Monthly Archives: August 2012
The Olympics Are Over
Over the past two weeks, I haven’t said much about the Olympics, but I didn’t want them to pass unnoticed. I love the pomp and circumstance of the opening and closing ceremonies and, of course, the games themselves. I dutifully watched an hour or so each night between after-dinner and bedtime. While it’s great when USA wins gold, I like all the athletes and most all the sports, especially gymnastics, swimming, and track.
This year, I was skeptical of beach volleyball as a sport rather than a spectacle. When a night of men’s beach volleyball followed a night of women’s, it seemed clear to me that it was all about the bathing suits, but, by the end, when it was USA vs. USA for gold, I had to admit there was more to it than I originally thought.
My sister-in-law Sheryl sent me a fun Olympic baking set with cupcake wrappers and decorations. Much to Howard’s disappointment, I didn’t get around to making cupcakes, but I did make Olympic muffins and brought them to share at work. They were super cute. I made one batch of raspberry and one of cherry. I preferred the cherry.
Cherry Muffins
Makes 1 dozen
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp soda
½ tsp salt
1 cup fresh cherries, halved and pitted
¼ tsp almond extract
1/3 cup sugar
½ cup buttermilk
1 egg, slightly beaten
¼ cup butter, melted
Preheat the oven to 400F. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners (or grease each cup well with butter).
Whisk together flour, powder, soda, and salt in a large bowl. In a smaller bowl, mash half of the cherries with the sugar. This will moisten the sugar with the fruit’s juice. Stir in the almond extract. Add the fruit-sugar mixture, the remaining cherries, buttermilk, egg, and melted butter to the dry ingredients. Stir until just combined.
Divide batter into the muffin pans, filling each cup about ¾ full. Bake 12-15 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out dry.
It’s less than two years to wait for the next games in Winter 2014 to take place in Sochi, Russia. I can’t wait!
ffwd: warm scallop salad and tomato-cheese tartlets
At my house, there are two definitions of August. To me, August = Tomatoes. To the other resident (husband Howard), August = Corn.
Selections for the first two weeks of French Fridays with Dorie were perfect. Tomato-Cheese Tartlets the first week, and Warm Scallop Salad with Basil, Tomato, and Corn. I missed last week’s deadline for the tartlets, but made both this week.
The tartlets were fun to make. The individual tarts were constructed on disks of puff pastry. I had a little trouble with the puff pastry. The package said you could defrost at broom temperature for 20 minutes or microwave for 90 seconds. I went with the quicker approach, but turned on the microwave and walked away. It got a little too soft and wouldn’t unfold. I just rolled it out with the folds making extra layers, but I had some tearing that didn’t mend as forgivingly as pie crust. But I liked the simplicity of cutting out circles and baking until lightly golden.
As with many of Dorie’s recipes, this one was more of a suggestion than a strict recipe. The disks were smeared with a layer of tapenade or pesto. I tried two of each. This is topped with alternating slices of tomatoes and cheese, goat cheese for me. I warmed the tartlets under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese started to melt. A final drizzle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and a fresh basil leaf garnish and it was done. We each ate two of these for dinner, but one tart accompanied with a salad would have made a lovely lunch. Sipping a glass of cold white wine on the side is the perfect accompaniment.
The warm scallop salad was another summer treat. The scallops were a bit pricey, but worth it for the end result. I left out the nectarines, but the lightly dressed corn, freshly picked backyard cherry tomatoes, and fresh basil coulis were packed with flavor. The vegetables surrounded the seared scallops which were the star in the center of the plate. Each component was super simple to put together, now that I’ve learned from several Dorie recipes how foolproof it is to pan-sear scallops. I could make this for a weeknight dinner after a long day at work. The final dish was restaurant worthy.
All-in-all, it was a good week for enjoying new recipes spotlighting seasonal ingredients.
Recipes aren’t posted, but are available in Dorie Greenspan’s book Around My French Table. To read about other home cooks’ experiences with these recipes, check out the Leave Your Link posts at French Fridays with Dorie.
A Plateful of Happiness 