by Caroline on August 24, 2010
The rumblings of my stomach have been silent for too long. Don’t worry. I have been eating well for the past month … just far from home. I went camping with my family, played bridesmaid in an Atlanta wedding and went apartment hunting in NYC—yep, William and I are moving from tropical South Florida back to the Big Apple where William (and hopefully I) will start work in the fall. We returned home for a few days then dashed to Apalachicola, Florida, to visit William’s parents and then Baxley, Georgia, to see mine.
Our best meals along the way were at Cascabel Taqueria, Bhojan (kosher, vegetarian Indian) and Zoma (Ethiopian) in New York; Natalia’s (Italian) in Macon, Georgia; Elements (American) in teeny Lyons, Georgia; B & J’s (fried seafood—get the shrimp basket) in coastal Darien, Georgia; and my Grandma’s house for fried frog legs in Delray Beach, Florida.
Also, with the help of my forester Father, I foraged for edible plant life in the mountains of western North Carolina. We found poke weed, dandelion greens, blackberries, buck berries, sassafras, thistle, mint, and wild apples. To collect the apples, Dad and I trudged through an overgrown field where we disturbed a colony of yellow jackets. I exchanged five stings for eight small apples—a not-so-friendly reminder that I am an urban condo dweller and not a woman of the woods. If Dad humors my locavore longings in the future, I’ll wear boots and long pants.
Our bounty yielded a few oddities and two great appetizers. I made sweet bruschetta by stewing blackberries with a bit of sugar and red wine vinegar. I tossed the syrupy mixture with wilted dandelion greens and placed the topping on toasted and buttered ciabatta. I cooked my prized apples with lemon zest and sugar, spooned the warm apples onto hunks of sharp cheddar and garnished the bites with sprigs of mint. The dishes were simple and spot on delicious.
William and I have been home for less than a week now, packing (and packing) and making meals out of remnants from our fridge. But we leave again tomorrow for San Francisco and Napa (to celebrate the end of William’s law school), and then we’re off to our new home with an unimaginably small kitchen. I’ll keep you posted!
by Caroline on July 27, 2010
It had been a while since I’d enjoyed the simple pleasures of a croque monsieur—a gussied up ham and swiss sandwich that wears a smear of broiled béchamel. The sandwiches are filling, fun and French, of course, and they’re perfect for weeknight belly filling.
With so few ingredients, quality is a must. Buy the best bread, cheese and ham you can. And use whole milk for the sauce—it’s not like you eat these every day!
Here’s the gist of the epicurious.com recipe I used: Make a creamy, peppery béchamel. Set aside. Slip ham and cheese between two slices of sturdy sandwich bread. Brush bread with melted butter, and cook each side in a frying pan until golden. Top the bread with a heaping glop of béchamel, and sprinkle with grated swiss. Broil sandwiches until cheese is golden. Done.
My only change to the recipe was subbing tarragon for chives—you’ll want to add some type of herb to this otherwise veggie-barren sandwich. We served baked fries on the side, but a lightly-dressed salad would make a more nutritious partner.
Whatever you do, be sure to use a knife and fork, lest your fingers fall into the peril of sloppy béchamel. Or skip the silverware and lick your digits clean.
by Caroline on July 15, 2010
I’m not really into cute food. And presentation isn’t my forte, but I was pleased pink with this watermelon salad. The combination is far from novel—red leaf lettuce, watermelon, scallions, blueberries, fresh feta, walnuts and balsamic vinaigrette—but it’s a plateful of summer fruit love. And the watermelon hearts were a simple flourish made with small, heart-shaped cookie cutters. They brought a welcome smile to our dinner table, as they will to yours.
by Caroline on July 10, 2010
William went crazy for this orzo dish, spiked with sweet butternut squash, brown butter, roasted hazelnuts and sage. Thanks to fresh, local produce and a gratuitous helping of fat—why not add butter and cream—the orzo far exceeded my expectations. It was creamy, rich (but not obnoxiously so) and chock full of nutty flavor.
What made the difference?
Walnuts or pine nuts would have worked, but roasted hazelnuts transformed the dish. Olive oil would have coated the pasta just fine, but brown butter worked to amp up the hazelnut flavor. Also, I’m usually I’m lazy with butternut squash, roasting unpeeled squash halves and peeling them once they’ve cooled. For this orzo, I peeled, diced, and roasted the raw squash. That way, a larger surface area of the sweet squash was able to caramelize, further intensifying its flavor.
This orzo is a good example of taking simple (cheap) ingredients and squeezing every ounce of flavor from them. Instead of a ho hum, not-to-be repeated vegetarian dinner, this is a dish my husband will request and one I’ll gladly repeat when there’s fresh squash available.
Read on for the recipe.
by Caroline on July 7, 2010
This winter’s extended cold weather set the season back by about a month, but mango season is finally in full swing. You can read all about mangos—how to eat and cook them, grow them, select and store them, and more—in the latest issue of Edible South Florida Magazine (with a juicy cover photo of Dr. Richard Campbell). Pick up a copy at a Whole Foods near you, and be sure to read my article on local food artisan Alejandra Bigai, owner of Romanicos Chocolate.