Devour this

tiny tasty tidbit

'Just tossing a bone out there -- this won't be a lengthy piece.  I just have to record this wonderful week Jeff and I spent dog/house-sitting in Manhattan last month.  Our friends Vanessa and Dan are fortunate to live in a spectacular old apartment in Gramercy and we were lucky enough to answer the phone when they called to ask us to dogsit their pup Sputnik (who, by the way, is our 2nd favorite dog after Mia).

Here's the sweet, yogic boy (he does more downward dogs and updogs in a day than I do in a month!):

We woke up Saturday morning, suited up the pup, and headed to the Union Square farmers' market, conveniently located only a few blocks away (swoon).  We lolled about, smelling this, tasting that and much, much later meandered home, bags heavy with fresh food and an armful of beautiful yellow and white daffodils to boot.

Oh, and here's a better shot of the busty sourdough boule; I'd be remiss not to show her off:

So I went about chopping some little round onions and fresh plump garlic, and threw it in a sizzling pan with creamy white potatoes.  (Sidenote: Yes, those are sunchokes in the bag in front of the teapot.  I decided to start purchasing vegetables I've never tried before.   It took me a few days before I got up the nerve to do something with those, but I must say they're absolutely delicious sliced thinly and thrown into a salad.  Oh, and that square of milky cheese -- fresh mozzarella that was crumbly and holey and salty, unlike any I've ever had.  Amazing.)
Back to breakfast.  The potatoes.

As you can see, they were simple potatoes.  In a simple pan, in a simple kitchen.

The simpler, the better.  It was probably the best meal and best morning/afternoon and best overall week I've experienced so far this year.

Yup, that's beer with breakfast.  Just for fun and because we're silly like that.

Ode to local market

I have been a terrible blogger.  For this, I apologize.  I'm not sure I really have anyone to apologize to so I'm mostly apologizing to myself for not keeping up with this more.  I really enjoy it, but I've let it slip away the past few months.  I could bore you (or myself, rather) with excuses, but I'll forgo all of that.

Instead, I'll offer a montage of another thing I'm sorely missing these days.  My town's little farmers' market.  Yes, the mile-square, riverfront, city-outside-the-city plot of over-developed land known as Hoboken has its very own farmers' market.  It's tiny, but it's efficient, well-planned, and well-loved.  I adore Union Square, but this little market on Washington St. has a special place in my heart. 
I'm ready for this mild winter to be on its merry way so I can stop here on my home.  If we're not getting any snowfall, what's the point?

And happy birthday to my sweet Rori -- who's now lucky enough to live in California and take advantage of the spectacular Santa Monica farmers' market every month of the year!  Speaking of which, I sent her this wonderful book -- check it out.

And happy birthday to dear Gil!  For whom half of Jac and Gil is named -- we really need another farmers' market shop and bake!

Shout out to MD crabs, and losing pie contests

I really think I've done it.  This may only be my second or third attempt to develop an original recipe, but I truly think this one (Maryland Crab Soup Pie) is a winner.  Martha Stewart may not have thought so last Saturday, or rather the Blue Hill at Stone Barns chefs didn't, but in my mind, I conquered. 

What:  "Seasonal Pie Bake-off" with Martha Stewart as "special guest judge"

Here's Martha Stewart viewing pies (not mine):

Where: Stone Barns Center for Food & Agriculture gorgeous bucolic farm in Westchester County, NY

Here are the other pies: (Pizza pie, who knew?)

Results:  Check out my post on The Feed, TimeOut New York's food blog

Want more "full-disclosure" details?  Yes, nutty me drove from NYC to Baltimore, MD and back last Thursday evening (after work!) just to gather the true Maryland blue crabs I needed to make my pie authentic (and at 192 miles, pretty local, right?) --Oh, I was also visiting my best friend who'd minutes before flown into BWI from LAX and immediately headed to this restaurant to eat crabs loaded up with rock salt and Old Bay (holla! if you're from MD) with some friends and family, so I'm not completely nutty.  From the USQ Greenmarket I gleaned all my veggies:  decent pale-yellow corn, plump lima beans, thin French green beans, heavy red tomatoes, hefty, rough-and-tumble carrots, a staunch head of cabbage, firm, smiling celery, dusty onions, and some perky little potatoes, oh, and some peas (disclaimer:  being it's not pea season, an organic and frozen variety of those snuck in).

I chopped and chopped, picked apart little crab bodies and claws for hours,

and stewed everything up until my whole apartment building was filled with the rich, nose-tingly scent of seafood, spices, and seasonal harvest. 

Meanwhile, I also made pie crusts, lots of them.  The chosen one: Melissa Clark's  All-Butter Pie Crust from the New York Times. Fat meltingly delicious...do you see all the spots of butter in there??

Slapping it all together with some roux to thicken

and without a thought about presentation (OK, I thought about it and was going to have 2 crab claws coming out of the top as my friend's mother suggested, but it just didn't work out.  I accidentally threw the crab claws away that I was saving for this...it was a looong night, believe me), I lugged my two pies (one for presentation -- I know, I know) all the way to Tarrytown, NY.  If you read my short TimeOut blog post, you know how things ended...

Nevertheless, I had many a compliment on my pie that day.  The best part of the Harvest Fest was the pie free-for-all at the end of the day.  Competitive pie bakers, plastic forks, and dozens of pies...it was a germophobe's nightmare and a pie lover's heaven.  More than a few people told me my pie was their favorite.  One woman even asked me for my card to see if the pie would be available to be shipped to her!  Hmph, so there!  Really, I lack competitive spirit, but when you know you done good, you just know it.

Ugly Post, Good Food (playing around with placing/sizing images)

It's not often you one-up a recipe from a seasoned chef...well, ok, it is often.  It happens all the time -- to everyone, apparently.  Go to any recipe site and read the comments:  everyone has doctored the recipe they attempted and it supposedly comes out even better!  Although I never quite understand how they know it's better when they didn't make the recipe as it was written...but that's no matter. 

Tonight I made Ina Garten's Eggplant Gratin.  Though I made a big improvement (so I think):  instead of using a "good-quality store bought marinara sauce" as she directs, I used my own, homemade sauce right out of the freezer (Literally, right out.  I was crumbling frozen marinara over my gratin.  Kind of strange.).  Here's my frozen sauce.

Anyway, I sliced some slender, lavender Japanese eggplant and shiny, globe eggplant into 1/2 inch rounds. 
I pan-fried them in some olive oil, layered with a ricotta/egg/
half-and-half/
Parmigiano Reggiano (the good stuff!) mixture, topped with homemade marinara and extra cheese and slid that sucker in the oven!

Meanwhile, I made a bowl of my version of Greek salad, with plenty of fragrant fresh dill.

Another lovely summer meal prepared with farmers' market produce in a steamy, stifling apartment kitchen.  But no complaints. Not with food looking and tasting so good...

   

Richmond's Got Soul...

And by that, I mean "really good breakfast." 
No, the truth is that Richmond, VA is rife with rich history, culture, and hospitality.  But they also have amazing breakfast.  At least we found some at Cafe Gutenberg right on Main St., next to the outdoor farmers' and artists' market.  A book, coffee, and wine lounge (their photography book collection is to-die-for), Cafe Gutenberg had all the charm of a European hot spot with none of the pretension.   Young, happy hipster families were seated next to cheery, yuppie, gay couples next to older, white-haired lunching ladies and the vibe was vibrant and alive. 
And the food...Candied Ginger French Toast with marscarpone cheese, blackberry compote, and applewood-smoked bacon. 

Asparagus and scrambled egg panini with Vermont cheddar and yukon hash. 

Sweet ricotta and blueberry crepes with candied orange and blackberry compote.   

Served with Illy coffee, and you've got all you need to say you had a really good weekend trip from NYC.  (Minus the hours and hours of stop and go traffic around Washington, D.C.  'Better make it a long weekend. And take Route 301 - beautiful farmland scenery!)

But, wait!  There's more...Richmond has a sweet farmers' market (Saturday and Sunday).  And if you know anything about me, you know I am in love with farmers' markets.  This one was wonderfully rugged and complex.  Dozens of artists shared space with candle makers, antique dealers, spiritual healers, and growers (I learned that Thursdays are only for produce).  Gorgeous green watermelons, baskets of snappy green beans, crates of roly-poly tomatoes...

You just can't go wrong when buying locally grown fruits and veggies.  You can bet Cafe Gutenberg agrees.

The First Recipe I Concocted by Myself Pie

Or Saturday Morning Farmers' Market Pie.  After inspiration from the movie Waitress last week, my friend Gil and I vowed to devise our own pies this weekend.  We met her aunt at Union Square Greenmarket before 9 A.M. and started our quest for the best summer pie ingredients.  Gil knew she wanted something sweet, and I was contemplating a savory pie. 

The market provided a spectacular feast for the eyes.  Piles of shiny orange (and purple!) carrots, mounds of fresh green herbs, baskets of juicy berries.  Gil settled on blackberries and peaches; meanwhile, I bought a hodge-podge of ingredients:  feathery fresh dill, pungent basil, sturdy Rocombole garlic, magenta Bull's Blood beets, round, ripe tomatoes, perky ears of bi-color corn...

After arriving back home, I surveyed my selections and settled on an idea that had kept resurfacing:  Summer Corn Pie.  The pie crust came from from Epicurious.com (my first online go-to spot for recipes) -- it happened to be the "Best-Ever Pie Crust" from the July 2007 Bon Appétit magazine.  Is it the best ever?  It's pretty close with an extremely flaky texture and rich, buttery flavor.  For the filling, I cut approximately 2 1/2 cups of corn off the cob (about 3 plump ears), and mixed them with about 3 tablespoons melted butter, 1/3 cup flour, teaspoon salt, couple teaspoons sugar, freshly snipped basil, 4 robust eggs, and just over 2 cups cream-topped milk.  A few stirs and into a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes.  Top with rounded scoop of ricotta or pour some cream over top (I've been doing this with everything lately!).  Served with sliced ripe tomato on the side, the pie is satisfying, simple, and summery.  And there you have it.

Jac and Gil's First Pie-Baking Experience Pies.  Check out Gil's pie at myglutenfreeworld.blogspot.com.