white chocolate strawberry jam cookies

a couple weekends ago, we spent a saturday at my parents' for three reasons: my mom's double nickel birthday, father's day, and to make as many four ounce jars of strawberry jam as we could. an hour and a half into it, we made four batches of jam, jarred close to thirty jars, and were starting our clean up when mom stopped mid-sentence "now really, why does anybody ever buy jam? it's so easy to make. it takes no time, it just dirties a lot of pots." i think she's on to something.

if you've never made your own jam before, it's easy. unbelievably easy and pretty dang hard to mess it up. last year, i went directly to the source - my almost eighty year old grandfather, who has been making jam longer than i've been alive - and learned a few tips to make jamming even easier.

so rather than make another jam, i wanted my jam in a cookie, but not a thumbprint. sure, thumbprints are great, but to me they're almost, ever so slightly mundane. and they're a christmas cookie in my book.

thumbprints are out. lucky for me that left me with these white chocolate raspberry jam cookies i bookmarked in my google reader last summer. swapping out the raspberry jam for strawberry was easy, the hard part was how to marble the jam into the cookie.

the first sheet, i spooned the jam over the cookie and marbled it with a paring knife. they came out ok, but i wondered if there was a better way.

the second sheet, i mixed it up. i added the jam and then poked holes in the dough with a toothpick (left). i spooned jam on top of the dough and did nothing else (middle). and i swirled jam with a toothpick (right). honestly - and as you can tell by the pictures - it doesn't really matter what method you use. mine all came out pretty much the same.

and while these aren't very attractive cookies, they're delicious with homemade jam.

white chocolate strawberry jam cookies
adapted from hot polka dot
1 hour, makes 18 cookies

1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1/2 cup strawberry jam

1. preheat your oven to 350F and place a rack in the center. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. 
2. in a large bowl, cream the butter and sugars together. add the egg and vanilla and mix until incorporated. 
3. in a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, and salt together.
4. slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture until incorporated. mix in the white chocolate.
5. spoon dough in heaping tablespoons on the cookie sheet. use the flat bottom of a glass to lightly flatten the cookies. 
6. spoon about 1 teaspoon of jam onto each cookie. spread the jam around so it evenly covers the top of the cookie.
7. bake about ten minutes, or until the tops are lightly browned. cool completely on a wire rack and store in a sealed container. these cookies are best within a day or two of when they're made.

strawberry lemon bars

while there's no doubt i am a lover of berries through and through, there are very few berry and fruit combinations that i really like. strawberry + lemon is one of them. it doesn't hurt that jason loves lemon desserts. which is shocking, since he mentions often that he doesn't "like dessert." yes, really. which is actually good for me, since his lack of a sweet tooth often limits how much i bake. my pants are thankful.

these are classic lemon bars - perfectly tart and sweet - spiked with fresh strawberry juice, another great use for super ripe berries that may not look quite as pretty as their less ripe counterparts. got a favorite sweet tart crust? fill it with this strawberry lemon filling for a grown up version of the bars.

strawberry lemon bars
adapted from baking bites
1 hour, makes 24 bars

the crust to filling ratio for us was a little low - the filling is perfectly sweet-tart and it needs the cookie crust to balance it out a bit. next time i will make one and a half or double the crust. [curious about a thicker crust? check out leanne's version with one and a half times the crust and an AP/wheat flour blend!]

for the crust:

1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

for the filling:

1 cup fresh lemon juice
3 teaspoons lemon zest
1/2 cup pureed strawberries (about 3/4 cup berries)
1 1/4 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. preheat your oven to 350F and grease a 9x13 inch baking pan. set aside.
2. make the crust by creaming the sugar and butter together in a bowl. with the mixture on low, gradually beat in flour and salt until crumbly. dump the mixture into the pan and press into the bottom in an even layer. bake for about 17 minutes, until the edges are set and the top is starting to brown.
3. prepare the filling while the crust bakes. in the bowl of a food processor, combine the lemon juice, zest, sugar, and eggs. pulse until smooth. add the flour, baking powder, and salt, and process until smooth.
4. when the crust has finished baking, pour the filling immediately over the crust (no need for it to cool). bake for an additional 25 minutes, or until the filling is set.
5. cool completely before slicing and store in the refrigerator.

check out more sweet treats at sweet tooth friday!

strawberry vanilla summer cake

it's day three of strawberry week! be sure to check out the other recipes using one of my favorite fruits.

this cake is great after a nice, light, summer dinner, with a side of lightly whipped cream. and it's even better the next morning for breakfast. the strawberries turn super sweet, and almost jam-like, creating a perfect layer of strawberry goodness over a moist vanilla cake.

while i'm definitely keeping this cake in my arsenal for next summer - or another lonely quart of super ripe berries - i would make a few adjustments next time.

i used grandpa's homegrown berries, tiny, thumbnail sized berries rather than the big, fat berries at the grocery store. the small berries, especially cut in half, made a layer of strawberry jam on top of the cake. next time, i'll leave the berries whole and layer them between the cake batter rather than leave them all on top. and instead of making two small cakes, i'm going to make one big cake, baked in a springform pan. i was sure to well grease my pan, and the sides and bottom still stuck to the pan enough so it bugged me. a springform pan should cure it.

other strawberry cakes on my to bake list:
joy the baker's strawberry upside-down cake with cardamom
piece of cake's strawberry buttermilk upside-down cake
the galley gourmet's strawberry dream cake
russian season's strawberry sponge cake

strawberry vanilla summer cake
adapted from smitten kitchen, who adapted it from martha stewart
1 hour, makes 2 six inch cakes or 1 nine or ten inch cake

while deb made a nine inch cake, i decided to split the cake into two six inch cakes (one for me, one for work). the six inch cakes baked beautifully and deb warned that a standard nine inch pie plate isn't big enough for this cake; it will overflow. the most viable options: a deep dish nine inch pan, two deep six inch pans, and a nine or ten inch springform pan.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup vanilla sugar (or granulated sugar + the seeds of a vanilla bean or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract)

1 egg, room temperature
1/2 cup milk, room temperature
small splash of vanilla extract, about 1/4 teaspoon
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 pound strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and halved
2 tablespoons vanilla or plain sugar

1. preheat your oven to 350F. grease a nine inch deep dish pan or two six by two inch pans and set aside.
2. in a medium bowl, beat the butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy with a mixer. mix in the egg, milk, and vanilla, until combined. with the mixer on low, mix in 1 cup of the flour, then the baking powder and salt. finish with the last half cup of flour and mix until combined.
3. pour mixture into prepared pan or pans and smooth over the top. spread the strawberries over the top of the batter in a single layer. i had a double layer of berries, since they were so small. sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar over the berries.
4. bake for 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 325F and bake until brown and a toothpick comes out clean. deb suggests 50 to 60 minutes for a nine inch cake and my six inch cakes took about 40 minutes, but you may want to check them after 35 minutes.
5. let the cake cook in the pan on a rack (don't try to invert it while hot, unless you want a hot strawberry mess on your hands. the berries turn jam-like and make a mess when the cake it still hot). cut into wedges and serve with whipped cream.

check out more sweet treats at sweets for a saturday!

strawberry sorbet

i bought my ice cream machine soon after we moved into our house in late may 2009. the very first thing i made was a basic vanilla ice cream made with milk and heavy cream (it took me a while to work up to custard based ice cream) and topped with fresh strawberries. soon after, i made this strawberry sorbet.

sorbet is the easiest frozen dessert you could ever make. juice some fruit, add some sugar and a splash of vodka, and freeze in your ice cream machine. super easy. and the flavor is incredible. i made mine from a quart of super ripe berries i got at the public market for a steal. apparently most people think ripe, super red strawberries are past their prime, rather than in it.

strawberry sorbet
adapted from david liebovitz, in the perfect scoop
1 hour prep, makes 3 cups

1 pound fresh strawberries, rinsed, hulled, and halved
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vodka
pinch of salt

1. toss the strawberries with the sugar and vodka in a bowl. cover and let sit about an hour, stirring occasionally.
2. pour the strawberry mixture into a blender and add a healthy pinch of salt. blend until smooth.
3. refrigerate the mixture (in the blender carafe) until very cold, at least one hour, or overnight.
4. process according to your ice cream maker instructions.

check out more sweet treats at sweet tooth friday & sweets for a saturday!

this recipe was selected by Alli as one of her top five favorites for sweet tooth friday!

1:1 berry cobber

i'm officially moved, settled and trying to get my act together and start blogging again.

in hopes that you will forgive me for being away for so long i'm offering up this recipe that is a seemingly impossible combination of easy and delicious. seriously, you usually have to pick between one or the other, but this baby blows that theory right out of the water.

i've been doing my best to take advantage of all the berries that are coming into season right now by going to pick them myself. there's just something about coming home with red fingers and scraped ankles and pounds and pounds of berries. 

this recipe calls for 2 1/2 to 3 cups of berries, which is about the same amount of batter used, hence the 1:1 title. i used a combination of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and a handful of cherries. i just realized cherries might not technically be a berry? can anyone confirm or deny this? they do end in "erry", but i'm not convinced.

basically, you stick a few tablespoons on butter in the pan while your oven is preheating and let it get warm and melty. whip up the batter, stick in the berries, cover with pecans and brown sugar and you're done! seriously, how easy is that?

warning: when you take this pan out of the oven you will be tempted to dig right in. seriously, it smells that good. when i ran my knife around the edge of the pan and caught a rogue berry i thought it would be smart to pop it in my mouth. boy, i was wrong. molten hot berry lava, as it turns out, equals major mouth burning.

but, if you have the self control to ignore it and let it cool you will have a summery, seasonal and scrumptious dessert on your hands. i quickly threw together some whipped cream to dollop on top, it's the boyfriend's favorite, but you could easily use cool whip, ice cream, or just let the cake fly solo. 

to close, thank you for bearing with me during my brief hiatus. now that i'm settled i'm really looking forward to getting back into the swing of things blog-wise. i've missed you all!

1:1 berry cobbler

adapted from eating out loud

serves 9 

ingredients

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup milk

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 to 3 cups chopped fruit

1/4 cup pecans (optional)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1. preheat oven to 375 degrees. add butter to 8x8 baking pan and place in oven during preheat. keep an eye on it and make sure to take it out once the butter is completely melted.

2. coarsely chop fruit and set aside.

3. in a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, granulated sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. add milk and continue to whisk until batter has no lumps.

4. in baking pan with melted butter, pour batter in but do not stir! the butter will pool around the sides and top - this is totally okay.

5. place berries evenly over batter and sprinkle with nuts and brown sugar. bake for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and tests done.

nutritional information:

calories: 219, fat: 7.14g, cholesterol: 7mg, sodium: 133mg, carbs: 37g, fiber: 2.18g, sugars: 25g, protein: 2.84g.

as always, thank you for reading & happy baking!

amanda

strawberry mojitos: the kickoff to strawberry week!

for as long as i can remember, my grandpa has grown strawberries and every summer makes a batch of strawberry jam. this year, when i visited my mom for her birthday, she had a few quarts of berries grandpa picked for me to take home. by a few, she meant three. 

so just as i had a week of blackberries last year (i have a feeling it will be back again this year), i'm kicking off strawberry week with a variation of my all time favorite drink: the mojito! so stay tuned this week, as i'll have a new strawberry recipe every day for the next seven days! (miss a day? check out the strawberry week link on the right side of the page.)

strawberry mojitos
adapted from white on rice couple, who adapted it from the berry bible
10 minutes, makes 1

i always have simple syrup on hand (i use it in my morning coffee, it takes no time to make and dissolves a lot better than granulated sugar). if you don't, make more than you need and store it in the refrigerator for a few weeks.

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup water

3 fresh strawberries
4-5 fresh spearmint sprigs, chopped or torn into smaller pieces
1/2 lime
2 ounces light rum (optional, leave it out for a virgin mojito)
club soda

1. in a small saucepan, combine the sugar and water. bring to a boil and boil until the mixture is clear. remove from heat and let cool. store extra in the refrigerator.
2. in a tall glass, add 3 tablespoons simple syrup, the strawberries, and the mint and muddle together with the back of a spoon or a muddler.
3. squeeze the juice from the lime into the glass, add the rum and stir well. 
4. fill the glass with ice and top off with soda water.

mexican baked eggs

i'm starting to think that eggs really are the perfect meal. they're great for breakfast, lunch or dinner. they cook fast and can be cooked a number of different ways. these eggs get a bonus: make the beans and tomatoes once for a weekend breakfast and a weeknight dinner.

i saw this recipe last christmas, amidst a flurry of sugar and chocolate, and bookmarked it for later. needless to say, the recipe and thought got lost in the back of the bin, with other layer cakes and elaborate dishes. until last sunday. when i wanted something more substantial than a bowl of cereal for breakfast. these eggs were just the thing i was looking for. the only thing missing was a thin slice of avocado to top it off.

looking for more tasty ways to prepare eggs?
poached egg with avocado and fresh pico de gallo
weekend breakfast bowls
potato frittata
italian eggs
 
mexican baked eggs
adapted from kalyn's kitchen
30 minutes, serves 4 to 6

i split this into two meals. on sunday morning, i split the bean mixture in half and baked it with four eggs. later that week, i heated up the rest of the beans and folded them into an omelet. both ways were delicious.

1 small onion, diced
4 cloves of garlic, minced 
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano

15 ounces black beans, rinsed and drained
14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes 
8 eggs
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1. grease one large or two small casserole dishes and set aside.
2. coat the bottom of a medium saute pan with olive oil and set over medium heat. add the onion and garlic and saute until starting to soften, about five minutes.
3. stir in the cumin and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, about two minutes.
4. add the black beans and diced tomatoes. simmer about 10 minutes, or until thickened. 
5. preheat your oven to 450F.
6. divide half of the beans evenly among the casserole dishes you're using. sprinkle with cheese and crack as many eggs as you would like on top of the beans. spoon the rest of the beans around the eggs.
7. bake for about 5 minutes for soft eggs or 10 minutes for hard eggs. turn your oven to broil and cook an additional two minutes. serve with toast or tortillas.

2011.09.12 this was the Slow Roasted Italian's pick for the secret recipe club!

crunchy croutons

got some day old bread lying around? maybe the heel of an italian loaf? or a few slices of a skinny baguette leftover from a summer barbecue? turn (thanks for spying the typo amanda!) old bread into croutons. easy, quick, and light years better than any you can buy in a package. and they are great on top of a nice crisp, cold, summer salad.

[are you as excited for strawberries as i am?! hang on, i've got quite a week coming up...]

croutons
20 minutes, make as much as you want

day old crusty bread, think italian or a hearty sandwich roll
olive oil
salt & pepper
whatever dried herbs and spices you like - i used garlic powder & italian seasoning

1. preheat your oven to 375F.
2. cut the bread into cubes, about half an inch to an inch square, depending on how big you like your croutons.
3. lay the bread on a baking sheet and drizzle liberally with olive oil. toss to coat and add more oil until all of the bread is coated, but not soaked with oil.
4. season with salt, pepper, and your herbs and toss to coat. spread the cubes out on a single layer.
5. bake about 20 minutes, or until the bread is perfectly toasted to your liking.
6. store in the freezer for up to a month.

2011.11.07 this was one of Culinary Adventures with Camilla's picks for the secret recipe club!

caramel corn two ways

in the last two years , i have attempted caramel corn at least half a dozen times with zero success. i was determined to tackle it this year, so much so that i added it to my 11 in 2011 list. first i burnt the popcorn (bad enough that have a pan dedicated to stovetop popcorn). then i mastered the popcorn and burnt the caramel. and the last few times, i mastered - or so i thought - the popcorn and the caramel, only to have it turn to sand once the popcorn was coated and cool enough to eat. the only thing worse than taking a big bite of sand coated popcorn, is a bite of actual sand.

so last week, while jason was away (and i could try every night until i got it right) i tackled it. not just once, but twice. in two days. on my first try.

i started the week, with amateur gourmet's caramel corn (glad to see i'm not the only one who had trouble tackling it), a dark caramel made with brown sugar. i really liked the flavor and while i was doing my caramel corn research (this time via google, instead of cookbooks), i found both deb and joy's recipes. i wasn't in the mood for spice (deb's version) and had a feeling the secret lied in the baking soda, absent from joy's version. so i put the two together and came up with the best of both world's: sweet & salty caramel corn.

which one is better? both jason and i loved the caramel corn made with brown sugar. the sweet & salty corn is good, it's just missing a little punch flavor the other corn gets from molasses in the brown sugar. next time i'm going to tone down the brown sugar a bit and add more salt to the butterscotch caramel corn recipe.

what's the secret to good caramel corn? honestly, i don't know, but my guess is the baking soda. once the baking soda is added, the caramel foams up - doubling in size - and becomes the consistency of shaving cream. the foam makes it a lot easier to coat the popcorn. and not burning the popcorn or caramel helps too.

robust butterscotch caramel corn
adapted from amateur gourmet
1 hour, makes 4 quarts

while i really enjoyed the flavor of dark brown sugar in this popcorn, next time i will try either all light brown sugar or a 50/50 mix of dark brown sugar and plain old granulated sugar, to make it a bit less molasses-ey.

1/3 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup of your favorite nuts (optional)
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/4 cup corn syrup
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. preheat your oven to 250F. line two baking sheets or two 9x13" pans with nonstick spray and set aside. spray the inside of a large mixing bowl with nonstick spray.
2. place the oil and popcorn in a large saucepan and cover (use a glass lid if you have it, so you can see what's going on with the popping). place over medium heat and wait for the first kernel to pop. when the first kernel pops, move the pan and keep it moving by sliding it back and forth until all the popcorn is popped. transfer to the mixing bowl and toss with the nuts, if using.
3. in a medium saucepan, combine the butter, corn syrup, sugar, and salt and cook over medium heat. bring to a boil and boil without stirring for five minutes. remove from heat and whisk in the baking soda and vanilla (the mixture will foam up and be the consistency of shaving cream).
4. pour the caramel over the popcorn and use a silicone spatula to evenly coat all the kernels. spread the corn onto the baking sheets or pans and bake for 40 minutes total, stirring every 10 minutes.
5. let popcorn cool in the pans and store in an airtight container.

sweet & salty caramel corn
inspired by joy the baker, adapted from smitten kitchen
45 minutes, makes 2 quarts

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup unpopped popcorn kernels
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 teaspoon baking soda

1. lightly coat a large baking sheet or 9x13" pan and a very large mixing bowl with cooking spray. set aside.
2. place the oil, popcorn, and 1/2 teaspoon salt in a large saucepan and cover (use a glass lid if you have it, so you can see what's going on with the popping). place over medium heat and wait for the first kernel to pop. when the first kernel pops, move the pan and keep it moving by sliding it back and forth until all the popcorn is popped. transfer to the mixing bowl.
3. in a medium saucepan, combine the sugar, butter, remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 cup water. cook over high heat, without stirring, until the mixture becomes very light caramel color, about 10 minutes. remove from heat and whisk in the baking soda (the mixture will foam up and be the consistency of shaving cream).
4. pour the caramel mixture over the popcorn and use a silicone spatula to evenly coat all the kernels.
5. transfer the coated popcorn to the baking sheet or pan and spread into smaller pieces using the spatula. stir the popcorn around frequently until cool, about 15 minutes.
6. store cool popcorn in an airtight container.

check out more sweet treats at sweet tooth friday and sweets for a saturday!

secret recipe club: simple almond sandwich cookies

it's time again for the secret recipe club! i was still on a banana high after last month's banana rum cake, and had to seriously pull myself away from anything banana. which brings me to one of my favorite ever flavors: almond.

this month, it was sanjeeta's blog, lite bite, that these almond cookies are adapted from. perfect. i modified the cookie recipe slightly - mainly so i didn't have to roll and cut out the cookies, who has time for that!? - and i filled them with almond buttercream. since the only thing better than almond cookies, are almond cream filled cookies.

what's the secret recipe club? it's a much better version of secret santa. each month participating bloggers are assigned another participating blogger to make a recipe from. you pick the recipe, adapt it as you wish, make it, and blog it on the same day as the other participating bloggers. click to find out more information or join.

simple almond sandwich cookies
adapted from lite bite
makes 36 cookies or 18 sandwiches

for the cookies:
1 1/2 cups wheat flour
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon semolina flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
heavy pinch of ground cinnamon
1/2 cup almond flour or finely ground almonds (give them a whir in a food processor)
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon honey

for the filling:
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1. in a medium bowl, whisk the flours, salt, cinnamon, and ground almonds together. set aside.
2. in a separate bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. mix in the honey.
3. slowly mix the dry ingredients into the butter sugar mixture until incorporated.
4. separate the dough roughly in half, roll each half into a log, and roll in plastic wrap. refrigerate for at least an hour. the diameter of your roll is a bit less than the size of your cookies, since they spread when they bake. my logs were about three inches wide.
5. preheat your oven to 350F. line a sheet pan with parchment and slice the logs into about quarter inch slices. arrange slices on the baking sheet so they are at least 2 to 3 inches apart. bake 10 to 12 minutes, depending on the thickness of your cookies, until light golden brown. cool on a cookie sheet.
6. while the cookies bake and cool, make the filling. beat the butter until light and fluffy. slowly add the confectioners sugar until incorporated. add the almond extract and mix until incorporated. if the mixture is too dry, mix in water, a few drops at a time.
7. when the cookies are cool, match them up based on size. fill with about a tablespoon of filling and sandwich them.

i'm still alive!

dear loving readers,

i'm still alive, i still exist, i'm thinking of you all and can't wait to get back to blogging.

sadly, the only thing i've had the time, energy or the mixer to make are those guava & cream cheese cupcakes up there. they were decent, not fantastic, and i feel like i've lost a little of my mojo. i know, i'm a little sad too. but, there's a light at the end of the ever-shortening tunnel: we move in to our gorgeous new apartment on friday!

yup, things are going to be hectic until (and, let's be honest, probably shortly after) then, but once we're settled i'll be able to bake up a storm and maybe leave baked goods outside the doors of all my neighbors. that's neighborly, right? or is it weird and creepy? either way, it's probably going to happen.

food hasn't totally left my life since my blogging hiatus. i've actually been dining al fresco a lot, which is a favorite thing that i forget about as soon as the weather dips below 70 degrees. 

(please ignore the lower half of my generously proportioned cat sticking interrupting my photo. he's loving deck-life too, mostly engaging in bird harassment.)

i also went strawberry picking last week, which was fantastic and delicious and a great way to spend some time outside. it's been surprisingly cool in DC (mixed with unbearably hot, don't get me wrong!) and i've been trying to log in some outdoor hours before the real heat wave comes in and stays.

i'm also furiously hitting refresh on the websites of local farms with sour cherries. i've never picked them before and rumor has it their season is very short, so i'm staying diligent! there must be cherry pies in my future!

okay dear readers, i've got to get back to job hunting and cover letter writing, but check back soon and expect wonderful & summery treats in your blogging-futures.

as always, thanks for reading.

amanda

ps: GWB now has a mobile site! yup, that means you can carry all my recipes around in your pocket and pull them up without wading through clunky browser nonsense. you don't have to do any work beforehand either, you'll automatically be rerouted there. how 'bout that!

garlicy BLT

i'm hubs-less this week. jason took the week off and headed down to oklahoma to spend the week with his mom. which leaves me with a week's worth of cooking for one, which unexpectedly has me thinking about my single girl days.

see, before we lived together, i lived in my own apartment for two years. it was one of the best things i ever did for myself. i had my own routine, my own place for everything, and didn't have to answer anyone. those of you who have lived by yourself - in your own space - know exactly what i mean. but once you live with someone, in a place that belongs to both of you - not his, not yours, but ours - it's different. not bad, just different. so as much as i love him and can't wait for him to come back on saturday, everyone could use a little time to themselves. i'm filling mine by hanging pictures, planting my garden, and cooking. lots of cooking.

and one married kate trait i've kept (you know, besides being married) - for the most part - is making myself a decent dinner. single girl kate ate a lot of cold cereal, scrambled eggs, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for dinner. married kate makes tomato sauce from scratch and stuffs ravioli. i think i've found a happy medium with this sandwich - simply mix a crushed garlic clove with a few tablespoons of mayo before spreading it on your roll. build your BLT with good thick, crunchy bacon, sliced tomatoes, and lettuce. and you're set for a night of chick tv.

portobello risotto

i haven't yet figured out this summer's weather. it started out cold and rainy for a few weeks. then we had a week or so of heat and humidity, so much so that we turned on the air conditioning already. and now we're back to cold, overcast, and threat of rain every day for the next week.

so while we should be grilling whatever meat we can get our hands on with a side of cold salads and refreshing beat-the-heat drinks, we're devouring risotto and soup and hot roast chicken, while our grill anxiously awaits it's first burger of the season.

the good news: crummy weather doesn't stop the influx of fresh produce at the market. i picked up these portobellos and onions at the public market last weekend. don't care for mushrooms so much?? toss in whatever spring vegetables you like. that's the beauty of risotto - you can add whatever vegetables you want and it's pretty hard to screw it up.

portobello risotto
45 minutes, two main course servings

4 tablespoons unsalted butter
few tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, finely diced
2 portobello caps, cleaned, gills removed, cut in half and thinly sliced
1 cup arborio rice
4 cups vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup parmesan cheese

1. bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan and keep hot.
2. in a large saute pan or dutch oven, heat the butter and oil over low heat. saute the onions for a few minutes, until almost translucent. add the mushrooms and cook until soft, about 5 minutes.
3. add the arborio rice and cook, stirring frequently, until the rice is toasted, about three minutes.
4. add about one cup of the hot stock to the rice and mix to coat. cook for a few minutes, stirring occasionally, until most of the liquid has been absorbed. continue adding about a cup of stock and cooking the rice until all of the stock has been added.
5. mix in the parmesan cheese, season with salt and pepper and serve.

blackberry swirl ice cream

i know, i know. i really should have saved this one for this year's blackberry week, but i just couldn't wait that long. last week, i just happened to have some blackberry juice leftover from making this cake for my sister's bridal shower - which i filled with blackberry curd (more on that later). and since the weather has finally decided that it's summer, skipping right past the 70s and 80s and hitting record-breaking 90s, i already had ice cream on the brain.

not only is the vanilla base of this absolutely perfect, as far as french vanillas go, but the sweet-tart blackberry is the icing on the cake. now i can't wait to see what other fruits i can swirl - raspberries, strawberries, peaches. i can't wait until this batch is gone and i need to make another!

blackberry swirl ice cream
ice cream base adapted from david lebovitz
makes 1/2 quart

i halved this recipe, mainly because there's only two of us in this house, but also because i scrambled the eggs the first time i tried to make it and didn't have enough eggs left to make a whole batch. turns out the the halved recipe is the perfect amount of ice cream for the two of us. i also used skim milk instead of whole, again because i used up the rest of my whole milk in the scrambled eggs. i was skeptical at first, but it works.

1/2 cup milk - whole, 2%, or skim (yes, i've used skim and it works fine)
pinch of salt
1 vanilla bean, split
1 cup heavy cream
3 egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup blackberry juice (from about 3 cups blackberries)
1/2 cup sugar

1. heat the milk in a sauce pan just until it simmers. split the vanilla bean and scrap the seeds into the milk. remove from heat, cover, and steep 30 minutes to 1 hour.
2. pour the heavy cream into a bowl (preferably a bowl with a pour spout). set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl and set aside.
3. remove the vanilla bean from the milk and reheat the milk just until it simmers.
4. in a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. while whisking the eggs, slowly add a few tablespoons of the hot milk mixture. continue to add the hot milk to the eggs, whisking continuously, until at least half of the milk has been added. pour the egg milk mixture back into the saucepan with the rest of the milk.
5. cook the mixture over low heat and stir continuously with a rubber spatula until it coats the back of the spatula. (when you feel the mixture start to thicken, it's done. my first attempt at this resulted in scrambled eggs, so be sure to watch them carefully. it took about 5 minutes for the mixture to thicken.) remove from heat and pour through the strainer into the heavy cream. stir, cover, and refrigerate for a few hours or overnight.
6. while the ice cream base is cooling, make the blackberry syrup. heat the blackberry juice and sugar in a small saucepan. simmer about 5 minutes, or until reduced to half a cup. set aside and chill.
7. when the ice cream base is chilled, process according to the directions of your ice cream maker.
8. once the ice cream is churned, add about 1/4 to the bottom of your container and roughly smooth out the top. drizzle with about 1/3 of the blackberry syrup. continue layering the ice cream and syrup, ending with ice cream.
9. cover and freeze until firm.

check out more sweet treats at sweet tooth friday and sweets for a saturday!


this recipe was selected by Alli as one of her top five favorites for sweet tooth friday! check out all the other great sweets!