Spring is in the Air
It was over 50 degrees yesterday! It finally feels like winter is on its way out. I didn’t wear my winter coat or my boots at all. My snowdrops are blooming. The skunks are out. I bought bunches of daffodils at Trader Joe’s. It makes me happy!
In the afternoon, we took Bella for a walk in Lexington Center. Passersby oohed and aahed at how cute the “puppy” was. We treated ourselves to ice cream. I had Heath Bar crunch. Howard had chocolate (of course). We both had hot fudge.
For dinner, we had “indoor shish kebobs”. Even though we had a teaser weather day today, it’s not quite grilling season yet, especially because we use charcoal. We had some beef kebob meat from Codman Farm. I roasted some vegetables under the broiler, seared the beef in a skillet, mixed it all together with yogurt and some seasoning, and finished it under the broiler again. It would have been great with rice pilaf, though I just served with more vegetables.
Indoor Shish Kebobs
Serves 4 – 6
Adapted from “The Best Recipes in the World” by Mark Bittman
2 red peppers
2 Anaheim peppers
1 onion, peeled and halved through the poles
2 -3 tomatoes, halved through the equator and seeded
1 lb beef kebob meat, cut into 1 – 2 chunks
1 cup yogurt
½ tsp dried thyme
Salt and pepper to taste
On the top rack of the broiler, roast the peppers, onions, and tomatoes. If you need to, cut the red peppers in half if they are too big to fit under the broiler. The onions and tomatoes should be cut side up. Remove the onions and tomatoes when the cut surface starts to char. Turn the peppers until the entire surface is blackened.
Cool vegetables enough so you can handle them. Slice the onions into half moon rings. Peel and coarsely chop the tomatoes. Peel the peppers, seed them, and cut into strips.
In a large skillet, sear the kebab pieces. Turn so all the surfaces are browned. The meat doesn’t have to be cooked all the way through.
Combine the vegetables, meat, yogurt, thyme, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Spread the mixture on a large baking sheet (with sides) and place it under the broiler for about 5 minutes, until the meat starts to char. Cut a piece to make sure it is cooked enough inside.
Serve over rice pilaf.
I Cannot Tell a Lie
I love cherry pie. Usually, I make just one cherry pie (tart, actually) each year in July, when the sour cherries are in season. This past summer, Howard brought home cherries from the farmer’s market a second time. We pitted them and froze them and saved them for a winter treat. I think of cherry pie as something for George Washington’s birthday, though they now say he never did chop down that cherry tree.
I really enjoy making tarts. I prefer making tarts to pies. They aren’t all that different as far as the ingredients go. I think one of the reasons why is that a tart looks more elegant, standing without support it comes out of the pan (with removable bottom). I have one of those glass-domed cake dishes, like they have at a diner. A tart looks very special under the glass. Also, tarts take less filling than a pie. That means you can have the treat of a slice of the tart for dessert, but it’s a smaller piece, so less decadent, than a slice of pie.
I mastered any fear of making of making pastry crust years ago with the help of Julia Child and the food processor. I’ve recently changed the actual recipe from Julia’s because hers used a few tablespoons of Crisco to “tenderize American flour”. Now that I’ve banned transfats from my diet, I make an all-butter crust, which is working out just as well. I still use the technique I learned from Julia.
Sour Cherry Tart
Pastry for a 9-inch pastry shell
½ recipe for Marzipan Crumble Topping (see below)
2 cups pitted sour cherries (1 quart unpitted)
1½ Tbsp sugar
½ Tbsp instant tapioca
Marzipan Crumble Topping
- ¾ c flour
- ½ c packed almond paste (about 5 oz)
- ½ c packed brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
- ¼ c sliced almonds
Roll out the pastry and place in a 9-inch tart pan with a removable bottom. I fold the overhang back into the pan and press to the sides to strengthen the shell. Prick the bottom of the crust with a fork and place in the freezer for 30 minutes.
Butter a piece of foil and place, buttered side down, in the chilled shell. Fill the foil with beans or other pie weights. (I keep a large jar of dried white beans that I use as pie weights. Once they cool, I put them back in the jar and reuse them.)
Bake in a preheated 450F oven for 15 minutes. Remove the foil liner. Prick the bottom again if it has puffed up. Bake 10 more minutes without the foil, until lightly golden.
Reduce oven temperature to 375F.
Combine the cherries, sugar, tapioca, and ½ cup crumble topping. Fill the tart shell with the cherry mixture. Sprinkle the remaining crumble on top (remember, you are only using half the crumble topping).
Bake for 30 minutes until topping is lightly brown and filling is bubbly.
This recipe only uses half of the Marzipan Crumble topping. Freeze the other half for another dessert. You can try a half batch of the apple crisp in my post for Accidental Apple Crisp.
A Plateful of Happiness 