6.14.2011

the farmers' market

My bounty from the Union Square farmer's market (I also got a large potted basil plant):
And what I made with it:

Sliced very thin, with basil, balsamic, olive oil, salt & pepper.


Peel, slice, dust with flour & coarse salt, dip in egg wash, dredge in panko & garlic herb bread crumbs, and fry in olive oil.


With paper-thin onion, basil, capers, drizzle of olive oil, salt & pepper.

6.12.2011

pickled beets & goat cheese


Another happy food accident... I had some herb & garlic goat cheese, but lacked a cheese vehicle (like bread or crackers). Luckily, pickled beet slices stepped in and saved the day. Delicious!

6.08.2011

blueberry custard pie with candied ginger


Grandma's recipe. (the candied ginger garnish is my own modern twist)

Sorry I'm not posting the recipe. It's not that it's a family secret, it's just that the recipe contains some approximations that I'm still figuring out how to master... my first few attempts at making this pie were kind of a disaster (this one came out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself).

At first, I was confused as to why this pie was giving me so much trouble. I remembered helping make this pie many times as a child.
But then, I realized that I "helped" in the way that kids "help" in the kitchen... by standing around and watching Grandma do it (though I'm sure I did pick the berries from my grandparents' blueberry bushes).

If I fine-tune this pie enough that I can write a concise recipe,
I'll update this post at a later time.
...then again, maybe grandma-recipes should stay sacred.

6.05.2011

kielbasa eggs benedict




They say that necessity is the mother of invention... I wanted eggs benedict this morning, but didn't have Canadian bacon or the desire to figure out how to make hollandaise sauce. Damn.

But then I realized that I had a chunk of kielbasa leftover from dinner the other night and Kerrygold garlic & herb butter, and I got an idea...

-toasted multi-grain English muffin, lightly buttered
-3 slices of kielbasa, seared in a pan on the stove until browned
-poached egg
-pat of herbed butter on top, which melts to provide the sauce element

oh yeah... I will definitely be making this again.