Something old, something new ...
Something old - resurrecting items from the freezer
Back in June I was unable to do any photography so the cooking I did was pretty pedestrian, recipes that didn't make much of a visual impact on their own.
One of these dishes was a batch of beef and pork meatballs using meat from my freezer. I froze the pan fried meatballs for use when inspiration struck, or I was just hungry and didn't have the energy to cook. Which happened a couple of days ago when, knowing that I would be out of town the next day and unlikely to do any cooking on my return, I thawed one of the containers of meatballs and added them to jarred spaghetti sauce and some cooked elbow macaroni. Fast, filling and tasty with very little effort.
Something new - a new take on a familiar recipe
Two years ago, Greg and Katherine's blog, "Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide", showcased a recipe for delicious Peach Crumble Bars. I've made it with the featured peaches, blueberries and cherries. This time, I used a basket of yellow, cling stone nectarines and ended up with another amazing dessert.
Peach Crumble Bars - 24 bars
For the Crumble:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 - 1 cup granulated sugar (use the lesser amount if desired)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1 egg, lightly beaten
For the Peach Filling:
5 cups diced or sliced peaches** (7-8 peaches, peeled)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 - 1 cup granulated sugar (if your peaches are sweet, use the lesser amount)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
**Note that you can also use apricots or nectarines
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter or spray the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter or spray the parchment as well.
Making the Crumble:
In the bowl of a food processor pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon on low speed. Add the butter cubes and pulse again until the butter seems evenly distributed through the mixture and fairly homogenous. Add the beaten egg and pulse until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Pat a bit more than half (~3/5ths) of the dough into the prepared pan. Place reserved half aside. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Making the Peach Filling:
In medium bowl, gently toss diced peaches and lemon juice together; set aside.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.
Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool the pan completely on a wire rack then transfer to the refrigerator to chill before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
And if you really can't hold out, cut into while still warm and eat it with a small scoop of ice cream.
Something borrowed bought
Identical recipes are found in multiple countries in Europe which do not share a common language origin. A lot of people know of ravioli (Italy)/pierogy (Poland)/varenyky (Ukraine)/pelmeni (Russia) but less well known are Italian 'pesche' or peach wedding cookies which are also found in the former Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatia) in the form of 'breskvice'.
While shopping at the city market this morning I was struck with a nostalgic craving for these charming cookies. They're painted or dipped in milk or water tinted with red and yellow food colouring and then rolled in granulated sugar and, if allowed to sit overnight, will be moist and cake-like in texture.
I bought this single cookie for $1 which was pricey but cheaper than making a whole batch to satisfy a craving. One day, though, I'll make them myself. Other variations for fillings include pastry cream, apricot/peach preserves and Nutella.
Inside the cookies - chocolate and cookie crumb filling
ETA: There are also cookie molds that you can use to form walnuts, almonds and peaches.
Sorry, I couldn't think of anything blue ... except I'm blue that school starts on Tuesday and then it's back to work. :) I'll be going back to my big Sunday cooking schedule as a result.
Back in June I was unable to do any photography so the cooking I did was pretty pedestrian, recipes that didn't make much of a visual impact on their own.
One of these dishes was a batch of beef and pork meatballs using meat from my freezer. I froze the pan fried meatballs for use when inspiration struck, or I was just hungry and didn't have the energy to cook. Which happened a couple of days ago when, knowing that I would be out of town the next day and unlikely to do any cooking on my return, I thawed one of the containers of meatballs and added them to jarred spaghetti sauce and some cooked elbow macaroni. Fast, filling and tasty with very little effort.
Something new - a new take on a familiar recipe
Two years ago, Greg and Katherine's blog, "Rufus' Food and Spirits Guide", showcased a recipe for delicious Peach Crumble Bars. I've made it with the featured peaches, blueberries and cherries. This time, I used a basket of yellow, cling stone nectarines and ended up with another amazing dessert.
Peach Crumble Bars - 24 bars
For the Crumble:
3 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 - 1 cup granulated sugar (use the lesser amount if desired)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
1 egg, lightly beaten
For the Peach Filling:
5 cups diced or sliced peaches** (7-8 peaches, peeled)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 - 1 cup granulated sugar (if your peaches are sweet, use the lesser amount)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
**Note that you can also use apricots or nectarines
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Butter or spray the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch glass or light-colored metal baking pan. Put a long piece of parchment paper in the bottom of the pan, letting the parchment extend up the two short sides of the pan and overhang slightly on both ends. (This will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan after they have baked.) Butter or spray the parchment as well.
Making the Crumble:
In the bowl of a food processor pulse together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon on low speed. Add the butter cubes and pulse again until the butter seems evenly distributed through the mixture and fairly homogenous. Add the beaten egg and pulse until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal, with the butter pieces no larger than small peas. Pat a bit more than half (~3/5ths) of the dough into the prepared pan. Place reserved half aside. Place the pan and the remainder of the dough in the refrigerator while you prepare the filling.
Making the Peach Filling:
In medium bowl, gently toss diced peaches and lemon juice together; set aside.
In a separate small bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. Pour over the peaches and mix gently.
Spread the peach mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble the remaining dough over the peach layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the top is slightly brown. Cool the pan completely on a wire rack then transfer to the refrigerator to chill before cutting into squares. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
And if you really can't hold out, cut into while still warm and eat it with a small scoop of ice cream.
Something borrowed bought
Identical recipes are found in multiple countries in Europe which do not share a common language origin. A lot of people know of ravioli (Italy)/pierogy (Poland)/varenyky (Ukraine)/pelmeni (Russia) but less well known are Italian 'pesche' or peach wedding cookies which are also found in the former Yugoslavia (Serbo-Croatia) in the form of 'breskvice'.
While shopping at the city market this morning I was struck with a nostalgic craving for these charming cookies. They're painted or dipped in milk or water tinted with red and yellow food colouring and then rolled in granulated sugar and, if allowed to sit overnight, will be moist and cake-like in texture.
I bought this single cookie for $1 which was pricey but cheaper than making a whole batch to satisfy a craving. One day, though, I'll make them myself. Other variations for fillings include pastry cream, apricot/peach preserves and Nutella.
Inside the cookies - chocolate and cookie crumb filling
ETA: There are also cookie molds that you can use to form walnuts, almonds and peaches.
Sorry, I couldn't think of anything blue ... except I'm blue that school starts on Tuesday and then it's back to work. :) I'll be going back to my big Sunday cooking schedule as a result.