Sour Cream Nectarine Streusel Pie

(9 inch pie)

Ever since I first tasted sour cream in a fruit pie many years ago, I find it difficult to make one, without. This year is no exception. The market was filled with gorgeous looking nectarines (it's the season for them in Texas) so I brought a bunch home for this delicious treat.

This pie is best served the day it's made.

streusel topping
1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cold butter, (1/2 stick)
1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Place the flour, sugar and butter into the bowl of a food processor and pulse a few times until the mixture is crumbly. Add the almonds and pulse once or twice. Set aside.

sour cream nectarine pie
1x 9 inch unbaked pie shell
2/3 cup sour cream (regular, not low fat or fat free)
1/3 cup brown sugar, or more to taste
3 tbsp flour
1 large egg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
a pinch or 2 of salt
3 lb organic ripe nectarines

Line a 9 inch pie pan with the pie pastry. I don't bring the crust all the way to the edges of the pie plate because those tend to get very dark in the oven and I don't like to have to fuss with aluminum strips to prevent that from happening. Set aside

Whisk together the sour cream, brown sugar, flour, egg, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Wash, pit and and slice the nectarines. If you prefer to remove the skins first, then drop the whole nectarines into boiling water for about 15-30 seconds followed by a dunk in cold water. The skins should  slip off easily.

Stir the sliced nectarines into the sour cream mixture. Spoon the mixture evenly into the prepared pie pan. Sprinkle the reserved streusel mixture evenly over the nectarine mixture.

Bake at 400°F for 20 minutes, then reduce the heat to 375°F and continue to bake another 35-45 minutes or until the top has browned nicely and the filling is bubbling hot.

Allow the pie to cool completely before slicing into it.

Bratkartoffeln mit Speck; Pan-fried Potatoes & Bacon

(4 servings)

Every once in a while when I come across something, I'll immediately picture it a particular way and can't let go of the thought. That was the case with the Yukon Gold creamers I saw at the market yesterday. They brought me back to a time when my mum used to make German style pan fried potatoes.

I have lightened them up considerably from how I remember them from my childhood. My mum used to add a huge amount of butter to hers. Both ways are quite delicious....

1 1/2 lb waxy or creamer type (washed) potatoes
3 slices peppered or plain smoked bacon (about 1/4 lb)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
up to 3 tbsp butter (or more :D)
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Place the potatoes (with their skins) into a pot large enough to hold them and cover with cold water. Place the pot over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat a touch and simmer them until they pierce easily with a fork; begin to check them after 5 minutes or so.

Drain the potatoes and allow to cool. Either slice them or cut them into small pieces; whichever you prefer. Set aside.

Dice the bacon and place into a cold skillet. Set over medium heat and fry until the bacon begins to brown. Determine how crispy you like your bacon and when it's done to your liking remove it with a slotted spoon and place it on a paper towel to drain.

Pour the bacon drippings into a small bowl and wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel. Add about 2 tsp of reserved rendered bacon fat or butter or a combination of the two, to the skillet and return it to the stove. Add the chopped onion and sauté until it begins to brown lightly, taking care it doesn't burn. Remove the onion and set aside.

Add up to 2 tbsp of butter, rendered bacon drippings or a combination of the two, to the skillet. Raise the heat to almost high and when the fat is hot, add the potatoes. Spread them out as evenly as possible in the skillet and adjust the heat if necessary to prevent them from burning. When the bottoms have browned nicely, begin to toss them to brown the other sides. This can take up to 15 minutes or so.

When the potatoes are almost done, return the onions and bacon to the skillet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper (if needed) and cook until everything is nice and hot.

Serve.

Simple Tomato Salad

(2-3 servings)

I can still remember when my mum would bring juicy tomatoes in from the garden and prepare them very simply with a bit of salt and pepper, and a light drizzle of vinegar and oil. Sometimes she added onion and sometimes she didn’t; the salad was always delicious either way. 

She would allow the salad to marinate by leaving it out on the counter for an hour or so. By the time the salad was ready to eat, the kitchen had a wonderful fragrance of sweet juicy tomatoes.

1 lb tomatoes

1 green onion, sliced

salt and freshly ground black pepper

about 1 tablespoon white or red wine vinegar, or more to taste

about 1 1/2 tsp olive oil, or more to taste

Slice the tomatoes about 1/4 inch thick and arrange them in a single layer on a large serving plate.

Dust them evenly with salt and pepper, then sprinkle them with the green onion slices.

Drizzle the tomato slices with the vinegar and olive oil. Allow them to sit at room temperature for at least an hour before serving.

Caponata

(about 3 1/2 cups)

This summer I have mostly had cravings for sweet and sour, such as this delicious caponata. As was the case with several other dishes I have made recently, caponata is perfect for making ahead. It keeps for several days and is at its best at room temperature, either as an appetizer or a side for something such as grilled fish. This Sicilian dish has many versions and to be honest, mine is always a bit different depending on what I have on hand. I’ve made it with Kalamata olives, currants, roasted red bell pepper and toasted walnuts or pine nuts.

Eggplant has a tendency to soak up copious amounts olive oil, if you aren't careful. I used a non-stick skillet which allowed me to use a lesser quantity of oil than what you’d typically expect to find in a dish such as this.

1 medium eggplant, (about 1.5 lb)
about 1 tsp salt
up to 3 tbsp olive oil
2 large cloves garlic, pressed
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/3 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tbsp agave nectar
1 tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
4 plum (roma) tomatoes diced
1/2 cup pitted green olives, chopped
2 tbsp capers, drained
freshly ground black pepper
a few pinches of red pepper flakes, to taste


Wash the eggplant, then slice it into 1/2 inch slices. Lay them out in one layer and sprinkle evenly with salt. Set aside for about an hour.

The eggplant will have begun to sweat. Using a kitchen towel, dry off each piece, then slice it into cubes. Set aside.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over a medium-low flame. Add about 2 tsp olive oil and when it's hot, add the garlic. Stir for about 30 seconds until the garlic is fragrant, then add the onion. Stir to combine everything evenly.

Adjust the heat as necessary and saute the onion mixture until it's an even golden brown; this can take up to 20 minutes.

Remove the onion and garlic mixture, set those aside and return the skillet to the stove top. Increase the heat to about medium-high. Add 1 tbsp olive oil and when it's hot, add the eggplant. Drizzle another tbsp of olive oil evenly over the top of the eggplant.

Saute the eggplant for about 10-12 minutes, stirring it frequently with a wooden spoon.

Combine the wine vinegar, water, agave nectar and tomato paste in a small container. Pour that over the eggplant. Add the tomatoes, green olives and capers. Dust with a liberal amount of freshly ground black pepper and a pinch or more of red pepper flakes. Stir until everything is well combined.

Cook, stirring from time to time, for another 10 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.

Allow to cool to room temperature before serving. This will keep refrigerated for several days.

Bolognese Sauce

(about 8 servings)

This bolognese spent the better part of the day on the stove top, simmering gently over very low heat. That gave the sauce a chance to really develop its flavours and was well worth the time.

Years ago I sampled a sauce similar to this which contained chicken liver. Sadly it's becoming more and more difficult to find them. Rather than having to special order the liver and put off making this until next weekend, I decided to add some liverwurst instead. That did the trick. The finished bolognese had a very subtle taste of liver which I loved.  If you gag at the thought of liver, then by all means leave it out. :p

1/4 lb prosciutto, chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped
1 large yellow onion, chopped
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb lean ground beef
1/4 lb coarse liverwurst (optional)
1 28 oz can diced tomatoes
2 tbsp double concentrated tomato paste
2 cups red wine
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
salt, if needed

freshly cooked pasta
Parmigiano Reggiano


Place a dutch oven on top of the stove over a low flame. Add the prosciutto and garlic and stir time to time.

When the prosciutto begins to render some of its fat (if it's really lean, add a small amount of olive oil) add the celery, carrots, onion and mushrooms. Cover the pot and braise the vegetables and prosciutto over the lowest flame possible for about 2-3 hrs.

Remove the lid and increase the heat slightly. The mixture will have accumulated some liquid. Stirring from time to time, cook the mixture.. some of that liquid will evaporate, which is fine.

Meanwhile add the olive oil to a skillet and set over medium-high heat. Brown the ground beef, breaking the meat up with a wooden spoon as you go along.

I tried to lightly brown the vegetable mixture at this point, but it was beginning to stick to my dutch oven and rather than adding more oil or taking the chance it might burn, I added the liverwurst, diced tomatoes, tomato paste and red wine and stirred everything until it was well combined.

Drain the meat, if necessary and add that to the dutch oven along with the cocoa powder, rosemary, thyme, oregano, marjoram and black pepper. I didn't add any salt at this time preferring to wait a few hours to see how salty the mixture was after the prosciutto had a chance to fully mingle.

Cover the pot once again and adjust the heat to it's lowest setting. Simmer very gently for another 3-4 hours.

Check and add salt at this point if it's needed. Serve with cooked pasta. Sprinkle with a bit of  Parmigiano Reggiano, if desired.  This sauce freezes really well.

Cold Spiced & Marinated Basa

(2-3 servings)

A couple of weeks ago I made blackened catfish which I loved so much, I wanted to have it again. This time I spotted some farmed basa which the fishmonger explained was a milder Asian variety of catfish. The fillets had a pearly white flesh with a lovely pink hue. I grabbed a pound to try out.

For this wonderful make ahead dish, I prepared the basa the same way I prepared the blackened catfish, but when the fish was cooked, I took it one step further. I deglazed the skillet with a mixture of white wine and white wine vinegar which I poured over the blackened basa, then set aside. The spicy fillets in the sour marinade were amazing! I will be making this again with either catfish or basa!

1 large clove garlic
1 1/2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 tsp sweet paprika
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4-1/2 tsp cayenne, to taste
1 lb  basa (or catfish) fillets, about 4 small fillets
1/2-1 tsp olive oil

2/3 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup white wine vinegar

Press the garlic clove through a garlic press, catching any juices into a small microwave safe bowl.

Add the butter and microwave until the butter has melted. Set aside.

Combine the paprika, cumin, pepper, salt, thyme and cayenne. Set aside.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (this is the preferred utensil, but I used a large non-stick skillet instead) over high heat. Coat the pan evenly with the olive oil. I do this with a paper towel, using only the tiniest amount.

Brush the garlic butter evenly over the tops of the basa fillets. Use all of it, dividing it evenly between the top sides of all the fillets. Dredge the buttered sides through the spice mixture. 

Fry the fish, placing the fillets (buttered and seasoned side down) into the hot skillet. Cook for about 2-3 minutes until the edges become opaque. Turn the fillets over and cook for another minute or until the fish flakes easily and is done. Place the basa into a non reactive dish about 8 inches square with sides at least 1 inch high.

Lower the heat and pour the wine and vinegar into the skillet. Deglaze the pan by gently scraping the browned bits into the liquid. Allow the mixture to come to a boil, then pour it over the blackened basa fillets.

When the basa reaches room temperature, cover the fish with plastic wrap, smoothing it down directly over the surface so that the liquid reaches the top. Refrigerate for several hours, up to overnight.

Serve it cold or at room temperature.

I served it with sliced mango and cooked rice I cooled to room temperature and fluffed up with a fork. Yum!

Pico de Gallo

(about 2 cups)

Whenever I go out for Mexican food, pico de gallo will appear in some form on the table. Sometimes it's tossed over a salad, a filling for a taco, or garnish on a plate. It always contains three ingredients; tomatoes, onion and green chili pepper. It might also contain green onion, cilantro or cucumber. Sometimes it's simply diced and on it's own, other times it might be seasoned with salt and pepper and a splash or two of fresh lime juice or vinegar. Essentially it's salsa, although what's considered salsa here (in Dallas) is usually a thin pureed sauce accompanied by tortilla chips. I love having pico de gallo with corn chips.

3 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 an English cucumber, diced
1 small sweet onion, diced
1/2 - 2 jalapeno or serrano chili peppers (to taste), seeded and diced
small handful cilantro, chopped
juice from 1 small lime
salt and pepper, to taste

Combine everything in a bowl and toss. Check and adjust the seasoning to your liking.

Serve within an hour or two of combining (it will still be quite good later than that, but it will gather more liquid as time goes on).