I could not be more ready for the weekend. I had one too many 7am meetings this week, each one followed by long days working frantically toward a major deadline Thursday afternoon. The minute the deadline passed, I felt a wave of exhaustion wash over me. I was spent. But now the weekend has arrived and I have two full days to sleep in, not think about insurance, and enjoy the beautiful weather we’re supposed to have. We’re going to head out to the garden to check for tomatoes and squash and blueberries, try and catch a showing of Chef, and hopefully head up to Maine to look for chanterelles with Trevor’s uncle.

One thing that helped me keep my head up during this hectic week was coming home to these delicious basil panna cottas in the fridge – I won’t lie, I had a few bites every night this week. When it comes to basil, my eyes are often bigger than my stomach. I find the scent of basil truly intoxicating, and am seemingly unable to walk by a box in the store or a patch in the garden without taking some home. But its shelf life is shorter than I think, and more often than not I use up a little right away and then end up with a bunch of slimy black leaves a week later, which feels like such a terrible waste. One solution is to mix up and freeze a big batch of pesto, but after a while, as delicious as pesto is, it feels boring.

On the ride home from our garden the other day, a bag of freshly picked basil sitting in my lap, I tried to think of things other than pesto that I might make to use up leaves on their last leg. When I got to basil ice cream, I moved backwards a few steps to basil-infused heavy cream, and then jumped forward again to settle on basil panna cotta. Since I had a few overly ripe apricots in the fridge that needed to be used up as well, I decided on rosé-poached apricots as a topping. I read up on my panna cotta theory in The Best International Recipe (a great resource for knowing how and why recipes work), then changed things up a little, and the result was sublime. Not too sweet, extremely light and smooth, and with delicate, floral flavors, it tasted like a restaurant quality dessert but was extremely simple to execute. It might be my new dinner party go to. If you also have an abundance of basil and quickly ripening stone-fruit sitting on your counter (’tis the season!) I encourage you to give this recipe a go – you won’t be disappointed, and you’ll have spared yourself the sadness of wasted produce.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

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Basil Panna Cotta with Rosé-Poached Apricots

Serves 4.

• 1 1/2 c. heavy cream
• 1/2 c. basil leaves, washed and dried
• 1 c. sugar, divided
• 1/2 vanilla bean
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 1/2 tsp gelatin
• 3/4 c. rosé wine
• 4 fresh apricots, halved and pits removed

1. Add the heavy cream, basil, and 1/4 cup of the sugar to a small saucepan. Split the vanilla bean lengthwise and scrape the seeds out into the cream with a small spoon, then add the vanilla bean pod to the cream as well. Heat the cream over medium heat, stirring gently to dissolve the sugar, until the cream just comes to a simmer. Remove from the heat and let sit for 15 minutes, then strain the cream through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and chill until cold, at least 30 minutes. Discard the basil.
2. Add the milk to a small saucepan and sprinkle the gelatin over the top of the milk. Stir gently to combine. Let the gelatin sit for 10 minutes to hydrate, then heat over medium-low heat just until the gelatin dissolves, which should take about 90 seconds to 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, whisk to combine, then pour into the chilled basil-infused cream. Whisk the mixture for 1 minute to fullly combine and to begin to chill the gelatin, then divide the mixture between four ramekins or glasses, cover each with plastic wrap, and chill until firm, at least two hours.
3. For the apricots: add the remaining 3/4 c. of sugar and the rosé to a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer, then gently place the apricot halves into the pot, submerging in the simmering liquid. Let simmer until soft, about 3-4 minutes, then remove with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Continue simmering the liquid until it is reduced by half and slightly syrupy, about 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and pour over the apricots. Cover the apricots and syrup and chill until cold.
4. Serve each panna cotta with one or two apricot halves and a few spoonfuls of syrup poured over the top. Serve cold.

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I first had un fraisier 5 years ago, in Paris.  Trevor and I spent a week there in May, at a time when we had just barely realized that this might be more than just flirtation and sneaky late night makeout sessions.  I still can’t believe that I actually took that trip – me, who needs months to plan a weekend getaway, won’t pay a dollar more than I have to for anything, and approaches almost everything with caution.  As a sophomore in college, I probably spent a third of my life’s savings on that trip, going with someone I’d only officially been with for less than a year, although I’d known him for much longer.  And it was very worth it.

We didn’t have a huge budget for eating out, so we did a lot of picnicking and bakery-visiting.  Which, in a way, is a perfect way to experience Paris.  We got to practice our french in the boulangeries and fromageries, sit in the beautiful parks and watch Les Parisiens go about their lives, and enjoy french food at it’s most elemental.  We stayed in an apartment along Rue Montorgueil, one of the premier food-shopping streets in the city, so it was quite easy to eat this way, and to eat well.  One afternoon we splurged after seeing a gorgeous display in a little patisserie on our way back to our apartment, and picked up a few treats.  One of them, was a slice of fraisier, a delicate strawberry, pastry cream, and marzipan cake.  Although I don’t remember exactly, we most likely ate it with a glass of kir royal, because that’s pretty much all we drank that week, after discovering the syrupy goodness of 4€ creme-de-cassis.

I don’t think I’ll ever forget that slice of cake.  Or associate it with anything other than springtime, happiness, and love. I’ve been meaning to make it every spring sense, but every time I look at the recipe for a traditional version, I get scared off by how much work it takes. This year, though, I finally did it, and now that I’ve done it the proper way I can start coming up with ways to make it easier.

This is not an everyday cake. Not only does it require multiple components – a sponge cake, a pastry cream which is then turned into a mousseline, fresh strawberries and marzipan – and careful assembly, but making the sponge cake itself is a workout. If you make a proper sponge cake, you have to spend a full 20 minutes vigorously whisking your eggs and sugar to make a sort of zabaglione that is the base of the batter.  That said, with a little planning it’s totally doable, and so gorgeous for a special occasion. And, if you like to bake, it’s extremely rewarding to pull this cake off – I swelled up with pride when I pulled a gorgeously light and golden sheet of sponge from the oven. I am a little disappointed with the slight messiness of the final product (but maybe just because Trevor was making fun of it – feel free to yell at him for me), but I was not at all disappointed with the taste. Although The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts cautioned that if I put my marzipan-coated cake in the fridge with the marzipan, it would be “rendered unusable,” I did it anyway and it’s much prettier and easier to slice after a few hours in the fridge. I almost re-shot these pictures, but then I just ate the cake instead.

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Classic Fraisier

Recipe adapted slightly from The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts. Makes one 8-inch cake.

For the cake:

• 110g cake flour (3/4 c. + 1 TBS)
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 2 oz. whole milk (1/4 c.)
• 1 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature (2 TBS)
• 3 large whole eggs, at room temperature
• 3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
• 175g sugar (3/4 c. + 1 TBS)

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 17 x 11 inch baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder together in a small bowl so that they are evenly combined. Add the milk and the butter to a small saucepan, and heat over low heat just until the butter is melted, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Set up a double boiler – fill a large saucepan with water and bring to a boil, then immediately turn off the heat. In a heatproof bowl that fits snugly into the saucepan without touching the hot water, briefly whisk together the eggs, egg yolks, and sugar. Place the mixture over the hot water, being sure it is not touching the water. Whisk the eggs and sugar vigorously for 10 minutes, or until the mixture reads 110°F on an instant thermometer and has become pale yellow.
4. Remove the bowl from the hot water, and continue whisking vigorously or another 10 minutes, until the mixture has tripled in volume and forms a ribbon when lifted from the bowl.
5. Use a rubber spatula to fold the flour mixture into the whipped egg mixture in three additions, making sure that the dry ingredients do not clump. Fold each addition in while the batter is still slightly streaky from the previous addition. Do not overfold or you will deflate the batter.
6. Once the flour mixture is incorporated, fold 3/4 c. of the batter into the warm milk mixture so that the milk mixture has a similar consistency to the batter, than fold the milk mixture back into the batter, until juts combined. Pour the batter into the prepared sheet pan, smoothing gently with the spatula. Immediately place in the preheated oven and bake for 10 minutes, until surface of cake springs back when touched and the top is golden brown. Remove cake from oven, let cool on a cooling rack, then invert the pan and carefully peel off the parchment paper. Set cake aside, wrapping tightly and refrigerating if you will not be using it immediately.

For the mousseline:

• 2 large egg yolks, at room
• 1 large whole egg
• 3 TBS cornstarch
• 1/2 c. + 2 TBS sugar
• 2 c. whole milk
• 1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 7 oz. unsalted butter, at room temperature (14 TBS / 1 3/4 sticks)

1. Whisk together the egg yolks, egg, cornstarch, and sugar in a medium bowl, whisking until well blended.
2. Place the milk in a saucepan. Scrape the seeds from the vanilla bean into the milk, and add the vanilla pod to the pan. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, then remove from the heat. Temper the eggs – while whisking the eggs vigorously, slowly drizzle 1 cup of the hot milk mixture into the eggs, then, now whisking the milk, pour the tempered egg mixture back into the hot milk. Continue whisking vigorously as you return the pan to medium heat. Cook until the mixture thickens, about 3-5 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom as you cook. Once thickened, remove from heat and let cool so that it is just above room temperature. Remove the vanilla bean.
3. Add the slightly warm pastry cream to a mixer, and begin beating on low. Add the room temperature butter 1 TBS at a time, beating as you go, until the mixture is very light and fluffy, like a buttercream. If the butter melts immediately upon contact with the pastry cream, let the pastry cream cool further before continuing. You want the butter to get whipped slightly as it is incorporated into the pastry cream. If mixing by hand, beating a few TBS of butter until fluffy and then incorporating the pastry cream a little bit at a time is helpful. Repeat until all the butter and pastry cream is used up. Use the buttercream as soon as possible after it’s prepared.

To assemble:

• 1 recipe sponge cake (above)
• 1/4 c. simple syrup (prepared from 1/4 c. water + 1/4 c. sugar, simmered just until sugar dissolves)
• 1 recipe mousseline (above)
• 20-30 fresh strawberries of a similar size, hulled
• 2 oz. pale green Marzipan

1. Using a 6-inch cake ring or springform pan as a guide, cut two circles out of the sponge cake. Store the rest of the cake in the fridge or freezer for another use.
2. Place one of the cake circles inside your cake ring of springform pan, and brush the top generously with simple syrup.
3. Place half of the mousseline in a piping bag, and pipe a thin line around the edge of the cake. Cut the strawberries in half lengthwise, and place them cut side out in a circle around the edge of the cake. Try to use strawberries of a similar size. Pipe mousseline in the middle of the cake such that it comes halfway up the inside of the strawberries. Top this layer of mousseline with more cut strawberries, this time placed cut side down, so that you have a layer of mousseline and strawberries that is an even height.
4. Use a spatula to spread more mousseline on top of the strawberry layer so that it is covered by about 1/2 an inch, smoothing the top out with the spatula. Place your second cake circle on top of this mousseline layer, and brush with simple syrup. Top with a thin layer of mousseline.
5. Refrigerate the cake for at least 3 hours. When ready to serve, roll your marzipan out into a thin sheet. Carefully remove your cake ring or springform pan from the cake. Use this as a guide to cut a circle out of the marzipan. Place the marzipan circle on top of the cake, top with a few whole strawberries, and serve.

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The Book: If you’re even a little bit of a Francophile, or have ever found yourself daydreaming of a vacation in France punctuated by long dinners in the countryside, you’re going to want to get yourself a copy of Hungry for France. A cross between a memoir, a travel guide, and a cookbook, with all three components tied together by a love of French food, this book will have you planning your next vacation and tomorrow’s dinner at the same time. The book covers 13 regions in France, alternating notes about the best inns and restaurants in each region with recipes inspired by memorable dinners in those same establishments. As a result, the recipes are hyper-local to their particular corner of France, with hearty dishes like Cheese and Bacon Tarts from the Alps, and fresh, warm-weather seafood dishes like Roasted John Dory with Tomatoes and Olives from Cote d’Azur. By separating the recipes into these regional sections, the author highlights the wonderful variety of French cuisine – from delicate cream-filled pastry, to rich duck confit, to grilled seafood dishes, to hearty alpine stews, it’s all here. I love the recipes that are included in the book – they present slightly unexpected but still traditional flavor combinations that sound highly craveable, the kind of dishes I’d order from a restaurant in a heartbeat. They aren’t the French “basics,” – they’re modern and interesting, but still quintessentially French. There are as many recipes for sweet dishes as savory, which is good, because the French do both so well that it would be a shame to leave either one out. Although I haven’t nearly finished reading all the notes about different restaurants and destinations, what I have read perfectly captures the romance and magic of travel, expertly intertwined with practical advice about where to eat, sleep, and drink in France.

The Food: The night I planned to test a recipe from Hungry for France for this review, I came home from work completely exhausted and almost defaulted to plain spaghetti for dinner instead, until Trevor rescued the evening and said he’d do all the shopping and cooking if I could stay awake long enough to take pictures. I readily agreed, and very happily sat at the kitchen counter enjoying a glass of Chardonnay while Trevor made a lovely dinner for us. This Pistachio-Stuffed Chicken with Parmesan Cream Sauce was relatively quick to pull together, but it had lovely, nuanced flavors from all the herbs and different liqueurs used, and made for a very elegant, restaurant-quality dish. We served it with a warm orzo and pesto salad for a perfect little dinner (and the leftovers were just as good for lunch the next day). I particularly liked that the recipe used both vermouth and grappa in it – all the alcohol cooks off, but the flavors remained distinct. It will definitely be a repeat dinner dish in our house, and I can’t wait to try other recipes from this book.

Recipe Shortlist: Green Asparagus with Chorizo Vinaigrette; Nanterre French Toast with Honeyed Nectarines; Golden Endive and Chard Gratin; White-Wine Steamed Mussels with Andouille Sausage; Curried Pork in Cider Sauce; Hot Buckwheat Rolls; Hazelnut-Crusted Goat Cheese with Rhubarb-Raspberry Compote; Hot Chartreuse Souffle; Truffled Eggs en Cocotte with Prosciutto Toasts

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Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Hungry for France free of charge from Rizzoli, but I was not otherwise compensated and all thought and opinions are my own.

Pistachio-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Parmesan Cream Sauce

Recipe from Hungry for France. Serves 4.

•  1/4 c. milk
• 1 sprig fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 garlic clove, peeled and crushed
• 1 thick slice white bread, crust removed
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 4 shallots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 c. dry vermouth
• 1/4 c. finely chopped roasted, salted pistachios
• kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 boneless chicken breasts, trimmed of excess fat
• 2 TBS grappa
• 1 c. chicken stock
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 3 TBS grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 TBS butter
• fleur de sel (or sea salt) for finishing
• chervil sprigs, for finishing (optional)

1. In a small saucepan, heat milk with thyme, bay leaf, and garlic over medium heat, just until bubbles appear around the edge, about 1 minute. Remove from heat and strain into a shallow bowl. Add the bread and let stand for 10 minutes, turning once. Drain and squeeze dry, then finely chop and transfer to a medium bowl.
2. In a medium frying pan, heat 1 TBS of the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Stir in vermouth and cook until nearly evaporated, about 2-3 minutes. Remove pan from heat. Scrape  half of the shallots into the bowl with the bread, and add the chopped pistachios. Reserve the other half of the shallots for later.
3. Using a sharp knife, cut a slit lengthwise into the side of each chicken breast. Use a spoon to stuff a few TBS of the bread and pistachio filling into the slit of each breast, and pinch together to seal.
4. In a large frying pan, heat the remaining 2 TBS of olive oil over medium heat for 1-2 minutes, or until hot. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, then add to the hot pan and cook until browned, about 5 minutes on each side. Check to be sure chicken is cooked all the way through by cutting into the center of the fattest breast. However, try not to overcook the chicken as it will dry out fairly quickly. Remove the chicken breasts from the pan and set aside.
5. Add the grappa to the reserved shallots in the medium frying pan and bring to a simmer over medium-low heat. Very carefully tilt the pan and use a long match or lighter to ignite the vermouth. When the flames subside, add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer, cooking until reduced to half a cup , about 4-5 minutes. Add the heavy cream and simmer until reduced to half a cup, about 3 minutes. Remove the skillet from the heat and stir in the parmesan cheese and butter until both are fully melted. Transfer to a blender and process until frothy.
6. Ladle the sauce into the bottom of 4 bowls and top each with a piece of chicken. Finish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel and a few sprigs of chervil.

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 I can’t believe Christmas is only ten days away. I was in St. Petersburg for a quick trip from last Tuesday to Saturday, then yesterday flew over to Madrid. It’s always exciting to travel, but both trips have been fairly busy, and I’m missing out on critical Christmas-preparation time (thank God for Amazon Prime). Knowing I would feel this way, I made sure that last weekend was Christmas-activity heavy – we went and picked out a tree (our first! Trevor even let me take a gratuitous self-timer picture in front of it), played carols, watched Love Actually, and made this gorgeous roasted duck for the next round of the Captain Morgan Captain’s Table Challenge.

After making a sweetish side-dish for the last round, we knew that this time around we wanted to do a stunning, savory, Christmas dinner centerpiece. This whole roast duck with a pomegranate, orange and rum glaze is just that. The flavors are a perfect mix of fruity, bright, herbal, and salty; the skin is golden and crispy; the meat is tender. Surrounded by a boozy chestnut, apple, and pancetta stuffing that echoes all the flavors in the duck itself, it’s the perfect thing to grace your Christmas dinner table if you’re having a small gathering. I genuinely loved the complexity the rum gave to both the duck and the stuffing, and I might have to make the whole thing again soon even if just for a cozy Sunday night dinner.

Also, I have to take a moment to brag here (not a humblebrag, I’m still working on that skill) – Trevor and I won the first round of the Captain’s Table Challenge with our sweet-potato souffle and sparkling cranberry-ginger cocktail! I think the most exciting part for me is that Hugh Acheson was the judge, and it feels quite validating to have a successful chef say your recipe seems decent. Finding out was just the momentum we needed to come up with this duck recipe. Stay tuned for our drinkable submission to the Christmas round later this week – Trevor’s been testing out cocktails while I’ve been away, so he’s getting to be an expert on rum-based Christmas drinks.

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Captain Morgan, who provided me with product samples and monetary compensation in exchange for my participation in this program. All opinions are honest and my own, as always.

Rum-and-Pomegranate Glazed Roast Duck

Serves 4.

For the duck:

• One 5-lb. whole duck
• 1 TBS coarse sea salt
• 1 TBS finely chopped rosemary + 3 whole sprigs rosemary
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• zest of 1 orange, finely grated
• juice from 1 orange
• 2 c. pomegranate juice
• 1/2 c. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
• pomegranate-rum glaze (see below)

1. Preheat the oven to 450°F. Remove giblets from cavity of duck and reserve for another use. Pat the duck dry and place on a cutting board. Cut off any excess skin, as well as the wing tips (to prevent burning). Truss the bird by tying the legs together over the front side using kitchen twine, tucking the tail between the legs. Score fat on breast-side of duck all over in a cross-hatch pattern, making sure to cut down to the meat. Flip the duck over and prick the back and the legs all over with a sharp knife.
2. Add the salt, 1 TBS of chopped rosemary, black pepper, and orange zest to a mortar and pestle, and pound until rosemary is crushed and mixture is somewhat moist. Rub the paste all over the duck, making sure to get under the skin. Place the duck in a roasting pan. Pour the orange juice, pomegranate juice, and rum over the duck into the bottom of the pan – bottom of the pan should be covered by liquid to a depth of a quarter inch, if it is not, add more pomegranate juice. Add the rosemary sprigs to the liquid, and place duck in the oven.
3. Roast the duck, for 2 hours and 30 minutes, basting the duck with the pan juices every 15-20 minutes. Before the last 15 minutes of cooking, take the duck out of the oven and brush all over with the prepared glaze, then finish off. Let rest 5-10 minutes before carving.

For the glaze:

• 1/2 c. drippings
• 1/2 c. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
• 1/4 c. pomegranate molasses
• juice from 1/2 orange

1. Add all ingredients to a small saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until reduced to a syrup, about 10-15 minutes.

Boozy Chestnut-Apple Stuffing

Inspired by Yankee Magazine. Serves 4.

• 1 large baguette, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
• 3 TBS olive oil
• 1/4 lb. pancetta, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 large onion, peeled and diced
• 2 honeycrisp apples, cored and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
• 1 1/2 c. roasted chestnuts
• 1 TBS minced fresh rosemary
• salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 eggs
• 3/4 c. chicken stock
• 1/4 c. Captain Morgan Original Spiced Rum
• seeds from 1 pomegranate

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Toss the bread cubes with the olive oil and spread on a baking sheet. Toast in the oven until golden brown and crispy, about 10 minutes.
2. Place a medium frying pan over medium heat. Add the cubed pancetta and fry until crispy on all sides, stirring frequently, about 10 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Add the onion and apple to the pan with the pancetta fat and saute until the onion is soft and translucent and the apples are beginning to soften, about 10 minutes. Toss the onion and apple with the cooked pancetta, then stir in the chestnuts and rosemary. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
3. In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, chicken stock, and rum. Add the toasted bread crumbs to this mixture and toss to coat, then add the apple-chestnut mixture and stir to combine. Butter a medium baking dish, then pour the stuffing into the prepared baking dish. Bake until the top of the stuffing is golden and crispy, about 30-35 minutes. Serve immediately, sprinkled with the pomegranate seeds.

The post Captain’s Table Christmas // Rum-and-Pomegranate Glazed Roast Duck with Boozy Chestnut-Apple Stuffing appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

Anytime I have a particular ingredient that I’m looking to use I have a few cookbooks that I immediately pull off the (overloaded) shelf for recipe inspiration. Lucid Food, The Modern Vegetarian, Vegetable Literacy, and of course, Nigel Slater’s Tender and Ripe are on that list, since they’re all books that use fresh produce as the star of their recipes. For a project like this, the Slater books in particular are a gold mine of inspiration – first of all, they’re organized by ingredient, making it pretty easy to flip through ways of using up strawberries or onions. Secondly, they’re gorgeous, with enticing photographs, whimsical writing, and homey recipes that make you want to run to the kitchen.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise, then, that Ripe was the first place I turned when putting together my list of recipes for rhubarb week. Slater has eight rhubarb recipes included in the book, and seems to favor the pairings of rhubarb and cinnamon (like the cocktail I made yesterday! And kept drinking tonight…) and rhubarb and cream. I made his rhubarb and cinnamon polenta cake a little over a year ago, so this time I decided to go for the rhubarb and cream pairing, making this rhubarb custard fool with rhubarb syrup.

A fruit fool is an English dessert made by folding cooked fruit into a light custard or whipped cream. This particular fool recipe uses both custard and whipped cream, and is very light on the sugar, using only 3 TBS for 6 servings. It makes for a very different rhubarb eating experience – rather than the tangy sweet-tart flavor I’ve come to expect from rhubarb desserts, this simple dessert really focuses your palate on the mild taste and thick texture of the cream, and the bright sourness of the softened rhubarb. It’s a very restrained and elegant dessert. That being said, you fully have my permission to double the amount of sugar used in both the custard and the fruit if you have a sweet tooth as bad as mine (or if you’re just not feeling restrained). Since this made a big batch, I froze the leftovers to see how it translates into a semifreddo – I’ll let you know how that comes out, too.

Rhubarb Week Part One: Rhubarb-Prosecco Spritzer
Rhubarb Week Part Three: Recipe Round-Up from Around the Blogs
Rhubarb Week Part Four: Persian Rhubarb and Beef with Rice
Rhubarb Week Part Five: Rhubarb-Ginger Bars

Rhubarb Custard Fool

Recipe adapted slightly from Ripe. Serves 4-6.

Note: As written, this recipe is not very sweet. If you like sweeter desserts, increase the amount of sugar used in the custard to 2 TBS and use 4 TBS of sugar and 4 TBS of water in the rhubarb.

• 2 c. heavy cream, divided
• 2 egg yolks
• 3 TBS sugar, divided
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 14 oz. fresh rhubarb, leaves removed
• 3 TBS water

1. Make the custard: heat 1 cup of the heavy cream in a small saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until it has just begun to simmer. Immediately remove from the heat. In a small, heatproof bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg yolks and 1 TBS of the sugar, until yolks are pale yellow. Pour the hot cream into the egg mixture in a thin stream, whisking the eggs vigorously as you do so to temper the eggs. Pour the custard back into the saucepan and return to medium-low heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until custard is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Remove from heat, strain through a fine mesh sieve into a clean bowl, and stir in vanilla. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least one hour.
2. Wash the rhubarb and slice into 1-inch lengths. Add the rhubarb, the water, and the remaining 2 TBS sugar to a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Immediately turn down the heat and simmer the rhubarb gently until it is soft but not collapsing, about 4-6 minutes. Gently remove the rhubarb from the pan with a slotted spoon and place in a small bowl. Pour the leftover syrup into a separate small dish. Refrigerate both the fruit and the syrup until cool.
3. About half an hour before serving, whip the remaining 1 cup heavy cream until soft folds form. Fold in the chilled custard and the fruit. Spoon into glasses and refrigerate for 20-30 minutes. Serve with a drizzle of the rhubarb syrup.

The post Ingredient of the Week: Rhubarb // Rhubarb Custard Fool appeared first on Katie at the Kitchen Door.

When I agreed to review Cooking with Flowers, I was a little bit worried that the book wouldn’t quite be my speed. While I appreciated the unique concept, I was having a tough time picturing how I might incorporate flowers into my diet – where was I going to find food-safe flowers? Would it be expensive to source them? Would the recipes all be fussy and girly?

Turns out that I needn’t have worried, as the recipes and techniques in Cooking with Flowers are surprisingly inviting. Organized by flower type, there were only a handful of recipes where I struggled to imagine an easily accessible source. Marigolds are popular and easy to grow, dandelions grow like crazy in pretty much every backyard I’ve ever seen, our house in Maine has an abundance of daylilies each summer, and squash blossoms are a byproduct of something I already grow. Other commonly found flowers used in the book include geraniums, herb flowers, lilacs, nasturtiums, pansies, roses, sunflowers, tulips, and violets. The only flowers included in these recipes that would be challenging for me to get access to are elderflowers, hibiscus, dianthus, and orchids, and even those aren’t too much of a stretch. Learning that so many of these common flowers are edible was exciting in and of itself – think of all the expanded possibilities they could bring to the kitchen!

With my worries assuaged, I dove into the book. It’s a decidedly feminine book, with pastel colors and curlicue font, and in general, the recipes tend toward the sweet. Let’s just say that I probably wouldn’t give a copy to my dad (but I did give one to my mom for Mother’s Day!). While recipes for cakes, cookies, and jellies were somewhat expected, some of the recipes really surprised me – Daylily Curry, Rosemary-Flower Margaritas, Hibiscus Chili Caramel, and Thai Orchid and Beef Salad stick out as creative and exciting uses of ingredients often thought of as sweet. I wish there had been even more of these out-of-the-box savory recipes, but the simpler sweets – Hibiscus Cream Pie, Elderflower Lemon Cakelets, Pistachio Rose Shortbread, etc. – are still lovely.

I should point out two other things about the book. One, that some of the recipes are fairly time consuming. The time that it will take to find, clean, and process the blossoms of your flowers will vary with flower size, but it will almost always take longer than something like chopping an onion (especially since you frequently need a pretty large volume of flower blossoms). Two, a lot of the recipes rely on base flower recipes for their floral flavor – flower syrups, sugars, jams, and creams, the recipes for which are given in the back of the book, frequently need to be prepared before the main recipe. This is good and bad. Good, in that it allows you to preserve blossoms longer-term and think up other creative uses for them. Bad, in that it sometimes adds “hidden” time to the overall recipe time.

The fact that you can cook with lilacs was totally irresistible to me. Lilacs are one of my  favorite flowers, and their heady scent carries many fond memories of warm spring days. Since lilacs pass quickly, never staying open more than a week, being able to preserve their scent in sugars and sauces felt like a wonderful trick, and I sort of went all out with the lilac recipes to take advantage of this. A few hours of cleaning lilac blossoms later, I have lilac pavlovas, lilac-blackberry syrup, lilac sugar, candied lilacs, and dried lilacs, all ready to be used now or later in sweetly scented treats. The recipe I’m sharing here marries almost all of these components – lilac sugar is used to make distinctly floral pavlovas (with a really great, chewy interior texture), which are then topped with whipped cream, fresh blackberries, candied lilacs, and the lilac-blackberry syrup. In the book, they serve the pavlovas with the syrup and a homemade lime sorbet, which also sounds delicious, but I chose to go the classic berries and cream route. All together the dessert was elegant, light, and uniquely flavored – a perfect and effervescent ending to a spring dinner.

The bottom line: Cooking with Flowers introduced me to a completely new concept in a very accessible way. Many of the flowers used are easy to find in my backyard or around my neighborhood, and knowing their edibility is a revelation in itself. Generally the recipes tend toward the sweet, but the savory preparations are where the author’s creativity really shines through. Recommended for adventurous cooks and avid gardeners.

Disclaimer: I received a review copy of Cooking with Flowers free of charge from Quirk Books. As usual, I was not otherwise compensated for this review and all opinions are my own.

Lilac and Blackberry Pavlovas

Adapted from Cooking with Flowers. Serves 4-6.

Note: How to select and clean lilacs (adapted from Cooking with Flowers) – first, only use flowers that have been grown organically. Do not use flowers that have been sprayed or that are growing by the side of the road, as they may have absorbed toxins. Cut lilac bunches from a bush to be used. Wash each bunch, being careful that any bugs are rinsed off. Further separate the flowers into smaller clusters on a thin stem. Gently pull each flower from it’s sepal (the green part at the base of the flower). The lilac blossom should separate from the light yellow-green interior (see pictures above). One cup of lilacs will contain 40 to 60 individual blossoms. A single lilac bunch will likely yield between 1/2 and 1 cup of blossoms.

For the lilac-blackberry syrup:

• 2 c. water
• 3 c. lilac blossoms (see headnote)
• 1/2 c. sugar
• 8-10 fresh blackberries

1. Bring water to a boil. Place blossoms in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Let stand for at least 2 hours and up to 24 hours.
2. Add the flowers, flower water, sugar, and blackberries to a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 6-8 minutes, stirring and squishing blackberries with the back of a wooden spoon. Remove from heat and strain into a glass container. Discard the solids.

For the lilac pavlovas:

• 1/2 c. lilac blossoms (see headnote)
• 1 c. sugar
• 2 TBS cornstarch
• 4 egg whites
• 1/4 tsp cream of tartar
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

1. Preheat the oven to 210°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. Place the lilac blossoms and the sugar in a food processor and blend until pulverized. Mix 2 TBS of the lilac sugar with the cornstarch in a small bowl. Set the rest aside.
3. In a clean bowl, beat the egg whites on high until foamy. Sprinkle with the cream of tartar, then beat continually on high, gradually adding 1 cup of the remaining lilac sugar as you go. (You may have leftover lilac sugar – store it in a glass jar with a lid). Beat until the egg whites are stiff, shiny, and hold firm peaks.
4. Fold cornstarch mixture and lemon juice into the whipped egg whites. Use a large spoon to dollop the egg whites into 3-inch rounds on the lined baking sheet, then use the back of the spoon to scoop out a small indentation in each pavlova. Bake for 1 hour, or until they feel dry to the touch. Turn off the oven and leave the pavlovas in there for another hour with the door closed.

To serve:

• 12 small lilac pavlovas
• 2 c. of freshly whipped sweetened whipped cream
• 6-8 blackberries per person
• 1 c. lilac-blackberry syrup
• candied lilacs (optional)

1. Place 2 pavlovas on each plate. Top each with a dollop of whipped cream and a few blackberries. Drizzle with lilac-blackberry syrup and top with candied lilacs.

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