sweet succotash

According to Betty Fussell in her book, I Hear America Cooking, the word succotash is Native American for hodgepodge. It most often contains squashes and corn, and some kind of bean. I have always made it with lima beans, my favorite bean in the world. It's a wonderful side dish to make during the full flush of summer garden bounty, but , thanks to Birdseye frozen vegetables, you can make it year round.

I have no idea when I first ate succotash, but it is considered a New England dish. I grew up on Cape Cod, mostly in Wellfleet, an area that was settled by the Punanokanits ( now Wampanoag) tribe over 7,700 years ago. Their corn caches in the sand dunes of Truro were famously dug up and stolen by the Pilgrims on their first landing in America, which happened to be the Outer Cape. Though they pulled anchor and sailed on to Plymouth, it was the Indian corn that sustained them after a treacherous and long journey.

This is my usual recipe for succotash, though I sometimes cut up sweet potatoes along with the squashes. I'm sure winter squash would be just as delicious as the zucchini.

Succotash

1 large onion

2 T. olive oil, or half oil, half unsalted butter

2 cups zucchini, cubed

a few strips of yellow or red pepper

1 cup fresh or frozen baby lima beans

2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels

salt and pepper to taste

1 t. dried oregano, or 1 T. fresh oregano leaves

optional: 1 T. mild green chiles, chopped or a few drops of Green Tabasco

Heat the oil or oil and butter in a medium sized saucepan.

Add the onion and saute five minutes, then add the corn, squash, lima beans, and chiles.

Simmer, covered, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the oregano and salt and pepper to taste.

ceviche with fennel and creme fraiche, and a discovery

Do you ever get excited about trying a new recipe? Who is the muse that seizes one in a haze of
joyful discovery as you taste and chop , add pinches of this, and teaspoons of that?

While visiting my French friend Mme. B, I was instantly fascinated when I saw a bowl sitting on her counter. It smelled delicious, it tasted fresh and summery. I asked what it was. Although she called it fish in lemon juice with creme fraiche, I recognized ceviche. I couldn't wait to try my own version of it, thinking instantly of pairing it with fresh fennel.

I bought the haddock ( alas, no pollock), went home, and marinated it in lemon juice for six hours. I drained it, and added the chopped fennel, and some herbs and spices, and the creme fraiche. Then I tasted it.

It tasted bland, though fresh, and it looked like potato salad. I hated it. I kicked myself for wasting the fish on it. Only later did I realize that creamed anything isn't something I usually prepare, or eat. Perhaps if I'd skipped the creme fraiche and made a melange of hot peppers and fresh vegetables to go with the fish, it would have suited me better.

However, for those who might like to try it, here is the recipe:

Ceviche

1/2 pound of haddock or whitefish, cut into small pieces

juice of 3 lemons

Marinate fish for at least six hours, in the fridge, in the lemon juice.

Drain well.

Add:

1 cup chopped fennel bulb and a few fronds

1 T. minced fresh dill

1/2 cup diced , peeled cucumber

a few drops of Green Tabasco

2 T. chopped red onion

1 cup creme fraiche (recipe here)

salt and fresh pepper to taste

You can also add sliced grape tomatoes, shredded carrots, garlic, and scallions or chives. I didn't get that far.

Mix together well, and serve chilled, along with a green salad and French bread.

And now I know this about myself ; that I love perfect fish chowder, and poached, thick, chunks of pollock or haddock. Not fried, not mayo'd, just fresh scent of the sea. (You can find the chowder recipe here)

a fruit platter and sugar sticks

I love serving these sugar sticks along with a big platter of cut up fresh fruit - the more colorful the better. The recipe comes from Lee Bailey's terrific cookbook, Cooking for Friends.

I didn't use coarse sugar, which is called for in the recipe, even though I know it looks much prettier. The problem with that coarse sugar is that it's often difficult to chew, so I skipped that and went with granulated.

So enjoy these splendid, sunny August days so perfect for brunch or picnics, and make a tin full of these simple, crunchy sugar sticks to accompany a quick dessert of melons and berries.

Make the pastry several hours in advance, since it needs to sit in the fridge before baking.

To Make:

1 cup King Arthur flour

2 T. sugar

1 stick unsalted butter, cut into bits, frozen

3-4 T. ice water

pinch salt

Place the flour, sugar, salt, and frozen butter in a food processor.

Process until the butter is about the size of peas.

Turn the processor back on and add the ice water, a little at a time, until it gathers together.

Place the dough on a sheet of waxed paper and flatten slightly, then place in a plastic bag and put in fridge for several hours.

After dough has chilled, sprinkle a cutting board with granulated sugar.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Roll dough out slowly to about 1/2 inch.

Sprinkle dough with sugar, and cut dough into "sticks" of about 5 inches.

Carefully ( the dough is sticky), use a spatula to lay sticks on a foil covered baking sheet.

Bake about 25 minutes . The bottoms of the cookies should not burn, so if your oven runs hot, check them after 20 minutes.

After cookies have cooled a few minutes but are still hot, remove them carefully to a cooling rack and sprinkle with a little more sugar.

Store leftover cookies in a tight container.

This recipe makes about 18-24 cookies.

summer milk pudding with rum, berries, and caramel

Yesterday was a perfect lazy summer day. Between the two mysteries I read, I browsed one of my favorite cookbooks; Lee Bailey's Country Weekends. I discovered him just after Martha Stewart's Living magazine started being published - his cookbooks really pioneered beautiful food pictures, simple and tasty recipes with a Southern slant, and gorgeous glimpses of his vacations abroad and stateside.

I was intrigued with his milk pudding recipe - not really a custard, but a briefly cooked pudding that's lightened by stiff, sugared egg whites. I couldn't decided whether I wanted to garnish with black raspberries or caramel from The Secrets of Baking, so I did both. And I loved them both! The pudding is light and served at room temperature - a nice end to a summer meal, whether barbeque or simply soup and salad. I think you'll like this sweet , milky pudding. And the best part ( besides eating)? The scent of sweet milk.

To make:

If you're using the book, please note there's a typo that leaves out half the flour.

2 cups whole milk

2 large or extra large eggs

1/2 cup sugar

2 1/2 T. King Arthur flour, or all purpose flour

1/2 t. grated nutmeg

1 T. dark rum

pinch of salt

Fresh berries, or fruit to garnish or a heaping tablespoon of creamy caramel sauce - or both.

In heavy saucepan, let milk slowly come to a low boil.

Beat the egg yolks and add 1/4 cup of the sugar and the flour.

Scoop the egg yolk mixture into the hot milk, and whisk on medium until it thickens.

Add the rum and nutmeg and stir again with the whisk. Remove from heat.

Beat the egg whites until stiff, then beat in the sugar.

Fold the egg whites into the hot pudding, then whisk until all the bits of egg white are incorporated.

Pour into bowls or souffle ramekins and let cool. This pudding should be served at room temperature, so don't stick it in the fridge! ( I wouldn't leave it out more than a few hours, even though it is cooked)

Garnish with berries or caramel sauce, or both. Serves 5 or so.

Caramel Sauce ( partly based on Sherry Yard's recipe)

1/4 cup water

1 cup sugar

2 T. light corn syrup

Note: You MUST use a candy thermometer.

Combine water, corn syrup, and sugar in heavy saucepan.

Stir carefully, trying not to get dry sugar crystals on the sides of the pan.

Cover pan and place on medium heat for 4 minutes.

Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Do not stir.

When temperature reaches 300F and syrup is golden, remove from heat.

Let bubbles subside, and stir carefully. Nothing is worse than a sugar burn.

Add:

3/4 cup heavy cream

1 T. sugar

2 t. fresh lemon juice

1 T. unsalted butter

pinch of salt

Stir again and let cool.

Enjoy!

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lemon cake with fresh berry sauce

In spite of rainy, dreary, hot and humid weather, the black raspberry bushes are loaded with those beautiful berries. Is there anything better than walking outside in your 'jamas or shorts and picking breakfast?

Here's our family favorite this time of year; a lemony butter cake topped with spoonfuls of lightly cooked berry sauce. I like to use blueberries and black raspberries. You can, of course, scoop a fluffy pillow of whipped cream on top, but I like it just the way it is.

To make:

Preheat oven to 325F.

Butter a 9x12 cake pan.

The Cake:

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened

2 cups sugar

zest of two lemons

3 extra large eggs

3 1/2 cups King Arthur flour

3/4 t. baking soda

salt

1 cup buttermilk

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1/2 t. nutmeg

Beat butter , sugar, and lemon zest in mixer bowl until creamy.

Add the eggs, flour, baking soda, salt, buttermilk, lemon juice, and nutmeg to bowl and mix until creamy.
Scrape into prepared cake pan and bake for one hour. The cake should be firm on top when you gently press it with your fingertip.

Remove to cooling rack.

The glaze:

1/2 cup lemon juice, fresh

1/2 cup sugar

Mix sugar and lemon juice until the sugar has melted. Simmer a few minutes, then remove from heat.

Using a ruler, cut the cake ( still in the pan) into squares. Carefully remove cake pieces to a rack, then brush each cake piece with the lemon-sugar glaze.

The Berry Sauce:

In a small saucepan, mix:

1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries

3/4 cup fresh or frozen black raspberries

1 T. fresh lemon juice

1 t. shredded fresh ginger, or dried ginger

3 T. sugar

Simmer all ingredients in saucepan about 15 minutes. Serve sauce on cake, adding a few fresh berries to the plate to garnish.

Enjoy!

Featured on TasteSpotting!

mexican chocolate scones

Now you do understand I've never been to Mexico, and have only tasted real Mexican chocolate a few times, but the marriage of chocolate and cinnamon in a chocolate tablet impressed me for life.

So it was another soggy day and I was about to visit a lovely older couple I know. They both have a hilarious sweet tooth (when I once asked their favorite food group, they said "cookies"), and I couldn't arrive empty handed. Mulling over the pantry over a strong cuppa, I decided to combine milk chocolate chips with cinnamon in a buttery scone. Perfect.

And it was. I purposely made a batch of 8 small scones, but you can double the recipe without any difficulties, making much bigger scones. They have all vanished in the space of the day, so the combination seems to be a popular one!

To make:

2 cups King Arthur flour
1 stick (4 oz) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips
3/4 cup buttermilk
salt

Preheat oven to 375F.
Line a jellyroll sheet pan ( baking pan) with foil.

In mixer bowl, mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, and cold butter.
Mix until the butter is incorporated well.
Add the milk chocolate chips and mix briefly.
Add the buttermilk and a pinch of salt and mix JUST until it comes together.
Gather the dough and pat into a circle. Roll with rolling pin so top is smooth.
Cut in circle of dough in half, then cut in half again, then two more times ( is that right?) until you have 8 triangular pieces.
Place scones on baking sheet ( you can sprinkle a few choco chips on top of each scone for a little extra chocolate) and bake for 22 minutes, or until the scones feel light when you pick one up. This is the best way of testing whether they're done. If they're still heavy, let them cook a bit more.
Remove from oven to cooling rack.
Enjoy with a strong cup of coffee or some milk.

Featured on Photograzing!

Twelve Hour Bread: food of the gods

I never know when a new recipe will catch my eye, or where I'll find it. This delicious Pain de Campagne recipe came from a novel I was reading: Bread Alone, by Judith Ryan Hendricks. Smack in the middle of following Wynter Morrison's divorce and her new life as breadbaker in Seattle, there appeared this jewel of an authentic French bread . The recipe looked long. I went into the kitchen anyway. Twelve hours later, I ate the best bread I've ever made - chewy crust, perfect crumb, golden loaves. Warm from the oven, it was food of the gods. I found the flavor diminished when I stored it in a plastic bag for up to two days, so I think next time I'll freeze one loaf and see if that improves the longevity.

But what an accomplishment! At this point, I'm feeling fearless and ready to tackle any bread recipe that comes my way.

Recipe from Bread Alone:

First, you have to make the sponge, or poolish:

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast

1/2 cup water

3/4 cup whole wheat flour ( I used King Arthur)

Dissolve yeast in water, then stir in the flour until it forms a thick batter. Beat about a hundred strokes to develop the gluten. Cover with a damp tea towel and let sit at least four hours, or up to eight, at room temperature. When poolish is ready, it will be bubbly and loose with a lovely scent.

Pain de Campagne

All of the poolish

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 teaspoon dry yeast

between 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 cups unbleached King Arthur flour

1 T. kosher salt

Scrape the poolish into your mixer bowl. Using the paddle attachment, add the yeast and water to the poolish, beating on low until frothy.

Add the flour one cup at a time. I think I used 6 or more cups of flour plus more for kneading. Because my beloved KitchenAid was straining a bit, I scraped the sticky dough onto a floured counter and did the kneading by hand, flicking flour onto the dough and counter as needed. I realized this was a lively, dense, somewhat wet dough, so I tried not to overdo the flour. After 10 minutes of kneading, sprinkle the salt over the dough and knead it in. The dough will still be sticky, but I think that's what gives it such a nice, chewy crust. Place dough in oiled bowl, turning the dough so it's oiled all over. Cover with a damp tea towel and let sit until doubled in size - about 3 hours.

Deflate the dough and let rest for 30 minutes.

Cut dough into two pieces, and gently form rounds or baguettes. I made rounds. Place the rounds on a floured baking sheet, then dust the tops with flour. Cover with a damp tea towel again and let rise for about 2 hours ( or more), until it's not quite doubled in size.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Bring a teakettle to the boil, and pour 2 inches of boiling water into an ovenproof pan.

Place pan filled with water on lower oven rack.

Slash the tops of the bread with a sharp knife , or razor. Sprinkle a little flour on tops, again.

Slip the bread onto the top rack and bake for about 40 minutes, or until the loaves thump when you knock on the bottoms.

Turn off the oven, and prop the door open. Let loaves sit another 5 minutes.

Remove to cooling rack.
Do not cut bread until fully cooled. I cheated. After 20 minutes, I tore chunks ( which I think makes the bread taste better) of sweet, chewy bread off while still warm and slathered the bread with unsalted butter. Incredible.