Pressed Cheddar Sandwich with Fig Preserves

As I write this, the wind outside is blowing, leaves are turning red and the air is becoming cooler.  Fall days are here.  Cooler temps get me in the mood for warm comfort food and this sandwich is a long-time favorite of mine (a variation found here).  Crusty sourdough, sharp white cheddar and a thin layer of fig preserves for a bit of sweetness.   If you were me, you would add a few drops of rich white truffle oil, but that is completely optional.  Grill in a hot panini press until melty and bubbly or, if you don't have a press, simply use a skillet.  Cheesy, crisp, rich and warm.  Melted cheddar with a touch of fig. Perfect for a blustery fall afternoon.

Pressed Cheddar Sandwich with Fig Preserves
makes 1

crusty sourdough bread
sharp white cheddar cheese, thinly sliced
fig preserves
white truffle oil (optional)
unsalted butter, softened

Preheat your panini press or heat a saute pan over medium heat.  Assemble sandwiches by spreading a thin layer of fig preserves on one slice of bread and evenly arranging a generous quantity of cheddar on the other slice.  If using, drizzle a bit of truffle oil over the cheddar.  Sandwich the bread and spread the top outer slice with a little softened butter.  Place the buttered side down onto the hot press or pan and then quickly spread the exposed side of the sandwich with a bit more butter.  Cook sandwich until the cheese has melted and the bread is golden brown.  {Note:  If using a saute pan, press the sandwich as it cooks with a large metal spatula or smaller saute pan. Flip sandwich and do the same on the other side until melted through.}

Use really sharp, aged cheddar for this sandwich.  Usually, the crumblier the better.

Press until golden brown and melted through.

A rich, warm sandwich on a cool fall day.

Soft Boiled Egg with Toast

This little dish always reminds me of Paris.  Whenever I eat it, I daydream that I'm back at Café de Flore, sitting at a small table, reading the paper and sipping champagne.  I order oeuf á la coque and it arrives hot with baguette and a tub of French butter.  While I may not get back to France as often as I would like, whenever I'm craving the cafes of Paris I make this for myself.  No real recipe, just gently drop a room temperature egg into a pot of rapidly boiling water and cook for exactly 4 minutes.  Meanwhile, toast a piece of crusty bread, slather it with butter and slice it into strips.  Transfer the egg to an egg cup, crack open the top with a spoon or knife, sprinkle the golden yolk with flaked sea salt and the rest is up to you.  I prefer to dunk my toast but a more presentable approach may be to spoon the soft egg over the bread.  However you eat it, it is pure bliss.  It may sound simple, but this is one of my favorite breakfasts.  And it always transports me back to Paris, to that table in Café de Flore.

Hot, buttered toast dunked into warm yolk.

Such a simple dish but to me, it is perfect.

All gone.  C'est la vie.

Granola

Granola has never been one of my favorites.  I want to like granola, but I generally find commercial brands to be overpacked with oats, too sugary and quite boring.  I always yearn for more nuts, less sugar, a bit more salt and generally, more flavor. Until recently, the idea of making my own granola never really sparked an interest in me.  Now that I've tried it I can say that I'm seriously hooked and can't believe I had never made it before.  It may be the most versatile recipe ever.  You can add whatever you like.  In mine, I kept the traditional rolled oats but balanced them out with pistachios and slivered almonds. I love my seeds so flax, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds all went into the mix. Some fleur de sel for that salty bite I crave and a pinch of instant espresso powder for the slightest coffee flavor.  Pure maple syrup, honey and a bit of fruity olive oil brings it all together.  My husband isn't a huge dried fruit fan, but currants or dried cherries would be delicious mix-ins.  Bake in the oven, allow it to cool and there you have it, delicious granola just the way I like it.  Finally.

Granola
makes about 5 cups

1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
2 Tbsp olive oil
3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup pistachios, shelled
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup sunflower seeds
1/2 cup pepitas
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1 Tbsp flax seed meal
1 tsp fleur de sel or kosher salt
1/4 tsp instant espresso powder

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

In a small sauce pot, heat the honey, maple syrup and olive oil over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally until the mixture thins and combines.

Meanwhile, mix the rest of the ingredients together in a large bowl.  When the syrup mixture is ready, pour it over the granola mixture and toss to combine.  Spread the granola evenly onto a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, turning it every 15 minutes to ensure even browning.

When the granola is finished, allow it to cool completely in the pan.  Store the cooled granola in an airtight container at room temperature.

Making your own granola... it is almost too easy.

Spread the sticky granola into a thin layer for even browning in the oven. 

Toasted oats, seeds and nuts.  

 Perfect for snacking.

Buttermilk Apple Cake

This is the kind of cake you want to have on your counter.  At all times.  Afternoon snack craving?  Grab a piece of this cake. Need a little dessert after dinner?  This cake does the trick.  Want something to enjoy with your morning coffee?  You get the idea.  The perfect thing about this cake is that it's neither too sweet nor too dense.  It could be topped with almost any fruit, but I decided to use a tart variety of apples from my favorite local orchard as I found them to soften perfectly in the oven.  This cake has ample tang from the buttermilk, nuttiness from the whole wheat and spice from the nutmeg.  It has simple, homemade apple flavor that I so often crave in the fall.  Bake this cake, let it cool on your counter and slice it into generous chunks.  Mark my words, it will disappear in no time.

Buttermilk Apple Cake
adapted from a recipe in Super Natural Everyday by Heidi Swanson
makes 12 servings

2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 Tbsp baking powder (use aluminum-free if you can find it)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg (if you're using pre-ground, only use 1/2 tsp)
2 L eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups buttermilk, at room temperature
6 Tbsp (3 oz) unsalted butter, melted
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
4-5 small, tart and soft apples, peeled and thinly sliced into half moons
3 Tbsp raw turbinado sugar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Grease a a 9x13 inch metal baking pan and line with parchment paper.  Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the first five ingredients.  In a small bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, slightly cooled melted butter and vanilla extract. Don't be alarmed as the wet mixture will likely curdle.  Add the wet mixture to the bowl with the dry mixture and fold together until just combined.  Be sure not to over mix.

Evenly spread the batter into the prepared pan and scatter the apples over the top in an even layer.  Sprinkle turbinado sugar over the top of the apples and batter.

Bake for 20 minutes or until just done.  Be sure not to overbake.

Beautiful apples from Sweetland Orchard.  

Layer the thinly sliced apple then generously sprinkle with crunchy turbinado sugar.

The baking powder gives this cake an almost spongey quality, in the best possible way.

Here's to snacking on apple cake.

Oatmeal with Brown Butter Sauteed Bananas

I am someone who finds comfort in a morning routine.  My dream weekend morning includes a family walk around the lake, a piping hot latte and a fat newspaper, read while enjoying a big breakfast.  Lately, those big breakfasts I so love have been losing out to hastily gobbled power bars, soggy bowls of cereal or lackluster coffee shop pastries.  This oatmeal is what I imagine coming home to after a long morning walk in the cool fall air.  In the past, I've simply taken my oatmeal with a splash of cream and a sprinkle of brown sugar.  Not anymore.  Rolled oats, slowly cooked with just a pinch of salt.  Brown butter sauteed banana adds a nutty element that brings out the flavor of the oats.  A generous drizzle of honey sweetened créme fraiche gives the perfect tang.  Creamy, not-too-sweet and completely satisfying. This oatmeal is ideal for lazy weekend mornings and it is certainly the newest addition to my weekend breakfast routine.

Oatmeal with Brown Butter Sauteed Bananas
serves 2

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1/4 tsp kosher salt
2 small bananas (or 1 large), chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 cup créme fraiche
1 Tbsp honey

In a small bowl, mix the créme fraiche and honey.  Set aside.

Combine oats with the milk and water in a medium sauce pot.  Bring mixture to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.  Once boiling, turn the heat down to low, add the salt and continue to stir on and off for another 15 minutes.

While the oatmeal is cooking, add the butter to a small saute pan set over medium-high heat.  Once the butter solids start to turn golden, add the chopped banana, stir and continue cooking until the banana is warmed through, about 2 minutes.

Divide oatmeal between two bowls and top with sauteed banana and honeyed créme fraiche.

Gently cook oats until they are creamy, yet still have a slight bite.

Generously drizzle your oatmeal with the honeyed créme fraiche.  Tangy and slightly sweet.

Perfect for those quickly approaching fall mornings. 

Heirloom Tomato Sandwich

This sandwich makes me truly happy.  In late summer when the market stands are filled with sweet, ripe heirlooms, all I can do is think about this sandwich.  Sure, I also take joy in eating the tomatoes as is or sliced into wedges with a sprinkling of sea salt, but this sandwich is my go-to tomato indulgence.  Thickly sliced heirloom tomatoes sandwiched between two slices of crusty white bread.  Finished with a smear of mayonnaise, a handful of baby lettuce and a sprinkling of salt and pepper.  I could eat this sandwich every day.  Add bacon for a killer BLT, but I usually keep it simple to better showcase the tomato flavor.  If you don't like mayonnaise, use a bit of hummus which is also quite delicious.  I've made myself this sandwich a seemingly infinite number of times and it never gets old.  As a matter of fact, I think I know what I'm having for dinner tonight.

Heirloom Tomato Sandwich
makes 1

3 thick slices of heirloom tomato
2 slices of crusty white bread
handful of baby lettuce (I like arugula)
mayonnaise
sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper

Spread mayonnaise on both slices of bread.  Arrange tomato slices on one slice of bread and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.  Top with lettuce and the remaining slice of bread.

Sweet, juicy and ripe heirloom tomatoes.

Fresh crusty bread.  The perfect vehicle for soaking up tomato juice.

A bit of mayo, a bit of lettuce and lots of tomato.

Don't even bother grabbing a plate.

The sandwich won't last that long.

Plum Pistachio Galette

It is getting to be late summer, and plums are at their peak.  When they are in season, we eat plums like candy and the fruit bowl is constantly in need of replenishment.  As a sort of trick (and in order to spare his shirts from the inevitable juicy plum splatter) my husband has been known to pop smaller whole plums in his mouth, chew vigorously and amusingly spit out the pit moments later. Needless to say, we go through a lot of plums this time of year.  Aside from eating them as is, this easy galette is the perfect way to showcase the sweet flavor of this stone fruit.  A simple, rolled out pie crust dough is all you need. No pie tins, no lattice topping, no nonsense.  Just a rustic, free-formed crust, lazily folded over the fruit to catch all of the lovely drippings.  Pistachios are the perfect nutty accompaniment to the juicy, baked fruit.  Serve this sweet, jammy tart with unsweetened whipped cream or a dollop of creme fraiche.  You will be amazed at how easy, how beautiful and how delicious this galette is.  And it is certainly a dessert worthy of a those precious few plums left in our fruit bowl.

Plum Pistachio Galette 
(inspired by and adapted from this recipe)
Serves 6-8

1 recipe pate brisee (recipe can be found here here), refrigerated
5-6 ripe plums, halved and pitted
1/4 cup toasted, shelled pistachios + more for sprinkling over the tart
2 Tbsp flour
4 Tbsp sugar + more for sprinkling on the crust
2-3 Tbsp heavy cream

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  In the bowl of a food processor, combine 1/4 cup pistachios, the flour and 4 tablespoons sugar.  Pulse until the mixture is the texture of cornmeal.  Transfer to a small bowl and set aside.

Remove dough from refrigerator and allow it to soften a bit while you slice your plums.  Place plums cut side down on a cutting board and carefully slice each half into thin half moons.  If your plums are small, you may need to slice 6 plums.

On a floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle, a scant quarter of an inch thick.  Carefully transfer the dough to the lined baking sheet.  Spread the pistachio mixture over the dough, leaving 2 inches around in the edge.  On top of the pistachio mixture, arrange your plums to cover the crust, again leaving 2 inches around the edge.  Fold the outer crust over the fruit.  Sprinkle a small handful of reserved pistachios over the fruit.  Brush the crust with cream and then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake for 70 minutes or until the bottom of the crust is crisped.  Allow the tart to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes before serving so that the juices can thicken.

Juicy, ripe plums.  

Spread the pistachio flour over the dough, leaving an edge. 

Top with sliced plums.

Fold edges over the fruit to seal in the juices.

Baked until the crust is golden and the plums are soft and jammy.  Late summer bliss.

Summer Salad with Pistachios, Mint and Peas

This is my go-to summer salad and I make it a bit more often than I'd care to admit. My husband and I both crave it so I always keep the ingredients on hand.  I adore peppery arugula, and its flavor really shines tossed with roasted pistachios, mint, parsley, peas and crumbled feta.  Whisk together a simple lemon vinaigrette and you're all set.  The mint adds a summery freshness that I love.  I usually use thawed, frozen peas, but if fresh are in season, even better.  The feta gives a salty bite, but freshly grated parmesan would also be quite delicious.  Pistachios add a nutty richness and the fresh lemon vinaigrette gives a tart, citrusy kick. Green, crunchy, fresh and packed with flavor, this salad is one that you will never get sick of.  

Summer Salad with Pistachios, Mint and Peas
Makes 4-6 small servings

1 box or bag washed baby arugula
1/4 cup roasted pistachios, shelled
1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup fresh parsley, roughly chopped
1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
juice from 1 small lemon
olive oil
sea salt
freshly cracked black pepper

In a large bowl, combine arugula, pistachios, peas, feta, parsley and mint.  Set in the refrigerator while you prepare the vinaigrette.

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice with a generous pinch of both salt and pepper.  While whisking, stream olive oil into the lemon juice until the mixture comes together.  You will probably want to use between a 1/4 and 1/2 cup of oil, depending on how tart you want your vinaigrette.

Pour most of the vinaigrette over the salad and toss, add more dressing if needed.

Boxed, pre-washed arugula can always be found in my refrigerator for fast green salads.

Quickly thaw frozen peas by rinsing them with cold water.

Green, bright and delicious.  

Lavender Honey Ice Cream

Homemade ice cream?  Is it really worth the time?  I too was once a skeptic. Lugging out the bulky ice cream maker or, worse yet, trudging to the store to buy one. Freezing the canister for an obscene amount of time, measuring and cooking the base, slowly churning and then, the worst part, having to wait for your ice cream to freeze.  It seems a bit much when most of us can hop on our bikes and grab a cone at the neighborhood ice cream shop in a fraction of the time it takes to make it at home. Well, I'm here to tell you that this creamy, flavorful and indulgent ice cream will make all of the toil worth it.  Floral, French lavender steeped in cream.  A bit of golden honey.  Rich, sweet, creamy and perfect on a hot summer night.  I prefer a less "eggy" ice cream and this recipe fits that bill.  Of course, if eggs are your thing adapt the recipe as you wish.  I also prefer a lot of lavender flavor.  If you want to use a bit less, be my guest.  However you make it, this ice cream will seriously make you swoon and, trust me, it is completely worth the trouble.

Lavender Honey Ice Cream
makes 1 pint
(technique and recipe adapted from Jeni's Splendid Ice Creams at Home)

1 1/2 cup whole milk, at room temperature
1 Tbsp + 1 tsp cornstarch
3 Tbsp cream cheese, at room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 cup heavy cream, at room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp light corn syrup
1/4 cup dried lavender (be sure to use culinary lavender)

1 1/2 quart electric ice cream maker, I have this one.

Before you begin, make sure your ice cream maker canister is completely frozen.  (If new, this will take about 24 hours).

Create an ice bath by filling a large bowl with ice water, heavy on the ice.  Set aside.  In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch with 2 Tbsp of the milk until smooth.  Set aside.  In a medium to large bowl, whisk together the cream cheese, honey and salt.  Set aside.

In a large sauce pot, combine the rest of the milk with the cream, sugar and corn syrup.  Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and allow it to boil for approximately 4 minutes.  (Be careful as this mixture has a tendency of boiling over the sides of the pot).  Remove mixture from the heat, add in the lavender and allow it to steep for 10 minutes.

Strain out the lavender from the mixture and return it to the pot.  Whisk in the cornstarch mixture and, again, bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir with a rubber spatula and boil until the mixture just begins to thicken, about one minute.

Remove the pot from the stove and slowly whisk the hot cream mixture into the cream cheese mixture, making sure to whisk away any lumps.  Once completely mixed, transfer the base to a one quart, sealable freezer bag.  Seal the bag tightly and submerge the bag in the ice bath.  Allow it to sit until completely chilled, about 30 minutes.

Once the mixture has chilled, remove the frozen canister from the freezer and set up your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer instructions.  Pour the cold mixture into the canister and turn on the machine.  Allow the ice cream to churn for 25 minutes.

Transfer ice cream into a freezer-safe airtight container.  Place a piece of waxed paper over the ice cream to seal in the flavor.  Allow ice cream to freeze for about 4 hours before enjoying.

Surprisingly floral, woody and delicate, lavender is perhaps my favorite ice cream flavoring.

After steeping lavender buds in cream, strain them out using a fine mesh sieve.  

Transfer ice cream base to a large freezer bag and submerge in an ice bath until chilled.

Churn the sweet and creamy base until slightly thickened.

Once the churning has finished, the ice cream still needs to be frozen a bit longer.  

Cover ice cream with waxed paper to seal in the flavor, put the lid on and allow it to freeze for 4 hours.

Pure white, creamy bliss.  So worth the time and trouble.