Blueberry Tart

And just in case you need dessert for those unexpected summertime dinner guests... (from marthastewart.com)

• FOR THE CRUST
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for dusting
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
• FOR THE FILLING
• 6 cups (six 1/2-pint containers) fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried
• 2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
• 3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
• 2/3 cup sugar
• Pinch of salt

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; process until large moist crumbs form (dough should hold together when squeezed).
2. Transfer dough to a 9-inch round tart pan with a removable bottom; with floured fingers, press evenly into bottom and up sides. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes; prick bottom of dough all over with a fork. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minutes; cool completely.
3. Meanwhile, reserve 1 cup of the prettiest berries for topping. In a medium saucepan, bring 1/4 cup water and 1 1/2 cups berries to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to break down, 3 to 4 minutes.
4. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch with 2 tablespoons water; stir into berries in pan. Add lemon zest and juice, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, stirring, just until mixture begins to thicken, 30 to 60 seconds. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 3 1/2 cups fresh berries. Immediately pour hot berry mixture into cooled tart shell, and smooth with a spatula.
5. Scatter reserved berries on top, pressing down lightly to help them adhere. Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes and up to overnight.

Summer Dinner Guests?

Just found out about an unexpected dinner guest on a hot day (aka, no kitchen!). Thought of this Tyler Florence recipe that I've never used, but which might be just the ticket for dinner tonight, with a salad of fresh local greens instead of the Caesar salad that he recommends.

Chicken Kebob Salad

Ingredients

For the kebabs:

• 8 links sweet Italian pork sausage
• 1 crusty baguette
• 2 to 3 medium, boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 12 fresh bay leaves
• 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 lemons
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Special equipment: 4 large foot-long skewers, metal or thick bamboo work best, soaked in water for half an hour if using bamboo or wood.

Preheat grill to medium-high heat.

For the kebabs:

Slice chicken thinly, cut the baguette into 1/2-inch rounds, and cut the sausage links up into chunks, alternating cuts at 45 degree angles for nice triangular shapes.

Now prepare the kebabs. Take the skewers 1 at a time and begin threading the components alternately. Start with a piece of bread, then chicken, bay leaf, sausage, and bread; repeat this 3 times to fill the skewers, ending with bread.

Lay the prepared kebabs out on your board and drizzle liberally with extra-virgin olive oil. Squeeze the lemon juice all over and season well with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the prepared kebabs onto preheated grill and cook for about 7 to 10 minutes per side, or until cooked through.

Cornbread (in the microwave?)

Ok, I feel kindof dirty after doing this, but I have to say that it worked perfectly...

Combine:

• 3 tablespoons unbleached flour
• 3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg yolk, beaten
• 2 tablespoons milk

In a small bowl. If it's small enough, you can put that bowl straight into the microwave for about a minute, or separate into 2 ramekins and zap for 45 seconds. It will rise dramatically. Perfect when you're heating up some soup and don't want to whole batch of something.

Ginger molasses cookies

Model Bakery's molasses ginger cookies

Total time: 1 hour, plus chilling time for the dough

Servings: 2 1/2 dozen large cookies

Note: Pastry flour and crystallized sugar are available at cooking and baking supply stores, as well as at many well-stocked markets.

2 1/4 cups (4 1/2 sticks) butter

2 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

3/4 cup dark molasses

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

8 cups (2 pounds) pastry flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 tablespoon plus 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 cup coarse or sanding sugar, more as needed

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large bowl with a hand mixer, beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, until each is incorporated. Add in the molasses and vanilla.

2. In a separate large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves and ginger.

3. With the mixer running, begin adding the dry ingredients, a little at a time, until fully incorporated to form a dough. Cover and refrigerate for one hour.

4. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Use an ice cream scoop to scoop the dough into balls. Roll each ball in the coarse sugar, then place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet, leaving 3 inches between each cookie.

5. Bake the cookies until lightly golden and set, 10 to 12 minutes, rotating halfway through for even coloring. Cool the cookies, then store in an airtight container.

Each cookie: 336 calories; 4 grams protein; 39 grams carbohydrates; 0 fiber; 18 grams fat; 9 grams saturated fat; 57 mg. cholesterol; 110 mg. sodium.

Fresh Orange Sherbet

We've been making batches and batches of this this summer.

NGREDIENTS

1	tablespoon grated orange zest from 1 to 2 oranges (or lime zest for lime sherbet)
1	cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/8	teaspoon table salt
2	cups orange juice , preferably unpasteurized fresh-squeezed (for lime sherbet, use 2/3 cup lime juice and 1.5 cups water)
3	tablespoons lemon juice from 1 to 2 lemons
2	teaspoons Triple Sec or vodka
2/3	cup heavy cream Optional - add the seeds of a vanilla bean for an Orange-Cream flavor. Presumably, vanilla extract would work, too.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Process sugar, zest and salt in a food processor, then add juice to machine (while running). Process until the sugar is dissolved, then strain into a bowl. Add triple sec and chill for about an hour (40 degrees).

   Whip cream to soft peaks, and add juice mix in a steady stream. Add to ice cream machine and churn until frozen.

   Move to a bowl/tupperware and freeze until firm.

   
   

Happy Canada Day!

Ok, so Canada Day was yesterday, but I had dinner plans so my maple oriented meal had to wait until today.

For dinner, straight from the Food Network Canada website, Maple-Mustard Pork Burgers:

NGREDIENTS:

Pork Burgers

• 2 lb. ground pork (1kg)
• 2 x large French shallots chopped, fine dice
• 2 x cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tsp salt (5ml)
• 1 tsp ground black pepper (5ml)

Glaze

• 3 tbsp pure maple syrup (45ml)
• 2 tbsp spicy grainy mustard (30ml)
• 1 tbsp of cider vinegar (15ml)
• 1 tsp of liquid honey (5ml)
• 1/2 tsp of dry mustard (2ml)
• 1 tsp orange zest chopped fine (5ml)
• 6 x large onion buns, sliced.

DIRECTIONS:

Pork Burgers

1. In a medium size bowl combine the ground pork, chopped shallots, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Form the mixture into 6 patties of equal size about 1 inch thick (2.5cm). Place patties on to a tray and cover with plastic wrap. Place in the refrigerator until ready to grill.
2. In a medium size bowl whisk together all glaze ingredients.
3. Preheat barbeque grill to 375°F/190°C or medium high heat. Oil the grill.
4. Brush the pork burgers with prepared glaze. Place pork patties on grill for 7-8 minutes basting every 2 minutes or until dark golden brown and slightly crisp on exterior. Flip the burgers and continue to cook for another 7 minutes basting every 2 minutes. Remove burgers from grill and place on tray.
5. Place sliced buns on the bun rack for 1 minute.
6. Serve burgers with warm onion buns and desired toppings.

Serve with sweet potato wedges and green salad with apple and a maple dressing. Now to contemplate a maple dessert? Hmm, maple syrup is good with blueberries...