Tuesdays with Dorie: Parisian Apple (also Nectarine & Blueberry) Tartlets

What a simple, delicious recipe for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie! Jessica from My Baking Heart chose Parisian Apple Tartlets, a simple recipe that calls for only four ingredients: puff pastry, apples, brown sugar, and butter.

I made three different tarts: apple, nectarine, and blueberry. The recipe suggests peeling & quartering the apple, which is baked on a round piece of puff pastry like Jessica did...

(Image from My Baking Heart)

However, I sliced the apple & nectarine and layered them on rectangular pieces of pastry (I just cut a sheet of pastry into 6 pieces). I tossed the blueberries with agave nectar and the apples with brown sugar & cinnamon (and dotted with a bit of butter). I topped the nectarine with sugar & ground ginger.

Tartlets before baking.

Overall, I thought the tartlets were good...but they needed something more. Next time, I'll brush the pastry with some ginger jam before adding the nectarines, and I'll slice the apple into smaller pieces so that the pastry will puff around it. Oh, and, I'll make caramel to drizzle over the top or sprinkle with powdered sugar.

Tartlets after baking.

Mocha Breakfast Smoothie

My mother died of a heart attack at age 47. My father was diagnosed with diabetes in his mid-50's after losing several toes. My maternal grandparents both have diabetes; my grandfather died in his 50's as a result of kidney failure.

Sometimes, I feel doomed.

Several years ago, after my dad's health problems, I decided to get healthier. This was the beginning of my foodie phase, so to speak. You see, growing up, I was surrounding by junk food (chips, snack cakes, frozen dinners). Even though I liked to cook as an adult, I was still eating frozen and boxed meals. However, after dad's diagnosis, I changed my eating lifestyle. I learned how our bodies process food, how certain ingredients (like sugar) are digested. I cut out processed foods as much as I could, replacing them with "whole" foods. I no longer felt the need to eat meals with a meat, vegetable, and a starch. For a year or so, I stuck to a strict diet plan of three meals a day with 2 snacks in between. I ate a lot of fruit, vegetables, and protein.

Even though I no longer stick to such a strict schedule of eating, my lifestyle has changed. I still eat as many "whole" foods as I can. Even though I indulge in carbs and fat, I always do so in moderation.

One of my favorite recipes from what I like to call my "skinny" phase is an unusual recipe for a breakfast smoothie. I used to drink these nearly every morning, sometimes even for a snack or a dessert.

I know the ingredients sound gross, but just trust me on this one. It tastes just like a mocha shake.

Mocha Breakfast Smoothie

Puree in a blender until ice is crushed:

1/2 cup small curd cottage cheese *
1/2 cup half & half
3 tablespoons mocha-flavored instant coffee mix (like International Foods)
1 cup ice cubes

* I have lately been using full-fat dairy products, since I've read that when they take the fat out they add other things like sugar. I figured the amount of fat here is really not all the significant. You could, of course, use fat-free or low-fat dairy in this recipe.

Lambstravaganza

Yesterday, I spent 8 hours at Prairie Grass Farm in New Florence, Missouri, for Slow Food St. Louis's annual Lambstravaganza event, an 8-course meal prepared by the city's top chefs and featuring the farm's own lamb.

According to FairShares.org: Prairie Grass Farm is a third generation, small family owned farm that produces grass fed lamb and free-range eggs in New Florence, Missouri. The Hillebrands, husband and wife, raise nearly 700 lambs a year on their 520-acre farm. They sell an array of lamb products, including summer sausage, lamb kabobs, racks, and stew meat. During the summer season they also offer blackberries, raspberries, strawberries and tomatoes. David Hillebrand grew up on this farm, which has been in the family for three generations. As a kid, his parents focused mostly on row crops, though they kept some livestock, and often while the others left home each morning to tend the field crops, David stayed behind to take care of the chickens. His interest in raising sheep came from his grandfather, who was the first in his family to raise lamb. Prairie Grass Farm's grass fed lambs and free-range eggs are served up in some of the area's finest restaurants.

Dave Hillebrand gives us a tour of his farm.

Some of their lambs with one of the ferocious guard dogs.

They keep over 600 free-range chickens.

I've bought eggs and lamb from PGF at the farmers market before, and it was so awesome to see where that food came from and to meet the people who tend the animals...including the Hillebrand girls who are in charge of the goats.

Baby goats like this one were born on Saturday.
(photo from BabyGoatFarm.com)

Dinner was wonderful. I thought I would be sick of lamb after 7 lamb dishes, but each was unique and I didn't feel too lambed out at the end...though I was full!

My favorites were the potted lamb (similar to a rillette), the vindaloo braised shanks & mango lassi (I can't wait to make a lassi at home now!), and the tongue faggotini (a stuffed pasta served in a delicious broth).

Tables were set up in an old barn, and I was relieved we weren't sitting out in the sun all afternoon! (Yes, those are flowers potted in a blender on our table!)

First course: Potted lamb with a salad of pickled spring veggies (radish, carrot, squash) & egg. Prepared by Margaret Kelly & Dave Owens of Bissinger's Chocolatier.



Second course: Vindaloo braised lamb shanks & toasted naan with pepita coriander pesto & a shot of mango lassi.
Prepared by Andy White of Schlafly's Tap Room.


Third course: Grilled leg of lamb with homemade feta (using the farm's goat milk), crispy mint gremolata, & shaved radish salad.
Prepared by Josh Galliano of Monarch.


Fourth course: Chermoula spiced smoked lamb with harissa & saffron aioli.
Prepared by Timothy Grandinetti & Ray "Dr. BBQ" Lampe.


Fifth course: Lamb's tongue faggotini.
Prepared by Gerard Craft of Niche.


Sixth course: Rack of Lamb with orzo & asparagus.
Prepared by Lou Rook of Annie Gunn's.

Seventh course: Lamb loin & sweetbreads with beet risotto.
Prepared by Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Cafe.

Eighth course: Pistachio cream puff with local strawberries, homemade jam & local honey.
Prepared by Christy Augustin of Sydney Street Cafe.

After dinner, I stuck around talking & drinking wine (and homemade limoncello) with a few friends and the Hillebrand family. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day. I can't wait to go again next year!

In the meantime, I am going to (finally) become a Slow Food member and I'm going to continue supporting local farmers by buying meat & produce at the farmers markets. It really is amazing to see where our food comes from and to know that a family is behind that food...that they live and work the farm as they had been for generations.

A Play in the Park & the "Ultimate" Chicken Liver Pate

Let me begin by urging all you St. Louis folks to make a point to attend the Shakespeare Festival in Forest Park. Each year, the group performs one of the Bard's plays outdoors. This year, the show is The Merry Wives of Windsor. This FREE show runs every night except Tuesday at 8:00 from Memorial Day through Father's Day.

We always take a blanket, a stocked picnic basket, and a couple bottles of pricey wine to enjoy the weather and entertainment.

Before the show, Jerad was reading the playbill and commented about the summary, "Hey, a character's name is Falstaff. Like the beer."

"Yeah, that's where the beer people got the name," I replied (always the English teacher, I am). "Didn't you notice the inn's sign on the set? It's a nod to the beer."


NOTE: After a few impromptu surveys at the play and Tuesday night at The Stable, it has been determined that most people do NOT know where Falstaff beer got its name.  Apparently, only us nerdy teacher types know such trivia.

Anyway, the play was funny, the weather was perfect on Monday night, the company was extraordinary, and the food was...well...awesome.

I had another "I made!" moment when I tasted the chicken liver pate I made especially for the outing. It was so easy to do and really very tasty...rich but without the gamey liver taste you sometimes get with liver. It definitely is a special kind of dish; I only wish we'd had more people to share it with.

Chicken Liver Pate

from Tyler's Ultimate

1 pound chicken livers, trimed of any membranes or fat *
6 tablespoons Port wine
14 tablespoons (1 3/4 sticks) unsalted butter
2 shallots, chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme leaves, plus 1 nice-looking sprig for garnish
1/4 cup heavy cream
Kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper

* I used fresh chicken livers that I bought at the farmers market. I would suggest only using fresh, local meat for this recipe since it's really all about the quality of the liver.

• Rinse the livers and pat them dry. Put them in a small bowl, pour the Port wine over them, cover & refridgerate for 2 hours.
• Melt 3 tablespoons of the butter in a medium skillet. Add the shallots, garlic, & chopped thyme and cook over medium-low heat, stirring often, until softened but not brown (3-4 minutes).
• Add the livers, reserving the Port, and cook without browning until the livers just change color (3-4 minutes). (Browning would toughen the exterior of the livers & the pate would not be smooth.)
• Add the reserved Port to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes.
• Put all of that in a blender and puree until smooth. Add 3 more tablespoons of butter and process again until smooth. Now pour in the cream and pulse just until incorporated. Season with salt & pepper. (Note: It looks & smells horrid, but don't be alarmed! It's much better once it's cooled!)
• Spoon the mixture into a 3-cup terrine or dish and smooth the surface. Refridgerate for 1 hour, or until the pate just firms up.
• Then, melt the remaining 8 tablespoons of butter (1 stick) and pour it over the top of the pate to cover completely (this will seal the top & keep from discoloring). Press the thyme sprig into the butter and chill overnight (or up to a week).
• Serve with toasted baguette slices & red grapes.

Tuesdays with Dorie: Cinnamon Squares

I'm renaming this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe and calling it "Cinnamon Espresso Cake," because "Cinnamon Squares" sounds too generic and plain to me. And, this cake is anything but plain. It's a moist (contains over a stick of butter in the batter!) cinnamony cake baked with a layer of grated dark chocolate, cinnamon, sugar, & espresso powder in the middle and topped with a smooth icing made by melting dark chocolate & butter together.

"Cinnamon Squares" just doesn't do this recipe justice. In fact, "Cinnamon Espresso Cake" doesn't even do it justice. So, I'll call it "Cinnamon Espresso Multiple Orgasm Cake."

Now, that's more like it.

And, the best part? It's an easy cake to make...hand-mixed, baked in a square pan, then iced on top.


To see the full recipe, check out this week's host blog Tracey's Culinary Adventures.