Peach and Almond Custard Pie

For me, summer means peach everything. They're my favorite fruit to bake with and my favorite thing to bake is pie. I had some peaches in the crisper drawer and my go-to peach dessert, my mom's peach pie, on my mind...and then my husband and I started wondering what other types of peach pies there were that I hadn't tried yet.

The answer to that, my friends, is peach custard pie. And it is just as amazing as it sounds. Flaky pastry, juicy peaches, a custard spiked with almond extract, because I just can't have a peach pie without almond. So in that respect it tastes quite a bit like the pie I talked about here years ago, but custardy! I think it might be a new favorite here. 

The original recipe calls for thyme in the custard and cinnamon in the crust. I love them both separately, but together? I'll definitely be trying this one in the future; I'm intrigued by the combination. But for this pie, I wanted the familiar pairing of peach and almond. It was simple and delicious.

The only other change I would make is to cut the peaches in smaller, bite-size pieces. The slices look beautiful, but they weren't very easy to eat. My pie took a whole lot longer to bake than the recipe called for, but my crust didn't burn and the custard didn't separate, so although I was worried, there was no reason to be. It turned out perfectly!

Peach and Almond Custard Pie

makes 1 9" pie

A side note about the crust: I happened to have exactly 1/4 cup buttermilk in my refrigerator to make this, but if you don't have any on hand, use whatever crust you are comfortable with, or the crust recipe included in my previous peach pie post. This was delicious and fairly easy to work with for an all butter pastry, but I'm not sure I would have known there was buttermilk in it if I didn't know about it already.

Crust:

1/2 c. butter, cubed

1 1/4 c. flour

1/4 t. salt

1 T. sugar

1/4 c. buttermilk

Filling:

2 eggs

1 1/4 c. milk (I used half and half)

3 T. flour

1/4 t. almond extract

3/4 c. sugar

1/4 c. dark brown sugar

1/4 t. salt

3 c. sliced (or chopped) peaches

For pastry: Combine flour, salt and sugar. Cut in butter with pastry blender until crumbly. Slowly add buttermilk, tossing with spoon after each addition, until dough comes together. ( I didn't even need the whole 1/4 cup, maybe about half of that.) Wrap dough in plastic and chill for 1 hour. 

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Roll out dough on lightly floured work surface to 1/4" thickness. Roll dough onto rolling pin and transfer to pie plate. Fold edges under and crimp as desired. In a mixing bowl, whisk eggs, milk, flour, extract, sugars and salt until smooth. Place peaches in crust and pour custard over. Place on baking sheet and bake 40 minutes to 1 hour 10 minutes (that's really how long my pie was in the oven before the custard finally looked set. I was a little nervous...) or until pie is only slightly jiggly in center and feels firm to touch. Let stand at least 30 minutes before serving. Cover and chill if you don't eat it all in one sitting. (We were tempted.)

Greek Salad with Egg and Greens

I've missed blogging. I'm ready to get over the reasons I gave myself to stay away (not happy with my photography, my lack of cute props, my writer's block, my lack of original recipes....). I miss making great food and sharing what I've learned and created here with whoever might drop in. I'm welcoming myself back and welcoming you, as well. Let's talk about some food!

Quinoa, Spinach and Garbanzo Bean Salad with Smoked Paprika Dressing

 

Summer is nearly here. It's just around the corner (or around the weekend...) and I can't wait to get the garden planted and fire up the grill for the first time. The baby vegetable plants and herbs are getting put in the ground today. Just a few months until we get jewel-bright tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers for salads and snacking. Until then, I decided to make this salad with baby heirloom tomatoes we found at a little grocery near us. It has a big produce section, a deli and tons of bulk foods.

Chili with Sausage and Jalapeno

It feels like it's time. Time for soup making and bread baking and more specifically.... time to try more chili recipes. There are so many recipes out there for chili. They can be 38-ingredient-long labors of love or simple throw-it-in-the-pot kind of recipes. This was one of the straight-forward, classic tomato sauce and cumin types, but with sweet Italian sausage added for a boost of meaty flavor and fresh jalapenos to turn up the heat.

 We both loved this bowl of chili. It's nice and thick (perfect for scooping into a tortilla chip) and has just the right amount of heat....for me, anyway. Someone may have doused his serving with hot sauce....There aren't any beans in this version and we really didn't miss them. I loved the green peppers and the fresh spiciness that the jalapenos added. We may have found  our new favorite chili recipe...until I make the next one on my list, anyway. This is a great "classic" chili, perfect for people like my dad, for instance, who just want the basics. No frills, no experiments, no surprises. Just chili. And that was exactly what I wanted for dinner.


Chili with Sausage and Jalapeno
serves 8
from Bon Appetit


4 T. olive oil, divided
1 lb. lean ground beef
3/4 lb. Italian sweet sausages, casings removed
1 large onion, chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
6 garlic cloves, minced
2 28-oz cans crushed tomatoes in puree
3 T. chili powder
2 T. cumin
2 T. light brown sugar, packed
1 T. ground black pepper
2 t. dried oregano
2 t. dried basil
pinch cayenne pepper
2 T. lime juice (optional- I left this out; my tomatoes seemed plenty acidic already)
Hot pepper sauce
Grated Monterey Jack cheese
Chopped red onion
Sour cream

Heat 2 T. oil in heavy large pot over hight heat. Add beef and sausage; cook until brown, breaking up with a spoon, about 8 minutes. Transfer meat to a bowl. Reduce heat to medium-high. Add remaining oil to pot. Add onion, bell pepper, jalapenos and bay leaves. Cook until vegetables are soft, stirring often, about 7 minutes. Add garlic; saute 1 minute. Return meat to pot. Mix in tomatoes and next 7 ingredients. Simmer 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mix in lime juice. Season with salt. Serve in bowls, passing condiments on the side.

Blueberry Oat Scones

It's high time I started baking again. I love it, but unfortunately, I have a hard time sharing. Luckily, my mom and dad were here for a visit and helped give these scones a good home. I love this recipe for a number of reasons....

Carrot-Ginger Soup and Scallion Meatballs with Snow Peas and Shiitakes

It's been a while since I've made something that made me this happy. I'm not sure whether it was just the taste, or if it was the satisfaction of making a meal that my husband raved over, or if it was the knowledge of time well-spent on a Saturday night, or a combination of all of these. But just know that every slice of the knife, every second spent reducing the sauce, every penny spent on ingredients-- it's all worth it. This is a comforting, and yet exhilarating, combination of flavors and textures. You really do need to try these recipes. They have to be experienced to be believed.

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

Maybe this is how blogging is supposed to be. I took this picture on the spur of  the moment, after I took one bite, looked down and thought, " That's beautiful." So I decided to post it and share my creation with you. It started out as banana nut oatmeal, which I had made before and my husband loved. As it's his birthday today, I wanted to create something extra special for him and bananas foster oatmeal was born.

Up until now, I've posted recipes that I thought would be delicious, or would take a good picture. I would spend days, and even weeks and months trying to find the perfect recipe. And nothing would get posted.  I have a lot less time these days to cook since I've started working two jobs, so that's affected my blogging/cooking/baking routine, too. But even more than that, I would try to plan, to perfect the dish and the plating and photography in my head so I would have something "blog worthy". But I'm going to try to be more organic in my posts, sharing what I make because it's something I think everyone needs to have in their lives. This is one of those things. It's a decadent bowl-- definitely something for special occasions and it's quite possibly the most elegant way to dress up your breakfast ( or brunch, if you're like us and wait until 12:30 to think about eating on a Sunday). I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Bananas Foster Oatmeal

serves 2-4

3 c. water

1/2 t. salt

1 c. stone-ground oats (we love Bob's Red Mill brand)

1/2 c. walnuts, toasted

3 T. butter, divided

2 ripe bananas, sliced at an angle

scant 1/4 c. dark brown sugar

pinch of salt

1/4 t. cinnamon

grated nutmeg

milk/ cream, to taste

Bring water and salt to a boil in medium saucepan. Add oats slowly, whisking to prevent clumps. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook 10 minutes. Meanwhile, melt 2 T. butter in pan. When foam subsides, add bananas and cook 3-4 minutes and turn over. They should be softened and warmed through, but not mushy. Add brown sugar, pinch of salt, cinnamon and a few gratings of nutmeg; stir gently to melt the sugar, being careful not to mash bananas. Cook 3-4 minutes longer, stirring gently, then add 1 T. butter and continue to stir until melted and smooth. When oatmeal is cooked, taste for seasoning. I like to add a little more salt and a bit of sugar to bring out the flavor of the oats. Stir in milk or cream to taste ( a creamy oatmeal will balance the sweetness of the topping). If you like, stir in about half of the caramel from the bananas, leaving just enough to coat them and some extra for drizzling. Portion oatmeal into bowls and top with bananas, caramel sauce and toasted walnuts.

Pumpkin-Swirl Brownies

I've always been on the fence about the combination of chocolate and pumpkin. I will almost always choose peanut butter or caramel.... but this recipe made me change my mind. This most definitely works and if you've ever wondered why people insist on putting these two flavors in the same pan, well, this is why. It's delicious. 

Peach Pie

When is pie more than just a dessert? When it becomes a legacy. When it becomes the symbol of one of the most influential people in your life. When it has meaning. That's what this picture represents. It's who I am and who I would like to become. Come along with me on my journey....

Chipotle Fish Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Cream

Is there anything more perfect for summer than a fish taco? We don't think so, unless it's eating ice cream by the quart or making cheeseburger sliders with mini pretzel rolls. But for this post, I wanted to share a creation/bastardization of a recipe I had tried before and tweaked slightly to make my own. As much as I love a fried piece of fish, I'm a little wary of deep-frying things in my tiny kitchen. So I took my favorite breading for pan-frying fish and gave it a Baja twist.

Besides the crispy fish fillet, the other star of this dish is the lime-cilantro cream. Imagine, if you will, a cool, creamy tzatziki sauce with a Mexican accent and you will have an idea of how delicious this sauce is. You could easily use any leftovers as a dip for vegetables and it's so easy, you will want some of this on hand and within easy reach. Just three ingredients: sour cream, lime juice and cilantro (and I added some lime zest as well because you can't have too much lime!), season to taste and you're ready for taco night.

I love the colors of red and green cabbage. You could just as well have one or the other, especially if you're only serving a few for dinner. But extra cabbage in the refrigerator means coleslaw at your fingertips and I am nothing if not a coleslaw fiend. That, also, is a summer staple and I've never had a home-made coleslaw I didn't love.

Here is where I got creative with the original recipe. The first time I made these, the instructions directed me to coat the fish with minced chipotle chiles and cook until blackened. The problem I ran into was that the moisture of the chiles in their delicious adobo sauce was that it was far too moist to actually sear and blacken the fish. It was tasty, but there wasn't any texture. So I decided to take the cornmeal coating of my favorite catfish recipe and apply it here. I brushed the fish with the adobo to make the cornmeal adhere and fried until well and truly crisp and golden. I won't be making fish tacos any other way.

Chipotle Fish Tacos with Cilantro-Lime Cream

Serves 8

adapted from Bon Appetit

1 c. sour cream

1 c. finely chopped cilantro, divided

2 T. lime juice

zest of 1/2 lime

1 T.  cumin 

1 t. salt

1 can chipotles in adobo

       (sauce only, reserve chiles for another use)

1 c. yellow cornmeal

1 1b. basa/ tilapia fillets

1 T. vegetable oil

16 6" corn tortillas

1 stick butter, melted

2 c. shredded green cabbage (1/4 of a head)

2 c. shredded red cabbage ( 1/4 of a head)

2 c. chopped plum or cherry tomatoes

Whisk sour cream, 1/2 c. cilantro, lime juice and zest in a small bowl. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Whisk cumin, salt and cornmeal in a shallow dish ( such as a pie plate). Lay fish on a large plate and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Working with one fillet at a time, brush/ smear adobo sauce over both sides of fish, then coat with cornmeal mixture, pressing to adhere. Heat oil in a large skillet over high heat. Add fish and cook until golden and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Move to a paper towel-lined plate to drain and sprinkle with a little more salt, if desired. Heat another skillet over high heat. Lightly brush one side of each tortilla with melted butter. Working in batches, place tortillas, buttered side down, in skillet. Cook until soft, about 20 seconds per side. Arrange tortillas, buttered side up, on a platter. Break/ slice fish into small portions and divide amongst tortillas. Top with cabbage and sprinkle with tomatoes and rest of cilantro. Drizzle with cilantro-lime cream and serve.

Monster Cookie Bars

Um, hello again. I really did not mean to be gone for that long. Funny how a few weeks can turn into a few months. So many factors contributed to my absence.... a new computer with a new version of iphoto that I needed to get used to... a sense of dissatisfaction with my photography skills.... the impending loss of my current job.... I guess I just lost my motivation somehow but the truth is, I've missed writing about food and taking pictures of it, even though I wish they were better. But I'm going to forge on and share with you the perfect bar cookie to make for your end-of-summer picnics. Meet my new friend, the monster cookie bar.

Sushi Bowl

This is the recipe that made my husband fall in love with brown rice. Over and over again he would turn up his nose at brown rice and whole wheat bread and I would try to accommodate him as much as I could. But then I found this recipe by Heidi Swanson ( a favorite blogger of mine) and I decided to make this as is, except making chicken instead of tofu. He'll never be a vegetarian, but I'm so thankful he is open to trying new things and eating healthy foods. Like this dish, for instance. It's short grain brown rice tossed in a citrus-soy dressing, with toasted sheets of nori and toasted sesame seeds, asparagus and avocado. All the delicious Asian flavors I love, without the hefty price tag of actual sushi.

FFWD: Spinach and Bacon Quiche

This is a winner of a quiche. So simple (yes, even the pastry..) and so delicious. There is nothing like the combination of fresh spinach and bacon. It's a match made in heaven and I never get tired of it.  I'm a big fan of breakfast dishes and will happily eat things like omelettes for dinner, so I was very excited to try this elegant and eggy treat.

Lenox Almond Biscotti

  

If you've never made your own biscotti before, you're missing out on something wonderful. If you've only had them from a box, or one that was massed produced and handed to you with your morning coffee, there's a whole new world of deliciousness awaiting you. I'm a big fan of crazy flavors in my biscotti, but for this, my first biscotti post, I had to share my favorite: straight-up almond.

FFWD: Bistrot Paul Bert Pepper Steak

This pepper steak was delicious. I'm a big pepper fan and I can still remember the first time I used freshly ground pepper to cook with. I was in my first apartment and cooking for myself. I had bought my very own salt and pepper set and I could not get over how aromatic that pepper was. I had no idea it could smell so fragrant or that it could be spicy. The powder in the spice rack I was used to was nothing like this.

Baked Sunday Mornings: New York-Style Crumb Cake

What do you get when you streamline a coffee cake down to its bare essentials? This cake. It's the contrast between the rugged, sugar crunch of the topping with the tender softness of the sour cream cake that makes it so special. No nuts to take away from the brown sugar sweetness, no chocolate, no swirl. I love a good minimalist, if you can call the glorious excess of this crumb minimal, that is.

Mushroom Sauté

Spring vegetables are what I have been craving for weeks. Because of my schedule, I haven't been able to cook on Mondays like I usually do, so today I jumped at the chance to try one of Heidi's new recipes from her cookbook that just came out, Super Natural Every Day.  My husband gave me Super Natural Cooking for my birthday and we both loved the recipes I made from that one. This is another winner. From front to back, the book is filled with recipes that make you want to eat and instructs you step by step to the dish you knew you wanted, but didn't know was waiting for you behind a mere handful of ingredients.

FFWD: Mocha Éclairs

As hard as I try for perfection, sometimes it just isn't meant to be. If I had a large family or more friends to practice on, I might have done a practice run with this recipe. But what you see is what we got. I couldn't decide what flavor I wanted to use, so I made coffee and chocolate. The end result wasn't quite what I had pictured in my head, but they were delicious, if not the most beautiful eclairs I've ever seen.

Baked Sunday Mornings: Carrot-Coconut Scones with Citrus Glaze

 

It's not too soon for another scone post, is it? I hope not. I never get tired of scones. I could be classified as an addict. And I'm totally addicted to these coconut scones. Adding coconut to a scone was a first for me. These really are a bit like a glorified cookie, but made with a biscuit formula. But if it looks like a scone and tastes like a scone, that's enough for me. I love the cragginess that holds the citrus glaze like tiers of lace. It doesn't get much more beautiful than this. Or more perfect for the arrival of spring!

FFWD: Garlicky Crumb-Coated Broccoli

Dressing up a vegetable is always a good idea. Not that I need any extra incentives to eat vegetables; I love the way they taste and I will rarely cover them up with sauce.  However, this dish kills two birds with one recipe. Both broccoli and the bread crumbs get a little fancy here and I love it when a few ingredients make such a difference in the flavor of my food. The texture of the dry bread crumbs is a perfect topping for steamed broccoli, which are tossed in a lemon-garlic-spiked butter that gives new life to a pantry staple.

Simplicity is a beautiful thing. That's why I love Dorie's recipes and why this book is becoming one of my favorites to cook from. It's the everyday meals that give me the hardest time. What can I throw together after a day at work that will still taste good? Around My French Table answers that question and lets us have the best of both worlds: elegant French components that will work for any occasion, from a casual dinner to a celebration meal. For more variations on the broccoli, check out French Fridays with Dorie and join us next week for Vanilla Eclairs. This is one recipe that I'm very, very excited to make.