Fig and Blue Cheese Pizza

Getting Figgy with it

Perhaps one of the greatest summer delights are fresh figs.  These rare and seasonal treats are hard to come by but thanks to modern markets you can find the dried fig pretty much anywhere.  I have heard from many people that they don't really know what to do with figs, especially fresh ones.  Personally I have never had that problem, I'm lucky if I don't eat them all on my way inside from picking them!  This recipe will blow your mind and create a fig fan out of even the biggest skeptic.

Every weekend we make pizza and I have to say I love every aspect of it.  The dough, the preparation, the hot oven, the creativity, the versatility of toppings and the crunch of the crust.  Whole wheat crust dough and part skim mozzarella transforms a typical diet saboteur, into a guilt free favorite.  Topping a pizza with figs, blue cheese and caramelized onions will make you want to start a pizza tradition of your own!

  

Pizza Dough:

1 T honey

2 T yeast

1 1/3 C water

2 3/4 - 3 C King Arthur whole wheat flour

1 tsp kosher salt

Pizza Toppings:

Half of a red onion cut into slices

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 clove garlic diced

1 sprig of rosemary diced

6 oz sliced part skim mozzarella

3 T blue cheese

6 fresh or 12 dried mission figs quartered

Directions

In a measuring cup place honey and water warmed to 112 degrees and add yeast.  Allow yeast to "proof" by creating a foam on top of the water.  In stand mixer with dough hook attachment add 2 C flour and salt, slowly add water until thoroughly mixed.  Continue adding remaining flour until dough consistency is achieved.  Shape dough into a ball and lightly coat with olive oil and cover with plastic wrap and towel.  Allow to rise overnight in refrigerator, best if left for 2 nights to achieve more sour flavors.

Preheat oven with pizza stone to 474

Warm a skillet, add 1 T olive oil and sliced onions.  Lightly salt and allow to cook for 7 minutes or until fully caramelized.  In the mean time roll out dough onto well floured pizza peel or paddle.  Top crust with garlic, rosemary, balsamic vinegar and salt and coat entire surface, lightly salt and pepper.  Arrange mozzarella slices to mostly cover and top with onions and figs.  Rapidly slide assembled pizza onto hot pizza stone and cook for 12 minutes or until crust is done and cheese is bubbly.  Once out of oven sprinkle blue cheese crumbles on top and lest rest for 3 minutes, slice and enjoy!

If you don't have a pizza peel or stone (go buy one) but if you must make this pizza first, assemble pizza on pan and bake in oven for 18-20 minutes.

Make tamales without the lard!

There are two reasons why you don't want to make Tamales:
1. They are TIME CONSUMING
2. You have had not so great tamales in the past that tasted more like a rubbery brick of corn flour and didn't even think they were that good
Here are two reasons why you should clear your schedule for tomorrow (you will need quite a while) and make THESE tamales:
1. This recipe is so legit-I learned how to make them in Mexico, in a village in the mountains, in a hut!  I mean how much more Mexican can you get
2.  These tamales are lighter and healthier and yummier than any tamale you can find anywhere and they freeze fabulously
So come on fill your freezer with these little corn husk wrapped presents, trust me you won't regret it!

 

When I do make Tamales I try to make several kinds and stock the freezer with them.  They make the perfect quick dinner or lunch and are impressive if you have unexpected guests.  The important thing to remember when reheating is to steam them rather than micro them.  The little modern device tends to create the bouncy ball texture we discussed earlier!  This time I made: Chicken, Steak, Corn and Cheese, and Mexican Greens

Your first step is deciding which filling you want to make (or try all four of them!)

Chicken and Steak:

Marinate meat in plenty of lime juice, 6 cloves of diced garlic, salt, pepper, cayenne, and olive oil.  Let rest overnight and grill the next day.

Corn and Cheese:

Cut corn off the cob into a large bowl.  Season with salt, pepper and add a 3 Tbs of whole milk.

Mexican Greens:

Cut Greens of choice (here I used collards) into long thin strips.  Saute in olive oil with 3 cloves of diced garlic.  Add a can of fire roasted tomatoes and salt and pepper, cover on simmer until greens are tender.

For the batter I created the biggest modification compared to traditional Mexican fare.  Most recipes call for LOTS of lard, not butter or oil but good old fashioned LARD!  The first time I made these cultural treats, I made them true to recipe and found the overall result heavy and lacking flavor, plus I felt super guilty every time I ate one.  So I set out to make a healthier tamale and the result is a fluffier, lighter (literally!) more flavorful tamale!

The Most important thing when making tamales is your mise en place.  Assemble all necessary parts and create a well organized assembly line to fill your work space.  I like to have my corn husks, my batter, my fillings, slices of cheese, roasted poblano chilies, and salsa, or enchilada sauce. 

RECIPE:
1/2 bag of MASECA (corn flour found in ethnic aisle of grocery store or Mexican market)
3 T cumin
3 T chili powder
2 T salt
1 T garlic powder
1/4 cup oil
8 cups water

150 corn husks soaked in water for 2 hrs
tamale filling of choice

Mix all dry ingredients together and slowly add the oil and water.  Mix until heavy cake batter consistency is achieved.  You may need more or less water, the main goal is to achieve the right consistency.  If it is too runny it won't stay on the husk, too thick and your tamales will have the brick like texture we want to avoid. 
Once your batter is finished begin your assembly line.  Take a corn husk, shake most of the water off it and spead batter over most of the larger end.  Put a line of filling down the middle, top with sauce or cheese and begin folding.  I take both sides and fold on top of the filling and then fold the smaller end up to create a little package.  You can stack the tamales or begin placing them in your steamer.  My FAVORITE steamer of all time is the All-Clad multi-stock pot from Williams Sonoma!  This pan is amazing and I use it for steaming tamales and canning.  Once your steamer pan is filled with your tamales put them on simmer for 2 hours, be sure your pan doesn't run out of water.  (One trick is to place a penny at the bottom, when the penny stops rattling you need more water)  The tamales are done when the husks pull easily away from the dough, continue steaming until this happens.

You will love these little treats!  Your friend will love these, your man friend will love these, but warning they are the ULTIMATE KITCHEN EXPLOSION!!!!!

Church-lady skillet cobbler with brown butter and crisp topping

I was raised Lutheran which means two things; I was a catholic minus the guilt (living by grace baby) and we went to LOTS of church potlucks.  Being the midwest that meant mostly noodly, beefy, cheesy casseroles that would literally stick to the ceiling if you threw a little ball up there, and lots of jello.  I mean Jello any way you can think to make or eat jello; jello mold, jello fluff, jello salad, jello cake, jello cookies...you get the point.  However on those rare summer months there would be fruit crisps, and if you were lucky a peach crisp!  I never had a peach cobbler quite this good at those weak coffee and even weaker Kool-aid festivals, but it would make quite the cap-off to some hamburger helper, or tater-tot casserole. Let me tell you, if you make this peach cobbler you will be the most popular of all church ladies, and your manfriend will love you a little more!  That is, if you can resist sticking your face in the skillet and eating the whole thing yourself; consider yourself warned.

Begin with the most gorgeous peaches you can find. (Note you do not have to come home with an entire orchard. I realize this picture doesn't properly depict the magnitude of the peaches I purchased) so...

That is half the amount I brought home!  I get a little carried away

First thing select the most ripe peaches and halve and quarter them and cut into slices.

Now brown a stick of butter. If at this moment you are scratching your head and thinking of quitting, DON'T! Browned butter is super easy and smells amazing. Simply melt over medium heat, wait until the crackling subsides (water coming out of the butter) and it turns a light tan. Pour it out of the skillet and set aside so it doesn't burn.

 

 Mix the batter. Pour into butter skillet, arrange peaches artfully.

Make your self some crumb-numbly toppings....
Then drop by the fistfuls on top of your Picasso Peaches in your brown buttery skillet and Bake!!!












Wait the longest hour of your life and dig in, just grab a spoon trust me!

Ingredients:

Cobbler:
7-8 ripe peaches
1 stick butter
1 cup flour
1 cup cane sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


Crumb numblies:
1 cup flour
1 cup cane sugar
3/4 cup oats
2 tsp cinnamon
dash of salt
1/2 stick butter

Preheat oven to 350.  Brown stick of butter in cast iron skillet over medium heat.  Butter is done when the water ceases to crackle out of it and it turns a light tan color.  Remove from skillet and set aside so it doesn't burn, leaving a little bit to act as a greasing agent.  Halve, core and slice peaches.  In a separate bowl mix flour, sugar, buttermilk, soda and salt, add butter.  Pour batter into buttery cast iron skillet and arrange peaches on top of batter.
Now mix the uber yummy crumb numbly topping by mixing flour, sugar, oats, cinnamon and salt.  Cut butter into little chunks and mix by hand into topping mix.  Just grab it by the handful and squeeeeeze until all the butter is thoroughly mixed.  Drop it by the fistful on top of the cobbler and pop into the oven for one hour or until cake tester comes out clean.  Enjoy by the serving spoonful with or without ice cream.

Lavender Fields

"Isn't it splendid to think of all the things there are to find out about? It just makes me feel glad to be alive--it's such an interesting world. It wouldn't be half so interesting if we know all about everything, would it? There'd be no scope for imagination then, would there?"

- Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables

Lavender just makes me want to dive straight into my favorite girl hood book, Anne of Green Gables. There's something terrifically romantic about lavender, the scent of it, the look of it the way it captures one's imagination. Why it could be a nosegay, a window decoration, the frosting on a perfectly bookish bath or even honey! It certainly stirs the inner victorian in my soul, creating the desire for lace gloves and fantastically dramatic tea parties. Well what a better way than with some home made lavender honey.

Not only is it delicious, but it would make a truly elegant hostess gift or the perfect accessory to a gift basket. The uses are many, but one of my favorite is lavender honey ice cream which we'll make next week! So go find a field of lavender, bring a blanket, Anne, a bottle of wine and enjoy an amazing summer evening...just don't forget to bring home some of the floral buds!

To get started we need some lavender, which you can find at your farmer's market, a specialty gourmet shop, or (lucky me!) in the back yard.  I always pick a little extra and place in vases around the house, I especially love my little book nook placement. 

Lavender Honey

Ingredients:  1 1/2 Tbs dried lavender buds

8 oz raw honey

Small jar

Begin by gently removing the buds from the stems.  Pinch the stem between two fingers and rub them off into your empty jar.   

Once you have gathered the necessary amounty dump into small sauce pan.  Cover with honey and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes to allow lavender to fully permeate the honey.  Strain the lavender out of the honey and set aside.  Pour the infused honey into your small jar and allow to rest for 1 week to fully develop flavors. 


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WHISKY TIP: Save the honey lavender bits and add to tea, or pour water over and bring to boil to create lavender simple syrup for cocktails and aguas frescas!



P.S. Your house will smell so amazing afterwards, so be sure and invite someone over to share!



Mother Scratcher

I am always trying out cute new ways to blurt expletives that are dainty, girly and somewhat southern.  Like when I spill in the kitchen (which is frequently, thus the kitchen explosion) I stomp my high heel and exclaim, CRUMBS, or when someone pulls in front of me rather than needing a personal FDA censor I flip my bangs dramatically and blurt ooooh mother scratcher.  However, after a trip to my new favorite bakery I realized that I will need an new term of anti-endearment, for Scratch bakery in downtown Durham is truly the Mother SCRATCHer of patisseries.

Look how cute the counter top displays are!  YUMMY everything looks delectable!  I opted for a blueberry crumb pie, a salt and peppa cookie (I have my priorities in check), poached duck egg on local greens, salt roasted beets, and green bean Pepito salad.  To drink I had a rosemary infused iced coffee, with a cloud of whipped cream and lemon zest...super refreshing!

The salad had lots of yummy homemade pickles on it that were the standout of my meal.  The pickled carrots were spiced and absolutely delicious! 

The salt roasted beets were just that, salt roasted.  Too salty for my taste but beautiful to look at and the green beans were marvelous.  Stay tuned for my own personal attempt to replicate both the salt and peppa cookie and the green bean salad.  In the mean time Bless your heart and get up with Scratch bakery!  Not only will you get to check out the awesomeness of downtown Durham but you'll get to try some great local fare.

A BEET in time....

"Nobody likes beets, Dwight! Why don't you grow something that everybody does like? You should grow candy! I'd love a piece of candy right now... not a beet." -Michael Scott on The Office

  I think the reason that Michael thinks no one likes a beet is he's never had beets the Southern Harvest way.  I absolutely LOVE beets, I am passionate about them in the way I love and adore all things pink.  Perhaps that is where my adoration of the turnip cousin began, it's sweet juice staining my plate, my fingers, my teeth, my lips--everything--it's gleaming magenta hue.  In the summer I could eat beets with every meal and my favorite way is classic steamed beets, sliced with a drizzle of olive oil and sea salt.
  Now don't get me wrong beets are not every one's piece of candy.  Example- my sister who kicked and screamed until her face matched the beautiful knobby root when served a warm beet, frisse and goat cheese salad, but I think even my sister would approve of this utilization of my farmer's market bounty.
  Following Sunday tradition, a trip to the local farmer's market was in order. 

Couldn't resist...especially when I negotiated 7 lbs of these beauties for $3!  After consuming a glut of steamed beets, I set out to create a new beet, indeed a beet even my sister would adore.  What better way to enjoy this old-time root than to "put it up" grandma style.  Each of these recipes are delicious alone or served atop fresh greens.  The chutney would make an excellent topping to a freshly grilled fish steak.  Enjoy the tell-tale magenta stained digits!

                                                               Summer Beet Chutney
2 lb small to medium beets
1 cup apple juice
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
1 tsp whole grain mustard
4 large mint leaves

Wash the beets, cut off stems and trim any roots (reserve the greens for steaming or salad later.)  Place the beets in a large saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until beets are tender approximately 30 min.  Drain the beets, reserving all the liquid. 
Once beets are cool enough to handle, peel  by rubbing beet with a paper towel, the skin will come right off!  Dice into 1/2 in cubes and place back in sauce pan.  Add juice, vinegar and mustard and mix.  Add the beets to sterilized jars intermixing the mint leaves.  Fill with remaining vinegar mixture to cover the beets.  Cover with the lid and let cool completely, then refrigerate for up to 1 week.
Serve with sea salt.

                                                                Spiced Pickled Beets

 2 lbs beets
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1/8 c sugar
1 T cardamom pods
1 T whole cloves
1 T yellow curry

 Wash the beets, cut off stems and trim any roots (reserve the greens for steaming or salad later.) Place the beets in a large saucepan and cover with 2 inches of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer until beets are tender approximately 30 min. Drain the beets, reserving all the liquid.
Once beets are cool enough to handle, peel  by rubbing beet with a paper towel, the skin will come right off!  Cut into 1/4 in slices and divide between jars.  
In a saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups of reserved cooking liquid, vinegar, sugar, cardamom, cloves and curry.  Bring to a boil, stirring until sugar is dissolved. 
Ladle the mixture into jars, evenly distributing the spices.  Wipe the rims clean and seal tightly with the lids.
Process the jars for 7 minutes in a boiling water bath.  Let the jars stand undisturbed for 24 hours and then place in a dark, cool place for 1 week for the flavors to completely immerse.  The sealed jars can be kept in your pantry for up to 3 months.

You may be asking but what about all my left over beet cooking water....well here's todays' whisky moment!  Save that beautiful fuchsia liquid to naturally tint frosting, meringues and any other decadent sugary froth you wish to concoct!