When I think of summer in the South, I think of my childhood days at the beach where the food seemed to center around fresh ripe red tomatoes, slightly spicy pimento cheese, and fresh fruit pies. The days were filled with salt air and ocean and the evenings meant family around the table. This summer I am up in the mountains of Western North Carolina. Other than that little has changed. I make a mean pimento cheese; my tomato plants are laden with deep red orbs of deliciousness; and pies are my thing. So I put them all together and created a Pimento Cheese Tomato ...
Pies
ALMOND PEAR PIES
Have you ever been in a bakery and been awed by the beautiful displays of breads, cakes and pastries? Of course you have. You should be. The baker has spent years perfecting his craft because presentation is a big part of the delight we get from a fancy dessert. This week’s technical challenge from the Great British Baking Show was to turn a simple Pear Pie into a pear sculpture. Like this: But having made it, I would never do it again. There is an easier way which results in a delicious handheld pie: crisp, flaky puff pastry, delicate poached pear and a luscious ...
IF I CAN MAKE A FRUIT TART, YOU CAN MAKE A FRUIT TART
An elegant fruit tart is easy to make with this recipe. The cookie crust and quick custard support the fruit design of your choice! The first time I tried to make a fruit tart was 37 years ago. I lived in Paris and I was eager to try all kinds of cooking. I know exactly when it was because I still have the recipe written down in the notebook I was using at the time. It was from the August 1983 issue of Bon Appetit and it was called Crème Brulee Tart Jimmy. It consisted of a pastry shell, baked and brushed with chocolate, then topped with blackberries and custard. It was finished with a ...
MESSING WITH TRADITION: A LAYERED PECAN PIE FOR THANKSGIVING
This layered pie marries two of our favorite Thanksgiving pies: Pecan Pie and Pumpkin Spice Cheesecake. A top crust of pecan pie sits on top of a rich pumpkin spice cheesecake layer and ends with a delicious and gooey pecan filling. Woof! Thanksgiving: a meal so laden with tradition that there is little room for new dishes. At least that’s the way it is in my house. It’s perfectly fine to ADD a new dish but you can’t subtract or fool with any traditional item. That works out okay when one is feeding ten to fifteen people, but this year we are going small; there will be just four of ...
Tomato Tarts: Summer on a Plate
This has been a wonderful summer. And now it is the middle of August. The mornings are getting cooler and the sun rises later. In the evening the light has a golden tinge which signals the coming Autumn. An even surer sign of summer's end is the sound of children waiting for the school bus. Their laughter is such a pleasant sound to wake to although I am sure they would rather not be headed back! My tomato plants are sagging under the weight of ripening red orbs and I have eaten tomato sandwiches for lunch and dinner with an undiminished joy. But, as the summer harvest continues, even ...
ALASKA: MOUNTAINS, SEA, ICE AND PASTRY???
I went to Alaska on a culinary tour with Access Culinary knowing I was going to see some beautiful scenery, eat some great food, meet some great chefs and learn some new things but I was not prepared for Laura Cole and her pastry. Laura is the owner and chef of 229 Parks Restaurant and Tavern, just inside Denali National Park in Alaska. It is considered to be the finest restaurant in the state. You may know her better from Season 15 of Bravo’s series, Top Chef . It was day one of our tour and we left Fairbanks early for the two hour drive to Denali and our cooking class ...
CHICKEN POTPIE WITH FRESH PEAS AND TARRAGON
So many things are going on in my life right now. My garden is starting to produce vegetables and fruits and the herbs are green and lush. I have been working with pastry almost on a weekly basis. And I have been meeting potters all over Asheville, talking about their products and how they can be used in baking. It all comes together in a dish that is not something I usually go for, but it just spoke to me: Chicken Potpie with Fresh Peas and Tarragon. Let’s start with the peas and tarragon. My mother used to put fresh mint in with the peas when she made them which is ...
JUMBLEBERRY PIE
It was a jumbleberry weekend at our house. We were getting together to throw a bridal shower for Abby, my youngest, and all of my daughters were coming home, including my lovely granddaughter. My brothers and sisters would be there as well as Abby’s future in-laws, and that meant it was time for pie! Jumbleberry Pie, a delicious concoction of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries and strawberries (or as Abby would say, “All the berries!!). Pie is deeply ingrained in my memory: My mother made pies for every occasion and many happy hours were spent in the kitchen helping her peel fruit ...
STRAWBERRY RHUBARB PIE DISCOVERY
My sister is five years older than I am. I have been eating pie with her my whole life. So it absolutely floored me when she told me that Strawberry Rhubarb was her favorite type of pie. My mother never made a strawberry rhubarb pie. I don’t think we ever had rhubarb in any form in my childhood. It wasn’t until I was married and in my late 20’s that I even tasted rhubarb, occasioned by early food memories of my then-husband and the loving desire to make him a dish he liked. So, I never saw my sister eat a strawberry rhubarb pie. I never heard her mention it was one of her ...
COOKING WITH FRIENDS: DONNA’S APPLE CRISP
Yes, we are back to brown food again! I promise this is the last one for a while. At least until next Winter. And besides, for those of you who watch “The Worst Cooks in America” (my not-so-guilty-pleasure), as Anne Burrell says, “Brown food tastes good.” This brown food comes from my daughter’s future Mother-in-law. Joe’s favorite dessert is his mom’s apple crisp. So much so that he asked for it to be served at the rehearsal dinner for their wedding. But the crisp the caterer gave us to taste was subpar so, good mother that she is, Donna has agreed to make it for the ...
