Choc dipped Kumquats in a Choc-Orange Cornmeal Cake.

Notes: Kumquats are eaten whole, without peeling. They are vibrant, sweet, and tangy and a perfect vehicle for chocolate. Make sure you don’t pulverize the almonds to a super fine powder, as it’s nice to have a mix of larger slivers for crunch. This cake is a rich chocolate cake with with the texture of Corn Meal and Almonds. It contains no flour. The Chocolate Orange combination is delicious.

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1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees. Pull out 1 and 3/4 sticks of Unsalted Butter to bring to room temperature. Grind 1 and 1/2 cups of Whole Raw Almonds in a food processor, leaving some big chunks and slivers.
2. Cream 1 and 3/4 sticks of Unsalted Butter with 1 Cup of Superfine Sugar, 1 hefty Teaspoon of Vanilla Paste, (or Vanilla Essence) and slowly add 3 Eggs. Add Zest of 2 large Oranges. Mix.
3. In a separate bowl fold lightly together the ground Almonds, 1 teaspoon of Baking Powder and 1 cup of Stoneground Yellow Corn Meal. (Like Indian Head brand.), a Pinch of Salt, and half a cup of Powdered Chocolate Cocoa Mix (that has sugar and dairy products added). Fold together.
4. Gently mix the flour mixture into the butter sugar mixture and pour into a greased parchment lined 9 inch spring form pan.
5. Bake until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean, 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool.
6. Prepare Kumquats: Cut 1 lb of Kumquats in half lengthwise. Microwave 1 x 4oz bar of 70 percent Cocoa Bittersweet Chocolate in short 20 second bursts. Stir. Be careful not to scorch. Dip Kumquats into the melted chocolate and lay on a baking sheet covered in parchment to set. Pour leftover chocolate all over the top of cake. Arrange slices.
7. Leave out on kitchen counter for the chocolate areas to set. (About 1-2 hours) and then serve, or cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. When serving after refrigeration, allow to come to room temperature for at least a couple of hours.

Click here to see Instagram post of this tart. 

Egg on Burdock Nest with Dal, and an Offer.

Thrilled to partner with FARM TO PEOPLE and offer this huge discount of $40 OFF your first two boxes, (that’s $20 off each box!) Use promo code DIMITYJONES on their website  to claim this exclusive limited time offer.
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FARM TO PEOPLE is an online source of seasonable, sustainably grown personally curated often handcrafted products from small farms, as local as possible. These fresh farm delicacies are hand picked and delivered to you weekly, with easy-to-follow recipes, recipe ideas and tips, with a mindfulness to minimal packaging and minimal footprint. The delivery range is DC to Boston, and places in-between, (like Chester, New Jersey, too!) Don’t forget: type in DIMITYJONES to get the 40 dollars off. So if you like to know where your food comes from-LITERALLY, and want to support local farmers and their small farms, this is for you! You can choose from a Meat box, or Vegetarian, Vegan or Paleo. Farm to People is 100% transparent, in that every item, in every box, is traceable back to it’s farmer or producer. Click here to retrieve the offer. 
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See my current Instagram story, for more info on Farm to Table.
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Pictured: Comforting and wholesome for a rainy day… Red Lentil Dal, with Garnet Yams (from Sunrise Ridge, Kirkwood, NJ), Carrots (Tuscarora Organic Growers, Hustontown, PA.) topped w/ fried egg (Lancaster, Leola, PA) with Scallions (Green Lane, Quarryville, PA) on a nest of fried Burdock (from Lancaster Farm Fresh, Leola, PA) All from my @farmtopeople box delivered fresh last night. Check out my Instagram feed for more info. 
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My Omnivore box this week also included… Ground Pork (from Stryker Farm, Saylorsburg, PA.) Savoy Cabbage (Dagele Brothers, NY) Miso Ramen Noodles (Sun Noodle, Honolulu, HI) Butterhead Lettuce, (Gehman Family Farm, Telford, PA) Shitake and Beech Mushrooms (Kennett Square, PA) and Bourbon Smoked Japanese Togarashi from @bourbonbarrelfoods from Louisville, KY.
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@farmtopeople #farmtopeople #knowyourfood #fresh #healthy
#eggs #whole30 #dal #yolkporn #delicious @thefeedfeed #feedfeed #onions #f52grams #instafood #cleaneats #buzzfeedfood #thekitchn #thebakefeed #bakeandshare #farmfresh #discount #offer #eeeeeats #promocode #burdockroot #yams #carrots #turmeric #garnetyams

Asian Pear Tart with Manouri Cheese and Citrus Glaze.

Notes: Asian Pears are circular and have a firm, crisp, texture. Manouri cheese is a rindless, semi-soft, with cream added. It’s sweeter and creamier than Feta. You’ll need a Mandolin, a pastry brush, One sheet of good quality store bought butter Puff Pastry, one Medium Asian Pear, one Medium Yellow Onion, about one stick of Unsalted Butter, half a Medium/Large Orange, Sugar, 1/4 cup of Manouri Cheese, (or a soft creamy Feta) crumbled, 1 Lemon, fresh Pea Shoots for garnish. 

First, pull out a sheet of frozen puff pastry to thaw on your kitchen counter. 2… Caramelize your Onion. Cut Onion into slices. Put a tablespoon of unsalted butter in a medium-hot regular sauce pan, when sizzling, add sliced onions, a pinch of salt, stir to coat onions, spread them out evenly over the pan and let cook. The goal is to gently cook the onions down till blonde-brown, not burnt or blackened. Lower heat to Medium-Low. Add a tablespoon of water, (or chicken stock if you have) that helps them steam a little bit and cook through. Keep an eye on them. The goal is to get them cooked evenly and not stick. They will be ready in a good 25-35 minutes. You can’t rush this process. You will have plenty left over but don’t worry, they are delicious stored in the fridge and you put them in many other dishes… (I threw some on fried rice, put them in a tomato puree with eggs and baked them in the oven with ricotta.) When done, set aside to cool. 3. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. 4. Unroll puff pastry place sheet, place on a greased baking tray. 5. Scatter caramelized onions evenly over a circular area, don’t mound or pile up. 6. Using a Mandolin on setting 2, slice through a skin-on Asian Pear. Get same size middle-pieces, and cut them in half. So they look like half circles. (Store the smaller end-pieces in the fridge to put on cereal, or toss in a salad for another day. Or compost. Do not throw out. Try not to waste anything!) 7. Toss Asian Pear half circles in a little bit of Lemon juice to keep them from browning, while you arrange, then neatly arrange in cylindrical patten on top of the caramelized onions. Don’t over-think this, just do it. 8. Put a plate preferably just slightly larger than your cylindrical pattern and cut around pastry leaving a nice circle with a bit of pastry around the edges.

8. Melt half a stick of butter (microwave will do) and using a pastry brush paint over the pear slices and edges of the pastry, being careful not to dislodge arrangement. 9. Place in oven setting a timer for 15 minutes. Check tart after this time, and brush with more butter if it looks dry. Don’t forget the pastry edges. Giving them a nice buttery coat will ensure they cook up golden and brown. Leave in for another 6-12 minutes, checking on it regularly till the pear is cooked through and the crust is golden. 10. Meanwhile, squeeze half a medium-large Orange into a heavy-based saucepan. Add a heaped tablespoon of Sugar. Put on low heat and stir till sugar melts. (Keep warm but don’t cook. If it cools it will harden.) 11. Using your pastry brush again, glaze tart with sweet Citrus Orange Sugar liquid. Sprinkle with crumbled Manouri Cheese and fresh Pea Shoots and serve immediately. Serves 4 as a snack, 2 as lunch.

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FARM TO TABLE offer! Thrilled to partner with FARM TO PEOPLE and offer this huge discount of $40 OFF your first two boxes, (that’s $20 off each box!) Use promo code DIMITYJONES (one word, no spaces) on their website, click here, to claim this exclusive offer.
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FARM TO PEOPLE is an online source of seasonable, sustainably grown personally curated often handcrafted products from small farms, as local as possible. These fresh farm delicacies are hand picked and delivered to you weekly, with easy-to-follow recipes, recipe ideas and tips, with a mindfulness to minimal packaging and minimal footprint. The delivery range is DC to Boston, and places in-between. So if you like to know where your food comes from-LITERALLY, and want to support local farmers and their small farms, this is for you! You can choose from a Meat box, or Vegetarian, Vegan or Paleo. Farm to People is %100 transparent, in that every item, in every box, is traceable back to it’s farmer or producer.
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Click on my Instagram Highlights story, on my profile for more info about the company.

Tart pictured above is made from Asian Pear (from Coopersburg, PA), on a Caramelized Onion base, sprinkled with Manouri Cheese (from Murray’s, NY) with Pea Shoots (from Tuscarora Organic Co-Op, Hustontown, PA.) and an Orange Glaze (Navel Oranges from Triple J Organics, Mission, TX) All from my @farmtopeople box delivered fresh last night. ❤

Rhubarb and Blue Orange Galette with Honey Vanilla

Rhubarb! Details on my Instagram… click here. 

Crisp Apple and Calabaza Squash Tart, with Sage.

Cover an 11-inch shallow, removable bottom, quiche tin with pre prepared butter puff pastry. (I like White Torque from France.)

Open a packet of @LoveBeets White Wine Balsamic, Beets. Pour contents into a bowl and add a splash (or about a third of a cup) of water.

Purchase 4 medium sized apples. (I like Pink Lady.) Purchase a 4 lb wedge of Calabaza Pumpkin Squash. Slice apples with a mandolin- across ways, (setting number 2, or the second smallest setting on the mandolin.) and dip each slice, quickly, in the beet water. Set aside. (The vinegar in the beet liquid will keep the apples from browning.)

Cut the Calabaza into large wedges of at least 2 and a half width, and mandolin them, set aside. With a 2 and a half diameter cookie cutter, cut Calabaza sliced, into circular disks.

Layer up the pie with alternate squash circles, and cross cut, beet dipped, apple slices in circular pattern or any pattern of your choosing.

Melt one stick (or 8 tablespoons) of unsalted butter in a small pan, with half hand-full of fresh Sage leaves. When just melted, brush top of tart with the sage butter, (not leaves), trying not to dislodge layers.

Put tart in a pre-heated 325 degree oven for 1 hour and 20, to 35 minutes, or until tart smells fragrant, and the apples are cooked through and starting to brown on top, and releasing juice at their bottom. During the cooking process you’ll need to brush the tart again with the butter sage mixture after 30 mins, and then again when an hour is up.

Remove tart, and while warm, sprinkle entire tart with good quality sea salt, to taste.

Dot with the fried sage leaves from the butter sage mixture, and also chiffonade/chop a few fresh sage leaves and sprinkle over the top.

Serve tart immediately, while warm. Serves 8, as an appetizer. You could also serve each wedge with a big generous dollop of mascarpone, or a little shaved parmesan. Or, if you like some spice, you could dry roast some pumpkin seeds in a pan in a little salt, sugar and cayenne pepper and scatter on top, to provide bite, texture, and crunch.

Dimity x

Caramel Molasses Upside Down Banana Cake

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small bowl put dry ingredients: 1 1/2 cups of All Purpose flour, 1 1/2 teaspoons of Baking Powder, 1 teaspoon of Salt, 1 teaspoon of ground Cinnamon. Set aside. In a cast iron skillet on the stove top, put a half cup of raw sugar and 2 tablespoons of Blackstrap Molasses, with 5 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter and scrape in the seeds of one vanilla pod. (I prefer @heilalavanilla.) Sprinkle with a heavy pinch of salt. Wait until sugar granules are dissolved and not at all crunchy. Don’t let burn. Pour into a greased 9 inch oven safe metal baking pan. The caramel will be scorching hot, so be careful. It will also set quickly, which is fine. Top with sliced banana, any way you wish. In another bowl with a mixer and paddle, cream 8 oz unsalted butter with a half cup of granulated sugar. Add half a cup of whole milk, 2 whole eggs, and one teaspoon of Pure Vanilla Extract (I prefer @heilalavanilla) Mix gently till combined. Pour in dry ingredients, and fold together. Then pour mixture over the top of the banana and caramel and bake for 30-40 minutes or until browned and bubbling. Remove from oven and carefully flip over onto a plate. Serve warm with Salted Caramel Ice Cream and sprinkle if wish, with fresh Thyme.

Recipe was inspired by the fabulous baker @davidlebovitz.

Avocado Cake.

I’ll let you in on a secret. I don’t like putting my oven on mid August, in New York. Or actually, in July, either. 😊 🔥The answer? Chilled, No-bake, Raw, Citrus Avocado Slice, and Avocado Key Lime Frosting, with sugary Orange flavored ‘bursts’. The base is Pecan, Pepitas and Dates. Recipe to come!

Double Chocolate and Red Cherry No Bake Tart

This tart is based from the recipe from Taza Chocolate Blog. 

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Most of my tarts, despite their elaborate top, are very easy to make.
You’ll need an 11 Inch Tart pan. You’ll also need to hollow out some space in your fridge to lay a 11 inch tart pan. If your fridge looks anything like mine, this might take some time!

Ingredients:
30 Chocolate Sandwich Cookies (I used Wholefoods brand, but Oreo’s work well.)
3 Tablespoons of butter, melted.
1 to 1 1/2 Heavy Cream
9 oz Bag of Semi Sweet Dark Chocolate Chips.
1 lb of fresh Cherries. Cut in half, and de pitted.

Method:
1. Process sandwich cookies in a food processor until fine crumb. 2. Pour melted butter over, combine, and then press into an 11 inch tart pan and place in the fridge a half hour to set. 3. In a heavy based saucepan, combine chocolate bars or chips, and heavy cream on medium-low heat, stirring gently until combined.. add more cream or chocolate until you get the depth of color you want… I ended up using a little over 1 cup of cream and about 8 oz of chocolate chips. (It’s Ok to have some left over, you can drizzle over the tart at the end, or give it to the kids as a treat. Warm, runny chocolate? Yes, please!) 4. Cool cream mixture slightly. Pour over crust. 5. Place cherries in any arrangement you like. No need to rush, the cherries will sit nicely in the soft chocolate cream so put a cup of tea on, relax and take your time, enjoy this step! 6. Place tart back in the fridge. You will get a cleaner cut for the slices if the pie is refrigerated before serving. You can even sit the tart in the fridge overnight, but I’d serve the next day or else the freshness of the cherries could start to be compromised.

Note: The original recipe called for 4 x 2.5 oz bars of Dominican Stone Ground Bars from Taza you can get here. No doubt the recipe would better, richer tasting and more delicious with these wonderful Taza bars, but unfortunately due to time constraints (I would have needed to order them online, as they were not at my local food stores) and budget, I went with regular choc chips. 

 

Happy Early Spring

I’ve always loved the combination of fresh radishes, unsalted butter, and crackly, warm baguettes, hit with a sprinkling of sea salt. I think of radishes as the beginning of Spring, so I wanted to think of a way to emulate my favorite radish combo into a tart and here it is. This is a layered Radish Tart dipped in freshly juiced Beets to make it pretty and pink and Ombré, on a Garlic Butter Béchamel. Once baked, I drizzle it with a hot Honey-salted Syrup. Although they are predicting a blizzard in 2 days, I’d like to think that this is the beginning of Spring! Hooray! Happy early Spring! —Dimity xo.

Blood Orange and Honey Almond Cake

This is a dense, sturdy cake, with a coarse almond-y tasting texture. The perfect cake to get us through the Winter. It has a slight sweetness from the Honey, but is not overly sweet, or too citrusy. Note: If you family has a sweet tooth and you tend towards liking a sweeter cake you could use 1 cup of Demerera sugar, instead of 3/4 of a cup listed below. For a more citrusy cake you could try adding a tablespoon or 2 of blood oranges to the sugar butter mixture as well as the required zest. Feel free to experiment! The blood oranges that decorate the top, need to be sliced thin. They will cook in the honey and be similar to a marmalade taste. 

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease a 2 inch high x 9 inch wide baking tin with butter. 2. In a bowl, beat (I use a hand mixer for easy clean up) 14 tablespoons of Unsalted Butter (this is 2 tablespoons shy of 2 sticks.) and 3/4 of a cup of Demerera Sugar. Slowly beat in 3 room temperature eggs, one by one… note: you are not ‘creaming’ the butter and sugar so don’t worry if once all the eggs are added, it’s still looks sand-like, it’s fine. Add one teaspoon of vanilla essence and a pinch of sea salt and 2 tablespoons of zest from your blood oranges. (If you used regular salted butter instead of unsalted no need to add extra salt.) 3. Squeeze about 2-3 tablespoons of runny honey over the base of the greased tin. (You could quickly microwave the honey bottle beforehand so it’s easy to spread evenly. The honey will help stick your citrus slices so that when you flip it over at the end they will hold better in place.) 4. Arrange blood orange citrus slices. Try any design you like, but try not to overlap. You’ll need to purchase about 4-5 Medium to Small Blood Oranges of similar size, preferably with less pith. I like to use thin slices, of about an eighth of an inch wide, that are then cut in half, so they look like half moons. Bear in mind what you lay down will be your top, once this is flipped over. Don’t over think this step. Just have fun! 5. Put 7.5 oz or 200 grams of ground natural unsalted almonds in a separate clean bowl. (I put 200 grams of whole natural unsalted almonds into a food processor and pulse it, because I like the freshness that newly ground nuts have.) Add to your food processor, or bowl: quarter cup of cornbread and muffin mix or depending on what kind of consistency you like you could add dry polenta or dry yellow grits instead. (the dry yellow grits will give a much more coarser nutty granular texture even when cooked) and a quarter cup of All Purpose flour. Combine. 6. Tip dry-nut mixture into the butter-sugar mixture and stir with a wooden spoon to combine. Pour into the baking tin, and spread evenly pushing down to make sure the cake is pressed into the orange slices. Try not to dislodge your pattern. Put in the 325 degrees fahrenheit oven for 35-45 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the middle, comes out clean. I have a very hot oven so my cooking time is a neat 35 minutes but you may need longer. Don’t over cook. You will start to smell the almonds towards the end. 7. Remove cake from the oven and while still warm, run a sharp knife around the edge to loosen the cake from the tin. Don’t worry if the cake has not risen to the full 2 inches, it will be fine. Place a flat plate on top and gently flip the cake in one motion. Arrange sliced that may have moved. 8. At this stage you can glaze the cake if you wish… I reduce about half a cup of juice from the remaining blood oranges down with some sugar till you get a thick syrup and pour gently over the top. You could also use pomegranate juice with sugar or just warm up some honey alone, whatever you wish. Or leave it free as I did in the above picture to save on calories. 9. Serve immediately while cake is still warm. My son likes his slices spread with butter. I had originally intended this cake to be served with natural yogurt. I thought the rich sourness of yogurt would compliment this sweet citrussy cake well. You can try that also.

If you post on Instagram, please tag me #dimityjones so I can see how it turned out and let me know how it worked in the comments section below! Happy Winter everyone!

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Check out my Instagram feed here.

 

 

‘Healing’ Honey-Buttered Pear Tart with Balsamic Herb Pistachio Crust.

So here’s the thing: I’m sad and devastated about the results of the election last night and what I do when I’m in pain or stressed out, is bake and bake and well, bake. And bake anything. it doesn’t matter what, the sheer rhythm or cutting, melding, stirring is therapeutic. I’m calling this the ‘healing pie’.. I am terrified about the future under Trump and scared for my Muslim, Black and Mexican friends. Hatred, distain and marginalization have won, and the country will never be the same. I’m deeply disturbed and disappointed in the American public and horrified for the future. For global warming, for women’s rights, for my Gay friends who want to still marry. Hold on for the next four years, everyone, it’s going to be one hell of a rough and hateful, racist, horrible and deeply embarrassing and depressing ride. So, so, incredibly sad. I cried on 9/11 for the country and then today, 11/9. And no doubt there will be a day in the next 4 years when I’ll be crying again. Maybe when the new president builds that dumb stupid wall or starts hauling immigrants out of their homes for deportation. Yes, probably.

Ideas come from many places and so I credit @finecooking and @cannellevanille for the inspiration for this lovely pear tart. As you know if you asked about five food stylists to make the exact same recipe, using the exact same ingredients, each one would look different and taste different and that’s the way it should be. Please feel free to improvise with whatever you have on hand to make it your very own pie!

You’ll need: A springform tart tin, with removable bottom. Parchment and blind-baking weights. 4 firm-ish but ripe Bartlett Pears, about half-a-cup of shelled Pistachios for the dough and also later for garnish, a savory Jam or Jelly of your choosing. You’ll also need staples like All Purpose flour, Unsalted butter, Salt, Sugar and Honey.

Make the dough: In a food processor combine 1 cup of all purpose flour, and 1 stick of butter, (cut into small pieces ). Pulse. Add a heavy pinch of salt, 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1/3 cup of shelled pistachio nuts, and pulse till dough resembles small pebbles. Add iced water (start with 2 tablespoons, add more as necessary). Pulse again till dough starts to clump, and pulls away from the edges. Remove. Shape into a disc, cover with plastic and refrigerate for at least a half hour.

Remove dough from fridge. Roll the dough into a 1/8th-inch-think round. Coax into the buttered pan and press dough up the sides about 1 inch. It doesn’t need to be perfect. Place back in the fridge for another 20 mins. (Or freeze for 10 mins.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Line the crust with parchment paper and fill it to the top with beans or weights. Bake until the edges are golden brown (around 15 to 20 mins) Remove weights and paper. Bake further till center begins to color and pie looks to be about 95 percent cooked. Remove from oven and set aside to cool. Release spring form pan, leaving dough still sitting on base. Spoon Jam onto base liberally in an even 1/8th-inch coat. (Note, I had Balsamic Garlic and Herb Jam from Terrapin Ridge Farms on hand, click here for details. but you can use whatever you have. I opted for more of a savory jam, but feel free to experiment.)

Assemble: Peel, half, and core and slice 1 Bartlett Pear. Repeat with 3 other pears. Assemble pears onto the baked crust. Fan them out to create a pattern of your choice. You need to work fairly quickly but don’t stress. The pears will begin browning but that’s Ok because you will be covering them with Honey Butter. The sticky jam will help hold them in place. Melt about 3 tablespoons of Honey in a heavy based small saucepan with about 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter on low heat. Brush pears with buttered-honey. Place back in the 400 degree oven for about 6-10 minutes or until the top starts to caramelize, the kitchen should smell lovely. and the pears are warm-to hot right through. Test with a skewer if you are uncertain. Remove. Scatter with whole pistachios for garnish, sprinkle with powered sugar. Serve straight away with sweetened cream or good quality Vanilla ice cream.

Making this pie? Make sure you tag me on Instagram so I can see. @dimityjones. 

Check out my Instagram feed here.

“Love-Heart” Pie. (Raspberry and Apple)

“Love-Heart” Pie. (Raspberry and Apple): I made this pie for my friend Brennan Cavanaugh who was hosting a dinner party this past Saturday night. The red raspberries give the apples a lovely crimson color, adding to the love-heart feel. Because you blind bake the base crust, and pre cook the filling, all you have to look out for when it’s in the oven baking is that the crust gets golden and browned and cooked through.  

What you’ll need: You’ll need to purchase a heart-shaped cookie cutter, which you can get either at a pastry/cake supply store or online. A 1 x 9 inch pie tin or recyclable aluminum foil pie pan. Parchment, and weights or beans for blind baking.

Pastry: I love the Pate Brisee pastry recipe from Martha Stewart. To make it quickly, I use a food processor. Put 2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, with 2 sticks (1 cup) of unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes with 1 tablespoon of sugar and 1 teaspoon of salt. Pulse. When it starts to combine add 5 tablespoons, (or more) of ice water. Pulse a couple of times till it gather into a ball and clump. Take dough out, divide into 2 pieces, form each into a ball, then flatten into a disk and wrap in plastic. Refrigerate both for at least 30 minutes.

Filling: I like to pre cook my apples. Peel 3 large Apples. (I used Ginger Gold apples for this recipe. You can ask your favorite fruit stand at your local farmers market for tips on the best apples to purchase for baking.) Cut apples into a half-inch square dice. Heat a med-large pan on medium heat, add half a tablespoon of unsalted butter. Add diced apples to the pan, with 2 handfuls of frozen organic raspberries. Stir with a wooden spoon. Sprinkle over 1 tablespoon of cornflour, about 4 tablespoons of tap water, a quarter cup of sugar (raw or regular) and a big pinch of salt. Stir gently. Leave sit on lower heat till mixture is cooked through, has the consistency of at thick chunky apple sauce, and is a lovely red color. Taste. Add more sugar if desired.

Blind bake: Roll out the first pastry disk and line the pie tin, blind bake shell at 400 degrees till 90 percent done. Take out and set aside to cool.

Now the fun part: Roll out second pastry disk till 1/8th of an inch think. Using the heart cookie cutter, make hearts. (You’ll need about 60)

Fold in raspberry-apple cooked filling to baked pie shell, fill high to brim (that will help support the hearts) and smooth out. Line hearts starting from the outside and work your way in. Apply egg wash to hearts. Bake at 400 degrees till crust is golden brown and pie smells heavenly.

Enjoy with a loved one. 🙂 Oh! And if you Instagram your pie, please tag me so I can see! Thank you.  (@dimityjones)

“Bloody Mary” Ratatouille.

There are lots of very complicated recipes for this style of Ratatouille. The Thomas Keller one is excellent and if you can get your hands on that you won’t be disappointed, but I wanted to so a simpler version, that was easier and had a lot less steps and took a lot less time to make. The Bloody Mary spin is my own idea. It’s a tomato sauce base made from tomato juice, spiked with celery salt, horseradish and Worcestershire sauce. Feel free to doctor that up anyway you wish. (Or you can even mess around with a store-bought Bloody Mary Mix if you would like!) You’ll need a mandolin to make slicing these quick and easy, and a shallow pie tin covered with parchment. You’ll also need some tin foil to cover the ratatouille for baking. This recipe requires a lot of oven time, that’s why it’s best for end of Summer, early September, when temps have cooled but produce is at it’s peak. 

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You’ll need 2 large Green Zucchini, 2 long but firm Chinese Eggplants, 4 Roma Tomatoes. It’s really important that they are all similar in widths. Also purchase 1 Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper, (I liked the Orange best for color.) Using a mandolin slice all into coins thickness of about 1/8 or 1/16 inch. The bell pepper you can’t mandolin into coins so I just sliced it into strips. You’ll layer the strips when you assemble the dish.

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Place 2 cups of canned Tomato Juice (like Sacramento) into a saucepan, with 1 teaspoon of Celery Salt, 1 teaspoon of Worcestershire Sauce, 1 teaspoon of prepared Horseradish, 1 teaspoon of Hot Sauce, (if you like it hotter, kick it up a notch!) A big pinch of Salt, a few turns from a freshly ground Pepper Mill. Taste. Add more hot sauce or horseradish accordingly to your liking. It should taste a little bit salty and rich. (It has accommodate a lot of veg!) Bring liquid mixture to boil, reduce to simmer, and stir occasionally until mixture is reduced to at least half and quite thick. (20-30 mins, at least.)

Place tomato liquid in shallow pie container or ceramic pie dish. (I like to put a parchment sheet on top of my pie tin, but it’s not mandatory.) The tomato liquid will help the coins sit in the pattern neatly and easily. Arrange coins in a circular pattern, alternating between eggplant, zucchini, tomato and bell pepper until covered. This should take you about 7 minutes. Don’t stress. Just be deliberate and keep moving. The point is to keep them as upright as possible and don’t worry if they’re not perfect. You will have some leftover ‘coins’ so if you don’t use all of them up, don’t worry. Season lightly with Salt and Pepper. Cover tightly with tin foil and bake in a 275 degree oven for 2 hours. Then uncover and bake for an additional half hour or until brown and caramelized. Watch that it doesn’t burn. Sprinkle with fresh Basil before serving. (Optional.) Serves 6-8 as a side dish, or appetizer.

Notes:
-Leftover unbaked coins of eggplant, tomato, and zucchini can we reduced down in tomato juice at a later date and served as a side dish to grilled chicken or salmon. Or as a breakfast dish with poached eggs.
-Make sure you use firm, fresh, eggplant. Soft, withered or old eggplant will be hard to slice in the Mandolin.

To see a video on how to make this, check out my Instagram. Video by @tarasgroi 

Check out my Instagram feed here.

Easy American Berry Pie for July 4th

An easy pie prefect for July 4th: You basically cut, fill, crimp and bake.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees. To make it easy I used 2 rounds of already rolled out sheets of store-bought short crust dough. (Or you can use your own home-made short crust dough, note: Puff Pastry will not work for this). You’ll need a small punnet of Strawberries, diced in half and some into quarters. A small punnet of Blueberries. Keep both separate. Toss each separate bowl of berries with granulated sugar, (you should use as much as you want according to your taste, I used about 1-2 tablespoons) and little bit (I used a teaspoon) of cornstarch, and a pinch of salt, for each. Lay down one round of dough on a 9-inch pie dish. Using the second dough round, cut out stars using a cookie cutter. (See illustration.) Lay wedge of dough on top, stuffing blueberries underneath. Refrigerate for 10-20 minutes, so berries have a chance to ‘meld’ or stick to dough and won’t run or escape, giving you a neat edge to fill in the strawberries. Fill rest of pie with Strawberry mixture and place strips on top. Cut off and crimp edges of the pastry simply with a fork. Press demerera sugar into the pastry, bake at 350 degree oven for 30-50 mins till pastry is golden brown and fruit is bubbly and the room smells fragrant. Serve warm with cold Vanilla Ice-cream or Low-fat Gelato in a flavor of your choosing. Happy Independence Day!

Easy American Pie, with Raspberry and Cream Gelato from Talenti.

Photographs by Aaron Graubart 
Concept, Recipe and Illustration by Dimity Jones. 

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Recipe: Rhubarb & Orange ‘Chevron’ Galette

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RHUBARB & ORANGE ‘CHEVRON’ Galette
Recipe: Dimity Jones.
Click on link above for video by Tara Sgroi. Check out her fabulous work, here. 

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Preheat Oven to 400 degrees.

Rhubarb: Prepare the 1 lb (or 4-6 sticks) of Rhubarb. Try to purchase rhubarb of differing shades, which makes the pie pretty, but the pie will come together best if the stalks are of similar thickness. (Depending on the thickness of the stalks, you may need only 4 sticks, but I’ve also tried it with thinner stalks and I needed 6.)

To Prepare: Trim off stalk ends. Cut the stalks diagonally, keeping them all the same size, (about an inch and a half long, or shorter if you want a tighter ‘knitted’ look) then slice down the middle, giving you a flat surface on either side of the Rhubarb.

Place all the Rhubarb pieces in a bowl and add the zest (or 1 tablespoon), and the juice of (at least 4 tablespoons) of one Medium-large, very ripe Orange. Add to the bowl 1 quarter cup of granulated sugar and one tablespoon of all purpose flour. Toss to coat. Let the rhubarb sit in the bowl for at least 10 minutes, or until you are ready to start placing the pieces in a pattern.

Dough: Roll out pie dough on a lined baking sheet. I’m a fan of the tried and tested Pate Brisee shortcrust dough, from Martha Stewart, (which is a ratio of 2 and a half cups of flour to 2 sticks of butter, plus sugar, plus salt.) Click here to get the recipe. 

Spread dough with a layer of Orange-Apricot Marmalade (I love Sarabeth’s Kitchens brand, which is readily available. It is a sweeter version of Marmalade, which is what you want, as it pairs well with the naturally tart Rhubarb,) leaving about an inch and a half around the edges.

Mix and match Rhubarb ’tiles’ into a Chevron pattern, until Marmalade surface is completely covered. (Or any pattern you desire. Play around!) Mix up the tones of the rhubarb to get a pretty effect. Tuck stray marmalade pieces between the cracks.

Fold up the pastry edges, (cut off any overhanging rhubarb so pastry can fold over), and crimp slightly. Sprinkle and then press pastry edges with Demerera Sugar.

Place in 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and Rhubarb is soft to the touch. Let cool on a wire rack. Serves with vanilla ice-cream, cream or traditional custard. Serves 8, (at least.)

Notes: The leftover Orange Juice/zest liquid and any rhubarb can be heated down to make Rhubarb sauce to serve at another time with Oatmeal for breakfast or later with Ice-cream as a dessert.

Rhubarb & Orange “Chevron” Galette

I started cutting sticks of Rhubarb into neat, angled wedges to form a chevron pattern, then kept going, in fact, …I couldn’t stop until I completed the entire surface in about 7 minutes flat. What emerged was something that looked almost like knitting. Almost like I’d knitted a ‘rhubarb’ sweater… with a distinct “Chevron” pattern. The pastry recipe is from @MarthaStewart It’s her Pate Brisee. Which is always a great pastry to house a fruit pie. The galette was for my mother, who turned 77 on Monday. Happy Birthday Mum! x

Simple Raspberry Pudding with shredded Coconut and Pistachios.

Good morning! After shooing my Australian guests onto a train to DC, I sat down to a simple Raspberry Porridge with shredded Coconut and Pistachio. You don’t need to add any sugar to the stewed Raspberries, because you can add it in the way of sweetened toppings to suit… Honey, diced Apple, etc, so it’s basically 2 ingredients: Raspberries + Cream of Wheat, and then toppings.

Recipe was inspired by My Blue & White Kitchen’s recipe for Whipped Cranberry Porridge. It’s too early in the season for us to get Cranberries here, so I substituted frozen Raspberries.

Recipe: 1 and a half cups of water with 1 cup of frozen Raspberries boil for 10 min. (I did not add Sugar, but you could at this stage should you wish. I found my chosen toppings had enough Sugar, to balance the inherit tartness of the raspberries.) Whisk in 3 tablespoons of Farina (Cream of Wheat) and stir constantly over simmer till mixture thickens. Cool. (Alas, I did not ‘whip’ the porridge, per the original recipe because I did not have the time this morning, so mine is not as ‘pink’ as it possibly could be… I will try to do that next time) Add Milk, or your choice of Nut Milk, and any toppings you wish. I used shredded Sweetened Coconut, and Pistachios, but you could add Yogurt, diced Apples, Raisins, zested Orange, Walnuts, or other Dried Fruit, Honey, or Agave if you wish. It’s up to you! Serves 2-3.

 

 

Pan-Roasted Romesco with Sultanas, Tahini and Sumac.

Inspiration for what I cook at home, comes from many places. This recipe from the new Gjelina Restaurant Cookbook, based in Venice, California: Lemon-y Tahini and Garlic Dressing over Pan-Roasted Romesco Cauliflower, with sweet Sultanas and a huge sprinkling of Sumac. The recipe in the cookbook called for Golden Raisins but I didn’t have any so I used regular Sultana’s and it was perfectly fine. To pick up the Cookbook to get this, and other recipes. Click here.
(Photo: Dimity Jones)

Meals Interrupted. A photography project by Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca.

I met Husband-and-wife Davide Luciano (photographer) and Claudia Ficca (food stylist) at an industry drink night last month, after following both of them for quite some time on Instagram. What a great pair! So thrilled to finally put faces to their great images.

Both of them recently teamed up to create Meals Interrupted, a photography series of dining tables abruptly disrupted by various events, namely, a bee swarm, a devastating fire, a full-blown cafeteria food fight, a calculated mobster hit, and a heavy rainfall. Each shot vividly captures the disappointment and sense of abandonment that evidently accompanies a gathering that is suddenly and unexpectedly ended.

The scenes were shot in both NYC and Montréal, the artists’ hometown. Luciano did all the photography and Ficca handled the food styling. The couple wanted to tell a story through food while challenging themselves to deal with unusual conditions:  “The idea of working directly with bees was very daunting at first, but once we were in the apiary and the bees were buzzing all around us, it turned out to be very soothing,” says Ficca.

“When Davide told me I had to burn all the props, I was shocked. This would be a first for me. I had no idea it would be so liberating!” says NYC-based prop stylist Maeve Sheridan, who was a key player on this project.

To see more of Davide’s photography work, Click here. To see Claudia’s food styling portfolio, click here, and to see more prop styling work from Maeve, click here.

 

Ice-cream

New Work Out Now.

For Sweet Paul Magazine. A Collaboration with Linda Pugliese + Chelsea Zimmer.

 

 

4 Farmers Market Dinners, a snapshot. (France.)

Day 1: Brantôme. The goal is to visit a different farmers market in the Dordogne region of France, daily, and bring whatever I find back for dinner. No supplementing from supermarkets, I’ll eat only what I find at the open fresh farmers markets. So it’s Day 1 and I’m in Brantôme. I find dense White Asparagus from the Farmers Market nestled beneath the cathedral, as well as Cheeses, Butter, Saucisse, Rillets, fragrant Apples. Dinner is Asparagus steamed upright in a little salted water, then served with a soft poached egg. The Brantôme Farmers Market is situated in the heart of the old town. This sign reads Goats Milk, Roasted Chicken.My dear friend Lucie, who lives in Bourdeilles, comes for White Asparagus dinner. (No heat or hot water in the farmhouse but the gas stove works great!) I like the rustic-ness of making do with what I’ve found at the market. Nothing is pre-packaged or processed. It’s just plain, honest food.Day 2: Périgueux. I awake to freezing rain on the farmhouse roof. After Coffee and Marmalade on fried Baguette in fragrant Nut Oil, I head to Périgueux farmers market to find something to roast for dinner. I find a Chicken, some Potatoes. Then some fresh Strawberries, too. This picture is of a butcher in one of the indoor meat markets in Périgueux.Back in the garden the rain has stopped and all is tranquil, except for the rustle of a robin red breast. I’m having a simple dinner of roasted Chicken in Garlic, Herbs… The Potatoes roasting in the chicken-y drippings… till crispy, and golden.. Later, there is Strawberries, Camembert. Lucie joins me again for dinner, her dog, Nusu, sits calmly with us but eyeing the chicken the whole while. Day 3: Bourdeilles. Bourdeilles market is very small with only a handful of vendors. It’s my closest market so I’m able to ride there on my bicycle. An old man drives his truck right up, opens the side window and from it sells everything one could need. I purchased Honey, Wild Onions, a large bunch of Radishes, and some fragrant yellow Apples with blotched, leathery skin. Now it’s back up to the farmhouse to make dinner.Dinner is Radishes, sliced on Baguette, with French Butter and Sea Salt. Honey and Apples.Day 4: Leftovers Such a drab word for what is essentially a most unique and delicious dinner, but there is so much leftovers from the past 3 days that dinner on the 4th night has become a menagerie of past purchases. Plus a sturdy, old (the best kind!) Cookbook, to keep me company. Lucie and Nusu don’t make it over, and the night is quiet except for the plums falling softly from the trees that circle the farmhouse perimeter.

Can’t get enough of Grant Cornett.

Grant Cornett and I have collaborated on cookbooks and editorial shoots in the past, and it’s always great to work with him!

Here is some recent work I spied of his… These images appeared in The New Times Magazine, March 1st, 2015 in the Eat Column, by Francis Lam. The story was titled “More Than a Name. Learning to cook a Ghanaian Spinach Stew in the Bronx.” The pic above is of Ghanaian Spinach Stew with Sweet Plantains. Photos by Grant Cornett. Food stylist: Maggie Ruggiero. Prop Stylist: Theo Vamvounakis.

After a bitter-cold, snowy, season, every New Yorker I know is looking for Winter to come to an end, and soon! I was actually going to post this story on Saturday, but then it literally started snowing. Small, airy flakes started descending side-ways from the sky. So here, a story about the End of Winter. Hopefully this is our visual good luck charm for hustling Spring in, and sending old man Winter packing. Photographs by Christopher Testani. Styling by Carla Gonzalez-Hart. Shot on location in Montauk, NY.

Nose to Tail Eating

 Above: Chicharron, Radish, and Dandelion Green Salad paired with a Pinot Grigio  Above: Butter Beans with crushed Tomatoes and Roasted Pork Belly, Beef Bone Marrow with Sweet Cream Butter and Grilled Bread, and Roasted Pigs Head paired with a Beaujolais. Above: Fried smelt with a Garlic Aioli.

 

I ran into the very lovely and inspiring food writer Melissa Clark last night and she graciously reminded me that I had not posted a single thing in about a year, and where had the blog gone? The answer is this: I’ve had an absolutely insane travel schedule and a thumping great workload which have put me on hiatus from keeping my blog up to date this past year, and it’s true, it’s been neglected and I’m truly sorry. But New Years’ resolutions aside (does anyone make those anymore? And besides… Eek, it’s March, so forget that idea!) I’ve resolved to keep my site up to date with food imagery, tips and cool food ideas and great talent that inspires me, on a much more regular basis. Let’s toast to that!

In that vein, here is a recent shoot from Photographer Justin Walker. It’s inspired by Fergus Henderson’s restaurant: St John, in London. Chef Jay Wolman, who works at Marlow and Sons & Diner, here in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, created a memorable Winter Feast celebrating Nose-(or head!) to-tail eating, that involved crispy pig skin, beans and wonderful bone marrow. Inspired from Fergus’ 2013 book, which is not entirely a new concept, but certainly a reminder of the continued importance of eating the whole animal, and looking for ways to wrestle with the ugly bits, to ultimately not waste a single piece.

Enjoy!

Food: Chef Jay Wolman. Styling by Kaitlyn Du Ross. Photography: Justin Walker.

Follow them on Instagram:
Jay Wolman @the_white_bison
Justin Walker @behindthedawn
Kaitlyn Du Ross @babethebluebox

Justin Walker is a commercial and fine-art photographer based in Brooklyn, NY. He specializes in food, travel, and conceptual still-life photography. A native of Durango, Colorado, he grew up hunting, fishing, camping, snowboarding, and spending most of his waking hours outdoors. His childhood always involved a family adventure in the making; from commercial salmon and halibut fishing in Alaska to ranching in southwestern Colorado. The natural world is a foundation of inspiration in much of his work. He now splits his time in between Brooklyn, NY and the Catskill Mountains. With a background in graphic design, his photographic style encompasses a similar clean cut graphic aesthetic.

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Want to see my most recent work? I now have a separate section devoted to just this. Click Here. Or on the page tab at the top marked ‘Recent Work.’

A trip to Vedge, a Vegan Restaurant in Philadelphia.

Why would you seek out a Vegan restaurant during Winter, when you know that most of the peak produce available would be more plentiful in Summer?

Yet, here I was, on an speeding Acela train to Philly, meeting up with photographer Jason Varney to shoot a March Story for Cooking Light at Vedge restaurant, in December.

I didn’t have high hopes. As a person who prides herself on trying the medium-rare all-beef burger as my measure for how good a restaurant is, I was expecting to fake pleasure at a cold carrot or oooh phony praise at a curry flavored lentil. I really had no idea.

Photographer Jason Varney met me at the train station. He’s one of my favorite people to work with ever; not least because he is a master at capturing the beauty of natural light, but his foppish, red beard shrouds the endearing qualities of one of the kindest men I’ve ever known.

And how was the food? Vedge restaurant didn’t disappoint, from the first extra strong coffee poured for us kindly by Kate, the co-owner, to the final red-wine soaked mushroom, and you can see the results and get recipes to try at home, in the March Issue of Cooking Light magazine. (On newsstands now.)

Photos: Jason Varney
Art Direction/styling: Dimity Jones

To subscribe to Cooking Light, click here.

 

 

Memorial Day Cookout: Pork Butt. (And then some.)

Everyone’s got to have a plan for the butt… 

We created a cocktail: A Cucumber and Cardamon Gin Fizz. 

An 8lb Pork Butt with Bone In, roasted at 300 degrees for 7 hours. 

Asparagus ready to roast.

S’mores please. Graham Crackers, with a slab of chocolate and soft and sticky marshmallow, from the hot campfire. 

Campfire cookout; roasted potatoes, and Boston Baked Beans

Better than carving in the tree: A tree drawing. 

Leftover Roasted Pork. 

Boys; they like to climb trees.

The next day, lunch; Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Relish, BBQ Sauce, and Cheddar on Brioche Buns. 

PORK TO DIE FOR:
Memorial Day Weekend was spent on the Delaware River, upstate New York. I didn’t have a lot of time to figure out the menu, but inspired by a recent shoot I did for the upcoming issue of Cooking Light magazine, I grabbed a pork butt, (bone in) and started roasting… 3 hours at home on in my oven, and then I threw the pork butt, cooled, in a plastic bag and hauled it up the next day in a car with my son and some friends, to the house where we roasted the butt for another 4 hours. We built a fire, and when crackling and hot, roasted both Purple and Yellow potatoes, some fresh Asparagus and in another cast iron skillet some Boston Baked Beans. A perfect impromptu dinner paired with cool cucumber gin cocktails, sprinkled with powdered cardamon. And for dessert? S’mores and Mint and Chocolate chip Ice-cream. The next day we used the leftovers for pulled pork sandwiches with relish, BBQ sauce, and Cheddar on Brioche buns.

RECIPES:

PORK BUTT: Take an 8 lb Pork Butt. Combine 3 tablespoons of Dark Brown Sugar, 2 big glugs of Chinese style Chili and Garlic Sauce, 1 teaspoon of Mustard Powder, 2 teaspoons of Salt, a teaspoon of freshly ground Pepper. Stab the raw pork butt and stud with slivers of Fresh Garlic all over. (Cut the clove in half, then insert). Rub the sugar/chilli salt rub all over the top. Preheat oven to 410, add pork butt in a baking dish, then reduce heat to 300, for 7 hours. Use an internal themometer, and when the inside comes to 135, and the pork is juicy but tender, remove. The pork will be mild in terms of spiciness, and able to stand up to robust BBQ sauces. Good for kids.

STOVETOP BOSTON BAKED BEANS: Start one day in advance. Let 1 pound of dried Pinto Beans stand in water overnight. Drain beans, set aside. Cook one diced slab of Double Smoked Bacon (like Schaller Weber), about 10oz until crisp. Drain bacon leaving fat and in the fat, fry 1 medium Brown Onion, finely diced. Meanwhile in a separate bowl, combine 1 cup of ketchup, 1/3 cup of maple syrup, 1/3 cup of Apple Cider Vinegar, 1/4 cup Dry Mustard, 2 tablespoons of Molasses or Treacle, 2 Bay Leaves, 1 and 1/2 tablespoons of finely chopped Garlic, 1 teaspoon of Salt, 1 teaspoon of ground Pepper. Pour the softened beans, the cooked onions and crispy bacon mixture into dutch oven or heavy based saucepan on the stove top. Pour over the ketchup sauce mixture, and then add 4 cups of Chicken Stock. Bring to boil, reduce to simmer, as it becomes evaporated add slowly another 4 cups of Water, or enough water until the beans are tender and the liquid has thickened, and reduced. About 4 hours. (You can make this ahead and just heat the beans before serving.)

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Pics: Dimity Jones.

 

 

 

Charred Ramps + Asparagus with Baked Eggs + Cream

What happens when a food stylist and a food photographer get together for breakfast? They decide to shoot what their cooking! Photographer Linda Pugliese and Food Stylist Chelsea Zimmer got together to cook up a breakfast and decided to shoot their Charred Scallion + Asparagus breakfast dish complete with Eggs and Cream. Spring-like and oh-so yummy. A great idea for what to do with Ramps that are currently right in season.Thankfully they shared their shots and recipe with me. Thank you!

Charred Ramps + Asparagus with Baked Eggs + Cream.

1 T butter, divided

4 ramps, cleaned, trimmed + chopped

1 T olive oil

1/2 bunch asparagus, ends snapped

1/2 bunch green garlic, washed + trimmed

6 farm fresh eggs

2 T heavy cream
salt + pepper

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. Heat a knob of butter in a 10 inch cast iron skillet on medium heat. Add ramps, a good pinch of salt + pepper and cook for 1-2 minutes until soft. Set aside.

3. Turn heat to high. Coat asparagus and green garlic with olive oil. When pan is smoking, in batches, toss asparagus and green garlic until just render and charred; 1-2 minutes.

4. Throw a knob of butter in the skillet, all the pre-cooked veg and make 6 nests within the vegetables. Carefully crack the eggs into the nests, season with salt and pepper and finish with a drizzle of heavy cream.

5. Cover the skillet tightly with tin foil and bake for 12-14 minutes, just until the egg whites have set and the yokes are still soft. Start checking after 10 minutes.

6. Cut carefully with a sharp knife and serve immediately with buttered crusty bread.

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PHOTOGRAPHER: LINDA PUGLIESE, Click here to see her work. 

FOOD STYLIST CHELSEA ZIMMER, Click here to see her work. 

Yellow Squash Soup with Cured Strawberries

This time last year, in early Spring, photographer Grant Cornett and myself, and his artist girlfriend Janine Iversen, were in Kentucky to work on Edward Lee‘s first cookbook, “Smoke & Pickles. Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen.”

 

The budget was tight, there was no money for props, let alone a prop stylist, so for surfaces we ripped down an old wooden fence, flipped over the bottom side of the backyard BBQ grill, stole the perfect blackened lid off a large soy sauce barrel (thanks Matt Jamie!), used the under side of a few stained cookie sheet pans, and propped up an old bourbon box as a backdrop. For plates, cups and cutlery, Edward literally went door-to-door and stole dinnerware items from his kindly friends. (Thank you good ladies of Louisville!)

 

The adventure began and it was incredible. We visited Edward’s pig supplier; a wonderful couple at Red Dirt Farm in Kentucky, we visited a Bourbon Distillery, a garden in outer Louisville, bars, restaurants, including Fried Bologna sandwiches at Wagners. (See my link here.) the city club, and of course his wine studio where we shot 22 shots a day. It was hard work but fun and when we needed a break we would go out the back door, and lay in the garden and stare at the Fedex planes flying, in 10 minute intervals, over our heads, to places far beyond.

 

The food was put together by Edward, and his team; Nick Sullivan and Kevin Ashworth at restaurant 610 Magnolia who also made our daily lunches. (See what we ate here.) 

 

Edward Lee is one of those rare gems; a chef, a cook, a writer, and a true creative. He has an incredible work ethic, and he’s the real deal. I’m so proud to call Ed a friend. We met about 13 years ago when I was hanging out at his restaurant “Clay” on Mott Street, New York. It was a pleasure to work on his book, and I thank him for allowing me to be part of it.

 

To purchase it, go ahead and click here.

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SUMMER SQUASH SOUP AND CURED STRAWBERRIES

As summer is right around the corner this soup is delicious. I love this pic because it was one of the first shots we did, and it was the surface I loved the best, (the ripped down wooden fence). From Edward: This is s refreshing soup that tastes like Summer in a bowl. The curing process here both intensifies the flavor of the strawberries and cuts the tartness. It gives the berries an almost meaty texture. Pair this with a classic French Sancerre. Serves 8. Recipe © Edward Lee, Smoke & Pickles, Recipes and Stories from a New Southern Kitchen. 

 

Soup:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 pounds yellow squash, coarsely chopped

1 1/2 teaspoons of fresh thyme leaves
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly cracked black pepper

Strawberries:
1 lb fresh strawberries, washed and hulled
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar

 

1) To make the soup: Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 2 minutes. Add the yellow squash and thyme and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the vegetable stock and bring to the boil. Simmer for 10 minutes, or until the squash is soft all the way through. Take off the heat and let cool fro a few minutes.

2) Transfer the soup to a blender, add the sour cream and salt, and puree on high unitl very smooth, about 2 minutes. Check the consistency; if the soup is a little gritty, strain it through a fine mesh sieve. Chill in the refiigerator for at least 2 hours, or as long as overnight.

3) About 1 hour before serving, make the strawberries. Slice the strawberries into 1/2 inch slices and place them in a glass bowl. Sprinkle the salt and sugar over the strawberries and gently toss them with your fingers—making sure not to crush them. Let them cure for about an hour at room temperature; no longer; or they will get too soft.

4) To serve, ladle the chilled soup into bowls. Top each one with a few cured strawberries. Crack some fresh black pepper over the top and serve immediately.

 

Note: Try the cured strawberries on your next cheese plate, or as an accompaniment to a cured meat platter. Cure only what you need at the time, since they do not hold for very long.

 

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To get the Smoke & Pickles Cookbook by Edward Lee, click here.

Photograph by Grant Cornett

(Art Direction: Dimity Jones)

Hot Southern Buttermilk Biscuits

I got up this morning and made 2 dozen Buttermilk Biscuits. It had been weighing on my mind all night. They’re actually for a friends’ birthday party, a foodie-friend, actually the ex Creative Director of Martha Stewart (no pressure!) and while it was the first thing I thought about this morning when I woke, I literally got up, as in a trance, made coffee, and then grabbed a big bowl and started making, and they were done in 30 minutes. Sometimes its better not to think too hard about things and just do it! Begin the motions and before you know it, it’s done. 10 minutes to make them, 20 for baking time and within minutes the house was fragrant with the smell of fresh baked biscuits and I realized it wasn’t even 10 am and the task that was on my mind most of the night was completed. I used a special buttermilk this time and I think it made a huge difference. This recipe is from Alton Brown so it’s foolproof, and easy, and Oh-so-good… I highly recommend getting up tomorrow morning and making everyone a batch of these…. Hot Southern Buttermilk Biscuits, pile them high with lots of Unsalted Butter and Strawberry Jam, or Orange Marmalade which is my favorite… Heaven!

Have a great weekend everyone! x

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HOT BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
Recipe from Alton Brown
The recipe makes 1 dozen, I doubled this to make my 2 dozen.

2 cups of flour (I used all purpose)
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
3/4 teaspoon of salt (I used kosher salt)
2 tablespoons of butter (I used Organic Unsalted)
2 tablespoons of shortening (I used Organic All Vegetable Shortening)
1 cup of Buttermilk (I used Amish Country Buttermilk with live probiotic cultures from Eco Meal)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees

In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt. Using your fingertips rub the butter and shortening until the mixture looks like thick crumbs. Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky. Turn dough onto floured surface, and gently fold dough onto itself a couple of times. Press out to 1 inch think round, cut out biscuits with a 2 inch cutter, be sure to push straight down through the dough. Place biscuits on a parchment lined baking sheet. Reform scrap dough working as little as possible and continue cutting. (Note from Alton: biscuits from the second roll out will not be quite as light from the first but hey, that’s life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top. 15-20 minutes.

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Pics: Dimity Jones