From the Land of Pig and Peanut

I'm embarrassed to say that I've hardly cooked a thing since that lemon tart.

First there was some minor dental surgery that necessitated the eating of only soft foods, like ice cream (no New York Super Fudge Chunk) and cottage cheese pancakes.

Then there was the college search road trip with my son.
We flew into Virginia last Thursday for a whirlwind tour of three schools.

Info session begging you to attend a school that you might not even get accepted to.
Check.
Campus tour with perky tour guide, walking backwards, and diplomatically evading questions about partying.
Check.
Visit to the bookstore where I refuse to buy gear until applicant has been admitted.
Check.

Don't ever try to keep up with a 17 year old boy in the eating department. It doesn't work out well for an almost 50 year old woman. Especially in Virginia, where it is, literally, hog heaven.

Baconnaise "lite"? An oxymoron if there ever was one.

Best BLT ever

Across the street from this pig-a-palooza was The Peanut Shop of Williamsburg (right next to Ye Olde Baskin-Robbins). There were just enough samples of chocolate covered nuts to make a perfectly sized dessert for me.

The next day we headed to Washington DC, where most people are hoping to get a glimpse of the Obamas or a visit to one of the Smithsonian museums. That would have been nice, but my boy's favorite band, State Radio, was playing a show in town and that was the main attraction for him. 

My favorite thing was breakfast at Le Pain Quotidien, which is a chain restaurant, but quite unlike Applebee's.

For one thing, there is a very large communal dining table, made of rustic antiqued pine, in the center of the restaurant. It gives a wonderful European sensibility to the place.

The food is very fresh, healthful and completely different than any chain I've ever been to.

I totally wish they would open up here in Portland. 

Oh and yes, we looked at one more college.

Info session, tour and bookstore.

Check.

Ooh La La: The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart

Some people I know have lemons growing right in their own backyards.
A lotta lemons.
So many lemons they don't even know what to do with them.

That just doesn't happen here in Maine. Ever.
We have lobsters everywhere you look, but no lemons.

We have to go to the local grocery and buy lemons.
So I did.

And look at the deliciousness I made with those lemons.

It's The Most Extraordinary French Lemon Cream Tart, from Dorie Greenspan's Baking.
The title is hers, not mine, but I have to agree.

If you're not familiar with Dorie, you are missing out on a world of crazy-delicious sweets. She's a cookbook author, pastry maker, cookie baker, Francophile.
This tart is filled with the lemon cream she learned from one of the kings of French pastry, Pierre Herme.

She writes:
"When we were just beginning work on our first book (together), Pierre explained the cream to me. In his typical fashion, he spoke softly, explained thoroughly and added just the meekest editorial comment: "It is nice", he said, with a sly little gone-in-flash-smile. I immediately put two stars next to the recipe, a note to myself to try it right away."

I don't know about you, but the thought of a French pastry chef whispering "it is nice" softly into my ear, makes me feel all...tart-y, among other things.

You can find the recipe by clicking on this link.

Fair warning: There are a number of tools and small appliances involved.
On a skill scale of 1-10, it's probably about a 6.5. On an Is-It-Worth-Scale, I'd give it a 9, only because it isn't chocolate.

Bon appetit, mes amies!

The Baked Brownie

What kind of brownies did you make?

Baked.

Yes, of course they're baked. What recipe?

Baked.

Aren't all brownies baked?

No, some are Dorie Greenspan and some are Alice Medrich.

Well which are yours?

Neither, they're Baked.

A lot like "whose on first?" isn't it?

Only if you're not familiar with the cookbook by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito called Baked  New Frontiers in Baking. These two guys opened a hip bakery (did you know there could be such a thing?) in Brooklyn in 2005. It was an immediate success.

How can you go wrong with "fluffy cakes covered in cooked frosting", "crisp, chewy cookies" and "the best marshmallows ever"? Plus more than a few items featuring everyone's favorite chocolate/peanut butter combination, like Peanut Butter Pie with Cookie Crust and Peanut Butter Crispy Bars.

Then, six months after opening, their brownies got a mention from Oprah, whose slightest whispers can guarantee a rush of publicity and success. The brownie was also proclaimed "the best" by America's Test Kitchen and the Today show.

Of course a "best" brownie is a very subjective thing.
If you like a cake-y brownie, this is not for you. I suggest you make a nice chocolate cake instead.
If you like a brownie that's a close cousin to candy, try the Katherine Hepburn recipe.

If you want a brownie that's on the fudgy side, rich with chocolate flavor throughout, with a lovely crackly top, this one's for you.

I won't type out the recipe for you (I don't have permission), but you can find it right here. I  highly recommend that you use the best chocolate you can find. And don't even think about overbaking them - it's simply unallowable.

I also recommend the cookbook, because it contains charming and helpful suggestions as well as pounds and pounds of yummy recipes with loads of chocolate and other wholesome ingredients.

All of them Baked.

Cioppino - Easier to Make Than It Is to Pronounce

Ok, enough with the sugar.

Let's move on to some adult-oriented, healthful and truly delicious food. Did I mention easy?

This cioppino (say "cha-pea-no" - a fancy word for fish stew) is quick enough for a weeknight dinner, but elegant enough to serve to company.

Lucky for me, I still had some shellfish in the freezer, left over from our Christmas seafood extravaganza. So when I invited Debbie-Next-Door and her husband over for dinner last week, what to make was an easy decision. While we sipped our wine and chatted about their recent trip to Spain (where it rained and snowed the entire time), I cooked dinner.
Very little thinking involved.

You could really use any kind of seafood you like in this. I had the lobster and shrimp, then I bought a half pound of clams (shucked) and a half pound of scallops, which I cut in half because they're so large.
Any kind of firm fish filet could replace the lobster.
Canned clams are fine, if you don't live in Maine, in which case you have no excuse for not using fresh.
Said the woman from Yarmouth, home of the annual Clam Festival.

Serve with a green salad and some grilled bread, and you've got dinner.
For dessert, just help yourself to some candy from your kids' Easter baskets.

Quick Cioppino
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens


6 oz. firm fish fillet, such as snapper, halibut or cod, cut into 1" pieces

1 Tbsp. olive oil

1 red or yellow bell pepper, diced

1 medium onion, diced

1 garlic clove, minced (or more to taste)

1 can (14.5 oz) San Marzano tomatoes, undrained, broken up with your fingers

1 can (8 oz.) tomato sauce (I like Muir Glen)

1/2 cup white wine, or clam juice (bottled is fine)

2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1 tsp. chopped fresh oregano (or 1/4 tsp. dried)

2 Tbsp. sliced fresh basil

6 oz. chopped clams

4 oz. shrimp, peeled and deveined

salt and pepper, to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste

optional:
4 oz. fresh lobster (cooked) or scallops (cut in half if very large)

In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium-high heat.
 Add bell pepper and onion. Cook until slightly softened, 3-4 minutes. Add garlic and cook another 30 seconds.
Add undrained tomatoes, tomato sauce, and wine or clam juice. Bring to boiling, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer, 10 minutes.

Add fish, undrained clams, shrimp and any other seafood you have. Bring just to boiling, then reduce heat. Cover and simmer 6-8 minutes, or just until fish begins to flake easily and shellfish is lightly cooked through. Mix in parsley, basil, crushed red pepper to taste, and salt and pepper.

Bunny Bunny Sugar Sugar

If you think Halloween or Valentine's Day is the sweetest holiday, think again.

I'm declaring this Easter a certified sugar overload.

Here's why...
On Halloween, the candy is "fun-sized".
On Valentine's Day, it's all about chocolate.
But Easter is the official jelly bean holiday, and what are jelly beans? Pure sugar.

Not that there's anything wrong with that.

And Peeps? Again, nothing but sugar.

Yes there's chocolate, in the form of a big bunny.
I think you could consider chocolate the nutritional powerhouse of the Easter basket. Relatively speaking, of course.

Running with the sugar theme, I made a few special treats of my own.

Coconut and white chocolate nests. No skill required.
No cooking, no baking, just making. I didn't even measure anything.

Melt a bunch of white chocolate chips, about a half a bag.
When melted, stir in a bunch of shredded coconut, about a cup if you really need to me to quantify it.
Drop a big spoonful onto a piece of wax paper, then using either the spoon or your fingers, create a nest shape. Nestle in a few malted milk balls, jelly beans or peanut M&Ms. Place in fridge to harden, about one hour.

If you want to get really fancy, you can dye the coconut green. Put it in a plastic bag, add a few drops of green food coloring and shake to distribute evenly.

You can also use regular chocolate, for a more rustic look.

We also made Easter bark. Because sometimes one layer of sugar just isn't enough.

It looks really pretty and the little one enjoyed the process, but I can't say much about the taste. It was made with those horrific candy melts that you get in the craft store. I'm not even sure they're edible. But the kids have no problem with them, no problem at all. Again, it's sugar.

Melt a bag of each color (I used yellow, pink and green). Line a baking sheet with wax paper or parchment. Pour some of each color in a random pattern onto the paper. Using a knife, swirl colors together. After 5 minutes you can add whatever else you want on top - sprinkles, crushed malt balls, more candy. Be sure to press it in a bit, so it doesn't fall off when you break up the bark. Which you can do when it hardens, in about an hour.

So I figured the best thing to do is wrap it all up, and give it to "friends".
Because come Easter morning, I think the EB will bring us all the sugar we can handle.