Saturday's Theme: Rustic Foods

Confession:  I love grocery shopping.  I like to look at meats and cheeses and products.  And wine.

On Saturday, my mom and I went shopping at the new Fresh Market that opened up in Pawleys.  I know it might be a little ridiculous to get excited over a grocery store, but I love looking at the things I can't get at Wal-Mart or even The Pig.  When I lived in Columbia, I had Earth Fare and Fresh Market within a reasonable distance if Publix didn't have what I wanted.  So yes, Fresh Market excites me.  And it's closer than Piggly Wiggly.

We had a pretty filling lunch at Roz's at the Hammock Shops, so we didn't want a big dinner.  Enter Fresh Market's inspiration.  I'm perfectly okay with hearty bread and cheese for dinner, so that's what we did!  I'd been eyeing this Kalamata olive bread earlier, so we grabbed a loaf of that.  It was big and crusty but not too crunchy like a baguette might be.  My mom wanted a little meat with the spread.  Thinly sliced capicola ham had just a touch of spice to it and was a nice addition to our little meal.

Does anyone else love the olive bar at grocery stores?  I love olives of all sorts, though Kalamatas are probably my favorite.  We chose large green olives with pimientos, Kalamata olives, and some hot cherry peppers.

I have a love affair with goat cheese, so we headed over to the cheeses and picked out a Norwegian goat cheese.  We would later be surprised by it.  Speaking of dairy, how could we not get some European salted butter?  Really, how could we live without it?!  Probably pretty easily, but if you've got the option, do it.

Our spread

That brown stuff on the far left?  That's the goat cheese!  I was completely surprised when I unwrapped it.  As it turns out, it has a slight caramel flavor to it.  Not in an unappealing way either, at least not to me.    I think it might be more of an acquired taste for some, but you won't know if you like something unless you try it.  A little look at this cheese blog explains more about how it's made.  I honestly didn't mind the sweetness since we were getting a fair amount of salt from olives and ham.

And of course, there was wine.

This was a malbec they had on display.  I am by no means a wine critic.  I just know when I like something and when I don't.  I enjoyed this pick along with the rest of the meal.

Don't forget dessert!  In keeping with the rustic theme of the meal, I made a free-form plum tart and served it with Talenti's Tahitian Vanilla Bean gelato.  Gawd, y'all it was tasty.  I combined two recipes to make one yummy tart.
For the dough, get out your:

• Flour
• COLD butter
• Salt

This recipe is from Food & Wine, courtesty of Jacques Pepin.  He made an apple tart, but it's an appropriate dough for really any tart.

Give 1.5 cups flour a quick mix with a pinch of salt.  Add 1.5 sticks of cold butter that has been cut into cubes.

If you have a food processor, this can be mixed in about two seconds.  I decided to use my hands, but you can also use a pastry cutter or a fork even.

Gettin' messy.

Eventually and without too much work, the butter should roughly be the size of peas.

Add 1/3 cup ice water.  I placed ice cubes into 1/3 cup of water while I mixed the butter and flour.  When I was ready for the water, I removed the ice cubes and removed any water that was added from the cubes melting.  I reserved the extra water in case I needed it.

After drizzling the water over, I gently mixed the dough with a fork until it just came together.  Dough can be rather finicky and may need extra water for a variety of reasons.  I ended up adding an extra tablespoon to mine, but you may find that 1/3 cup is just right.  If you need extra water, add it a tablespoon at a time because you can always add water if you need it.  You can't remove it, however.  

Knead the dough a couple of times on a lightly floured surface.  Pat the dough into a disc, then roll that baby out!

Okay, so I would've liked it to be a little rounder.  But hey, that's rustic for you.  You can always trim the edges if you're more of a perfectionist.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and transfer the dough to the baking sheet.  Parchment paper is good because it keeps food from sticking and also takes care of any mess you might have.

Here's where recipe #2 came in.  Sunny Anderson on the Food Network has a plum tart recipe that looked yummy.

You'll need:

• 4 plums
• Jam (I used black raspberry)
• More butter
• Sugar
• Egg

Start by cutting your plums into about 1/2" slices.  Really all I did was cut around the pit in a crosswise fashion so that the fruit came off the pit easier.  Then I sliced those quarters in half.  The slices should be roughly the same size so that they cook evenly.

The picture says it better than I can.

You end up with a mess of plums.

Spread 2 tbs of jam on the dough, leaving a nice, wide border.  

Arrange the plum slices in a pretty fan pattern.  Actually, you could probably just throw 'em on there and not notice the difference.

And because there's not enough butter in the crust, drizzle 2 tbs of melted good stuff over the plums.  Sprinkle a little sugar on them while you're at it.

Fold the dough over the plums.  You should be able to see the plums in the middle and still have some good surface area to work with on the dough.  Remember that egg?  Beat it with a little water to make an egg wash.  The yolk of the egg will give the dough a golden color, and the white will make it shiny.  Brush the egg wash over the dough and sprinkle with more sugar.  I prefer raw sugar for this because I like that you can see the big flecks of sugar on the dough.

Bake at 400º for about an hour.  I checked it at 45 minutes and it was almost ready, so I let it go a few more minutes and took it out.

Nom.  As you can see, it was a bit juicy.  Not that I'm complaining.  But I was glad to have put down parchment paper because it didn't stick AND I didn't have any mess to clean up.

I had plum slices leftover, so I used them as garnish on the gelato.  I may have licked the plate.  I can't be responsible for my actions when I eat delicious crust.

Here's the easy-to-follow version.

Rustic Plum Tart (serves 6)

Adapted from Food & Wine and The Food Network

Dough:

• 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour
• Pinch of salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
• 1/3 c ice water
• 1 egg, beaten
• Raw sugar for sprinkling

Filling:

• 4 plums, sliced into 1/4"-1/2" wedges
• 2 tbs jam or preserves
• 2 tbs butter, melted

Preheat oven to 400º.  Combine flour and salt in a medium bowl.  Add cubed butter and mix in with fingers or pastry cutter until butter resembles peas.  Drizzle in ice water and mix gently with a fork.  Knead the dough 2 or 3 times on a lightly floured surface, then pat dough into a disc and roll into a rough circle.  Transfer dough to a parchment-lined baking sheet

Spread jam on the dough, leaving a border of about 2".  Arrange plum slices on jam and sprinkle with sugar.  Drizzle melted butter over plum slices.  Fold dough around plums, leaving the middle exposed.  Mix the beaten egg with 1 tbs water and brush dough with the mixture.  Sprinkle sugar over dough.  Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Serve warm with ice cream. 

This tart is just that, a little tart.  It's not too sweet, which is why ice cream or gelato goes so wonderfully with it.  I almost ate it for breakfast this morning but decided I would rather have it with my afternoon coffee.

Easiest Damn Lemon Meringue Pie

Pardon my French, y'all.  But it really is the easiest doggone lemon meringue pie.

Last night we had Sybil (my grandmother), my Aunt Mandy, and cousin James over for dinner.  We had shrimp creole, cole slaw, peas, and crusty buttered bread.

Lawd, it was good.  Dessert was the easiest damn lemon meringue pie.

One of the reasons it was easy was I didn't make the crust.  It was the Keebler graham cracker crust, and it did the trick.

First things first, you'll need:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
• 1/2 cup lemon juice
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/3 cup sugar
• graham cracker crust

Preheat your oven to 325º.  Then, go ahead and separate the eggs.  The yolk will be in the filling, and the whites are the base of the meringue.

Yokels.

Egg whites.  Pronounced "h-whites."

Beat the yolks together until they've combined themselves into one massive yolk.

A powerful force.

Then, stir in the sweetened condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.

I used a combination of fresh and bottled lemon juice.  It's always nice to have a little fresh flava in there.  I'll also use any excuse to use my lemon juicer.

The mixture will thicken up once you give it a few good stirs.  Pour it in the pie shell and bake for 30 minutes.

While the pie is baking, let's get started on the meringue.  In a large bowl, beat the egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar on medium speed.  This is the perfect job for a stand mixer, but a hand mixer works just as well.  And, well, you can beat them by hand, but we do live in the 21st century, no?

Yeah, it looks a little...suspicious. No worries, with a little time it'll look spectacular.

Okay, so I took a little liberty with the definition of "soft peak." I was in a bit of a time crunch.  Ideally, I would've waited for it to be a little less foamy and the peak a little less floppy.

By the way, the peak is the little crest that forms when you pull the mixer attachment or beater out of the egg white mixture.

At this point, start adding the sugar gradually.  You don't want to dump it in all at once because meringue is a glorious, airy substance, and dumping would defeat the purpose.

Beat the meringue until you get stiff peaks.

THAT is a stiff peak.  Yes, caps and italics.  Oooooo Lawd, look how angelic that is!

Take the pie out of the oven and increase the temperature to 350º.  Spread the meringue on the hot pie, making sure not to deflate the good stuff.  Spread it all the way to the edge to seal the pie, and pop it in the oven for another 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Resist the urge to stick your face into the pie.  If you're serving it to other people that is.  What you do on your own time is your business.

Cool it on a wire rack for an hour and then in the fridge for 3 hours.

Try not to eat the screen.  Sorry, talking to myself again.

Delicious food, good company, and hilarious conversation should always be capped off with a good dessert.  This pie was tart in the way that only lemon can provide sometimes, and it complemented the sweet crust and fluffy meringue.

Easiest Damn Lemon Meringue Pie (serves 8)
courtesy of the Keebler Elves

Ingredients
3 eggs, separated
1 (14 oz) can sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
Keebler graham cracker crust
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
1/3 cup sugar

• In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks until combined.  Stir in the condensed milk, lemon juice, and lemon zest.
• Spread lemon mixture in the crust.  Bake at 325º for 30 minutes.
• While the pie bakes, beat egg whites, vanilla, and cream of tartar in a large bowl on medium speed until soft peaks form.
• Gradually add the sugar while beating on high.  Beat until stiff peaks form.
• Increase oven temperature to 350º.  Spread meringue over hot pie to the edge of the crust to seal it.  Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. 
• Cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours.

Just Follow the Yellow Brick Road

Dorothy had it quite a bit easier than I did.  Well, maybe not.  She did have to deal with a witch who drugged her with poppies and sent flying-freakin-monkies after her.  I didn't have that.

I did have a GPS that wanted me to go through the back roads of Georgia.  Normally, that wouldn't have been much of a problem, but I didn't care to go a route I'd never driven before by myself, knowing I wouldn't arrive in Columbia until after nightfall.  Night driving is not my strongest suit.

Lucky for me, after an hour of not knowing where I really was and no cell service to boot, I came across a sign for Columbus, GA.  Hallelujah!  I was back on track.

And then I accidentally found my way onto Fort Benning.  Oops.  A very nice guard man told me how to get on the interstate I was trying to get myself onto in the first place, though, and all was well.

Then I made my way through Atlanta with no trouble.

And then there was trouble.  A huge daggum thunderstorm made me pull over to the side of I-20.  The rain poured, the lightning bolted, and the thunder, well, thundered.  And then it was clear enough for me to get on my merry little way.

This is what was waiting for me when I got to my sister's.

This is Buddy.  She also has a dog named Holly, but I don't have a good picture of her.  Yes, Buddy and Holly.  Buddy + Holly = Buddy Holly.  And it wasn't intentional.  Holly gives good hugs.

Buddy loves his Aunt Cwuf.  It's said like it's spelled.  Go on, try to say it.  Sounds like how a dog would say my (abbreviated) name, no?  Anyway, he lurves me because (don't tell anyone!) I let him on the bed occasionally for cuddle times.

Anyhow, I made my way to Georgetown today, where these were waiting for me.

Puddin (left) is mostly blind and deaf, so he gave me a little bark when I came in.  He loves me because I put him on my bed in the mornings.  I'm sensing a theme in my life.

Daisy (right) is very prim and only does things on her terms.

Needless to say, it's good to be home.

Sweet Southern Heat

I've been taking my time away in Dothan very seriously.  By seriously, I mean I've read 3 books and am on the fourth in the two weeks I've been here.  I think reading is essential to summer.  TV shows are typically terrible in the months between May and September, with the exception of True Blood and a couple of USA network shows that are my guilty pleasures.

This is my formula for most days

Water---it's deathly hot outside, and I don't drink enough of it.  I don't always drink Perrier, but every once in a while I like sparkling water for a little freshness.  I'm also not very picky about what brand I drink.  That would be pretentious.

A book on a wicker loveseat on a screened-in porch.  There's a ceiling fan to keep it from being too hot, and the bugs can't get in.  Brilliant!

I have the good fortune of knowing incredibly generous people.  We went out on the boat on a fantastically gorgeous Sunday.

We snacked on smoked tuna dip.

One day I'm going to figure out how to recreate this without actually smoking tuna myself.  I'm pretty sure that requires equipment I can't get to.

This is my favorite thing about going out in the Gulf.

See that?  IT'S A DOLPHIN.  They put a real show on for us yesterday.  It's hard to get a picture of them because they zip around so quickly.

They'll come right up to the boats and look at you.  Will thinks they know something we don't.  I'm not going to dispute that.

Even better...

A baby!  Confession:  I love just about everything in miniature.  Babies, puppies, kittens, baby otters.  I could go on for a while.  Baby dolphins are just precious.

The little guy or gal put on a show for us rolling around and swimming by the boat.  You could see the mama dolphin a little further out, and when she thought baby should come to her she let him (or her) know!  There was probably some underwater communication, but she blew the water out of her blowhole really hard twice like she was saying "Get over here!"

Then we saw a shark.

Okay, so we don't know it was a shark for sure.  But let's just say it wasn't saying hello like a dolphin, and I wasn't going to get out a see for myself.  There are no pictures of the shark because I didn't have the wherewithal to grab my camera a shoot.  Sharks'll do that to you.

But isn't the water pretty?  You can see straight to the bottom.

For dinner we like to stop at this little place

Mmmm, Montego Bay.  We'd had a snack while Will's dad cleaned the boat, so I wasn't starving.  But I can always find room for gumbo.

Legend has it the recipe for their gumbo comes from the owner's grandmother, who was a Cajun.  The owner is in his seventies, so that makes this recipe pretty old.  And pretty darn tasty.  Scratch that.  It's delicious.

Even though the gumbo already has a pretty decent kick, a little Crystal hot sauce never hurt anybody.

We also had key lime pie, but that was gone before I even though about snapping a picture. 

One day I'm going to make gumbo and pray it's as good as this one. 

Greetings from LA

I've been keeping busy on my little vacation.  Wait, is it still a vacation if you're not employed?  Semantics.

We went down to Panama City the Saturday before the 4th.  By we I mean Will, his parents, sister, niece, and nephew.  Yup.  We had a crew!  Will's parents have a boat they keep in Panama City, and it's a beaut.

Know what else is beautiful?  The colors of the water you get in the Gulf of Mexico.  And the white sand beaches.

I'm still partial to the beach I grew up on, but water clear as glass and soft white sand sure is purty.  We set up shop a little ways from the beach in the picture.  

On one side was the bay and a short walk across the sand took you to the Gulf.  You can see everything that swims around you, which is helpful when you see something that might like a nibble of your toe.  

Luckily, we didn't see anything like that.  Will would've been the first one out of the water.

We went to the water park here in Dothan with the kiddies on Monday.  It's on the smaller side, which is a big help when you're chasing after two kids who have more energy than that silly pink bunny with the drum.  Needless to say, we had fun.

I also got a pedicure that was way overdue.  Usually I do my toes myself, but every now and then I like a little treat.  Plus my tootsies were particularly out of sorts after walking around Waterworld.

I realize feet are not particularly attractive in and of themselves, but I love this color!  It's OPI's Cajun Shrimp.  I love nail polish names, and how could I not get it once I saw what it was called?

In other news, I might be a little late to the party, but I just finished The Help by Kathryn Stockett.  

I've been meaning to read this for about a year now, and I finally had the sense to buy it.  It's utterly captivating.  I don't want to give too much of the plot away, but it centers around three women in Jackson, Mississippi in the early 1960s.

Oh, you wanted food?  Well I made twice-baked potatoes last night.  They're an easy go-to meal in my family because it's hard to improve upon a potato with bacon and cheese.

Twice-baked Taters (serves 4)

First things first, you'll need:

• 4 medium/large potatoes
• Olive oil
• Salt

I figure about one tater per person, especially if you've got big taters or you're serving a protein.  Really though, these can be a meal unto themselves if you serve them with a salad.

For the inner goodness:

• 5 strips of bacon (one per potato, plus one for garnish)
• Sour cream
• Extra-sharp cheddar cheese
• 4 green onions (chives may be substituted)
• Parmesan
• Black pepper (not shown because I'm a nerd)

Let's take a closer look at the bacon.

It's applewood smoked, the pigs were sustainably raised, and it was the same price or cheaper than the other center-cut bacons.  So I got it.  I love Publix.

First, oil up your potatoes on a baking sheet.  Oh and preheat your oven to 400º.  I sorta forgot because I forget to preheat 80% of the time.

You don't have to drown them, just make sure they're good and coated.  The olive oil makes the skin crispy later.

Take a fork and poke the tops a couple of times.  This will help ensure the taters don't 'splode.

Salt your taters a bit.  

That's a salted tater right thar.

Bake them at 400º for an hour.

You can prep some of the other ingredients in the meantime.  

You gots to fry dat bacon.  Get it crispy and let it drain on some paper towels.

Of course there's an extra slice for tomorrow's breakfast.

Chop dem onions.

Looks like a lot right?  Well the thing about a lot of the cooking I do is you can adjust just about anything to taste unless it's a baking recipe.  So if you only want a hint of onion flavor, don't put a bucketload of onions in there.  Or you can leave them out entirely if you hate onions.

Grate the cheddar while you're at it.  I'd show a picture, but I didn't have a cheese grater.  I used a vegetable peeler, and they turned out fine.  I did use about half the block though.

When your potatoes are ready, pull them out of the oven and cut a slit in the top.  I like to think they cool faster that way.

When they're good and cooled off so that you can handle them with bare hands, start scooping out the innards into a bowl.  Make sure it's big enough to hold everything.

Now you can add the sour cream.  Again, this is one of those things you can adjust to suit your tastes.  If you like it super-creamy add more.  I used about 1/3 cup.  Feel free to add some softened butter if you have it out.  I didn't, and there's no way I'm trying to mix in cold butter.

Moral of the story, don't be afraid to eyeball measurements.  Also, you can always add, but you can't take away.  If you're unsure about how much to use, add it in increments until you get the texture you desire.

Now we can add the cheeses, bacon, and green onions.  Be sure to reserve a few green onions and bacon for garnish.

Once it's good and mixed together, scoop it back into the potato skins.  It'll bulge out, and that's perfectly okay.

Sprinkle some more parmesan on and top with more grated (or sliced) cheddar.

Put 'em back in a 350º oven for about 30 minutes or until the cheese is browned a bit.

Enjoy a beer for all your efforts.

I recommend Sam Adams' Summer Ale.  The Coastal Wheat is tasty too.

When the taters look good, take them out of the oven and serve them!

We ate these last night with a rotisserie chicken and Caesar salad.  They also freeze well and make good leftovers.  Just heat them in the oven and enjoy all over again!