Pie for a birthday dinner!

For a special day, a special dinner is required… so for this birthday dinner, a luxurious lobster pot pie was necessary!
Gorgeous chunks of succulent lobster meat were added to a creamy concoction of chicken stock, cognac, onion, fennel, corn, peas and parsley.
Nestled into a rustic, homemade and flaky crust, this beautiful delight was baked off for an hour until the crust was browned and the filling bubbly!
Once ready, a beautifully large helping of this gorgeous pie was served up with steam and all…

at a low simmer…
-R

Stacked with flavor…

A long day, yielded the will to make a delicious eggplant parm supper! After making a trip to a fresh vegetable market and picking up some plump purple lovelies, it was time to head home and start the prep work for what would be a delightful supper…
Everything started by making a big pot of sauce; it was then off to slicing the eggplants and then dusting each in flour, dipping in egg and a quick coating in breadcrumbs and it was then time to start frying.
After all was crisp, it was time to build up and create the perfect marriage… a layer of sauce, then eggplant, some grated pecorino and mozz, basil and then repeated…
A quick bake in the oven and it was time to sit down, sip a glass of wine, slice into and then enjoy!

at a low simmer…
-R

refreshing dinner on a hot day…

With this oppressive heatwave still upon us, there was no way I was turning on the range or even the grill for that matter! Instead I thought it best to make some fresh pesto and have a refreshing sandwich night full of yummy things.
After making the pesto, it was time to assemble these pockets of delight… A healthy spread of the pesto adorned the lightly toasted ciabatta, followed by some spicy arugula, slices of fresh mozz and of course some phenomenal prosciutto di parma!
With the lid closing down snuggly and making this vessel ready for the feeding, there was not much more to do than succumb to it’s will…
A slight bite from the arugula, saltiness from the prosciutto, creamy from the fresh mozz and just an overall freshness from the pesto made this sandwich the perfect compliment to an über hot July evening!

at a low simmer…
-R

tasty balls’ on a bun…

So early this morning I woke to the craving of a meatball ‘parm’ sandwich… I, not shunning a good old fashioned pizzeria, decided that I would make a beautiful pot of sauce [enough to have leftovers for other occasions] and homemade meatballs!
A trip to the market yielded everything I needed to pull this home-run together…
While the sauce simmered away, I got cranking on my balls’… and I must admit I offer up some of the best tastin’ balls around!
To bring this whole story together and serve it up, I toasted some buttery brioche buns, sliced some fresh mozz [melted this of course] and capped these bad boys and began chomping!
Needless to say, one sandwich per person was no way enough…

at a low simmer…
-R

no sour[dough] taste in my mouth…

Seems lately I’m on a baking mission… this go around was a chocolate sourdough loaf. Just like my earlier sourdough post, this required an equal rest and rising period… No complaints here as again this was worth every ounce of effort!
The flavors were intense, slightly tangy from the sourdough, while chocolatey and sinful from the chunks of chopped dark chocolate. Perfect toasted and with a cup of tea, or slathered with some creamy mascarpone for additional guilt…

at a low simmer…
-R

Summer Sunday supper!!

With Sunday supper on my mind, and finally some sunny [yet über humid] weather upon us I felt the need to marinate some sexy flank steak and then toss onto the grill! To serve up alongside, a beautiful tossed salad with a homemade balsamic dressing and some beautiful grilled asparagus.
The salad was just a mix of crisp romaine, sliced roasted red peppers, a diced shallot and homemade stuffed mozz! As for the asparagus, just a toss in some homemade infused olive oil and salt.
Once grilled and rested, the steak and sides were ready to eat up and enjoy… thrilled that there is a bit of leftovers for some lunch tomorrow!!

at a low simmer…
-R

who you calling honey!!

So after an evening of rising away, this morning was the bake-off of my gorgeous lavender honey and toasted almond sourdough!
This is not a bread that you suddenly think… ‘I think I’ll whip up a loaf of sourdough bread’, since this is a plan-ahead idea! Actually at least a week since you have to prep up a starter for the sourdough. I have a starter that I made months ago slumbering away in the fridge, however that is made using wholemeal flour, while for this loaf, I made a new starter of white bread flour.
Once my newest starter was fragrant and active, it was time to get baking! The recipe I used was that of Paul Hollywood and like most of his recipes, this one did not disappoint!!
It started with strong bread flour mixed with my starter and salt, along with some tepid water to bring everything all together. Once combined, a good kneading was necessary to activate this bad boy and give it that rise it so desperately needs. After its first rise [five hours], the dough is formed out into a square, spread with lavender honey [see my earlier post on this] and scattered with toasted sliced almonds. The square dough is rolled into a cylindrical form and rolled into a ‘crust’ of more toasted sliced almonds… After the loaves are covered with the almonds, they are off to rest for an additional nine hours [this was the overnight part] to rise again!
Once morning arrived, it was off to bake in a 375 degree oven for thirty-five minutes until golden and when tapped… hollow!
A slight cool down, a beautiful tear and it was time to devour with a luxurious cup of lady grey tea…

**if you are interested in the recipe, you can find it in the Paul Hollywood cookbook, ‘How to Bake’. I highly recommend the book**

at a low simmer…
-R

like bees to honey…

After seeking high and low for lavender honey [everywhere I went was sold out], I decided the next best thing [and probably better alternative] was to make my own…
A quick trip to the health food store yielded some gorgeous dried lavender pods, in addition to some golden local honey.
Once home, I wrapped up about four tablespoons of the lavender pods in cheesecloth and placed the packet into two cups of honey that I set over a double boiler. Stirring frequently for about an hour, the outcome yielded an infused amber honey of pure lusciousness. After the honey cooled, it was time to jar up again.
The first recipe this scented wonder will be a part of is a lavender honey and almond bread. I cannot wait to sit back and enjoy a slice of this bread with a warm cup of tea…

at a low simmer…
-R

a morning of glory [muffins]…

With the last few months pretty high on the emotions chart, it was a bit difficult to focus on much… Things are finally starting to ease back into normalcy and I thought was better to do than whip up a hearty batch of morning glory muffins for breakfast!
I had these luxurious little delights out in East Hampton and have been completely addicted since.
Chock-full-of delicious ingredients, these little domes of beauty are simple to prepare and the flavor element is incredible! For the recipe, two cups of flour, one cup of brown sugar, two teaspoons of baking soda and cinnamon, a half teaspoon of ground ginger and kosher salt are sifted and combined into a large bowl; in a separate bowl, three eggs, good vanilla, two-thirds of a cup of canola oil and one-fourth cup of orange juice are whisked together. Once the wet and dry ingredients are prepped, I cored one green apple and peeled four carrots. Both the apple and carrots were grated, and along with some coconut flakes, soaked golden raisins and wheat germ stirred into the dry mixture. As soon as everything was incorporated, I gently added in the wet mixture and mixed everything until fully combined and moistened.
The batter was scooped into a muffin tin and set to bake for twenty-five minutes at 375degrees. After cooling slightly it was time to rip open these spicy scented lovelies and enjoy with a silky cup of lady grey tea…
Couldn’t think of a better way to start off a weekday morning!

at a low simmer…
-R