatoes as you can get your hands on (supermarket tomatoes don't count!)

a bunch of fresh basil for every 3 pounds of tomatoes
3-5 cloves of garlic (peeled, no need to chop) per batch
3 tablespoons of good quality olive oil per batch
A pinch or two of salt

Cut the tomatoes up into 1 inch chunks, and add remaining ingredients to the skillet.  Cook either in the oven at 300 degrees, or on the gas grill (with the cover down)  on medium low heat, until the tomatoes have been cooked down and the juices have reduced by about a third.  If the tomatoes are not very juicy, you can add a little low sodium chicken stock, but it is usually not necessary.  Use the tomatoes right away as a sauce (a little fresh mozzarella and Pecorino Romano makes it perfect), or save to use in a tomato sauce or a soup.  Will last in the freezer for several months.  Yum!

Eating Flowers with Cookie

One of my favorite hobbies is dining at a wonderful restaurant and then trying to recreate a special dish at home.  One of the people with whom I love to dine is my dear friend, Courtney.  Courtney and I go way back.  We were randomly assigned as roommates our freshman year of college, and our friendship has spanned many of the most important events of our lives.  We have talked each other through breakups, deaths in our families, new jobs, and of course, changing hairstyles.  I think only our mothers were happier than we on the day we moved into our dorm room.  Somehow with that motherly instinct, they sniffed each other out, and knew we were a match.  Each returned to her home confident that her daughter had found someone with a similar background, interests, and values.  We both grew up in homes where we interacted with our grandparents on a daily basis (mine lived upstairs, hers, right next door, we are both half Irish and half Italian, and we both had large, close extended families.  We were 'simpatico' from day one. In addition to living together that first year, we also studied abroad together during our junior year.  Courtney's name was a difficult one to pronounce for many of the students at the Swiss college we attended, so her nickname that year became "Cookie."  It stuck, and I and many of her other friends still use it.

Twenty five years later, we get together at least once a year, as Courtney lives in the Midwest, and I live on the East coast, to reconnect.  We talk about our families, careers, travels and books we have read, and pretty much anything else that comes up.  Given our Italian background, our tradition in to have a great Italian dinner together.  Last week, I spent three days in New York City with Cookie, and we had several wonderful meals.  One of these meals was most memorable.  I don't know if it was the atmosphere, or the bottle of Proseco with which we started the meal, but I think this was our best Italian meal yet. 

One of the appetizers we had was zucchini blossoms stuffed with fresh ricotta cheese, and then fried, and they were amazing.  As I am a bit overwhelmed with zucchini right now, I decided to try to recreate the dish at home.  It served both as an excellent way to begin our meal the other night, but it also accomplished the secondary goal of cutting down the number of zucchini produced by the plants.  Brilliant!

For the stuffing:

1/3 cup of chevre goat cheese

1/3 cup of good quality ricotta

1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
5 or 6 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1 garlic clove, minced almost to a paste
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Mix all ingredients well in a bowl.

6-8 zucchini blossoms, trimmed and washed
1 egg, well beaten and placed in a shallow bowl
1 cup vegetable oil, for frying

3/4 cup of plain breadcrumbs
2 tbsp. grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. chopped parsley

Mix last 4 ingredients together in a shallow bowl

To assemble:

Gently open the zucchini flowers, one at a time, by pulling open one of the petals.  Take about 1 1/2-2 tablespoons of the cheese and place inside the blossom, folding the blossom closed.  Once all the blossoms are stuffed, dredge each blossom in the egg, then in the breadcrumb mixture.  Heat the oil in a small frying pan until very hot, and place 2-3 blossoms at a time in the oil, turning once when they are golden brown.  This should only take 45 - 60 seconds per side, so the whole blossom will be done in less than 2 minutes.  Drain on a plate lined with 2 layers of paper towels, and let cool for a few minutes.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention: Blueberry Lemon Galette

Last week, I was fortunate enough to have an opportunity to spend three days in New York City with my dear friend Courtney.  That visit deserves and will get its very own post, as Courtney and I have wonderful food traditions of our own, and had some amazing meals on this particular visit.  While I was gone, my husband did an admirable job of not only feeding, clothing and entertaining our daughters, but he also managed to instill in them the desire to tidy up the house, which is no small feat for him, as he has no such inclination of his own.  I am so fortunate to have a husband who not only understands but encourages me to go off to visit a friend a few days out of every year.  I think in these times, when women are so busy taking care of their families and working hard at their careers, it is important to take time just for yourself.  It is not selfish, it is necessary in order to carry out all our responsibilities well. It is wonderful to have the chance to sleep, relax, visit, explore, all on your own, and I always go back to my family with a renewed energy, appreciation and feeling more myself. Michael had a little help from my mom, who hung out with the kids for a few hours each day while he was at work.  In addition to the vast amount of shopping the girls and Grammie accomplished, they also went blueberry picking.  I came home to a beautiful mountain of blueberries, and as hard as we tried, we couldn't put a dent in them.  I knew I would have to do some baking.

When I posted last, I suggested making extra galette dough in order to make two galettes.  I took my own advice, but rather than making two savory galettes, I made one zucchini and goat cheese, and one with the blueberries.  I happened to have a jar of lemon curd in my pantry, so I rolled out the dough, spread a thin layer of lemon curd, and added the blueberries in a single layer to avoid the crust getting soggy with the juice of the blueberries.  I tossed the blueberries with a little instant tapioca, confectioner's sugar, and some lemon juice.  It was delicious, soft, creamy and tart, and the perfect way to thank my husband, my girls and my mom for all they do for me.  

For the filling:

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 tbsp. instant tapioca

1 tbsp. confectioner's sugar

1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup lemon curd

Toss the first four ingredients together.

For the pastry: (Adapted from Smitten Kitchen)

1 ¼ all purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes

¼ tsp. salt

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled again

¼ cup sour cream

2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

Zest of ½ lemon

¼ cup ice water

Put flour and salt in a large bowl. Put pieces of butter in the flour mixture, and using a pastry cutter, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. In a small bowl, mix together sour cream, lemon juice and water, and add to the butter flour mixture, mixing just until barely incorporated. Do not over mix dough. Pat the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.

To assemble:

Roll dough out on a floured surface until it is about twelve inches in diameter.  Transfer to a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone baking sheet.  Spread lemon curd in a thin layer over crust, leaving a 1 1/2 inch border all around.  Spread blueberry mixture evenly on top of lemon curd, and fold the border of remaining pastry dough over, pleating to make it fit.  Bake at 400 degrees for about 30 to 40 minutes, or until dough is golden.  Remove, let cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes, slice and serve.  The galette can be served warm or at room temperature.

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Galette

It has been an eventful few weeks around here, and although I have not blogged too much, I have been very busy in the kitchen. My sister and her children have been visiting for the past three weeks from Nome, Alaska, so there have been a lot of mouths to feed. Betsy is a great cook herself, so it was fun to work in the kitchen together a bit as well. One thing I made in particular while she was visiting, I declared to be the best thing I ever cooked. The recipe looked so good, that I was even willing to turn the oven on in the oppressive heat we have been having in the Northeast. It seems like whenever Betsy, John, and Sarah are visiting, there is a massive heat wave. Just our little way of reminding Betsy of what summers are like here in the lower 48! My sister and the kids left on Wednesday, and she is anxious to have this recipe. I am anxious to make it again, especially since I still have a whole lot of zucchini and summer squash from the garden, and need to use them up. I adapted this recipe from a recent post of one of my favorite blogs, Smitten Kitchen. I added some lemon, and used goat cheese instead of ricotta, and it truly was one of the most delicious things ever. You can serve it warm or room temperature, and you might want to make a few, if you are turning on the oven anyway, because the one I made went fast!

Zucchini and Goat Cheese Galette: (adapted from Smitten Kitchen)
For the crust:
1 ¼ all purpose flour, chilled in the freezer for 30 minutes
¼ tsp. salt
1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces and chilled again
¼ cup sour cream
2 tsp. fresh lemon juice
Zest of ½ lemon
¼ cup ice water

Put flour and salt in a large bowl. Pit pieces of butter in the flour mixture, and using a pastry cutter, cut it in until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. In a small bowl, mix together sour cream, lemon juice and water, and add to the butter flour mixture, mixing just until barely incorporated. Do not over mix dough. Pat the dough into a ball, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
For the filling:
1 large or 2 small zucchini or summer squash (or both!), sliced into ¼ inch thick rounds
2 tsp. olive oil
1 large garlic clove, smashed and minced
½ cup goat cheese
½ cup low fat cream cheese
¼ cup shredded mozzarella (I used fresh mozzarella)
Big bunch of basil leaves, julienned
1 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
Zest of ½ lemon

Spread the zucchini slices over a few layers of paper towels, salt the side facing up, turn over and salt the other side. Let sit for about 20-30 minutes to allow some of the water to seep out. In a bowl, mix the three cheeses, garlic, basil and 1 tsp. olive oil.

Roll the galette dough out onto a floured work surface until it is about 12 inches around. Line a baking sheet with either parchment paper or a silicon baking mat, and transfer the crust to the sheet. Spread the cheese mixture on the crust, leaving about a two inch border on all sides. Arrange the zucchini slices beautifully around the crust, and then fold the edges of the crust over slightly, pleating as you go. Drizzle the zucchini with the remaining teaspoon of olive oil.  You can brush the edges of the crust with an egg wash if you would like, though I forgot to do so.
Bake at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, until the crust is golden brown. Cool on a wire cooling rack for several minutes, slice and enjoy.