A Trip to the Farmers’ Market & Salade de Crevettes Nicoise (Shrimp Salad Niçoise)

Many years ago I moved to Lausanne, Switzerland to work on a one year research project at an international business school. Apartments were in short supply but I managed to find a tiny, overpriced studio at the top of the town, high above the Lake of Geneva. The studio was furnished with a Murphy bed, a shabby table and chair and the world’s most uncomfortable sofa. But a picture window on the back wall framed a magnificent view of Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Alps. The studio might have been pricey but the view was priceless.

My office was down by the lake. Early every morning I headed down the steep, cobblestone streets past the train station and on to the wide, tree lined avenues of Ouchy. (That’s pronounced ooh-she not ouch-ee.) Within a day or two, I discovered a small farmers’ market. Once a week a handful of farmers set up shop on a narrow street above the station. Makeshift tables were loaded high with beautiful, just-picked fruits and vegetables.

I was tempted but if I shopped in the market I would need to speak French. French was a dim high school memory, barely spoken in almost ten years. Was I up for the challenge?

I plunged in. Behind one table a nice farmer lady smiled and asked if she could help me. I smiled back, gathered up a tomato or two, a head of lettuce, a zucchini and looked around for beans. I searched the back of my brain for the French word for beans and hit on légume. In English a legume is a dried bean. It stood to reason that légume could be the French word for bean. I frantically composed my request, took a deep breath and asked in fractured French, “Do you have légumes?” The nice lady replied politely and in perfect French. Yes, of course she had légumes but what kind of légumes did I want? Again I wracked my brain and remembered vert was green. “Légumes verts,” I replied.

That’s when she took pity on me and switched to English. Légumes was the French word for vegetables. Since she had lots of green vegetables, could I be more specific? I blushed and tried again, this time in English. She was delighted to sell me haricots verts.

Throughout the year I visited her table many times to buy vegetables and practice speaking French. I frequently fumbled and she just as frequently bailed me out. I soon learned she was a California native. She’d fallen in love with a Swiss farmer and was living happily ever after in a small village outside of Lausanne. When she wasn’t giving mini French lessons to befuddled expatriates, she helped him grow and sell vegetables.

The one year project in Lausanne ended but somehow or other I forgot to come home. After staying in Switzerland for almost two decades, I finally found my way back to Pleasant Lake. I still love a trip to the Farmers’ Market. Even if I don’t need a translator, our local markets have a unique charm found only in New England towns.

Enjoy a trip to the farmers’ market and celebrate summer’s bounty around the table with family and friends,

Bon appétit!

Salade de Crevettes Nicoise (Shrimp Salad Niçoise)
This colorful salade composée (composed salad) will make a beautiful centerpiece on your summer table and tastes wonderful. Enjoy!
Serves 6
1 pound new potatoes, cut in bite size pieces
Vinaigrette Niçoise (recipe follows)
1 pound green beans, trimmed and cut in half
1 pound assorted cherry and grape tomatoes, cut in half
1/2 small red onion, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, seeded and chopped

1/2 European cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped
1 1/2 pounds cooked large shrimp*
1/2 cup dry-pack, oil-cured black olives, pitted and roughly chopped
1-2 tablespoons capers, drained
Fresh, chopped parsley

Put the potatoes in a large pot of cold, salted water, set over high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potatoes well and transfer to a bowl. Combine the potatoes with just enough vinaigrette to coat and toss to combine. Cool to room temperature and refrigerate.

Meanwhile, bring salted water to a rapid boil in a large skillet. Add the beans and cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring a few times to cook the beans evenly. Drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking. Drain again and put the beans in a bowl with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat and toss. Store in the refrigerator.

Put the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and pepper in a bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drizzle with enough vinaigrette to lightly coat and toss. Store in the refrigerator.

Remove the vegetables and shrimp from the refrigerator about 20-30 minutes before serving.

To serve: arrange the beans around the edges of a large deep platter or on individual plates. Spoon the potatoes into the center. Artfully sprinkle the tomatoes, cucumber, onion and pepper over the beans and potatoes. Top with shrimp, sprinkle with chopped olives, capers and parsley and serve.

* My Mediterranean Shrimp are perfect in this salad. Make ahead and store in the refrigerator. Alternatively, you can buy cooked shrimp and toss them in a little vinaigrette.

Vinaigrette Niçoise
4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3-4 cloves garlic
1-inch chunk red onion
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
Dash hot sauce
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
1/2 cup or to taste extra-virgin olive oil

Put the vinegar, mustard, garlic, onion, thyme and hot sauce in a blender or small food processor, season with salt and pepper and pulse to combine and chop the garlic and onion. With the machine running, slowly add the olive oil and process until incorporated.

Store extra vinaigrette in the refrigerator.

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One Year Ago – Insalata Caprese
Two Year Ago – Mojito Melons
Three Years Ago – Grilled Antipasto
Four Years Ago – Nana Nye’s Fish Chowder Or Click Here! for a complete list of and links to all the recipes on this blog!

Do you have a favorite Farmers’ Market? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. 

Want more? I’ve got links to lots more to read, see & cook as well as a day in the life photoblog! In addition, I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good.

© Susan W. Nye, 2012

Farmers’ Market Photograph by Natalie Maynor. All other photographs by Susan Nye.

 

Fun Chippies & Blackberry Chocolate Chip Frozen Yogurt

Every family has its own mini subculture. At least mine does or did. Throughout my childhood we shared a few habits and traditions that helped knit our family together. Traditions like:
• Presents on Christmas Day, not Eve. I think my sister, brother and I were a little envious of the kids who opened their presents on Christmas Eve.
• We always stayed on the beach until the very last possible moment on Labor Day, before heading back to the ‘burbs. We were never envious of the kids who left a few days early to shoe shop and buy notebooks.
• Chips with lobster – I was shocked the first time I had lobster at someone else’s house. They served potato salad and not chips. It seemed positively barbarian.
The list goes on and on. We still follow a lot of these little habits but not all.

There are jokes and stories that no gets but us. No matter how hilarious we find them and ourselves, no one else seems to. And finally, there is the language thing. Yes we speak English but we have a few special words to describe this or that. For example:
• We never had leftovers; we had Slusser’s Delight and breadandwithit. Although, there was never any bread.
• After a long, busy day, we were known to have a sinking spell. When that happened, we didn’t put on our jammies, we got into our nonni-nunus and relaxed in front of the television.
• And our favorite ice cream was filled with fun chippies<.em>.

We discovered fun chippies soon after we began spending our summers on Pleasant Lake. Mass market and chain restaurant ice creams paled in comparison to the homemade delights at the Grey House. There was no gum, no Arabic, no stabilizers or fillers. We’d grown up on Howard Johnson’s ice cream. Heck, my grandmother went to school with the original Howard. His chocolate chip and mint chocolate chip ice creams were filled with miniscule specks of chocolate. They had nowhere near the charm of the Grey House’s fun chippies.

At the time, they were a novelty, a far cry from Howard’s specks and the big, fat flakes of imitation chocolate in cheap, supermarket ice cream. For all our fascination, fun chippies were nothing more than the mini morsels that Nestlé now sells in supermarkets from coast to coast. And nothing less than real chocolate. The Grey House threw them into a bunch of different ice creams – vanilla, black raspberry, mint, coffee and chocolate. Not just yummy, we thought they were adorable.

We thought our nickname was terribly clever. I’m not sure who in the family coined it, probably my sister Brenda. To this day, we don’t understand why it never became a part of the local language along with frappes and jimmies. Alas, fun chippies never appeared on the Grey House menu. Or on any other menu for that matter.

My mother was always watching her waistline and had to be cajoled into taking us out for ice cream. However, Dad took personal pride in New England’s claim as the Ice Cream Eating Champions of the World. On hot summer nights he would shout out to anyone who would listen, “Who wants fun chippies?” Feet pounded and doors slammed and in a matter of seconds kids and dogs were packed into the back seat of the station wagon and ready to go. Fun chippies were the perfect way to end an already perfect day in paradise.

The Grey House and its ice cream window closed years ago, but you can still find old-fashion, homemade ice cream stands scattered across New England. Why not visit one real soon!?!

Bon appétit!

Blackberry Yogurt Ice Cream with Fun Chippies
Want to get the good old fashion taste of a New England ice cream stand, try making your own. Enjoy!
Makes about 1 quart

1 quart nonfat plain yogurt
1 pound fresh blackberries
1 cup half & half
1/2 – 3/4 cup (to taste) brown sugar or honey
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1-2 tablespoons Framboise* (optional)
1/2 cup (or to taste) mini chocolate chips

Put the yogurt in a colander or sieve lined with a clean dishtowel or coffee filter and drain for several hours or overnight. You should end up with about 2 cups of yogurt cheese.

Put the blackberries in a blender with about 1/2 cup half & half and process until smooth. Pour the mixture through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

Put the yogurt, brown sugar, salt, vanilla, Framboise and remaining half & half in a in a bowl and whisk to combine. Slowly add the blackberry-cream and whisk until smooth. Chill for at least an hour. The mix should be very cold.

Transfer the mix to an ice cream machine and freeze according to the manufacturer’s instructions. In the final few minutes, slowly pour in the chocolate chips and continue to process until the chocolate chips are well integrated into the ice cream. Transfer the ice cream to a plastic container and freeze for up to one month.

If the ice cream comes out of the freezer rock hard, put it in the refrigerator for 30-45 minutes. It will soften a little and be easier to scoop.

* Framboise is a French raspberry liqueur.

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One Year Ago – Brown Sugar Yogurt Gelato
Two Years Ago – Red Pepper Dip
Three Years Ago – Grilled Chicken, Shallots & New Potatoes
Four Years Ago – Barbecue Chicken Or Click Here! for a complete list of and links to all the recipes on this blog!

How do you keep cool when temperatures soar? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going.

Want more? I’ve got links to lots more to read, see & cook as well as a day in the life photoblog! In addition, I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good. © Susan W. Nye, 2012

How to Celebrate the Fourth of July & Watermelon & Feta Salad

It ought to be celebrated by pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, and illuminations from one end of this continent to the other.

… John Adams, 2nd President of the United States

Hip hip hooray! It’s Independence Day! How will you spend it? Stretched out on the beach? Waving a flag along a parade route? Or wandering through an historic site? A few ambitious souls will probably read or reread the Declaration of Independence.

If you still haven’t figured out what to do with yourself, well here are a few ideas:

1. While my favorite beach is just around the corner on Pleasant Lake, you could take a trip to the ocean. Take a long walk in the sand, feel the wind in your hair and body surf the waves. Before you head home, stop for a lobster roll or some fried clams.

2. If you don’t want to lie around a beach all day, how about a small town Fourth? Any small town will probably do but Andover, New Hampshire really knows how to throw a party. The flea market is famous and there is a festive parade (beware of politicians – it’s an election year). Don’t forget the chicken barbeque and fireworks explode after dark.

3. Or you could head into Boston and walk the Freedom Trail, maybe share a little history with a child or grandchild. Chances are good, it’s been years since you visited the Old State House, Faneuil Hall or the Bunker Hill monument.

4. If you are down in Boston, stay over for the Boston Pops Concert and Fireworks on the Esplanade. If you have never been, it is a lot of fun and the fireworks are spectacular.

5. Maybe it’s been awhile since you gathered family and friends together. If that is the case, stay close to home and host a cookout. Make an afternoon and/or evening of it. Depending on the size of your yard, organize a game of soccer or softball, croquet or volleyball … any or all! Keep it simple and traditional with hotdogs and hamburgers and lots of fresh salads. You can bake a happy birthday America cake or take it easy and serve thick slices of watermelon for dessert.

6. If you are hosting a cookout, I suppose you might consider a hotdog eating contest. Nathan’s infamous contest began in 1916 at Coney Island in Brooklyn. The first contest may or may not have been devised to settle the score between a small group of immigrants. When each claimed to be the most patriotic, overindulgence of the all-American hotdog was deemed a reliable proof. Or so the legend goes.

7. Take a long bike ride and see how everyone else in the neighborhood and beyond is celebrating. Red, white and blue handlebar streamers are encouraged but not required.

8. Take in a game of America’s favorite pastime. The Red Sox are on the west coast but the Fisher Cats are playing in Manchester.

9. Be happy you have the day off! Stay put, spend time with people you love and do close to absolutely nothing!

Have a wonderful holiday and bon appétit!

Watermelon & Feta Salad
The perfect salad for a red hot 4th of July! Enjoy!
Serves 8-10

1 small red onion, thinly sliced
Balsamic vinegar
Extra virgin olive oil
About 8 ounces baby arugula
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
About 8 cups 3/4-inch cubes seedless watermelon, cold
About 8 ounces feta cheese, cut in 3/4 inch-cubes
4 tablespoons chopped fresh mint

Soak the red onion in ice water for at least 30 minutes.

Put the arugula in a large bowl, using a ratio of 1:2 or 1:3, drizzle the arugula with enough vinegar and oil to lightly coat, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Transfer the arugula to a large platter.

Drain the onion and pat dry. Scatter the watermelon, onion and feta over the arugula, drizzle with balsamic glaze and sprinkle with mint and freshly ground pepper.

Balsamic Glaze
1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper

Bring the vinegar to a boil in small, heavy saucepan over medium heat and simmer until it is thick and reduced by half.

Transfer the vinegar to a bowl and cool to room temperature. Add the mustard and garlic and whisk to combine. Add the oil and whisk until smooth. Season with salt and pepper to taste and whisk to combine.

Cover and store any extra glaze in the refrigerator.

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One Year Ago – Grilled Salmon with Lemon-Basil Aioli
One Year Ago – Mediterranean Shrimp
Two Years Ago – Grilled Hoisin Pork
Or Click Here! for a complete list of and links to all the recipes on this blog!

What are your favorite last day of school memories? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going.

Want more? I’ve got links to lots more to read, see & cook as well as a day in the life photoblog! In addition, I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good. © Susan W. Nye, 2012

Artichoke Season & Steamed Artichokes with Bagna Cauda or Warm Lemon-Garlic Sauce

The first time I nibbled a freshly steamed, beautiful green artichoke, I was hooked. My sister Brenda made the introduction. She returned east after her first year away at college and brought artichokes and brown rice into our house. I’m sure she brought other exotic and intellectual gems but only the artichokes and rice come to mind. Anyway, I am forever grateful.

Of course I’d had artichokes from a can. My mother added them to our salads when she wanted to be fancy or the tomatoes in the grocery store looked tired or inedible or both. We thought we were quite squi-tish when Mom added a liberal sprinkle of chopped artichoke hearts to the iceberg lettuce. Squi-tish was one of my mother’s favorite words. She use it to describe anything trendy or stylish.

Anyway, the artichoke hearts from the can paled in comparison to the real thing. And of course, the warm lemony-butter sauce Brenda made to go with the artichokes was nothing to sneeze at.

While artichokes are available year round, they peak in the spring. That’s when I find myself feasting on them at least once a week. Here are a few fun artichoke facts to get you in the mood!

1. A member of the daisy family, an artichoke is neither a vegetable nor a fruit but a flower bud waiting to bloom.

2. Individual artichoke plants can grow five feet tall and produce more than twenty artichokes.

3. Baby artichokes aren’t babies but the small buds that grow on the bottom of an artichoke stalk. I guess baby artichoke sounds better than runt-of-the-litter artichoke.

4. Artichokes are a good source of vitamin C, folic acid and magnesium and are low in sodium. If it wasn’t for the devilish dips we love, they would be virtually fat-free. An average artichoke has about seventy calories.

5. Artichokes are one of the world’s oldest foods and were cultivated by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans. The Greeks and the Romans considered them aphrodisiacs. Myth or truth, the belief that artichokes were a love potion carried over to Europe’s Middle Ages when women were not allowed to eat artichokes. The Middle Aged patriarchal powers-that-be could have been misinformed but, more likely, were just saving the tasty treats for themselves.

6. To keep artichokes fresher longer, treat them like the flowers they are. Cut about one-quarter inch from the bottom of the stem and set in a glass of water in the refrigerator.

7. Speaking of stems, they are edible. Just use a vegetable peeler to remove the fibrous outer part before steaming or braising.

8. When buying artichokes, look for plump buds with tight, green leaves. Pick them up and choose the ones which feel heavy for their size.

9. Unless you there’s a hunky plumber you want to meet, don’t put artichoke leaves in the disposer. They are very springy and fibrous will clog your pipes. And yes, I speak from experience!

10. And finally, my favorite … Norma Jean Baker (who later became Marilyn Monroe) was California’s first Artichoke Queen. She was crowned in 1948.

For an elegant start to your next dinner party, skip the salad and serve steamed artichokes with a delicious dip for a yummy first course.

Bon appétit!

Steamed Artichokes with Bagna Cauda or Warm Lemon-Garlic Sauce
Enjoy yummy steamed artichokes with a garlicky sauce. Bagna Cauda (warm bath) has its origins in Sicily and the Lemon-Garlic Sauce has a bit of a French accent. Enjoy!
Serves 4

2 lemons, cut in quarters
1 bay leaf
1/4 cup dry white wine
About 1 tablespoon sea salt
4 whole artichokes

Put 1-2 quarts of water in a large pot with 1 of the quartered lemons, squeezing the juice into the water. Add the bay leaf, wine and salt to the pot. Insert a steamer basket and bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. The water should just touch the bottom of the basket.

Fill a large bowl with cold water and add the remaining lemon, squeezing the juice into the water.

Rinse the artichokes under cold water. Cut off the top inch of each artichoke with a heavy knife, peel the stems or cut them off close to the base. Pull off the small and tough lower leaves and trim the leaves with kitchen shears. Drop the artichokes into the lemon-water bath to prevent them from turning brown.

Put the artichokes in the steamer basket. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and steam for about 45 minutes or until you can pull the leaves off easily and the flesh is tender. (You may need to add more water to the pot before the artichokes are cooked through.)

To eat, pull leaves from the artichoke, dip in Bagna Cauda or Warm Lemon-Garlic Sauce and scrape the tender meat off with your teeth. When you reach the prickly purple leaves, use a knife or spoon to remove both the leaves and the fuzzy choke covering the artichoke heart. Enjoy the artichoke heart with a little sauce.

Artichokes can be served hot or cold. If making ahead, cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate. Remove from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.

Bagna Cauda
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature*
8 anchovy fillets
4 garlic cloves, smashed
Pinch or to taste hot pepper flakes
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the oil, butter, anchovies, garlic and pepper flakes into a small food processor and process until smooth.

Transfer the oil mixture to a small heavy saucepan and cook, stirring occasionally, over very low heat for 15 minutes. Whisk in the lemon juice and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Pour the sauce into individual cups and serve with the artichokes.

* If you prefer, you can make the Bagna Cauda without butter. Increase the olive oil from 1/2 to 3/4 cup.

Warm Lemon-Garlic Sauce
1/2 cup dry white wine
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon minced shallot
Pinch or to taste hot pepper flakes
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
3-4 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Put the wine to a small heavy saucepan, bring to a simmer over medium heat and reduce by three- quarters. Reduce the heat to low and add the butter, garlic, shallot and pepper flakes and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, over very low heat until the shallot is translucent.

Remove from the heat and add the mayonnaise and lemon juice and whisk until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper and whisk again.

Pour the sauce into individual cups and serve with the artichokes.

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One Year Ago – Death by Chocolate Cake
Two Year Ago – Filet de Perche Meunière
Three Years Ago – Chicken Provençal
Or Click Here! for a complete list of and links to all the recipes on this blog!

What’s your favorite way to prepare an artichoke? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. To make a comment, just click on Comments below. I’d be delighted to add you to the growing list of blog subscribers. To subscribe: just scroll back up, fill in your email address and click on the Sign Me Up button. You’ll get an email asking you to confirm your subscription … confirm and you will automatically receive a new story and recipe every week.

Want more? Click here for lots more to read, see & cook! In addition, I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good. © Susan W. Nye, 2012

Falling Leaves & Apple Crumb Cake

In spite of the warm weather, both the lovely sunny days and the not so lovely almost-tropical showers, it’s beginning to look a lot like fall. Splotches of red and yellow are becoming more pronounced on the hills surrounding Pleasant Lake. Leaves have begun to ever-so-gently fall from the trees. They float like tiny boats along the lake’s edge and skitter across the beach in the afternoon breeze. It’s lovely, tranquil, with just the right touch of poetry and romance. Until I happen to glance out my window. Those lovely autumn leaves have been making a beeline to my yard.

Then again, all those leaves remind me of Saturday afternoons on Jackson Road. I remember the cool air, the warm, golden sunlight and my dad, rake in hand. Before the lunch dishes were even cleared, Dad was out in the garage grabbing his rake. He’d spend the entire afternoon raking and piling up the endless supply of crackling, dry leaves that always found their way into our yard. Unless we were quick and disappeared, he always recruited, make that drafted, my sister Brenda and me to help. I seem to remember that my sister was much better than I at disappearing. While I was lazily dreaming up ways to spend the afternoon, my sister was quick out the door to a friend’s house or a Girl Scout meeting.

Dad would grab his big rake and a cute little one for me (and Brenda if she hadn’t managed to give him the slip). More toy than tool, I wielded my rake with courage and determination. Well, not exactly. Throughout the long afternoon, I divided my time between pretending to rake, complaining and, the best part, jumping into the enormous piles of leaves which Dad created.

As soon as the sun began to set, the air shifted from cool to downright chilly. Dad and every other father on the street made quick work of their hours of raking. Within minutes the leafy piles were reduced to small mounds of ash and the wonderful smell of burning leaves filled the neighborhood.

The ashes cooled quickly as dusk fell. We put our rakes away and hurried inside. If we’d turned to inspect the freshly raked yard, we would have seen that a late afternoon breeze had brought in a thick, new covering of leaves. But there was always another day and Mom had dinner on the stove and warm water running for a tub.

It’s been a few decades since most communities allowed it but I don’t know a single person over forty who doesn’t miss the sweet smell of burning leaves. Without the promise of that smoky perfume, our motivation to flex our muscles and get out the rake is gone. Instead we rev up the leaf blower or lawn mower. I know my grass needs to be cut at least one more time before the snow flies so why not combine two jobs in one?

These noisy power tools are a lot less enchanting than the picture of dad and daughter with rakes in hand. Their noisy roar plays havoc with the tranquility of a golden afternoon but the work is done in an hour or two not four or five. Instead of ash and smoky perfume, the great leafy piles will be turned into compost. And maybe, just maybe, some will feed a father-daughter vegetable patch or stand of sunflowers next summer.

Bon appétit!

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Apple Crumb Cake
While the smell of burning leaves on an October afternoon is nothing more than a distant memory, the warm and wonderful aroma of apples and spice can fill your kitchen today. Enjoy!

.

.

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for the pan
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
Grated zest of 1/2 orange
Pinch nutmeg
1 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream
1 apple, peeled, cored and chopped
1/4 cup dried cranberries or raisins
Crumbly Topping (recipe follows)
Apple Cider Crème Anglaise (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour a 9-inch springform pan or deep dish pie plate.

Whisk the flour, baking powder, spices and orange peel together in a small bowl.

In a larger bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy with an electric mixer, about 3 minutes. Add the egg, vanilla and sour cream and beat until smooth. Add the dry ingredients, a little at a time, mixing until just smooth. Fold the chopped apple and dried cranberries into the batter. Spread the batter into the prepared pan and sprinkle with the Crumbly Topping.

Bake the cake for 10 minutes then reduce the oven temperature to 325 degrees and bake the cake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45-50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan on a rack for 10-15 minutes. Remove the springform collar and continue to cool. Serve the cake at room temperature with a spoonful of cold Apple Cider Crème Anglaise.

Crumbly Topping
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch kosher salt
3 tablespoons cold, unsalted butter, cut in pieces
1/3 cup oatmeal

Put the flour, sugar, salt and spices in a small food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Add the oatmeal and pulse until the topping starts to come together in small lumps.

Apple Cider Crème Anglaise
3 cups apple cider
6 large egg yolks
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3-4 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
Pinch nutmeg
Pinch salt
Grated zest of 1/2 orange
2-3 tablespoons Calvados or Apple Jack (optional)

Put the cider in a small sauce pan and bring to a boil over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer until reduced to 1/2 cup.

Set a small bowl in a large one. Surround the small bowl with ice water and set aside.

Put the eggs, cream, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and salt in a blender and process until smooth. With the motor running, very slowly add the reduced cider and process until smooth.

Transfer the sauce to a small pot, add the orange zest and cook over low heat, stirring almost constantly until the sauce reaches 170 degrees on a candy thermometer. Stir in the Calvados. Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh sieve into the bowl in the ice bath. Stirring frequently, cool the crème to room temperature, cover and store in the refrigerator until cold.

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One Year Ago – Ginger Scones
Two Years Ago – Curried Eggplant Soup
Three Years Ago – Braised Beef Bourguignon

Do you have a favorite apple recipe? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. To make a comment, just click on Comments below.

I’d be delighted to add you to the growing list of blog subscribers. To subscribe: just scroll back up, fill in your email address and click on the Sign Me Up button. You’ll get an email asking you to confirm your subscription … confirm and you will automatically receive a new stories and recipes.

Want more? Feel free to visit my photoblog Susan Nye 365 or click here for more recipes and magazine articles or here to watch me cook!I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good.

© Susan W. Nye, 2011

Back-to-School & Capellini with Grilled Shrimp & Fresh Tomato Sauce

And just like that the swamp maples are sporting their first bright red leaves. At least in my neighborhood, you start to hear Canadian geese honking overhead. (They like to stop and feed at the cornfield down the street.) And the definitive sign that summer has come to an end? A big, yellow school bus rumbles down the hill to pick up the neighborhood kids in front of the post office. To make it doubly tough, the post office just happens to sit right next to the beach.

It’s back-to-school and back to reality. The first day of school, especially that first day of kindergarten, is always an exciting day. Or at least it was for me. I was always one of those hopeless nerds who actually liked school. My older sister Brenda blazed the trail ahead of me. Since she seemed to manage okay, I figured I could do the same. Besides, the first day of school meant new shoes and a special new dress to start the year. Like good luck charms, our shiny, new duds helped bolster our confidence to face new teachers, kids and challenges. Mom took the two of us downtown to Filene’s on a quest for Buster Brown shoes and Polly Flinders dresses. If we behaved ourselves and didn’t take too long, we could usually talk her into a sundae, or at least an ice cream cone, at Bailey’s.

Kindergarten was divided into two sections, morning and afternoon. The mothers in the neighborhood gave a collective sigh of relief when I was assigned to the afternoon session.

I was one of those sleepy headed kids who woke up slowly. I would eventually wander down to the kitchen and dawdle over my breakfast cereal at a leisurely pace. Next I meandered back upstairs. On the way, I might stop and cuddle with one or both dogs, take a detour onto the living room couch to ponder some great philosophical question or check in with Captain Kangaroo and Mr. Greenjeans. Still moving in slow motion, I took forever making my bed and getting dressed.

The mothers were convinced that I’d never make it out the door by 8:00. I think that they were probably right. So while my third grade sister waved goodbye and trudged up the hill to Joseph E. Fiske Elementary School, I hung around in my jammies and spent a few more leisurely mornings with the Captain.

I think I did alright in kindergarten. Although I didn’t set the world on fire with brains and wit, I didn’t weep at the drop of a hat, pick fights on the playground or talk back to the teacher. I was an agreeable little thing, who liked to giggle and was prone to frequent daydreaming. A sweet girl, I was delighted to play with anyone and everyone and just as happy with my own company. Come to think of it, not much has changed over the years.

After all, to paraphrase Robert Fulghum all you really need to know you learn in kindergarten. Nowadays, some schools teach kindergarteners a few reading fundamentals and a little arithmetic. Not my teacher, she focused on the basics and reinforced the good stuff our moms and dads were already trying to teach us. Stuff like:

Share.
Play nice.
Don’t hit.
Pick up your toys.
If you do something wrong, apologize.
Don’t forget to say please and thank you.
Wash your hands.
Cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough.
Buddy up.
Look both ways before you cross the street.

September is a beautiful month to enjoy the change of seasons and celebrate all you learned in kindergarten. Share a favorite bike route, fabulous book or a cup of tea with a friend, practice simple acts of kindness, say thank you like you mean it and do, hold hands and enjoy the Indian summer sunshine.

Bon appétit!

Grilled Shrimp with Pasta & Fresh Tomato Sauce
Fresh local tomatoes combine with grilled shrimp and pasta for a wonderful end of summer meal. Enjoy!
Serves 6-8

About 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1-2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
Dash or two (or to taste) hot pepper sauce
About 20 ripe plum tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 pound capellini (angel hair pasta) or spaghetti
6 to 8 fresh basil leaves, cut in chiffonade*
Grilled Shrimp (recipe follows)

Put the olive oil, vinegar, scallions, garlic and hot pepper sauce in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside while you prep the tomatoes to combine the flavors.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Set up an ice bath in a large bowl. Cut a small X on the bottom of each tomato. A few at a time, dunk the tomatoes in the boiling water for about 15 seconds. Remove them from the pot and plunge immediately into the ice water. Pull the skin off with a paring knife. Cut the tomatoes in half, scoop out the seeds and chop.

Add the chopped tomatoes to the olive oil mixture, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine. Let the tomatoes sit for 15-20 minutes at room temperature to combine the flavors.

Cook the pasta according to package directions less 1 minute. Drain and return the pasta to the pot. Add the tomatoes to the pasta, toss to combine and cook over medium-high heat for 1 minute. Sprinkle the pasta with half of the basil chiffonade and toss to combine. Transfer the pasta to a serving platter or individual plates, top with the grilled shrimp and remaining basil and serve immediately.

*To chiffonade is to stack the leaves one on top of the other and then cut into thin ribbons.

Grilled Shrimp
2 cloves garlic
1/4 small red onion
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon (or to taste) hot pepper sauce
1/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
Wooden skewers or a grill basket to cook the shrimp (if using wooden skewers, soak them in water for at least 30 minutes)

Put the garlic, onion, thyme, hot pepper sauce, wine and olive oil in a small food processor or blender and season with salt and pepper. Process to combine and finely chop the garlic and onion. Let the marinade sit for 10-15 minutes to combine the flavors.

Put the shrimp and marinade in a bowl, toss to combine and marinate in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.

Heat the grill to medium-high. Thread the shrimp onto the wooden skewers or toss them in the grill basket. Grill the shrimp, turning once, until just opaque, about 1-2 minutes per side.

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One Year Ago – Roasted Almonds
Two Years Ago – Grilled Swordfish with Caponata
Three Years Ago – Harira (Middle Eastern Soup with Chicken, Chick-Peas and Lentils)  

Do you remember your first day of school? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. To make a comment, just click on Comments below.

I’d be delighted to add you to the growing list of blog subscribers. To subscribe: just scroll back up, fill in your email address and click on the Sign Me Up button. You’ll get an email asking you to confirm your subscription … confirm and you will automatically receive a new story and recipe every week.

Feel free to visit my other, cleverly named blog, Susan Nye’s Other Blog, or photoblog Susan Nye 365. You can find more than 250 recipes, links to magazine articles and lots more on my website. I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good.©Susan W. Nye, 2010

Weekend Special – Dark & Stormy!

WOW! The potential is real for the strongest hurricane hit on the Northeast in at least a couple decades this weekend! Forget dinner parties and entertaining, it sounds like we’ll be battling high winds and torrential rain.

Still, ya gotta eat! If the power goes out you may need to do some Cooking Straight from the Pantry. (Of course I’m assuming you have a gas stove like I do.) Then again, with no power, you may need to clean out the freezer! I’ve got a couple of strip steaks in my freezer. (‘m not sure but I think I have a nice chunk of gorgonzola, so I can make one of my favorite sauces to go with it. There is a beautiful Pork Tenderloin in there as well. It will be perfect hot off the grill.

What to go with it? With all the excitement, I’d keep it simple. Grilled Zucchini or Corn and a Green Salad should do it. If the powers out, dessert’s easy – whatever ice cream or Gelato is rapidly melting in the freezer!

And finally, what to drink? A Dark & Stormy of course!

Dark & Stormy

1- 2 ounces dark rum
4-6 ounces ginger beer
Lime wedge

Fill a tall glass with ice cubes, stir in the rum and the ginger beer. Top it off with a squirt of lime and enjoy!

Stay safe and dry this weekend and bon appétit!

How will you ride out the storm? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. To make a comment, just click on Comments below.

Want more? Click here for more seasonal menus! In addition, I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good. © Susan W. Nye, 2011

End of Summer To-Do List & Blueberry Crisp

Do you hear that? That whooshing sound is the wistful sighs of hundreds of kids, parents and grandparents. They are all lamenting the end of summer’s lazy days. Next week school busses will roll and bells will ring. Life will go back to normal. Or at least what passes for normal.

When we were kids there was always a mild sense of urgency at the end of the summer. Enjoyingthe lazy pace of summer vacation, we couldn’t get too worked up about anything. But still, we always tried to cram in one more adventure, sail one final sail and enjoy one last ice cream cone at the Grey House before summer’s end.

How will you celebrate the last week or so of summer? Just in case you need help and in no particular order, here are a few ideas:

1. Visit one of the local gems. Sure you’ve heard about them, you just never took the time to explore. Wander through the gardens and along the wooded paths at The Fells or travel back in time in the Historical Society’s 19th-century village.
2. Take a walk. Whether it’s the first time or the 100th, explore the flora and fauna at the Philbrick-Cricenti Bog. Or hike one of the great trails on the Sunapee-Ragged-Kearsarge Greenway.
3. Jump in the water’s fine and the tide is always high. Take up that challenge and swim to the island. Paddle into every nook and cranny for an upfront and personal peek at the lake’s rocky shore. Glide across the smooth, glassy surface at dawn or pray for a breeze and an afternoon sail.
4. Pick blueberries with your kids and then bake a pie, cake or crumble together. Freeze the extra berries for muffins, pancakes and a taste of summer on cold winter mornings.
5. Enjoy your home baked blueberry treat after a spectacular New England feast of boiled lobster, fresh corn-on-the-cob and thick slices of ripe local tomatoes.
6. Find an old blanket and lie in a field or on the beach, identify the constellations with your kids and count shooting stars.
7. Put the kids to bed and slow dance in the moonlight.
8. Get up early one morning, sit on the porch with a cup of coffee, listen to the birds sing and read a good book. If someone wakes up before you’re ready for company, stay very still. With a bit of luck, they won’t find you.
9. If it rains, sleep late and then spend the rest of the day in your jammies. Hold your own private film festival and enjoy a marathon of your favorite classic movies. Popcorn is not optional. If you start to feel housebound, put on your bathing suit and rubber boots, grab your umbrella and go out and play in the rain.
10. Invent a new cocktail, something with fresh blackberries or blueberries. Sip it slowly while you watch the sun go down.

Enjoy the final days of summer and bon appétit!

Blueberry Crisp
Who doesn’t love Blueberry Crisp? With local blueberries plentiful, it’s the perfect time to get picking and baking! Enjoy!
Serves 8

Butter
2 pints blueberries
Grated zest of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
Pinch nutmeg
Crumble Topping (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Lightly butter a 2 quart baking dish.

Put the blueberries, lemon zest, sugar, cornstarch and spices in a bowl and toss to combine. Pour the blueberries into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the blueberries.

Put the crisp on a baking sheet to catch any drips and bake for about 30 minutes or until the berries are bubbling and the top is golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice cream.

You can also bake the crisp early in the day and warm it up in a 275 degree oven for about 15 minutes before serving.

Crumble Topping

1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
Pinch nutmeg
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) cold, unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
3/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal

Combine the flour, sugar, salt and spices in a food processor and pulse to combine. Add the butter and pulse until the mixture resembles coarse corn meal. Add the oatmeal and pulse until the topping comes together in little lumps.

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One Year Ago – Death by Chocolate Sauce
Two Years Ago – Lemon Cupcakes
Three Years Ago – Couscous with Dried Fruit and Pine Nuts  

Did you suffer through braces in middle school and high school? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. To make a comment, just click on Comments below.

I’d be delighted to add you to the growing list of blog subscribers. To subscribe: just scroll back up, fill in your email address and click on the Sign Me Up button. You’ll get an email asking you to confirm your subscription … confirm and you will automatically receive a new story and recipe every week.

Feel free to visit my other, cleverly named blog, Susan Nye’s Other Blog, or photoblog Susan Nye 365. You can find more than 250 recipes, links to magazine articles and lots more on my website. I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good. ©Susan W. Nye, 2010

In the Kitchen – How to Make Cornier Corn Chowder

On a cool fall evening or cold and rainy August night, corn chowder is a delicious and easy meal. Same goes for risotto with corn (if you haven’t tried it – do and by all means garnish with seared scallops and roasted tomatoes). Most people use chicken broth for their corn chowders, soups and risottos. I like to use a 50/50 mix of corn and chicken stock.

As long as you are willing to spend a few minutes of prep time and hang around while it simmers, making corn stock is a snap. Why not cook up a big batch of homemade corn stock on the next rainy afternoon? Use some now and freeze the rest.

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How to make corn stock:

12 ears corn
1 large onion
2 stalks celery
2 carrots
1 bay leaf
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Cut the kernels off the cobs. You should end up with 9 or more cups of kernels. Store the kernels in the refrigerator until you are ready to use. Blanch any extra kernels (cook in boiling salted water for 1 minute, plunge into ice water to stop the cooking and drain well) and then freeze them.

Snap the corn cobs in half so they will be easier to handle. Put the corn cobs, onion, celery, carrots and thyme in a large soup kettle and season with salt and pepper. Add 5 quarts of cold water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 1 1/2 – 2 hours.

Cool the stock to room temperature, strain the stock and discard the solids. Refrigerate or freeze until ready to ready to use.

Makes 4-5 quarts of stock. If you have a really big kettle (I have a 22-quart pot for cooking lobsters), use it for an even bigger batch!

Want more? Click here for more tips, tricks and tools! 

What’s your favorite kitchen trick or tip? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. To make a comment, just click on Comments below. I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good. © Susan W. Nye, 2011

Confessions of a Sweet Corn Bandit & Grilled Corn, Black Bean & Avocado Salsa

Forget the Fourth of July fireworks, sand castles and the Hospital Day Parade. No summer event is more eagerly anticipated, more impatiently awaited than the first ears of sweet corn. Want perfection? Minutes after it’s picked, husk a ripe ear of corn and plunge it into a pot of boiling water. Cook it for exactly 4 minutes and enjoy bliss with a little butter and salt.

Like many women, thirteen was one of the worst times of my life. I was plagued with the usual angst of adolescence. I had my fair share of pimples. My unruly curls produced a never ending run of bad hair days, particularly in the summer. And, I had braces. My teeth were encased in torturous steel, wire and rubber bands. Not only painful, braces made it virtually impossible to eat corn on the cob. After the first bite, kernels were hideously and obstinately embedded in every steel nook and cranny. Taking pity on me, my mother tried cutting the kernels off the cob. It just didn’t taste the same. In despair, I gave up fresh corn for the duration.

When I moved to Switzerland I was again deprived of sweet corn. For close to twenty years I lived near Geneva; where, until fairly recently, corn on the cob was only for cows. About the time I packed my bags to move back to the States, corn on the cob began to trickle ever so slowly onto supermarket shelves. Grown in southern Africa, by the time the ears arrived they were a poor and pitiful shadow of what sweet corn should be.

There is a lot of open farm land surrounding Geneva and the Swiss grow cow corn in abundance. After all it takes a lot of corn to feed the cows to get the milk to make all that cheese and chocolate. Bicycling through those fields was one of my favorite weekend activities. I always looked at those fields with longing (for sweet corn) and despair (because it wasn’t). One particular Saturday, some friends and I went on a long bike ride past row after row of ripening corn.

After the ride, we joined forces for an impromptu potluck cookout. Preparations were well underway when a few of us were hit by the nagging sense that something was missing. Corn on the cob of course! Fueled by optimism and hope, we decided that there must surely be a tiny window when cow corn was sweet and crisp. And of course we figured that the tiny window was open at just that very minute.

And so began the great Corn Caper. We donned baseball caps, hoodies and sunglasses, hopped back on our bikes and went off to pilfer the nearest field. Our band of merry thieves was not made up of foolish teenage hooligans but foolish thirty-something professionals uncontrollably driven by delicious memories of fresh sweet corn. At least for the moment we didn’t care if our families were shamed by scandalous headlines (Foreigners Arrested in Agricultural Heist – Deportation Imminent). Nor did we worry that the farmer might skip 911 and fill our backsides with buck shot.

We completed our raid without apprehension or worse and returned to the party with backpacks stuffed with corn. Working against the clock, we husked the ears and threw them into boiling water. With great anticipation we all took the first, long-awaited bite. Edible, but tough and tasteless. We were denied that sweet taste of summer … and home.

Of course there was an upside to the whole debacle. Since our caper could hardly be called successful, I was not tempted to quit my job and begin a life of crime. Enjoy summer’s bounty and,

Bon appétit!

Grilled Corn, Black Bean & Avocado Salsa
This salsa is great as an appetizer with tortilla chips and delicious as a side dish with chicken or seafood. Enjoy!
Makes 5-6 cups

Juice of 1 lime
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil plus more for the corn
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon or to taste minced jalapeno
1 teaspoon cumin
Kosher salt to taste
2-3 ears corn, shucked (about 1 1/2 cups of kernels)
1 pound tomatoes, cored, seeded and chopped (about 1 1/2 cups chopped tomato)
2-3 scallions, thinly sliced or about 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups (15-ounce can) cooked black beans, rinsed and drained
2-3 tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro leaves
1-2 avocados, chopped

Put the lime juice, olive oil, garlic, jalapeno and cumin in a small bowl, season with salt and whisk to combine. Let sit for at least 10 minutes to combine the flavors.

Preheat the grill to high. Brush the corn with a little olive oil. Lay the ears directly on the grill and cook for 3-5 minutes, turning to cook evenly. Remove from the grill and when they are cool enough to handle, use a sharp knife to remove the kernels from the cobs. (When fresh corn is not available, stir-fry frozen shoepeg corn in a little olive oil over medium-high heat until lightly browned.)

Put the corn, tomatoes, scallions and black beans in a large bowl and toss to combine. Pour the lime juice-olive oil mixture over the vegetables and toss to combine. Add the cilantro and toss again. Let sit for 15-20 minutes or up to a few hours in the refrigerator to mix and meld the flavors.

Add the avocado, toss to combine and serve immediately as a dip with your favorite tortilla chips or as a side dish with grilled chicken or seafood.

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One Year Ago – Crostini with Goat Cheese
Two Years Ago – Corn & Chicken Chowder
Three Years Ago – Joe Nye’s Perfect Lobster  

Did you suffer through braces in middle school and high school? I’d love to hear from you! Let’s get a conversation going. To make a comment, just click on Comments below.

I’d be delighted to add you to the growing list of blog subscribers. To subscribe: just scroll back up, fill in your email address and click on the Sign Me Up button. You’ll get an email asking you to confirm your subscription … confirm and you will automatically receive a new story and recipe every week.

Feel free to visit my other, cleverly named blog, Susan Nye’s Other Blog, or photoblog Susan Nye 365. You can find more than 250 recipes, links to magazine articles and lots more on my website. I hope that you will take a minute to learn about my philanthropic project Eat Well-Do Good.©Susan W. Nye, 2011