Sugar Snap Pea Salad with Radishes, Mint & Ricotta Salata (or Feta), recipe from The New York Times

Ingredients:

3/4 cup sliced radishes

4 ounces (about 1 cup) ricotta salata OR feta, crumbled

about 1/3 cup mint leaves, torn

1 clove garlic, minced

pinch kosher salt

1 Tbs. freshly squeezed lemon juice

1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

3 Tbs. extra virgin olive oil

Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. In a large bowl, toss together the radishes, peas, ricotta and mint.

2. Using a knife or a mortar and pestle, make a paste of the garlic and salt. Place in a small bowl and add the lemon juice and balsamic vinegar and stir well to combine.

3. Pour dressing over salad and toss well to combine. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.

Yields: 4 servings*

*There were eight of us having dinner on this night, and we stretched it so everyone had a small portion. This recipe can be doubled with ease.

I don’t recall a rainier summer. It’s the second rainiest summer on record for NYC (16 in. so far)—only edged out for the top spot by the summer of ’75, but there’s still time!  The effects of the deluge are starting to show in the fruits and veggies grown here in the northeast. Peaches from my CSA were deceivingly fragrant. Toothing one supplied a tasteless, yet juicy mouthful. I’m not exaggerating. It was time to put this sad bunch of drupes into some baked goodness. These peach cheesecake squares (yet another recipe yanked from the pages of the Penzey’s Spices catalog) more than made up for my initial disappointment.  I could have sweetened up the peaches a bit more, but with the relatively small amount of cinnamon-sugar recommended, the squares go down easily as a breakfast treat (not a low-calorie choice, mind you).

Who needs a recipe holder when you can just tape it to the brick wall in your kitchen?

Peachy Cheesecake Squares (recipe from Penzey’s Spices)

Ingredients:

2+ cups sliced ripe peaches (about 5 large or 8 small)

2 tsp. cinnamon sugar (see instructions below)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar

2 sticks butter, cold

1 8 oz. package cream cheese (I used 1/3 less fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese)

1 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk

1 egg

2 tsp. vanilla extract (I usually opt for Mexican vanilla, but not required)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Mix 1/4 cup sugar with 4 teaspoons of China Cassia cinnamon (it’s the type that’s most commonly sold in supermarkets). Place the 2 tsp. you’ll need for this recipe in a medium size bowl (remaining cinnamon-sugar can be stored in an airtight container and used for other yummy purposes, i.e. sprinkled on top of toast!).

3. Peel and pit the peaches, slice thinly. Mix the peach slices together with cinnamon-sugar; set aside.

5. Cut the cold butter into 1 Tbs. pieces and cut again in half.  Using your hands, cut the butter into the dry mixture until it appears crumbly and feels dry. Reserve TWO cups of the crust mixture for the topping.

6. Press the remaining crust mixture into an ungreased, 9X13 glass pan. Bake the crust for 15 minutes.

7. While the crust is baking, beat the cream cheese with a handheld mixer until fluffy (2-3 min. on med. speed). Gradually beat in the condensed milk until smooth. Add the egg and vanilla and beat on med. low until fully incorporated.

8. Once the crust is out of the oven, place the peach slices over the crust in a single layer; then drizzle any peach juice left in the bowl on top. Pour the cream cheese mixture over the peaches. Sprinkle the reserved 2 cups of crust mixture as the top layer.

9. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until bubbly and golden on top (it’s ok if some bits of the top are darker than “golden”).

10. Allow to cool completely in order to cut bars easily. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

With loads of arugula from the Chubby Bunny CSA, I’ve had the chance to try out some new recipes just so none of the produce goes to waste! On a recent day off from work, I tuned into Giada De Laurentiis’ show Everyday Italian on the Food Network. It was a BBQ episode and the tri-colore orzo looked so bright & mouth-watering (some of my favorite ingredients are used in it: dried cherries, pine nuts) that I hopped online and printed it off. This dish travels well, great for a picnic or potluck, served cold or at room temp. I’ve made it several times now. My family and colleagues have weighed in, and they’ve praised its fresh flavor combination and diversity of texture & color! I found that I prefer this dish with feta over ricotta salata—guess I like a saltier bite. There is one small trick here, though, and that’s to prevent the orzo from sticking together. Once it’s drained, spread it onto a rimmed baking sheet, sprinkle with olive oil and combine—then re-spread it to allow to cool (see below).

Tri-Colore Orzo recipe by Giada De Laurentiis (with slight adjustments)

yields 4-6 servings

Ingredients:

1lb. orzo pasta

3 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, plus 1/4 cup

2 cups fresh arugula

3/4 cup crumbled ricotta salata or feta cheese

1/2 cup dried cherries

12 basil leaves, torn

1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

3 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the       bite, stirring occasionally, about 8-10 minutes.

2. Drain the pasta; immediately pour onto a large rimmed baking sheet; spread it evenly with a spoon.

3. Drizzle the orzo with 3 Tbs. olive oil; toss it together; spread again into a thin layer to cool, at least 5 min.

4. Transfer the orzo to a large serving bowl; add the remaining ingredients (including the addt’l 1/4 cup olive oil); toss gently to combine & serve.

*This dish tastes even better the following day after the flavors have blended & absorbed into the pasta.

Every Tuesday evening I walk the 12 blocks up to a church courtyard on W. 86th Street (equipped with a half dozen ChicoBags) where my CSA, Chubby Bunny Farm located in Falls Village, CT, distributes the week’s harvest to its family-share and small-share members. It’s three weeks into the season, which will run until the second week in November, and my fruit share has me overwhelmed with juicy & super-sweet strawberries that we can’t eat fast enough before they turn to mush! This strawberry bread recipe I tore out of the Penzey’s Spices print catalog from a few summers ago is quick, easy & simply scrumptious. The aroma that fills my kitchen five minutes into baking it, as they say in Greek, “breaks your nose” it is so wonderfully powerful. Oh, and there’s very little chance that the bread won’t be polished off in a day!

Strawberry Bread (adapted from Penzey’s Spices catalog)

Ingredients:

1 ½ cups fresh strawberries, sliced (about 1 pint)

1 cup granulated sugar (divided, see below)

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (I use an organic pastry flour, but this will do fine)

1 tsp. baking powder

½ tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon (I used Ceylon cinnamon, but regular Cassia cinnamon is fine)

2 eggs

½ tsp. pure vanilla extract (I use Mexican vanilla extract, but not necessary)

½ cup melted butter (1 stick), cooled slightly

 Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Lightly grease & flour a standard 1 lb. loaf pan (using Pam spray w/ flour in it is good too) *I actually use a 1 ½ lb. loaf pan*
3. Rinse, core and slice the strawberries. Place them in a small bowl and sprinkle with ½ cup sugar; let them sit while you prepare the other ingredients
4. In a large bowl, blend together the remaining sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt & cinnamon (with a whisk or spatula)
5. In a medium bowl, beat the eggs with a fork until foamy, then add the vanilla extract and cooled melted butter; gently stir in the strawberries
6. Combine the two mixtures, blending until the dry ingredients are just moistened
7. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan; bake for approx. 60 min., turn the pan around after 30 min. and begin checking for doneness after 50 min. by inserting a toothpick into the center; if toothpick is clean, it’s done!!
8. Cool bread in the loaf pan on a wire cooling rack for 20 min., then remove bread from pan and let it cool for approx. 10-15 min. before slicing

It completely escapes me how I came to the Daisy Organic Flours web site. It was probably mentioned in one of the many food blogs I read, or perhaps there was reference to the McGreary Organics (the company that distributes the flour) in a NY Times article. Regardless, I recently decided to order a little bit of each of the flours–4 lbs. each of white pastry flour and whole wheat pastry flour and 2 lbs. of their all purpose spelt flour. Located in Lancaster, PA,  Daisy Flour is manufactured at the historic Annville Mill using an old fashion flouring method that is slower and requires a lower temperature than modern processes, which results in naturally occurring nutrients to be preserved.  I haven’t had much opportunity to substitute it into any of my favorite recipes or to try out any of the receipts suggested on the site. But I did have the chance to make up some flavorful waffles on a recent rainy Sunday morning with my fresh pastry flour. Remembering a scrumptious breakfast Brian, my brother-in-law (think he was still my sister-in-law’s fiance at this point), had cooked up for nine or 10 of us at the lake house where my family congregates during the summer months, he kindly e-mailed me the recipe—one he learned from his mom, a straightforward & tasty one at that:

Petersen Family Waffles

2/3 cups butter~melted, set aside to cool

4 large eggs~in large bowl, beat for 1 min. on low-speed w/ hand mixer

2 ¼ cup whole milk~add to eggs               

1½ tsp vanilla (I use a Mexican vanilla extract) ~add to egg mixture

In a medium bowl combine:                                                    

3 cups all-purpose flour (or 3 3/8 cups Daisy Pastry Flour)

1 tsp salt      

2 Tbs sugar  

5 tsp baking powder                                                                                                    

~whisk together until combined

~pour dry ingredients into the wet & whisk until just combined 

~add cooled butter to the mixture & whisk until incorporated                               

~ladle into heated & prepared waffle iron

*Makes 16 square waffles (= 4 batches poured into waffle iron)

Print taken from the NYPL Digital Gallery, click here for image details

This past Thursday evening, I attended my first Culinary Historians of New York event. I’m not a member yet, but I’m considering joining–the organization is open to the public but its members include culinary school students, chefs, food writers, historians, etc.  The program featured Joanne Chen, a freelance journalist,  and her new book The Taste of Sweet: Our Complicated Love Affair with Our Favorite Treats. The best part of the presentation was the taste bud test when paper strips coated with a small amount of PROP (6-propylthiouracil, a chemical used to treat hypothyroidism) were handed out to each person and we were instructed to place it on our tongues for a moment. Non-tasters won’t sense the bitterness of the test strip, an average taster will note some bitterness, while a super-taster will detect an extremely intense and unpleasant bitter flavor. This is where I fell within the group. Research shows that nearly half of the world’s population will fall into the “average” category and 25% will fall into each of the other extremes. What’s more, over twice as many women as men are found to be super-tasters. There are several factors that determine how one will react to the PROP test; one is the number of taste buds on the tongue (I should say, the number of papillae that house the taste buds). The BBC News published an article on how to count the number of papillae on the tongue back in 2003. Chen includes a quick quiz of her own on her Web site to help us discover our taster status.

Another discovery on that night was how tasty sweet bean paste is (usually found in various Asian cuisines).  There was a nice spread at the lecture along with a little Prosecco to wash it all down. I am now on the hunt for some new dessert recipes involving black sesame paste similar to the one I tried a few days back.

A few weeks back a new IN THE KITCHEN WITH post was added to Design*Sponge, a place where I find much inspiration and can spend hours just browsing through categories like DIY, Before & After and the Guest Blog. I was introduced to Design*Sponge when they partnered with the Library for an online project called Design By the Book earlier this year.  The recipe for Country Style Chocolate Chip Cake was shared by two sisters who are the owners of Hable Construction, a NY-based textiles company.  The photo included in the post was so beautiful, and I knew I had the perfect Nordic Ware bundt pan to bake it in that I really only needed one more excuse to get cracking: a friend’s housewarming (in this case, apartment) party. Once I read down to the list of ingredients, I was a little taken aback. 1 box instant yellow cake mix, 1 box chocolate jell-o instant pudding…not exactly how I go about making cake. I’ll just say it, I’m a “from scratch” snob! But I was willing to press on and give this one a chance.  The end result: a very moist, not overly sweet cake with most who tried it seeming satisfied with the light chocolate flavor.  Me? I’d make a few adjustments by adding a little freshly brewed coffee or espresso powder to add some intensity, or perhaps a bit of cognac or other liquor (as one friend suggested). I also found that my semi-sweet chips of choice, Ghirardelli, were too heavy (they are more disc-shaped and larger than other brands) and all but a few sank to the bottom (well, to the top really once the bundt is flipped). The other issue was the instruction to bake at 300° for one hour.  Hmmm. I knew this would not work. I ended up leaving mine in for 1 hr. 35 min. This cake would do fine at 350° for far less time. In going back to the blog post, in fact, it seems other readers encountered the same issue—some modifications have been made since its original posting on Feb. 20 (including an increase in oil & water).  While the outside looked wonderful, this one deserves a do-over. I’ll be back with a second set of results for comparison, and hopefully this one will find a rightful place in the Dessert Binder*.  Click here to read the post, recipe & comments for Country Style Chocolate Chip Cake as they appear on Design*Sponge.

* more to come on the binders; the “girls” have been growing with me for 10 years now

This is not exactly what I envisioned for my first post to Kitchen Reverie, but I am a big red wine lover, so this is as good a place as any to begin. I had been searching for the last several months for a wine my husband, some friends and I really enjoyed one night at The West Branch, a newer restaurant on the Upper West Side in Manhattan.  None of my local wine shops carry it, and while a few offered to locate it for me, no one has called to say they’ve had success finding it. Earlier this week I was heading back to the Library from lunch and walked past Park Avenue Liquor Shop. While they didn’t have it either, (and I just realized I have yet to mention the name of this wine: 2005 Nectar du Terroir produced by the Vin Emotion Winery in the Gigondas region of France), they did recommend that I try using wine-searcher.com.  Long story short, I received my case of Nectar du Terroir a few days ago from the one Manhattan-based wine shop that seems to carry it, Sea Grape Wine Shop downtown on Hudson Street.  The wine-searcher.com search engine has a handful of features to narrow your search (i.e. by state, wine name, vintage, etc.), and they claim to have the inventory of more than 9,500 wine stores in their database. As a first-time user of this resource, I give it two big thumbs up!