'merica

After Sunday night's pre-independence prep, we sat down to enjoy a movie... a very, very bad movie.  I won't give away the name because that would give you a biased judgment and it wouldn't be fair.  But let's just say that all alien invasion movies are not created equal.  Remember Independence Day?  That movie was awesome!  Well, at least this new outer space flick brought back fond memories of an appropriately patriotic movie.

The actual 4th of July kicked off with a late and lazy breakfast celebrating the American Southwest; not actually, but we did make cheddar eggs with peppers, tomatoes, onion and parsley and that's kinda southwesty.  Oh and we had sourdough toast which is all about Frisco!  I'm still trying to forget the turkey bacon.  Like alien movies, not all bacon is created equal, but we'll let it slide for heart-healthy reasons.

firework hair thanks to VintageIce!

With full bellies, we threw on our most patriotic ensembles and headed off to find a slice of good old-fashioned small town Americana, the kind John Mellencamp would sing about.  Along our drive we saw the strikingly beautiful mountains of Connecticut, waterfalls, covered bridges, before happening upon a cute little main street with a beautiful old library have a book sale!  You know I can't pass up a good friends of the library book sale and thank heavens I didn't because I found for Carolyn a well-loved copy of Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking, fourth edition!  I can't believe I didn't catch a picture if this but maybe it's just as well since I suppose it would have been more appropriate for Bastille Day.  Either way, after that, we found the ultimate slice of American pie - the Litchfield Pet Parade!  Cats, dogs, bunnies, fish and hamsters in patriotic clothes?  I'll salute to that!

Next, brown cows and rootbeer floats!  How cute is this roadside stop?  Though I kind of wish I had seen this trailer for A Connecticut Hot Dog Tour before heading up there.  Guess I'll have to plan another trip!

Back to the lake house for our festive supper - sizzlin steak, sweet corn on the cob, sour cherry & feta green salad, and patriotic potato salad!

patriotic potato salad 

there are no real strict measurements or directions to this recipe since a good potato salad is to taste

ingredients

about 12 small to medium potatoes - Appalachian red & blue, Yukon gold or any gold or white fleshed potato you care for

freshly chopped parsley

1 sweet white onion (Spanish, Vidalia, or Bermuda are good) chopped

3 hard boiled eggs, chopped

1 1/2 c mayo

1/4 c mustard (I like a grainy beer-flavored one like Spicy Brown Ale Mustard or an ale dijon)

freshly ground salt and pepper

directions

1. Place the potatoes in a large pot of salted water and bring to a boil.  Let boil until fork tender.  When ready, remove potatoes from the water and rinse with cool water to stop the cooking. 

2. While the potatoes are cooking, whisk together mayo, s&p, parsley and mustard in a large bowl.  Stir in onions and eggs.  

3. When potatoes are cooled, cut into bite-sized pieces and add to the dressing mix.  Stir well making sure to coat each potato with the dressing and taste it to make sure it's delicious.  Cover tightly and refrigerate overnight or for at least a few hours so all the flavors have time to meld together.  Let sit for about 30minutes to take the chill off before serving.

Speaking of potatoes, especially red and blue ones, check out this interesting article about potato varieties that Carolyn found in an old National Geographic at the dentist's office.

With the leftover sour cherries, I invented a new drink and, even though it was a little more British than American, it was delicious.  

sour cherry lime gin fizz

ingredients

1 c pitted sour cherries

1tsp confectioners sugar

1/2 lime

fresh mint leaves

gin

seltzer

directions

1. Mash the cherries, mint and sugar together until they are pulpy.  Add 2 shots of gin and let soak over night.

2. Combine cherry & gin mix with fresh squeezed lime juice, seltzer, and a couple extra shots of gin in a large pitcher with ice.  Stir well.  Serve on ice with a lime garnish.

After supper and cocktails, it was time for fireworks!

(don't tell my dad about this... he says fireworks are dangerous!)

i had to run away quickly so as not to catch on fire!

And there you have it!  Happy Birthday America (and my cousin, Kelly because today is her actual birthday!)  Oh, and many congrats to Joey Chestnut and Sonya Thomas on your big wins down at Coney Island's Nathan's yesterday.  Me and the US of A salute you!

baby, you're a firework

I hope everyone's prepped and ready for the big day tomorrow!  After a breakfast of tasty bagels, I escaped the city for the wilds of Connecticut.  And boy is it wild... so much green you'd think you were in a jungle, wild animals around every turn, a grocery store that you have to drive to.  It's the honest to goodness wilderness.  So drive to the grocery store we did.  But not just any grocery store, this was Stew Leonard's.  All we needed was a little bit of parsley and mustard for my patriotic red white & blue potato salad since I accidentally left those two important ingredients in Brooklyn.  Well thank goodness I did because had I not, I never would have been able to visit the labyrinthine aisles of this market / butcher / grocery store / hoedown.

we decided that we need corn too.
what's independence day without corn?

This store is awesome.  Entertainment while grocery shopping?  Yes, please!

After a leisurely trip through the market, we headed back to the lake house to prep for tomorrow's feast and fix up some supper - not-quite-all-American shrimp tacos with fresh guac and leftover squash slaw.  I was doing an awful lot of work in the kitchen and my sous chef, Fatso, was not as helpful as I had hoped.

After all that hard work in the kitchen (so much chopping,) I was rewarded with a tasty, boozy mojito with fresh mint from the beautiful little garden...

and a lovely boat trip on the lake.  Look how pretty and relaxing.  Boozy boating is my new favorite hobby!  Can you row canoes in the East River?

Well, as you can see my fourth of July celebration is coming along nicely.  And since fireworks are totally legit in Connecticut, tomorrow is sure to be a blast (pun totally intended!)

In case you're not as prepared as me with your holiday themed recipes and party plans, here are a few culinary creations and ideas celebrating the original 13 colonies.

And to get you in a rockin' mindset, I share with you my top ten America the Awesome patriotic party songs.  Well, they at least mention this great land in one way or another.  So put on your classiest, or trashiest, red, white and blue ensemble and get ready to dance under the bottlerocket's red glare - (this is just a quick, off the top of my head list,  but we'll call it a top ten anyway.)

10. Woody Guthrie - "This Land Is Your Land" (you know you love Woody)

9. James Brown - "Living In America"

8. Elliot Smith - "Independence Day"

7. Elton John - "Philadelphia Freedom"

6. Tom Petty - "American Girl"

5. Bruce Springsteen - "Born In the USA" (or really anything Bruce. c'mon, he's The Boss)

4. Animal Collective - "Fireworks"

3. Violent Femmes - "American Music"

2. Simon & Garfunkel - "America"

1. David Bowie - "Young Americans"

do the summer squash

Get ready to burst into the ultimate barbeque weekend with a firework worthy bang... a hot, spicy, Southwestern chipotle bang!  Since I don't have a grill, let alone backyard access, I'm forced to make ends meet with a griddle pan and some panache.  But even though my meals may be celebrating their independence from the traditional backyard bbq (I know you're loving these holiday themed puns as much as I am,) they are worthy of any July 4th celebration, no matter where it happens to be taking place.  So, let's start with the sides.

I am a huge fan of squash.  One Autumn, I brought home so many varieties of squash that my hubby nearly turned orange and reeked of cinnamon and brown sugar for weeks.  But fall isn't the only time to celebrate the season of the squash.  Summer brings us bright and refreshing varieties of immature (that's a technical term, not a judgement) veggies that can be eaten whole and raw, unlike their grownup winter relations.  After a recent trip to the greenmarket, I returned home with five unique varieties:

                                                   avocado squash
                                                   zucchini
                                                   gold ball squash
                                                   tatuma squash
                                                   caserta squash

Though they each have their own unique and fancy appearance, they all have a similar crisp and light flavor.  Summer squashes tend to have a creaminess rather than the nuttiness that their elders of the fall have and are great raw or cooked.  I like to toss them in a salad with a bit of s&p, some citrus, and a splash of oil.  Tonight I made an incredible cold salad that combined all five varieties with a bit of sweetness, a touch of spice, and a hearty helping of zest.

summer squash slaw
ingredients
5 medium sized summer squashes (is that how we pluralize squash?  I'm not sure...), julienned
1/2 finely chopped large red onion (or a whole medium one)
6 radishes, thinly sliced
2 tbsp avocado oil (or veggie oil if you don't have my new fave oil)
fresh ground salt and pepper to taste
1 tbsp fresh lime juice
fresh cilantro, torn
directions
1. In a medium sized bowl, toss squash, onions, and radishes together with fresh torn cilantro, oil, s&p, and lime juice.
2. Cover and let marinate in the fridge for at least an hour, though it's best if it can chill overnight.  Toss again before serving.

This is my favorite side to pair with my famous Southwestern Chipotle Turkey Burgers.  Now, we're not the biggest fans of turkey burgers over here at the sweet spot.  We believe that if you're going to have a burger, you might as well have a real burger... a hunk of medium rare beef with melted bleu cheese, crispy bacon, sauteed mushrooms and onions, ketchup and mayonnaise on a perfectly toasted bun.  Turkey burgers always seem too dry and blandly wimpy.  But I've discovered the secret to perfectly moist and flavorful turkey burgers - spice!  A healthy heap of spicy flare works wonders on the lean and healthy ground meat, so much so that you almost forget that you're not eating a real burger.  And even without a grill, I'm able to create that bbq feel with a nonstick griddle pan that leaves perfect grill lines on the patties.  Topped with creamy cheese, cooling avocado, and fresh crisp salsa, these burgers pack a punch of flavor that commands the respect of their beefier brethren.

southwestern chipotle turkey burgers

ingredients

1 1/2 lbs ground lean turkey

fresh ground salt and pepper to taste

2 tsp quality chipotle powder (I get mine at my fave spice shop, Kalustyan's)

directions

1. With your hands, mix ground meat with s&p and chipotle.  Mix well so as not to have any pockets of spice.  Form into 4-5 patties making sure to put a kind of deep thumb imprint in the center each.  Turkey meet blows up much more than most ground meats do, so putting an indentation in the center of each patty helps prevent them from turning into something that looks more like a meatball.

2.  Cook over a medium high flame about 5 minutes on each side or until firm.  Ground turkey isn't like ground beef in that it can be pretty dangerous if not cooked all the way through.

3. Serve open-faced on top of a slice of hearty bread or an English Muffin.  Top with thickly sliced pepper jack cheese, avocado slices, and fresh salsa.  For an added creamy punch, smear a little chipotle mayo on the bread before topping it.

grill marks sans grill!

Served alongside the squash slaw and some chilled fiesta corn, this meal is fantabulous!  It's light and colorful with tons of flavor.  The spicy heat of the burgers combined with the creamy coolness of the cheese and avocado paired with the zesty, citrusy squash slaw and the sweet spiciness of fiesta corn makes for fireworks of flavor grand finale-ing all over your taste buds.  Add in the fact that it's both healthy and easy, this is the perfect plate to serve at any cookout, be it in a backyard or your kitchen.  The holiday weekend has officially been kicked off.  Happy grilling, everyone!

p.s. fiesta corn is just corn with a splash of salsa.  buy it in a can or make it yourself!

novel nosh - Like Water For Chocolate

So, as you may or may not know, I'm not just an amateur chef, I'm also a librarian.  After graduating college with a degree in literature and art history, I had no idea what I wanted to do with myself.  As the months of post-graduate uncertainty passed, I filled my time with dance parties, hardware stores, coffee, nannying, and trips to the library.  It was those trips to the library that lead me to realize that I could turn my love of literature into a career.  It's still pretty slow going as library jobs seem to be fewer and further between, but I love what I do.  Who wouldn't love being surrounded by books for a few hours a day?  And I work at a school so I get to hang out with students and talk about books for that part of my day... how cool is that?

Well, a little while back (ok, it was all the way back during spring break.  I'm kind of a slacker; sue me) one of my students was talking about a movie she had to watch for Spanish class.  It happened to be Like Water for Chocolate which happens to be one of my favorite books; one that I read for my own high school Spanish class.  When I told her this, she was eager to read the book that she didn't realize the movie was based on, so I lent it to her to read over her Spring Break.  When classes resumed, she excitedly came into the library, eager to talk about the book.  This particular student also happens to share my affinity for delicious and baked treats, so our book discussion quickly led to the recipes in the book.  Now, even though this is one of my favorite books and cooking is one of my favorite hobbies, I've never gotten around to attempting any of the recipes described in the novel.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with Like Water for Chocolate, it is the story of a young woman, Tita, who all her life longs to marry Pedro but cannot because of her mother's strict beliefs that the youngest daughter never marry in order to take care of her family as they age.  Instead of expressing her love physically and emotionally, she expresses it through her cooking.  The story of this Mexican family is told through monthly installments of recipes and their preparation that tie into significant events in Tita's life.  It is a really beautiful story of love and loss, family and friends, food and festivity.

While discussing the story and it's culinary elements, I thought that a great addition to to delirious kitchen would be recipes inspired by the books that I read.  And I thought it would be cute if I made it a regular installment with a cute name so I tossed a few around -  dancing around my head were ideas like 'feasting on words' and 'food for thought', but I eventually decided on 'novel nosh'.  And so, that brings us to our first installment of novel nosh - Like Water for Chocolate.  But it would be way too simple to just whip up one of the recipes described in the book (though I do plan on attempting at least one of them in the future, so look out!)  Instead, I looked to my creative side and came up with my own recipe.  

Obviously it had to be something with chocolate.  But what else?  My mind wandered to Mexico and the beautiful blue-green ocean waves that engulf it's coasts.  And then I started thinking about the sun and the creamy, caramel skin described so romantically in Laura Esquivel's book.  Naturally this led me to make an attempt at sea salted caramel brownies.  And trust me when I say there is no better word to use than "attempt" when discussing my culinary escapades this time around.  Here's how it all went down - 

I figured that it would be best to make the salted caramel sauce first.  Now, we all know that I'm a pro at making caramels, but caramel sauce is an entirely different story.  My first try was a total disaster since, as I was trying to get a good shot of the bubbling amber goodness on my crummy old camera, the mix started to smoke and burn.  Though it still tasted like caramel, it had an icky burnt taste that no amount of gooey chocolaty yumminess could conceal.  So, round two!  The sauce came out much better, but a little thinner than I had imagined it.  As I mixed it in with the brownie batter, I began to question my concoction.

mmm smokey burnt caramel

After the caramel catastrophe, I entered into the brownie meltdown.  After an eternity in the oven, they still came out all goopy with edges of burnt caramel that refused to come off of the pyrex pan.  I think there were two main problems - 

     1.  Like I mentioned before, the caramel sauce that I made was a little 

     too runny.  For the second time around, I'd use less water or even none 

     at all.  

     2.  I mixed too much.  When I mixed in the caramel, I was going for 

     a swirl like you see in marble brownies.  Instead, I just piled caramel on 

     top (all of it which, come to think of it, was probably way too much to 

     begin with) and kind of stirred instead of swirled.  Second shot, I'd 

     sandwich the caramel, maybe 2/3 of the sauce, between a couple 

     layers of brownie mix and gently swirl.  

But these mistake brownies weren't a total waste.  They actually are exactly the kind of brownie you would get at the bottom of a warm brownie sundae!  They're just undercooked enough and the caramel makes them extra gooey.  I put them in little tart tins and stuck them in the freezer so that I could heat them up and top them with some vanilla ice cream for a special treat in the (probably very near) future!

That was all last night.  Tonight, I made a second attempt at this sure-to-be-delicious dessert.  With my altered caramel recipe and a new swirling technique to mix the sauce in with the brownie batter, I was prepared.  And success!  The sweet and savory caramel swirl combined with the chocolaty goodness of my fudgey brownies topped with salted pecans made for a dessert that perfectly reflected the dramatic richness of Like Water for Chocolate.  So there you have it, the first installment of novel nosh.  I hope you've enjoyed it because I've got quite a few books on my shelf shouting recipe inspiration at me that I'd love to share with you, dear readers.  

now that's perfectly amber caramel

resist the temptation of gooey brownie batter... 

sea salted caramel sauce

ingredients

1 c granulated sugar

6 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)

1 tsp coarse sea salt

2/3 c heavy cream

directions

1. In a heavy sauce pan over a medium high heat, whisk the sugar to melt until it becomes a deep amber color.  The sugar might get a little clumpy but be patient, the clumps will melt away.  As the sugar starts to darken, whisk in the salt.

2. As the sugar/salt combo is darkening, whisk in the butter to melt and remove from heat.

3. Add the heavy cream, whisking it in completely.  The mix will bubble up and might splatter a bit, so be careful.  Remember, hot caramel is like molten lava.  Remove caramel to a small bowl and let cool for at least 30 minutes before mixing in with brownie batter.  

* you won't use all of the caramel syrup for the brownies, so put the leftovers in a small container and refrigerate to use as an ice cream topping or apple dipping sauce.  yum! 

sea salted caramel swirl brownies

ingredients

2 oz unsweetened chocolate

5 oz semi-sweet chocolate

3 tbsp cocoa powder

8 tbsp unsalted butter (room temp)

3 eggs

2 tsp bourbon vanilla

1 1/4 sugar

1/2 tsp salt

1 c flour, unsifted

sea salted caramel sauce

1/2 c chopped pecans

finely ground sea salt

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  In a small sauce pan, on a low heat, melt butter and chocolates.  Do not cook, just let it melt.  When chocolate and butter are melted into a thick sauce, whisk in cocoa powder and let cool.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, vanilla, salt, and sugar until well combined.  Stir in chocolate sauce until combined.  Add flour and mix well so that there are no lumps.

3. Pour half of the brownie mix into a greased 8x8 pan.  On top of that, scoop 6-9 spoonfuls (or as my mom would call them, dollops) of sea salted caramel sauce.  Pour the remainder of the brownie mix on top of the caramel.  With a dull knife, very gently swirl the brownie batter and the caramel but do not mix.  Just swirl.

4. Top the prepared brownies with chopped pecans, a few pinches of sea salt, and an extra drizzle of caramel sauce.  Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  (I think my oven may be a little off because it took almost an hour for these brownies to cook completely and this recipe has never taken so long.  Just keep an eye on them and check relatively frequently so that the caramel doesn't burn.)

5.  Let cool for at least an hour before cutting into 9-16 brownie squares, depending on how gluttonous you want to be.  Enjoy!

como agua para chocolate

cherry challange / tuesday tidbits

The other day, I got an email from Lizzie B that went a little something like this -

           "so I don't forget I'm emailing you this.  thinking of a dessert 

           using cherries.  both golden and red. thinking I could soak the

           cherries in some sort of syrup. either simple syrup or an 

           amaretto.  let them sit for a few days. pour on top of vanilla 

           ice cream and crumple almond biscotti on top and maybe

           bottom of glass. clear glass to make it prettier."

Hmmm, this sounds a bit like a challenge.  I love cherries, one of my favorite summertime fruits.  In the fridge right now are some sour cherries, big fat red cherries, and Queen Anne cherries.  Now, to use them in a recipe like my mom described but make it my own?  Let the brain wheels start spinning with some new recipe ideas... challenge accepted!

and now for some tuesday tidbits...

As fellow food lovers, I'm sure you already receive the daily recipes from Martha Stewart.  If you don't you definitely should because every day I get another great idea.  Occasionally I actually make and follow the recipes she sends my way, but more often than not I just use them as a springboard, a little culinary inspiration to tweak and make my own.  And sometimes, the planets align, all the spoons fit together, and I'm sent a recipe using only things that I already have in the house that turns into a delicious meal.  I think tonight might be one of those nights since just this morning I took some salmon out of the freezer to defrost with no ideas of how I would prepare it when, whammie!  Martha's Salmon with Brown Sugar and Mustard Glaze pops up in my inbox.  Kismet, serendipity, luck?  Call it what you will but I think I'll call it supper.  Don't worry, I'll keep you informed of the results and the final recipe.

I'm loving this guide to eggs.  Every week at the green market it seems that there are new eggs that I've either never seen before or would never in a million years know what to do with other than scramble.  Now that I have this handy cheat sheet, I know that goose eggs are great for baking and quail eggs are perfect for salads!  Expect a future post.

A happy day after your birthday to my Uncle Rich who, by the looks of it, might be as big a fan of picnics as I am!  I plan on making some Philly Beer Pretzel Caramels for you... and for Lady Baty because she's actually the one who gave me the idea.

sweet mustache uncle rich!

Check out the awesome little ad my sister made for me -

You can see it all July long on desirous of everything as I sponsor my pal Sarah O's blog.  And stay tuned for my guest post.  I promised excitement!

Also, I made Lou Reed giggle at a book event for his new sorta kinda graphic novel (it's more like art inspired by poems inspired by other poems) at the Strand last night.  It was awesome!  He likes my tattoos.  Now if only I could get him and Anthony Bourdain to hang out with me... what a trio we'd be.