Musical pairing – You’ve Got a Friend by Carole King

Normally my 52 Sundays posts are photos of something that caught my eye during the week or in our travels; but today’s 52 Sundays post is dedicated to my friend Erika of Ivory Hut. Some of you who come here to Smith Bites are fellow bloggers and some of you are friends on my Facebook page, so you might already know that Erika’s home burned to the ground this past week – they barely made it out alive but thankfully all family members are safe. However, they have lost absolutely everything; and while they do have insurance that will replace their home eventually, insurance does not cover the loss of income nor does it cover everyday needs today, tomorrow, next week – the only person who got out of the house with a pair of shoes on, was Erika.  And she makes her living as a freelance writer and photographer – camera equipment, computers, everything – gone.

Two friends of Erika’s closest friends have set up the website, ‘Friends of Ivory Hut’ which gives updates on Erika’s status, you can read about the fire and the site also has a PayPal button for those who would like to make a donation to help.  The goal is to reach $10,000 by this coming Wednesday – as of Friday, they had collected $5600.  It doesn’t matter the dollar amount you can contribute – every single donation is appreciated and will help.  And if you can’t make a contribution that is absolutely fine and please understand that there is no pressure to do so.

I know Erika appreciates and covets your prayers – you can head over to her site, Ivory Hut, and just leave her a word of encouragement.

I’m going to leave this post up until Wednesday when the ‘Friends’ site moves forward with another fundraiser – I would appreciate you passing this post along to anyone who might be interested.  And then on Thursday, I’ll be back with another recipe for you to try!

Thank you so much for coming to this blog, you guys are the best!

Here’s my confession . . . I am not a baker.  I do not have the patience to mess with all those fancy little embellishments on itty-bitty cookies, cupcakes or the like.  Nor am I ever inclined to perfect my macaron (in fact, I’ve never even attempted to make one, let alone perfect my skill);  I leave that to the many talented professionals – and there are so many out there – check here, here and here for starters.  These folks eat, sleep and live for that kind of detail work.  Me?  Give me heft.  Give me something I can scoop, roll, slice or plop.  Set it and forget it.  That I can do.

I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve tried to make any type of scone – oh yes, they masqueraded as a scones, but then something along the lines of a dry, hard hockey puck showed up.  Honestly, I couldn’t understand why everyone was so gaga over scones; I mean really, pass me the jam so I can get these suckers down . . . oh, and make sure that you have a third party who knows the Heimlich maneuver standing by . . . ‘cuz you just never know . . .

So yes,  I was a bit skeptical when I came across this recipe; at first glance I didn’t get too excited because I found all the usual cast of characters (ingredients): flour, sugar, butter, salt, baking power, baking soda, etc.  And I will admit to being more than a bit annoyed with the extra steps to ensure all components were ice cold or frozen.  But that last sentence?  Go back and re-read that last sentence because, that is your golden key to the scone kingdom – yes, my awesome friends, scones are all about the method!  Master the method and you’ve mastered the scone!  In fact, I have been so successful in my scone-making abilities these days, I decided to teach my friend Audrey, who is a brand new cook, the art of scone making.  And you know what?  She was successful too – and she’d never made a scone in her life!!  How cool is that?  By the way, Audrey is a very talented writer who loves movies and has a blog called, Born for Geekdom – head over there and take a peek!

I say – scones for everyone!

SMITH BITES NOTES: I keep a tub of flour and a pound of butter in my freezer specifically for making scones so when the mood strikes (which is often), I’m ready!  I’ve also used both fresh and frozen fruit and I prefer frozen – again keeping the ingredients as cold as possible will produce the best product.  If you’re an experienced baker and have a food processor, by all means use it to grate your butter instead of the box grater – grating the butter was my key to making light, fluffy, moist scones so don’t skip this step!!  In my opinion, you can cut more than 8 scones from this recipe – 8 pieces end up being a tad big for me as I usually have some sort of egg dish too – but feel free to make them as large or small as you’d like.  I also use raw sugar (turbinado) to sprinkle on top – I love the added texture it gives the scones.  And finally, I make a batch, cut my triangles, bake 2 scones for us to enjoy immediately, but put the rest of the uncooked triangles on a cookie sheet and freeze; once completely frozen, I place them in a container and store in the freezer for future bakings.  This allows me to always have scones on hand to bake off either on a weekend or even during the weekdays if I want a treat.  Starting with a frozen scone increases your baking time by about 10-15 minutes or so depending on the size of your scones and your oven; start checking at the additional 10 minute mark and go from there.  If the scones start to darken before they’re finished baking, simply lay a piece of foil loosely over the tops until your scone is baked through.

The statue is Hoagy Charmichael, born in Bloomington and attended Indiana University which is where this life-size bronze statue resides.

Wikipedia notes: ‘Hoagland Howard “Hoagy” Carmichael (November 22, 1899 – December 27, 1981) was an American composer, pianist, singer, actor, and bandleader. He is best known for writing “Stardust”, “Georgia On My Mind”, “The Nearness of You”, and “Heart and Soul”, four of the most-recorded American songs of all time.

Alec Wilder, in his study of the American popular song, concluded that Hoagy Carmichael was the “most talented, inventive, sophisticated and jazz-oriented” of the hundreds of writers composing pop songs in the first half of the 20th century.

The Hoagy Carmichael Landmark Sculpture by artist Michael McAuley was dedicated at Indiana University on Sept. 18, 2008. The photo blog Hoagyland! captures the small, daily tributes left by fans at the statue.’

Musical pairing – The Beat Goes On by Sonny & Cher

Our garden is beginning to wind down but we’re planning to try some cool weather plantings which we’ve never done before so that will be an interesting experiment.  Niece Avery has been dropped off for her first year at Indiana University in Bloomington; The Professor is back on campus for another year, the sun has changed positions, our days are shorter, nights longer and I hear the distinct sound of the crickets.

And if you’re lucky enough to still have beets in your garden, you can make this terrific salad from the August issue of Martha Stewart Living – aren’t the colors just glorious?!  I love the mix of golden and red beets but then to add fresh corn with little snips of basil, even better!  You truly do not need anything else other than to drizzle all of that late summer goodness with extra virgin olive oil, salt, pepper – eat!  Oh and be sure to have a chunk of bread standing by as you’ll want to sop up the juices at the bottom of the bowl!  Simple, fresh and delicious!

SMITH BITES NOTES: My beets were a bit bigger so they took about 10 minutes longer to cook; to peel, I let the beets cool about 10-15 minutes, then using paper towels, wipe away the outer layer of skin.  Cutting the top off and snipping the bottom makes this process much quicker and easier.  If you don’t use paper towels, be sure to wear gloves – beets stain!

Martha has suggested serving this as a side, which is absolutely fine – but we love beets and corn so much, we made the recipe and served as a main course salad with a nice chunk of fresh bread!

Musical pairing – Missed Opportunity by Hall & Oates

Last March, The Professor and I took our first trip to Charleston, SC and absolutely fell head-over-heels in love!  Instead of staying in a hotel, we rented a house about one block from one of the prettiest beaches I’ve ever seen and spent the entire week riding bicycles, combing the beach for shells and discovering all that Charleston and it’s rich history has to offer – including the food . . . oh my stars-and-garters, the food.

We dined at 17 North Roadside Kitchen, Closed for Business, Monza Pizza and 82 Queen; we ate gelato from Paolo’s, upscale deli fixings from Caviar & Bananas and pastries from Baked.  We toured the Middleton Place Plantation and took a cooking class at Maverick’s Charleston Cooks.  We even managed to score coveted tickets for Charleston’s ‘Lowcountry Gospel Brunch.’ But the highlight of our trip happened in Blue Bicycle Books . . . only I didn’t know it was the highlight of our trip until after I had returned home.  Because I met Ted Lee of the Lee Bros and didn’t know it or rather, had no idea who the Lee Bros were . . . and I’m a food blogger . . .

We walked into Blue Bicycle Books on a Sunday afternoon and noticed a display of boiled peanuts and two very large stacks of cookbooks; and cookbooks are my weakness.  Some girls like shoes, clothes and handbags – and I love those things too but given a choice, I’ll choose a cookbook every time.  There’s a tall, lanky guy putting finishing touches on the display of peanuts, checking the stack of books and generally looking like he’s getting ready for a book signing event.  I’m thinking he’s the cashier . . .  I flip through both books not really ‘seeing’ any of the recipes; I head down the hall and find the resident kitty, spend a few minutes loving on him and back up front I go.  I wander around looking at other books, artwork, photos and then find myself standing at the stack of cookbooks again; lanky guy is still flitting around getting things ready.  Finally, the chapter on pickling catches my eye because I know we’re planting a big garden this year and I want to pickle some of the squash, peppers and tomatoes – and I did spy a Radish Butter recipe I wanted to try.  Done deal – sold on the cookbook.  The Professor takes the book to the counter to pay and lanky guy says, ‘Matt should be here in just a minute, do you want to wait?  He’d be happy to sign it for you.’  ‘Oh that’s ok, we’re fine . . .’ says The Professor.  Still no clue for me other than I start to think that maybe the Lee Bros are local guys who wrote a couple of cookbooks and are celebrities in town; town support, local bookstore cheering them on – you know, like cheering for your First-grader’s soccer team?  Right.  Lanky guy then says, ‘Do you want me to sign it for you?’ ‘Sure,’ says The Professor, ‘we’re interested in pickling and this looks like it’s got some good recipes.’

So lanky guy writes, ‘To Debra and The Professor, have fun pickling! We hope you enjoy our new recipes!  Very Best, Ted Lee, 3/7/2010.’

Once home, I hunker down with my new book reading from cover to cover . . . I reach the back flap and I read: ‘Their first cookbook, ‘The Lee Bros Southern Cookbook,’ received the James Beard Award for Cookbook of the Year in 2007.  They are contributing editors for Travel + Leisure and the wine columnists for Martha Stewart Living.’

These guys are freakin’ James Beard Award winners . . . and I totally dissed them . . . life lesson here?  You can’t judge a book signing by its cover.

Matt & Ted, if you’re reading this (and here’s where I’m completely delusional because of course you’re not reading this) my apologies; and not that it’s likely to happen, but if I ever meet you again, hell yes I want your autograph!  And could I bother you for a picture too??

CANTALOUPE W/BLACK PEPPER & MINT
The Lee Bros – Simple, Fresh, Southern  Page 223

Serves 8

INGREDIENTS:

8 Sprigs Fresh Mint
6 Tablespoons Sugar
1/4 teaspoon Kosher Salt
1 ripe 3-pound Cantaloupe, halved and seeded
Coarsely ground Black Pepper

METHOD:

1.  Strip the leaves from 6 of the mint sprigs and put the leaves in a small saucepan.  Add 3 Tablespoons water, the sugar and the salt and set pan over low heat.  Stir with a wooden spoon, bruising the mint against the sugar with the back of the spoon until the sugar has dissolved completely and the mint leaves have shriveled and are no longer bright green, 5 to 6 minutes.  Remove the pan from the heat, cover it and set aside in a cool spot.

2.  While the syrup cools, use a 1-inch melon baller to scoop out the cantaloupe, letting the balls fall into a large bowl; you should have about 1 quart melon balls.

3.  When the mint syrup is cool enough to touch, strain it into the cantaloupe in the bowl, and toss to coat.  Grind black pepper over the melon to taste, and chill in the refrigerator, covered, for 30 minutes or up to 2 days.

4.  Strip the leaves from the remaining 2 mint stems.   Toss the cantaloupe in the bowl and serve the cantaloupe and syrup in tumblers or bowls, garnished with the fresh mint leaves.

GARNISH IT RICH TIP: Thick yogurt – particularly whole-milk Greek yogurt, enriches this dessert considerably, in addition to giving it a pleasing buttermilk-like tang.  Alternate spoonfuls of yogurt with the melon balls in the tumbler so it looks like a parfait and garnish the top with the fresh mint leaves.

Musical pairing – So Good by Brian Culbertson

So there I was last week sitting in a light-filled room listening to Pam Anderson of Three Many Cooks talk about recipe development; the one day workshop had just started and I had moved from my chair to stand at the back of the room so that I might take better photos.  After several minutes, I quietly tapped a woman dressed in pretty pink on the shoulder and whispered if it would be OK for me to sit down by her on the couch; she nodded and made room for me.  Pam was giving tips on how to approach each recipe – whether it’s working with ingredients or a particular method.  I’m listening but also flipping through the beautiful program that has been prepared for the day; there are bios on each of the presenters including thumbnail pictures: Pam, Abby Dodge, Alice Currah . . . heart stop . . . quick side glance . . . OH. MY. GODDIE. I froze.  Because in that moment I realize I’m sitting next to Alice . . . THE Alice of Savory Sweet Life and Everyday Alice . . . and that I had tapped her on the shoulder . . . OH. MY. GODDIE. ‘Please, oh please, oh please don’t let me be an idiot and say something really dorky!’ my head screams. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about as Alice is down to earth and as sweet as they come – a real peach . . .

And so is this recipe for Breakfast Bread Pudding with Peaches & Vanilla-Buttermilk Syrup (how’s that for a segue?)!

When my eyes first landed on this recipe in the August issue of ‘O Magazine’, I knew I’d make it and I knew I’d love it; for one thing, the recipe is made in a deep dish pie plate so it looks like pie but secondly, I wanted a spectacular recipe to use peaches from my very own tree – peaches that yield sweet nectar, nectar that quickly drips down your chin so that you either stand over a sink while eating or you make sure to have plenty of napkins for wiping away the evidence.  Fruit so perfectly soft and tender that it cannot be tucked into lunchboxes; fruit that cannot be eaten gracefully on a first date, fruit that should be eaten picked fresh off the tree rather than picked up at the grocery store.  Peaches.  One of life’s utmost simple and seductive pleasures.  Yes, I used the word ‘seductive’ on a food blog.

Now I’m going to admit straight up that this recipe will take a bit of work – but completely, completely worth it so don’t be daunted by the ingredient list or the steps involved – the rewards are exponential.  And make the recipe on the weekend – assemble the night before, let it hang out in the refrigerator; the next morning, as you preheat your oven, put on some nice jazz music, pour yourself a cup of coffee or bubbly, grab the paper, start the crossword and bake the pudding.  Make the syrup while the pudding is resting.  Serve and savor every. single. bite.

The Professor and I had difficulty trying to come up with a proper name for it using the current street lingo – Is it ‘the bomb?’ or ‘off the hook’? or ‘it rocks’? or ‘sick’?  Sigh . . . I haven’t a clue and I’m not even going to try – just make it and if you have any lingo suggestions, please let me know – I need all the help I can get.

BREAKFAST BREAD PUDDING W/PEACHES & VANILLA-BUTTERMILK SYRUP
O Magazine, August 2010, pg 210

Serves 6-8

INGREDIENTS:

FOR THE PEACH SAUCE:
¾ Cup Sugar
½ Vanilla Bean, split & scraped
1 Tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice (from about ½ lemon)
6 Large, ripe yellow peaches, halved, pitted and coarsely chopped into ½-inch pieces

FOR ASSEMBLY:
1-pound loaf Challah or Brioche, sliced ¾-inch thick
2 Tablespoons Sugar

FOR THE CUSTARD:
1-1/4 Cups Milk
1-1/2 Cups Heavy Cream
½ Cup Sugar
½ Vanilla Bean, split and scraped
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, plus more for garnish
¾ teaspoon kosher salt
2 Large Eggs
6 Large Egg Yolks

FOR THE VANILLA-BUTTERMILK SYRUP:
½ Cup Heavy Cream
¾ Cup Buttermilk
½ Cup plus 2 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Cornstarch
½ teaspoon Baking Soda
1 Whole Vanilla Bean, split and scraped
½ teaspoon Kosher Salt

METHOD:

1.    Make peach sauce: In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring sugar and ½ Cup water to a simmer, stirring until sugar dissolves.  Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in vanilla bean (and scrapings from half bean) and lemon juice.  Add peaches and simmer gently until softened, 10-12 minutes.  Let cool slightly, remove vanilla bean, then using slotted spoon, transfer half of the peach mixture to bowl of a food processor.  Pulse 4 to 5 times until mixture is a chunky sauce; set aside for assembly.  Reserve the rest of peaches and their juices in a dish and refrigerate until ready to serve.

2.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees; toast bread slices in a single layer on a rimmed sheet tray until just golden and dried out, 8-10 minutes.  Flip slices and toast 5-7 minutes more.

3.    Make Custard: Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, combine milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean (and half scrapings from half bean), nutmeg and salt.  Bring to a simmer over medium heat.  Remove from heat, cover and let steep 20 minutes.  Remove vanilla bean.  Cool.

4.    Whisk eggs and yolks in a medium bowl, then temper a bit of milk-cream mixture into the eggs, then whisk eggs back into steeped milk-cream mixture.

5.    To Assemble: Grease a deep pie dish.  Arrange pieces of bread on bottom to cover, spread ½ cup peach sauce on bread and repeat with remaining bread slices and peach sauce, ending with bread slices.

6.    Slowly pour custard into dish, gently pressing down on bread as needed so it absorbs custard (pudding may need to sit a few minutes before adding more custard).  Cover and let sit at least 40 minutes or overnight in the refrigerator.

7.    Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Sprinkle top of pudding with 2 Tablespoons sugar and garnish with a few gratings of nutmeg.  Bake until golden, puffed and set – about 45-50 minutes.  Transfer to rack and let sit 20 minutes.

8.    Vanilla-Buttermilk Syrup: In a medium saucepan, cook cream, buttermilk, sugar and cornstarch over medium heat, stirring until sugar melts.  Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, 2 minutes more.  Remove from heat and whisk in baking soda, vanilla bean and salt; mixture will foam and froth.  Let sit 2 minutes.

9.    Serve pudding immediately with reserved peaches and vanilla-buttermilk syrup.

10.    Life will never be the same.

SMITH BITES NOTES: When I make this recipe again, I’ll use a deep dish casserole or 9×13 pan instead of the pie plate as it’s difficult to layer all the components and add custard without overflowing.  Also, make sure you add the scrapings of the vanilla bean to whatever component you’re working on – the instructions weren’t clear but I assumed I wouldn’t scrape that precious vanilla gold and toss it; also once you’ve removed the bean, rinse, dry and then tuck the bean into some granulated sugar – in a month or so, you’ll have some lovely perfumed vanilla sugar to use in recipes or add to coffee.  I recommend doing steps 1-6 and refrigerate overnight; bake the next morning and while doing so, put together the syrup, then serve – eat as much as your tummy will hold, rest and repeat.

Musical pairing – Taking Chances by Celine Dion

I DID IT!!! I flew by myself to Pennsylvania last Friday, rented a car and drove BY MYSELF (with Lilly’s help – I’ve named my GPS Lilly) to the home of ThreeManyCooks and met people I only knew on Twitter; then flew back home on Sunday – YAY FOR ME!!! Only a couple of times where I panicked – once when I couldn’t figure out how to get out of the rental car parking lot . . . go ahead I’ll wait for the laughter to die down . . . and once on the return of said car to the same said parking lot at 5am when I learned that they weren’t open that time of morning.  My plane was to take off at 6:05 and I still had to print my boarding pass and get thru security . . . but in my defense, I hadn’t slept but 10 hours over the last three days . . . so there may have been a teeny bit of hysteria during that part of the trip . . .  yes, I am a wuss and a drama queen all rolled into one . . .

The day was near perfect, and I say ‘near’ because we’ve decided that the event needed to be longer – we loved hanging out with one another and hope we get to do it again soon!  I came away from the weekend having learned something about myself and experienced several ‘light-bulb’ moments.  Plus I now have another 30-some new friends!  So thank you, ThreeManyCooks, IvoryHut and SavorySweetLife – I am inspired, encouraged and uplifted by each of you.

Arriving in Indianapolis, The Professor met me at the gate and I have to admit, my heart still leaps when I see him; married to this man 13 plus years and I still love him – am in love with him.  He’s my best friend, my rock, my number one fan, my encourager . . . I could go on but you’ll be gagging and he’ll be rolling his eyes when he reads this.  Like I said, head-over-heels in. love. with. him.

So we’re walking to the car and he tells me that he has cleaned the house, run the vacuum, did the dishes, made the bed and ran a load of laundry . . . awwwww . . . did I mention that I love him?  We get to the top of the escalator and he says, ‘I picked up some groceries at Trader Joe’s – got everything on your list . . . and I also got a speeding ticket . . . ‘  Huh?!  My head snaps in his direction and I busted out laughing . . . ‘How much is the ticket?’ ‘Don’t know, I have to go online.  I was going 54 in a 40 zone.’  I’m still laughing, we pay for our parking, start walking towards the car and then The Professor says, ‘I also fixed the kitchen lights while you were gone . . . but those fixtures were really old and the ballasts wouldn’t work anymore.  So I replaced them with new light fixtures . . . I don’t like them and I know you’re not going to like them.  And I made a complete mess in the kitchen – there was plaster and dirt all over the stove, all over the floors, all over the counters – I should have used a tarp, but I didn’t.  I’m glad you were gone because it would have driven you crazy.’  By this time, we’ve arrived at the car; he opens the hatch and hands me a bouquet of beautiful flowers, ‘Welcome home!’ he grins, leans down and kisses me.  I’m laughing hysterically and say, ‘So I get the good news about all the house cleaning, then the news about the speeding ticket and the light fixture and now I get flowers – kinda sandwiched the bad parts in between the good parts.’  ‘That’s pretty much it,’ he said.

I love this man and he makes me laugh.  (He’s right, the light fixtures look like two rectangular space ships . . . they will be coming down very soon . . .)

This recipe was one of the most talked about, twittered about and swooned about from the workshop.  I made them for The Professor as soon as I got home – he is forever grateful to Jen of How To Simplify for enlightening me on the virtues of having a recipe like this one around.  Don’t wait, make them as soon as possible and you will be enlightened too!

DOUGHNUT MUFFINS
HowTo: Simplify

INGREDIENTS:

For the muffins:

1 3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/3 cup oil
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup milk

For the coating:

1/4 -1/2 cup butter, melted
1/3 cup sugar
1 Tablespoon cinnamon

METHOD:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a muffin tin.
2. Combine flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a medium bowl.
3. Combine oil, sugar, egg and milk in a large bowl. Add dry ingredients and stir only to combine.
4. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes. While muffins are baking, melt butter in a small bowl. In another small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon.
5. Shake muffins out of the muffin tin while the muffins are still hot.
6. Dip muffins in the melted butter and then into the sugar and cinnamon mixture. Place on a wire rack and allow to cool.