Mango Lassi

No, it's not an orange julius, it's a mango lassi.  Velvety and a little sweet with a warm spice.  Ripe Marathon mangoes from Mexico are bursting out of a lot of markets this time of year and we have our fair share in the kitchen so I thought this was a great way to honor them.  The portions aren't really important in this all that much.  I made a blender full and this is approximately what you can blend together:


2 c milk
1 c yogurt
4 pumps vanilla syrup (about 4 t simple syrup)
2 mangoes, chopped
t ground cardamom 
pinch garam masala
juice from 1 lime (or lemon)

Cajun Meatloaf

I know, meatloaf, not the most glamorous of dishes, but stay with me.  I loved my mother's meatloaf growing up, and one of my favorite pairings with it was pesto with pasta.  I'm not sure how my mother thought of the combo, but every summer she would make loads of fresh basil pesto, toss it with linguini and serve it with her tangy, hearty meatloaf that had just a hint of spice.  It's a rockstar combination.  Trust me.  I've been making a lot of fresh pesto this summer with mounds of basil from the farmer's markets and we seem to burn through it every week with various dishes so it's almost at the point where I can make fresh basil pesto with my eyes closed.  I decided some meatloaf was in order.  I came across this recipe over at Pioneer Woman and while I completely adapted it, hers was my inspiration.  Meatloaf is so forgiving, you can really add in any vegetables you have on hand (which is what I did) and the portions do not need to be even remotely exact.    

Cajun Meatloaf

3/4 lb ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 c chopped carrots
1 bell pepper, chopped
1/2 squash, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/4 c milk
1 T Worcestershire
~ 3/4 c bread crumbs

T paprika

t cayenne pepper

t garlic powder

t ground nutmeg

t black pepper

salt

2 eggs, beaten


1/4 c ketchup
1 T honey

Sauté veggies, onion and garlic in a sauté pan with some olive oil for several minutes. Salt, pepper and add seasonings.  Add worchestershire sauce (and a squeeze of ketchup if you like).  Let this cook down for a few minutes.  Remove from heat and pour in milk.  Add breadcrumbs and stir, allowing it to thicken up.  In a bowl, mix together ground beef and eggs and then mix in vegetable mixture.  Form into the shape of a football in a roasting pan.  Mix together honey and ketchup and spread half this on the meatloaf.  Bake at 400 for about 40 minutes, and glaze over ketchup mixture halfway through the baking.         

Cherry Pie

How beautiful are those?  Little pocket-sized cherry pies.  Heaven. This is another baking post courtesy of my amazing neighbor who brought these over for us to enjoy after we went out to dinner.  She's turning into my guest blogger.  Everything she bakes is beautiful.  I felt like my counter was the set for a Williams and Sonoma shoot. Speaking of, these are made with these pie molds from Williams and Sonoma, and their cherry pie filling which holds so well together and is incredibly delicious.  I need to watch her make pie dough next time because it was so flaky, so crisp, so perfect and I'm crazy jealous of her pie dough skills.       

Lattice Pie Pockets (courtesy Williams and Sonoma)

2 1/2 c all-purpose flour

1 t  salt

2 T sugar, plus more for sprinkling

16 T (2 sticks) cold, unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch dice and stored in fridge

6 to 8 T ice water

About 1 cup Williams and Sonoma pie filling

1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. water

In a food processor, pulse together the flour, salt and the 2 Tbsp. sugar until combined, about 5 pulses. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse meal, about 10 pulses. Add 6 Tbsp. ice water and pulse twice. The dough should hold together when squeezed with your fingers but should not be sticky. If it is crumbly, add more water, 1 tsp. at a time, pulsing twice after each addition. Turn the dough out onto a work surface and divide in half. Shape each half into a disk. Wrap with plastic wrap and let refrigerate for at least 2 hours or up to overnight.

Let the dough stand at room temperature for 5 minutes. On a floured surface, roll out 1 dough disk into a round 1/16 to 1/8 inch thick. Brush off the excess flour. Using the Lattice Pocket Pie Mold, cut out 7 of the solid shaped bottoms, rerolling the dough scraps once if needed. Repeat with the remaining dough disk, cutting out 7 of the latticed tops.

Place a solid dough shape in the bottom half of the cutter and gently press the dough into the mold. Fill the center with about 2 Tbsp. pie filling and brush the edges with the egg wash. Top with a latticed top. Press the top half of the cutter down to seal and crimp the edges of the pie. Remove the pie from the mold and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining dough. Freeze the pies for 30 minutes before baking.

Preheat an oven to 400 degrees. Brush the tops of the pies with the egg wash and sprinkle with sugar. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the filling is gently bubbling, 20 to 24 minutes (you may need to bake for a few minutes longer for a nice crispy crust). Transfer the pies to a wire rack and let cool 10 minutes before serving.

Baked Eggs with Zucchini Blossoms

I'm not usually one to make eggs over the weekend unless we're hosting brunch, but one of my favorite food bloggers completely inspired me with her recipe for baked eggs with zucchini blossoms (my gawd her photography skills are amazing).  I adapted the recipe, leaving out cheese and adding in some pesto as well as some truffle oil.  I ended up making this twice in one weekend.  I love that I found another use for zucchini blossoms, I love that this is a perfect little serving size, I just really love this baked egg recipe.  I tagged this vegetarian if you want to ignore the smoked salmon with toast on the side.

Serves 2

2 eggs

2 T cream (or half and half)

2 zucchini blossoms, chopped

2 t pesto

salt, pepper

breadcrumbs

truffle oil

parmesan cheese  

Preheat oven to 350 and grease two small ramekins.  Pour cream into bottom of each, add in zucchini, then pesto.  Crack egg into each ramekin, sprinkle with salt, pepper, breadcrumbs and parmesan. Drizzle with truffle oil.  Bake for 12 minutes until the white are set.  

Orange Julius

It's summer.  It's hot.  I want a drink that can cool me down after a long walk outside with my puppy, after a long day at work.  I recently picked up some Torani vanilla syrup and have been making iced vanilla lattes at home (1 Nespresso lungo, two pumps syrup, splash of milk, over ice), but some days I want a cool and refreshing drink without the extra jolt of caffeine.  For some reason I was really craving an orange julius the other day - where is there an Orange Julius, anyway?  It had been a while since I had one, but I think I managed to create a nice imitation.  I highly recommend getting a bottle of some flavored syrup for your kitchen this summer - it's really quiet versatile and it may just save you some cash from Starbuck's.   


serves 2
1 1/2 c orange juice
1/4 c half and half
1 c ice
4 pumps vanilla syrup


Blend together and serve!

Corn

Just corn.  Freshly sliced off the cob. Cooked up in a skillet, some butter, some olive oil and a little seasoning.  I can't resist corn this time of year.  I could eat a bowl of freshly grilled corn and I could call that dinner.  Nutritious, no, but delicious, yes. We picked up some corn at the farmer's market, and they were nice and petite with small yellow and white kernels and so so sweet and lovely.  


4 ears of corn
1 T butter
1 T olive oil
salt
pepper
1 t paprika


Husk corn and remove silk.  Slice off kernels into a bowl, or directly into a skillet on the counter (I like using the least amount of dishes and I need the shallow skillet to slice all the  way down).  Heat this up with some butter and olive oil and sauté for just a few minutes. Salt, pepper and toss around in some paprika.  Enjoy nice and piping hot.  

Strawberry Tart

Picture perfect, no?  So innocent, so sweet looking.  If you only knew the self-inflicted damage this tart was capable of.  OK, to be fair, I should have taken the instructions of "serve immediately" literally.


I'll tell the story.  It's short, I promise.  I offered to bring dessert to our friend's dinner and really wanted to bring something seasonal, so I settled on a strawberry tart.  I figured my neglected tart pan would love the attention.  I read several recipes, and decided to not go with my usual trust in Ina - hers seemed a bit high maintenance so  I settled on this Southern Living recipe because it just sounded so classic.  The crust came out well, and the custard was to die for.  I mean, I could have eaten an entire bucket of this custard.  I will definitely be making the custard again, though perhaps just served in bowls with fresh fruit and a shortbread cookie. The problem was I assembled this before heading out to our friend's, and the tart was too full with custard, too fluid, too heavy with strawberries and they began sliding this way and that way and my once beautiful tart looked quite frazzled upon our arrival.  This tart does not want to travel.  It wants to sit delicately in the kitchen it was prepared in.  No matter, I placed it in the fridge until we served dessert, hoping it would reset itself and be delicious anyway.  It was delicious, however, slices did not retain their shape like most fruit tarts I've seen - the custard just slid out all over the place (did it need more corn starch?).  What I thought was going to be such a proper, presentable dessert turned into an unruly teenager. Regardless, it was delicious - fresh and creamy and it was a hit.  We all enjoyed it and had a good laugh.  I've found a winning custard recipe for my repertoire, but I may change things up a bit next time I want to serve this as a fruit tart.



Strawberry Tart (courtesy Southern Living)

1 1/2  cups  all-purpose flour
1/2  teaspoon  salt
1/3  cup  sugar
1/3  cup  cold butter or margarine, cut up
2  tablespoons  cold shortening
3  tablespoons  cold water
1/2  cup  sugar
1/4  cup  cornstarch
2  cups  half-and-half
5  egg yolks
1  teaspoon almond liquor
3  tablespoons  butter or margarine
1  teaspoon  vanilla extract
1  quart fresh strawberries, sliced

Pulse first 3 ingredients in a food processor 3 or 4 times until combined.

Add 1/3 cup butter and shortening; pulse 5 or 6 times or until crumbly. With blender or processor running, gradually add 3 tablespoons water, and process until dough forms a ball and leaves sides of bowl, adding more water if necessary. Wrap dough in plastic wrap, and chill 1 hour.

Let chill come out of dough, and then roll to 1/8-inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Press into bottom and up sides of a 9-inch tart pan. Line dough with parchment paper; fill with pie weights or dried beans.

Bake at 425° for 15 minutes. Remove weights and parchment paper, and bake 3 more minutes.

Combine 1/2 cup sugar and cornstarch in a medium saucepan.

Whisk together half-and-half, egg yolks, and, if desired, rose water. Gradually whisk half-and-half mixture into sugar mixture in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook, whisking constantly, 1 minute. Remove mixture from heat.

Stir in 3 tablespoons butter and vanilla; cover and chill at least 4 hours. Spoon into prepared pastry shell; top with strawberry slices, and serve immediately. 

Stuffed Squash Blossoms

I could lie to you.  I could tell you that I am a huge squash blossom fan, that I wait for them to come in season in year, and prepare these delicacies and savor each bite.  But the truth is this was the first time I prepared these at home.  This was the first time I ran up to a vendor with squash blossoms and left with handfuls, feeling like such a seasonal, localvore, determined to experience what I am constantly reading and hearing about, at home.  We found an abundance of these at the Old Town Alexandria's farmer's market - the best farmer's market in the area, in my opinion.  They had gooseberries, people.  Gooseberries!  My grandmother used to make the most incredible gooseberry jam.  When I think of my grandmother, her gooseberry jam always enters my mind.  


I highly recommend picking up some squash blossoms at your local market, while they are in season.  You should probably prepare them the day you pick them up.  I decided to stuff them and fry them, as is a common preparation and one that doesn't sound like a bad idea.  I think goat cheese would have been lovely, I had cream cheese, so I used that.  I also had some fresh pesto, and I knew the herb and garlic flavors would be appreciated.  I tossed them in cornmeal, but I think regular flour or a tempura batter would also work well.  These were even more delightful than we had expected.  They were light and crunchy and have not a floral flavor, but a really mellow summer squash taste.  They taste as though you are taking a deep breath of an overgrown vegetable garden.  And of course the cheese and whole frying thing makes them feel southern and comforting.  


If you're looking for another seasonal vegetable treat, try these fried, green tomatoes I made last year.


Squash Blossoms stuffed with pesto cream cheese


12 squash blossoms
2 T cream cheese
1 T pesto
1 egg
1 T milk
1/2 c corn meal
oil for frying


Beat egg and milk in a bowl.  Toss some salt and pepper with corn meal in a small, shallow prep dish.  Mix together pesto and cheese.  Heat a shallow amount of oil in a fry pan or dutch oven.  Gently open up each squash blossom and fill with a small spoon of cheese mixture. Twist blossom closed.  Dip each blossom in egg, then toss in cornmeal and let rest on a plate.  Fry up each blossom for 15 seconds on each side, let rest on paper towel lined plate.  Note: I think our squash blossoms could have been stuffed with even more cheese, so mix up more and be generous.  

Chocolate Chip Muffins

Go big or go home.  That's quoting my neighbor, who baked these delicious muffins.  Filling muffins.  Muffins with chocolate chunks, how wrong could that be?  They make the most perfect 4 o'clock sugar fix.

courtesy of The Williams Sonoma Baking Book:


Chocolate Chip Muffins

(Makes 12 muffins)

1/2 c. unsalted butter, melted

3/4 c. buttermilk

2 large eggs

1 Tbsp pure vanilla extract

2 c. all-purpose plain flour

3/4 c. sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease 12 standard muffin cups with butter or butter-flavored nonstick cooking spray or line with paper liners.

In a bowl, whisk together the melted butter, buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.  In another bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, add the buttermilk mixture, and beat until smooth and well mixed, 1-2 minutes. Using a large silicone spatula, fold in the chocolate chips just until evenly distributed. Do not overmix. Spoon the batter into each muffin cup, filling it level with the rim.

Bake the muffins until golden, dry, and springy to the touch, 20-25 minutes. A toothpick inserted into the center of the muffin should come out clean. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let cool for 5 minutes. Unmold the muffins and let cool completely. Serve at room temperature.