Passing round blueberry pie

I have been meaning to share my Aunt Jean's blueberry pie recipe for a while now and I think its fitting to begin re-posting with this dish.

It always feels presumptuous to share other people's recipes.  I suppose in part because it doesn't feel like its mine to give.  Even more, though, I think its because I have relationships with these dishes and the people with whom I've shared them.

This pie recipe is a gem, as my grandmother would have said.  It has rescued the grumbling bellies of many an all-night game session, become the dessert for surprise guests, and served as a backup for a botched potluck dish that got a little too creative.  Its a quick prep pat in crust that you can use with almost any berry combinations.  I often keep frozen berries around and, therefore, can always whip this up if necessary at a moments notice.

Crust:

2 C flour

1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
2/3 C oil (something with mild flavor is best)
3 Tbsp milk

Pie Filling:
4 C fresh blueberries (or 2 pkgs. frozen)
1 C sugar
1/4 C flour
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg
2 Tbsp butter

Mix ingredients for crust.  

Pat all but 1 cup into the bottom and sides of a 9-10" pie pan to form an even crust.  

Mix berries and dry ingredients for filling.  

Pour into crust.  Dot with butter. 

Sprinkle the reserved 1 cup of crust over the top and sprinkle with sugar.
Bake at 400 for 40-50 minutes until it bubbles in the middle.
Allow to cool and serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Pork & Sprouts

Above and below are pictures of a recent meal Ken made for a good college friend of mine. The entire meal was just fantastic. The top image is of a squash blossom salad with baby greens and roasted eggplant, zucchini, and pine nuts. It was a refreshing and flavorful start to our meal. I certainly wasn't the only one to consider how improper licking the plate might be.

Above is an image of the walnut encrusted pork with a brussel sprout and corn compote. The pork was moist, nutty, rich, and yet somehow still light. The gravy was mouthwatering. As always Ken's brussel sprouts were fantastic. This was the first time he had included the corn and made more of a medley. It was a great variation of the dish and very tasty.

For dessert, we went to a local custard shop in Champaign called Jarling's a Custard Cup. The custard is rich, creamy, and made fresh on site. We only live a few blocks from the place and are often tempted on summer nights to take late night jaunts over to enjoy some custard with the flocks of ever-present customers. Jarling's frequently wins awards and excellent reviews from all kinds of folks-- I highly recommend stopping by if you're ever in Champaign, IL.

Elk Steaks

I only have a second, but wanted to put up some pictures of a dinner we had with a few friends a month or two ago. The main course featured elk steaks from a local Illinois farm. This elk meat was extremely tender and had a subtle nutty flavor. We've been making an effort to buy local produce and meat so this elk is an excellent option. Elk also requires substantially fewer resources to raise than something like beef-- so that's good too!

Mixed greens with homemade caesar dressing & croutons (infinitely better than store bought)













Elk Steaks with leeks, roasted vegetables, and a savory puff














Chocolate covered cream puffs and after dinner games











As always, please feel to email or comment with recipe requests etc.

Creme Brulee

When my father spent a few days visiting, we discovered that he LOVES crème brulee. It turns out that the dish is not very difficult to make, so Ken gave us a couple cooking lessons. It was certainly a chore to make and eat those delicious delicate desserts, but we all make sacrifices for family. I believe that my dad recently tried the recipe on his own. Maybe he will post a comment to let us know how it went.

Ingredients:
1 qt. heavy cream
6 egg yolks
1 C sugar
1 vanilla bean, split (scrape out the bean if you don't want a speckled brulee)


Heat the cream and vanilla bean over-medium high heat and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and allow to cool. Remove vanilla bean.

In a non-reactive bowl, whisk 1/2 C sugar with the egg yolks until creamy and the egg yolks start to lighten in color.

Slowly pour a little of the cooled cream into the egg mixture while stirring. Continue until the cream and eggs are well mixed.


Pour the liquid evenly into small dishes (ramekins) and place them in a baking pan. Fill the baking pan with enough water to come up about half way around the dishes.

Bake the crème brulee at 325 degrees until the brulee is set but still trembles when agitated (about 45 minutes). Then, cool the brulee in the refrigerator for several hours.


Dust the brulee with a thin layer of sugar and then use a blow torch to caramelize the sugar and form a crispy top layer.




Enjoy!

One Last Dinner in Chicago

On one of our last nights before we packed everything away into boxes, we had a quiet dinner with two of our dear friends. In many ways, it was like so many dinners we'd had before in that apartment. The company was lovely, the food was amazing, the wine flowed freely, and the tiny kitchen was sweltering and nearly uninhabitable. I will miss Chicago and my friends, but Ken and I are both glad to be living in a house with central air and a usable kitchen.

Below are pictures of our meal. Unfortunately, I do not recall the wines we paired with each dish (although I do remember that our friends brought over a lovely red). Below, I've written the names of the dishes and a few of my impressions of the food.



Mixed greens,
fig compote with prosciutto, and blue cheese.



This dish was quite remarkable. I would never have thought to add warm figs to a salad, but the gently sweet, soft, warm tones and textures of the figs contrasted well with the prosciutto, lettuce, and blue cheese. This may be my new favorite salad.

Ruby Red Trout Fillet poached in lemon juice, shallot, and butter with a chive buerre blanc.
Served with sauteed baby leeks and chive mashed potatoes in a potato cup.

The trout was perfectly done and the sauce was really delicious. It was a lovely light meal for a hot day. The leeks were also flavorful, very well cooked and went well with the sauce. I think the only complaints about the plate were 1) the potatoes could have been a bit more creamy and 2) the sauce, while extremely tasty, might have been more visually striking if it were of a slightly different color.


Bananas Foster












The bananas foster were good but not particularly surprising. We remembered, belatedly, that one of our guests detests bananas. Nevertheless, she managed to choke down most of the desert- saying she had never enjoyed a banana more. Of course, I don't know if that says more about Ken's bananas foster or our friend's politeness. In any case, for most of us the heavy creamy desert was quite appealing after such a light meal, but the ice cream melted very quickly. With that heat, it took only moments for the hot bananas and cool ice cream to turn into a luke-warm soup. Oh well. Everybody loves soup.

A Feast for the Fourth

On the fourth of July, Ken and his father (pictured left) made a six course birthday feast to celebrate both Ken's mother's birthday and my birthday on the 5th. They spent a lot of time planning the meal and each had their own ideas reflected in the final menu. It was a magnificent meal and a tasty treat for all of us. We spent over 4 hours savoring the food, wine, and lovely company. At the end of the meal, Ken's mother announced she had never had a better birthday and I think I might have to agree.

Below I have listed the menu and paired wines next to photographs. I will try to post about the specific dishes and how they were prepared very soon.

Moules Meuniere
served with a 2004 Quincy
(Sauvignoun Blanc)












Salad of field greens, red pepper, radish, and crispy fried pumpkinblossoms with a walnut oil, balsamic reduction vinaigrette












Seared sea scallops with sauteed green beans and shiitake mushrooms with a port shallot sauce
Served with a 2003 Auxey-Duresses (Chardonnay)












Black pepper and mustard rubbed Filet Mignon served with broccoli and roasted potatoes and a mushroom shallot sauce.
Served with a 2003 Columbia Crest Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon











Three layer red white and blue cheesecake with almond sponge cake, mascarpone cheese mousse, morello cherries, blueberries, raspberries, and chantilly cream icing

Beginnings: A Farewell Dinner

I have been meaning for some time to begin posting pictures of Ken's food, some recipes, and descriptions of our cooking endeavours. Up until this point, I have been quite successful at avoiding actually carrying out this plan, but now, as I have a pretty long list of other things to do, I guess its time to begin.

As these things go, it seems somehow fitting that a beginning should start with a farewell. Below are photos of a lovely 5 course meal that Ken made this Wednseday as a farewell dinner for a good friend of his who is moving away from Chicago. I intend to post pictures of the prep (with recipes?) very soon. Apparently, my todo list just got longer. I hope you enjoy the pictures.


Moules Meuniere
(mussels poached in wine and shallot broth)
Served with 2005 Séguinot-Bordet Chablis













Berry Salad
(field greens, strawberries, raspberries, candied walnuts and Cabrales blue cheese with a raspberry mustard vinaigrette)













Seared Poppy and Sesame encrusted Tuna Loin
(with sauteed shitake & green beans, and a ginger shallot, soy-reduction and beef demi-glace sauce.)
Served with 2005 Michael Sarrazin, Bourgogne Rouge (Pinot Noir Les Vielles Vignes)













Followed by a 2005 Vega del Rio, Rioja from Calificada













French Silk Pie










Strawberry, Blueberry and Lemon Gillato
Served with 2005 St Christopher, Piesporter Goldtropfchen Riesling - Spatlese