Aloe Harvest

My favorite Mama Aloe has been with me since I lived in Chapel Hill and she's a breeder.  Almost every plant lover that's been to my place has adopted at least one of Mama Aloe's babies.

This year she had a pretty easy delivery... no repotting and just a little digging and gentle wiggling.

After the quintuplets' delivery, we just topped her up with fresh potting soil and brought her inside to warm up since the weather's been getting chillier.  I miss the summer planting season but I can't wait for the autumn leaves, crisp air, and scarf-wearing weather!

Let me know if you're in the market to adopt one of these cuties and happy official end of summer!

Autumn Arugula

I rarely start from seed but Michael convinced me to try an autumn lettuce from seed this year.  I picked arugula since it's my favorite right now, sprinkled it into my container on Saturday, and waited.

The package said I had to wait 12-15 days.

But look what I saw this morning!?!?

Can't wait until harvest time!

Milk Chocolate Pots de Crème

Thanks to Food & Wine, dessert for The Hunger Games book club was incredible and inspired by the main character's first experience drinking hot chocolate.

I take a sip of the hot, sweet, creamy liquid and a shudder runs through me.  Even though the rest of the meal beckons, I ignore it until I've drained my cup. (p. 55)

This decadent, impressive, and make-ahead recipe will be on the short list of easy dinner party dessert options from this day forward!

INGREDIENTS
10 ounces milk chocolate, finely chopped
3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
5 large egg yolks
Crème fraîche and chocolate shavings, for garnish

In a large heatproof bowl, combine the milk and bittersweet chocolates.

In a medium saucepan, bring the milk, heavy cream and sugar to a boil, whisking constantly until the sugar is dissolved. In a medium heatproof bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Gradually whisk in half of the hot cream. Whisk the egg-and-cream mixture into the saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring with a wooden spoon, until the custard coats the back of the spoon, about 4 minutes.

Pour the custard over the chocolate and let stand for 2 minutes, then stir until smooth.

Transfer the mixture to a blender and puree until very smooth, about 1 minute. Pour the mixture into eight 4-ounce ramekins and refrigerate until chilled, 2 hours.

Let the pots de crème stand at room temperature for 15 minutes. Garnish with crème fraîche and chocolate shavings; serve.  (Instead of crème fraîche and chocolate shavings, I whipped up the remainder of the heavy cream with some sugar and vanilla extract then sprinkled the top with cocoa powder.)

MAKE AHEAD The pots de crème can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

Basil Pesto

My favorite lunchtime leftover from book club was the pesto pasta!

Fortunately, "noodles in a green sauce" was served in The Hunger Games on p. 76 so we could use this fantastic pesto that we made from our freshly harvested sweet basil and thai basil.  It also worked out great for our vegan and vegetarian book club members that couldn't enjoy the lamb stew.

This is another For Cod and Country recipe and super simple.

INGREDIENTS
1 cup walnuts
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup canola oil
1 pound fresh basil
salt

Toast walnuts.

Place garlic and oil in blender.  Purée.

Add basil.  Purée until mixture becomes a smooth paste.

Add walnuts.  Pulse until the pesto becomes thick.

Salt, to taste.

Serve with any type of pasta and sprinkle pine nuts, cheese, fresh basil, or anything else you want.  It'll always turn out delcious.

Lamb Stew with Dried Plums

Last night, I hosted this month's book club meeting for The Hunger Games and was lucky enough to have a multitude of food inspiration from the text.  Probably the most memorable dish in the book was Lamb Stew with Dried Plums.

The stew's made with tender chunks of lamb and dried plums today.  Perfect on the bed of wild rice.  (p. 113)

Honestly, this dish took a good 4+ hours to make but it turned out so delicious, we will make it again soon!  Perfect meal for the crisp autumn weather just around the corner.

Here's The Hunger Games' twist to the classic Julia Child's lamb stew recipe in Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol. 1.  The lamb stew was served piled high over rice and eaten by the "bucketful." (p. 127)

INGREDIENTS
3 pounds lamb stew meat
2 to 4 Tbs. cooking oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons flour
2 to 3 cups brown lamb or beef stock, or beef bouillon cubes
3 Tbs. tomato paste
2 cloves mashed garlic
1/4 teaspoon thyme or rosemary
1 bay leaf
6 to 12 peeled "boiling" potatoes
6 peeled carrots
6 peeled turnips
12 to 18 peeled white onions about 1" diameter
10 pitted dried plums (prunes) sliced in half
1 cup shelled green peas or frozen peas
1/4 pound fresh green beans (about 1 cup), cut into 1/2" pieces
3 quarts boiling water
1 1/2 tablespoons salt

Preheat oven to 450 F degrees.

1. Cut the lamb into 2-inch cubes and dry with paper towels. The meat will not brown if it is damp. Brown a few pieces at a time in hot fat or oil in the skillet. As they are browned, place them in a fire proof casserole with cover, large enough to accommodate meat and all vegetables.

2. Sprinkle the lamb in the casserole with sugar and toss over moderately high heat for 3 to 4 minutes until the sugar has caramelized. This will give a fine amber color to the sauce.

3. Toss the meat with the salt and pepper, then with the flour. Set casserole uncovered in middle level of preheated oven for 4 to 5 minutes. Toss the meat and return it to the oven for 4 to 5 minutes more. This browns the flour evenly and coats the lamb with a light crust. Remove the casserole from oven and turn oven down to 350 F degrees.

4. Pour out the fat; add 2 cups of stock or bouillon to the saute skillet. Bring to the boil and scrape up coagulated saute juices. Then pour the liquid into the casserole. Bring to the simmer for a few seconds shaking and stirring to mix liquid and flour. Add the tomatoes and the other ingredients EXCEPT vegetables. Bring to the simmer for 1 minute, then add more stock if necessary; meat should be almost covered by liquid.

5. Put the lid on the casserole and set in lower third of preheated oven; regulate heat so casserole simmers slowly and regularly for 1 hour. While casserole simmers, prepare vegetables as follows.

6. Vegetables preparation:
-Trim the potatoes into ovals 1 1/2-inches long, and cover with cold water until ready to use.
-Quarter the carrots and turnips, cut them into 1 1/2 inch lengths, and, if you have the patience, trim the edges to round them slightly.
- Pierce a cross in the root ends of the onions so they will cook evenly.

7. Then pour the contents of the casserole into a sieve set over a bowl. Rinse out the casserole. Remove any loose bones and return the lamb to the casserole. Skim the fat off the sauce in the bowl, correct seasoning, and pour sauce back into casserole.

8. Press the vegetables into the casserole around and between the pieces of lamb. Baste with the sauce. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove, cover and return to the oven. Simmers slowly and steadily for 30 minutes and add dried plums, then continue simmering for another 30 minutes or until the meat and vegetables are tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, tilt casserole, and skim off fat. Taste sauce again, and correct seasoning.

9. While the casserole is in the oven, drop the peas (if fresh) and beans into the boiling water and boil rapidly, uncovered for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are almost tender. Immediately drain in a colander. Run cold water over them for 2 to 3 minutes to stop the cooking and to set the color. Put aside until ready to use.

10. May prepare dish ahead to this point. Set casserole aside, cover askew. Bring to the simmer on top of the stove before proceeding with recipe.

11. Shortly before serving, place the peas and beans in the casserole on top of the other ingredients and baste with the bubbling sauce. Cover and simmer about 5 minutes or until the green vegetables are tender.

Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb (or Bison) with Spiced Yogurt and Herbs

The original recipe in Food & Wine is Slow-Cooked Leg of Lamb with Spiced Yogurt and Herbs but we used a dakota cut of bison instead (because it almost thawed on our drive back up from Asheville and we just HAD to eat it right away).  I know, it's a rough life for us.

Michael had spotted the recipe in this month's Food & Wine and it was AMAZING!  We put it in the crock pot from 8 am (when we left for work) and ate it around 8:30 pm (about an hour after we got home from work).  It literally fell off the bone.

We had more herb salad, couscous and yogurt left over so we made chicken korma the next night and finished it all up.  We're definitely making this again... I'm still licking my lips as I write this post.  So good.

INGREDIENTS
Lamb
1 quart chicken stock or low-sodium broth
2 cups dry white wine
1 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup honey
1 teaspoon whole allspice berries
1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
1 tablespoon ground coriander seeds
2 tablespoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons fresh oregano leaves
2 tablespoons thyme leaves
1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
2 onions, sliced crosswise 1/4 inch thick
15 garlic cloves, peeled and lightly smashed
3 jalapeños, seeded and quartered
One 5-pound semi-boneless leg of lamb (aitchbone removed), tied
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Spiced Yogurt
2 cups plain Greek yogurt
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 cup packed cilantro leaves
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Herb Salad
3/4 cup packed parsley leaves
3/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
1/2 cup packed tarragon leaves
1/2 cup snipped chives
1 jalapeño—halved, seeded and very thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 cup very thinly sliced red onion
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Cooked couscous, for serving

MAKE THE LAMB In a large crock pot, whisk the chicken stock with the wine, lemon juice, honey, allspice, cloves, coriander, paprika, oregano, thyme and peppercorns. Add the onions, garlic and jalapeños in an even layer. Season the lamb all over with salt and pepper and place it in the crock pot, fat side up.

Cook on low for at least 5 hours (the longer, the better).  Take the lamb out and pull out bones.

Strain the braising liquid into a medium saucepan and skim off the fat. Boil the liquid until slightly reduced, about 10 minutes. Season the jus with salt and pepper; keep warm.

MAKE THE SPICED YOGURT Combine all of the ingredients in a food processor and puree until smooth. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a bowl.

MAKE THE HERB SALAD Combine all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and toss well. Season with salt and pepper.

Cut up meat into bite-size pieces. Arrange the lamb on a bed of couscous on a large, deep platter. Drizzle the jus and spiced yogurt over the lamb, top with the herb salad and serve.

MAKE AHEAD
The lamb can be refrigerated with its reduced jus overnight. Reheat and slice before serving.

The Hunger Games

Could not put this book down.

The author does an exceptional job developing the characters with complicated and emotional personalities that I could really relate to.  I felt myself constantly asking "what would I do in this situation" and being sucked into the high-tech, ruthless, and voyeuristic society that replaces North America in the future.

Honestly, the whole premise of the book is uncomfortable.  Here's an excerpt from Amazon.com:

In a not-too-distant future, the United States of America has collapsed, weakened by drought, fire, famine, and war, to be replaced by Panem, a country divided into the Capitol and 12 districts. Each year, two young representatives from each district are selected by lottery to participate in The Hunger Games. Part entertainment, part brutal intimidation of the subjugated districts, the televised games are broadcasted throughout Panem as the 24 participants are forced to eliminate their competitors, literally, with all citizens required to watch.

Fortunately, the story follows the struggles, triumphs, and coming-of-age of a 17-year-old girl and doesn't really focus on the horrible (but frighteningly relatable) world that she lives in.

Love.  War.  Sacrifice.  Plot twists and turns.  Absolutely engrossing.

The Hunger Games is young adult fiction and sci-fi woven to give us a glimpse into the barbaric, selfish, competitive... compassionate, loving, beautiful sides of human nature.

I'm going to put it up there with The Girl with the Dragon Tatoo and give it a 7 out of 10.

Quick and Easy Spaghetti with Sun-Dried-Tomato-Almond Pesto

This vegan recipe is so easy and delicious, it's a perfect mid-week meal served with a salad!  Yum!

It's no surprise that this recipe's from Food & Wine...

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 cup drained oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes (3 ounces)
1/3 cup salted roasted almonds
1 large garlic clove, sliced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs
12 ounces spaghetti
2 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a food processor, pulse the tomatoes, almonds and garlic. Add 1/4 cup of the oil and puree. Season with salt and pepper.

In a skillet, toast the bread crumbs in 2 tablespoons of the oil, stirring, until golden. Transfer the crumbs to a plate; season with salt and pepper.

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta until al dente. Drain, reserving 1/2 cup of the cooking liquid. In the pot, toss the pasta with the pesto, reserved cooking water and remaining 2 tablespoons of oil until the sauce clings to the pasta. Transfer the pasta to bowls, sprinkle with the bread crumbs and parsley and drizzle with olive oil. Serve.

Salt-Crusted Snapper with Eggplant-Raisin Puree

Michael has been dreaming of doing a whole salt-crusted fish for a long time.  So when he saw this in Food & Wine, it was a dream come true.

I wasn't too sure about the eggplant-raisin puree but it turned out really good!  Plus we used our Chinese eggplants and bay leaves from our balcony garden to make it extra fun!

The fish was moist, juicy, and not very salty!  And the bones were really big and easy to pick out so not to get stuck in your throat like smaller fish.  Great summer dish.

INGREDIENTS
Three 4-inch cinnamon sticks
1 medium eggplant (1 pound)
1/4 cup golden raisins
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Cayenne pepper
3 pounds kosher salt
2 cups water
One 2-pound cleaned red snapper
2 bay leaves
1/2 lemon, preferably Meyer lemon, cut into wedges

Preheat the oven to 400°. Poke the cinnamon into the eggplant. Roast the eggplant on a baking sheet until tender, about 50 minutes. Transfer the eggplant to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let cool slightly. Discard the cinnamon and peel the eggplant.

In a microwave-safe bowl, cover the raisins with water and microwave at high power until plumped, about 30 seconds. Drain the raisins and transfer them to a blender. Add the roasted eggplant and the olive oil and puree until smooth. Season the puree with sea salt and cayenne.

In a bowl, mix the kosher salt with the water until it is the consistency of moist sand. On a parchment paper–lined baking sheet, mound one-fourth of the salt slightly larger than the fish. Lay the fish on the salt and fill its cavity with the bay leaves and lemon wedges. Poke a short skewer into the thickest part of the fish, just behind the head. Pack the remaining kosher salt over and around the fish to enclose it; leave the skewer visible.

Bake the fish for about 35 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted in the skewer hole registers 135°. Let the fish rest for 5 minutes; crack and remove the salt crust. Serve the fish without the skin, with the eggplant puree alongside.

Serve With Arugula salad.

DIY Terrarium: The Perfect Gift!

We were invited to a housewarming party for our friends Matt and Meg this weekend and I thought it would be nice to put together a little terrarium for their new place.

As most people know, I'm never lacking in plants and always more than willing to share my collection (to make room for more plants, of course!)

The only thing I had to pick up at the garden center was the glass container... but I'm an impulsive plant shopper and picked up this little fuzzy green plant  in the back because I thought it was cute.

Terrariums are super easy: layer of pebbles, layer of charcoal, layer of dirt, and then start decorating!  I pinched off some succulents from the mama plants on my windowsill, threw in a miniature african violet that I propagated last year, then put some moss, rocks, marbles, and whatever else I could find to make it look cozy.

I also like to personalize terrariums using a paint pen and/or sharpie pen.  Just makes it a little more special.

Crostini with Prosciutto, Goat Cheese and Fig Jam

Here's a appetizer that we intended to serve at our dinner party but we ran out of time and HAD to eat them all ourselves!

I found this recipe on a fun new blog The Italian Dish while looking for fig recipes.  If only I could find fresh figs in DC to accompany these delicious little bites, this presentation would have been perfect.

Although sweet basil is probably easier to find in the supermarket, we used thai basil from our balcony garden instead.  It gave it a little more punch and the leaves were the perfect size!

INGREDIENTS
1 fresh baguette
1/8 cup olive oil
sea salt or kosher salt
4 ounces goat cheese, plain, at room temperature
6 tablespoons fig jam
3 slices prosciutto, each cut in half
6 fresh basil leaves
(makes six crostini)

Preheat oven to 375 F degrees.

Slice six 1/2-inch slices of bread from the baguette. I slice mine slightly on the diagonal. Place on a baking sheet and brush generously with the olive oil. Sprinkle a little salt on each slice. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until crisp and slightly golden. Watch that they do not burn. Remove from oven and cool slightly.

Spread some goat cheese on each crostini. Spread about a tablespoon of fig jam on top of the goat cheese. Fold the half slices of prosciutto and place on top of each crostini. Lay a fresh basil leaf on each and serve.

Gazpacho

Another summer favorite that we served at our dinner party this weekend was gazpacho using the tomatoes and parsley from our balcony garden!  Our favorite recipe is in Joy of Cooking, but the only thing we tweak is substituting the green bell pepper for red bell pepper.  I just don't like the bitter taste of green bell peppers.

Here's the recipe on page 99:



Note: It's delicious with a couple slices of garlic toast.  Just press as many garlic cloves as you want into a bowl, mix some olive oil into the garlic, spoon it onto some sliced baguette, and pop it in the oven or toaster oven until it's toasted!

Tarte au Citron

This weekend we hosted a 9-person formal dinner at our apartment to welcome yet another Class of '98 Campolindo High School grad (and her husband) to DC!  We had to pull out both leaves of our table, turn it sideways a tad, and pull over the desk chair to fit everyone, but it turned into a great night of good food and good friends.

One of the highlights of the night was the new dessert recipe I tried: Tarte au Citron (French Lemon Tart).  I found the recipe on Saveur and it looked simple enough, so I thought it would be a great dessert on a hot and humid DC summer evening.

Truthfully, it wasn't as simple as I thought because the crust didn't roll out as neatly as I expected, but I can honestly say that it was worth it!  The crust was like a delicious shortbread cookie surrounding this light, refreshing lemon custard.  The filling was super quick and easy to throw together and I garnished it with fresh mint leaves from our balcony garden and raspberries for a splash of color.



INGREDIENTS
For The Pastry:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup superfine sugar
Pinch salt
2 eggs
1 egg yolk
16 tbsp. butter, cut into small pieces

For The Filling:
6 eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1 cup fresh lemon juice
6 tbsp. heavy cream

1. For the pastry: Preheat oven to 375°. Sift together flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Beat together 1 of the eggs and the yolk in a small bowl, then add eggs, along with the butter, to the flour mixture. Use a pastry cutter or 2 knives to work butter and eggs into flour until mixture resembles coarse meal. Transfer to a clean surface and, working with a handful at a time, knead mixture with the heel of your hand into a smooth dough. Gather together and knead briefly to form a smooth ball, then dust with flour.

2. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into a 14" round, then carefully ease into a 12" false-bottomed tart pan. (Pinch dough back together if it tears or cracks.) Run rolling pin over the top of the pan to cut off overhanging dough, then prick crust with a fork. Line dough with parchment paper, add pie weights or dried beans, and bake on a cookie sheet until edge of crust is golden, about 25 minutes. Beat remaining egg in a bowl. Remove parchment and weights from crust, brush bottom with egg, and continue baking until crust is golden, 5–7 minutes more. Set aside to cool.

3. For the filling: Reduce oven to 300°. Beat eggs and sugar in a medium bowl until thick and well mixed. Gradually add lemon juice, then cream, whisking constantly. Pour filling (you may have a little extra) into prepared crust and bake until filling is set, about 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula

I saw this recipe on the NY Times this weekend and Michael quickly determined that we would make it that day!  Now it's one of his favorite go-to recipes.

The Minimalist posted a quick and easy video that will convince you to make this tonight too!

Pasta With Anchovies and Arugula
INGREDIENTS
Salt
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, peeled and slivered
8 anchovy fillets, or more to taste, with some of their oil
1/2 teaspoon or more crushed red pepper flakes
6 cups arugula
1/2 pound linguine or other long pasta
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Bring a large pot of water to boil and salt it.

2. Put the oil in a deep skillet, and turn heat to medium. A minute later, add the garlic, and then the anchovies and red pepper flakes. When the garlic sizzles and the anchovies break up, turn the heat to its lowest setting.

3. Cook the pasta until it is tender but not mushy. Reserve 1 cup cooking liquid, and drain. Add pasta to skillet, along with enough reserved cooking water to make a sauce. Off the heat, combine the pasta with the greens. Add salt and pepper to taste. Toss, taste and adjust the seasoning and serve.

Creamy Peach Tart with Smoky Almond Crust

Seriously yum!

It's like an easy cheese cake with delicious fresh peaches on top!  Perfect summer dessert from this month's issue of Food & Wine:

INGREDIENTS
2 cups vanilla wafer cookies, such as Nilla Wafers (5 ounces)
1/2 cup smoked almonds
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup sour cream
1 egg
2 firm, ripe medium peaches, peeled and cut into thin wedges

Preheat the oven to 350°. In a food processor, combine the vanilla wafers with the almonds and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until fine. Add the melted butter and pulse until the crumbs are evenly moistened. Press the crumbs into the bottom and 1/2 inch up the side of a 9-inch springform pan. Bake for 10 minutes, until the crust is set.

Meanwhile, wipe out the food processor bowl. Add the cream cheese, sour cream, egg and 2 tablespoons of the sugar and process until smooth. Pour the custard into the crust and bake for 15 minutes, until set. Let the tart cool slightly and transfer to the freezer to chill, about 15 minutes.

In a bowl, toss the peaches with the remaining 2 tablespoons of sugar. Arrange the peaches in 2 concentric circles over the custard. Remove the ring, cut the tart into wedges and serve.

Ming-Cee and Patrick's Wedding

We just returned from my sister's amazing wedding in gorgeous Sonoma, Calif.  Here's the sneak peak from the photographer's blog.

More photos to come...

Mussels Saint-Ex with Easy Strawberry Arugula Salad

One of our favorite new recipes from For Cod and Country is Mussels Saint-Ex (referring to Cafe Saint-Ex in DC) and the only thing Michael substituted was fresh chorizo for dry chorizo because we couldn't find that dry type.  The broth was amazing and the spiciness was perfectly balanced.

We've learned from the book that farmed mussels are delicious and very sustainable.

Like oysters and clams, mussels leave the water cleaner than they found it. Because they're relatively disease-free, they don't require treatment with antibiotics, and they're grown on ropes hanging from rafts, so they have no impact on the ocean floor.

Mussels are also super healthy, even though they are a shellfish and linked with high cholesterol.

Mussels are a rich source of many essential vitamins and minerals, such as the B vitamins, vitamin C, folate, iron, phosphorus, manganese, selenium and zinc. They outshine most other foods when it comes to their vitamin B12, selenium and manganese content.

And because you shouldn't just eat a bunch of mussels with a baguette dipped in broth (as much as you'd like to), I threw together this super easy summer salad with 4 ingredients.

Sliced strawberries
A bag of baby arugula lettuce ("rocket" salad)
Chèvre (I used a half log)
A bag of candied pecans

That's it!  Then just put some balsamic vinaigrette on top and toss. 

Herbed Chèvre with Honey

So what to do with all the beautiful herbs you have grown your garden?  Mix it with cheese, of course!

Just purchase a log of chèvre, cut up the herbs, mix it together with your hands, and shape it in a ball! Then drizzle some honey on top and serve with sliced baguette or crackers.

I used chives, oregano, thyme and winter savory.  I chopped up this whole handful but only mixed in a little less than half.  Honey is also optional... the herbed chèvre is good by itself too.

Cherry Pie for the 4th of July!

As you can see above, my cherry pie is cooling on the windowsill with the pick-up truck in the driveway and Dad Merschat coming in after a hard day's work setting up for the 4th of July bonfire.  If that's not all-American, I don't know what is.

My brother-in-law searched high and low for traditional New England sour cherries but couldn't find them so he brought down these sweet pie cherries all the way down from New Hampshire.  And this is a new pie crust recipe passed down from our friend Nathan's sister up in Maine (and I had never made a cherry pie before) so this was quite an experiment.  Fortunately, it was a huge hit at the dessert table and got rave reviews from everyone at the 2nd Annual Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire!

All in all, it took me a little over an hour to put together and then another hour to bake but if I were organized enough, I could have made the crust up to a week in advance, pit the cherries the day before, and then assembled the pie in no time on the day of the party... but no, as usual I threw everything together at the last minute and poor Michael sat pitting cherries for an hour while I made the crust.  But it was worth it and I'll definitely make this again!

Sweet Cherry Pie

(edited slightly from Smitten Kitchen)

INGREDIENTS

4 cups pitted fresh cherries (about 2 1/2 pounds unpitted)
4 tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 to 3/4 cup sugar (adjust this according to the sweetness of your cherries)
1/8 teaspoon salt
Juice of half a lemon
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into small bits
1 egg, beaten with 2 tablespoons water
Coarse sugar, for decoration

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Stir together the cherries, cornstarch, sugar, salt, lemon and almond extract gently together in a large bowl.

Roll out half of chilled dough (use larger piece, if you’ve divided them unevenly) on a floured work surface to 13-inch round. Gently place it in 9-inch pie pan, either by rolling it around the rolling pin and unrolling it over the pan or by folding it into quarters and unfolding it in the pan. Trim edges to a half-inch overhang.

Spoon filling into pie crust, discarding the majority of the liquid that has pooled in the bowl.  Top the pie with a lattice pattern.

If you've never done a lattice pie, this step-by-step tutorial was perfect for me. 

Bake the pie in the middle of the oven for 25 minutes. Reduce the temperature to 350°F. and bake the pie for 25 to 30 minutes more, or until the crust is golden. Let the pie cool on a rack (or on windowsill).

Pie Crust

INGREDIENTS

4 cups all-purpose flour (or 2 cups all-purpose and 2 cups wheat flour)

1 Tbsp. salt

1 Tbsp. sugar

1 3/4 cup butter/shortening

1 egg

1 Tbsp. vinegar

Up to 3/4 cup cold water (add 1 Tbsp. at a time)

Mix flour, salt and sugar.

Cut in butter/shortening with pastry cutter or pulse in food processor.

Mix in egg and vinegar.  If it needs a little more moisture, add a little bit of water at a time.  You don't want it too wet.

Divide in half.  Roll into ball and flatten into a disk.  Wrap in plastic wrap and leave it in the refrigerator for at least half an hour or up to a week.

Lightly flour surface to roll out dough and put it in the pie pan!

Town House

Just need to share our incredible dining experience in Chilhowie, Va., en route to the Merschat Family Garden Party & Bonfire this weekend.

Our friend Michael Falcone read about it over a year ago and suggested Michael and I stop by on our way down to visit Asheville.  Since Michael and I usually drive down after work, we haven't had a chance to stop in for dinner.  Fortunately, our friend Elizabeth carpooled down to the bonfire this weekend so we had to drive during the day and we decided to finally try Town House.

It has been written up in the NY Times and Washingtonian and well worth the drive.  Our dinner experience was amazing.  Better than amazing.  We had the five course chef's tasting menu with local Virginia wine and I'm still thinking about it.  Check out their blog to see a sample of some of their amazing dishes.  Yum.