When the Cat is Away by Violet

What’s a girl to do? While there are a great many things that Joseph and I see eye to eye on but there are a few particular food quirks that we each have. Joseph only like potatoes in fry or chip form, he dislikes peanut butter and frankly most baked goods outside of cookies. The thought of scrambled eggs makes my stomach turn and I like my fruit fresh or fermented (no pies, jams or jellies of any kind).

This means we’ve learned to cook somewhere in the middle ground, taking into account each of our unique tastes.

Every once in a while, Joseph goes out of town for a few days and I’m left with the prospect of cooking dinner for one. Typically this usually means making a vat of mashed potatoes and finding meats and veggies to accompany them. But after a bit of a perfect storm, not only was Joe out of town for the weekend but he had been out of town for work a few days before and during that time I had satisfied my mashed potato craving for the next few months (Thanksgiving isn’t too far away right?).

And wine. Of course lots of win.

So I started rolling through my recipes to see what might catch my eye, baked potato soup, veggie pizza, asparagus and shrimp, tomato and corn pie, mac and cheese, eggplant parmesan…wait…tomato and corn pie? Bright summer flavors all wrapped up in a delicious biscuit like crust? Done.

This is a gem that I found through Smitten Kitchen and made for one of our Kentucky Derby parties a few years back. I remembered it as being a little labor intensive (because frankly you have to make the dough and roll that bad boy out) but worth the effort.

Adapted, barely, from Gourmet’s adaptation of Laurie Colwin’s and James Beard’s versions

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 3/4 teaspoons salt, divided

3/4 stick (6 tablespoons or 3 ounces) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes, plus 2 teaspoons melted

3/4 cup whole milk

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 3/4 pounds beefsteak tomatoes

1 1/2 cups corn (from about 3 ears), coarsely chopped by hand or lightly puréed in a food processor, divided

2 tablespoons finely chopped basil, divided (skipped this, no harm was done)

1 tablespoon finely chopped chives, divided

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, divided

7ounces coarsely grated sharp Cheddar (1 3/4 cups), divided

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and 3/4 tsp salt in a bowl, then blend in cold butter (3/4 stick) with your fingertips or a pastry blender until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk, stirring until mixture just forms dough, and then gather into a ball.

Divide dough in half and roll out one piece on a well-floured counter into a 12-inch round (1/8 inch thick). Either fold the round gently in quarters, lift it into a 9-inch pie plate and gently unfold and center it or, if you’re using the plastic warp method, remove top sheet of plastic wrap, then lift dough using bottom sheet of plastic wrap and invert into pie plate. Pat the dough in with your fingers trim any overhang.

Preheat oven to 400°F with rack in middle. If your kitchen is excessively warm put the second half of the dough in the fridge until you’re ready to use it. Whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice.

Cut an X in bottom of each tomato and blanch in a large pot of boiling water 10 seconds. Immediately transfer with a slotted spoon to an ice bath to cool. Peel tomatoes, then slice crosswise 1/4 inch thick and, if desired, gently remove seeds and extra juices. Arrange half of tomatoes in crust, overlapping, and sprinkle with half of corn, one tablespoon basil, 1/2 tablespoon chives, 1/ 2 teaspoon salt, 1/8 teaspoon pepper and one cup of grated cheese. Repeat layering with remaining tomatoes, corn, basil, chives, salt, and pepper. Pour lemon mayonnaise over filling and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Roll out remaining piece of dough into a 12-inch round in same manner, then fit over filling, folding overhang under edge of bottom crust and pinching edge to seal. 

Cut 4 steam vents in top crust and brush crust with melted butter (2 teaspoons). Bake pie until crust is golden and filling is bubbling, 30 to 35 minutes, and then cool on a rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

I skipped blanching the tomatoes and peeling them because I remember from the last time that step was a lot of work and I didn’t really see what the heck was the point. I did end up with a puddle at the bottom of the pie when I pulled it out of the oven. But the bottom crust wasn’t really much worse for the wear. If you want to take that step on then, by all means.

I also know that a lot of people get nervous about dealing with dough. This one is pretty cooperative. It comes together really easily and isn’t hard to work with. So don’t let it freak you out.

Highly recommend making this if your neighbor just came over and dropped off more tomatoes from their garden . It also feels like you should try out your best southern accent while eating this pie, ya’ll.

Caramel Corn. by violet

There’s a few food blogs that I trust inherently. Smitten Kitchen and Orangette. These are two blogs that have never steered me wrong. When they tell me something is awesome and, that, I simply must drop whatever my plans were for dinner and make something, I do.

So when Orangette said she had been coveting this recipe for years and that she had become addicted to it. And I wanted something tasty to take into the office for people for the holiday. I knew that I had to try it.

Caramel Corn

• 1 (3½-ounce) package plain (unbuttered natural flavor) microwave popcorn, or about 10 cups fresh popcorn popped by any method, lightly salted
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• ¼ cup light corn syrup
• 6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• ¼ tsp. salt
• ½ tsp. baking soda
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup lightly salted peanuts, roughly chopped

Preheat the oven to 250°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.

If using microwave popcorn, pop the popcorn according to the package instructions. Coat a large mixing bowl with nonstick cooking spray, and dump the popcorn into the bowl, taking care to pick out and discard any unpopped kernels.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, salt, and 2 tablespoons of water. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat. Continue to simmer, whisking often, until the mixture reads 250°F on a candy thermometer, about 3 to 4 minutes. Immediately remove the pan from the heat, and whisk in the baking soda and vanilla. Quickly pour the hot caramel over the popcorn. Use a rubber spatula to gently fold the caramel into the popcorn, taking care to distribute it as evenly as you can. Stir in the peanuts, and transfer the mixture to the prepared baking sheet. Bake for 1 hour, stirring and turning the popcorn with a spatula every 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, and place on a cooling rack for 20 minutes. Gently break up the popcorn, and serve.

I was a little confused by the ingredient list. Didn’t I need caramel to make caramel corn? Apparently not, apparently I was making my own. I also used stovetop popcorn because I love it and think it tastes way better.

As Molly suggested, I measured the vanilla and baking soda before I stared and chopped the peanuts too. It’s like she knew I’m one of those people who does the chopping and the measuring as I go – guilty.

I had never attempted anything that required a candy thermometer before. I don’t even have one – I had to fake it with a meat thermometer.

I was really concerned about how the caramel would come together – seriously uncharted territory. But I melted the butter and added everything together. Next thing you know – boom – caramel.

I thought it tasted delicious before I even put it in the oven for another hour (I was confused why it need another hour to cook but again, I’m trusted my guide). Pretty soon my house smelled like the best part of carnival.

The verdict: Amazing, as always. It’s crispy, crunchy, salty and, honestly some of the best caramel I’ve ever had.

So drop whatever you had planned and make this.  Trust me. 

just call me Julia. by violet.

so, I’m doing this new thing lately… it’s called cooking? you heard of it? well, I’m new and suddenly super excited about trying my hand at it. it could be due to the fact that I now have an adorable & supportive accomplice in my experiments (the BF)… but I also like to think it’s in my blood. both my mom and my dad are phenomenal cooks and I believe I might have picked up a few things by osmosis. so in the midst of all the changes in my little world, i have been drawn to the more domestic side of myself- cleaning, nesting and cooking. i think it is grounding me in a sense, so i’m just gonna go with it.

last week, i made an andouille sausage and red pepper pasta which was a huge success! and Wednesday night, i made the BEST meatloaf ever (voted on by the BF). as my roommate can attest, i have been working on this recipe for about 4 years with many failed attempts. but i keep trying, because everyone knows there is nothing better than leftover meatloaf sandwiches! plus, it’s a childhood fave. i think i’m going to stick with this recipe.

since the cooking piece is a new frontier, i’ve been blog-sleuthing for recipes and inspiration. i came across The Catskill Kiwi , an NYC gardener, chef and artist. she has an amazing garden, so she uses a ton of fresh ingredients in her meals. Since we all know I am trying not to kill my little basil plant I am very encouraged by her green thumb! And she has a very unique collection of recipes (I will be trying the double-stuffed potatoes and possibly even the ginger beer next week). check her out!

i’ll keep you posted as i continue my culinary journey… stay tuned.