Zach and Dani's Creamed Corn

I made this dish a few years ago and I thought it turned out pretty good. Although I've done a lot of cooking for Zach and Dani, this is the dish that made the biggest impression; every time I see them, they ask me about it. I had thought the recipe came from Gourmet (I must have made something else from Gourmet for that meal), so I searched through all of my old issues and then searched on Epicurious, but to no avail. But last week, Safeway had Brentwood corn at six for a dollar, and of course I had to get a half dozen ears. Trying to figure out what to do with them led me to look in Cook's Illustrated's New Best Recipes and there I found the long-lost recipe. I made it again, and it was as good as we remembered. I can't wait to make it again for Zack and Danielle!

(serves 6 to 8)

Ingredients

5 medium ears fresh corn, husks and silk removed

2 Tbs. unsalted butter

1 medium shallot, minced

1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through a garlic press

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves

pinch cayenne pepper (or chipotle chile powder)

Instructions

Cut the kernels from three ears of corn and transfer them to a medium bowl. Firmly scrape the cobs with the back of a knife to collect the pulp and milk in the same bowl. Grate the remaining two ears of corn on the coarse side of a box grater set in the bowl with the cut kernels. Firmly scrape these cobs with the back of a knife to collect the pulp and milk in the same bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium saucepan or large (12") saute pan over medium-high heat. When the foaming subsides, add the shallot and cook until softened but not browned, 1 to 2 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Stir in the corn kernels and pulp as well as the cream, thyme, cayenne, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/8 tsp. pepper. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook, adjusting the heat as necessary and stirring occasionally, until the corn is tender and the mixture has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste, and serve immediately.

Cherry Clafoutis

A clafoutis is a French baked custard, traditionally made with unpitted cherries. The pits give the custard a faintly almond flavor. I recently made two versions with apricots, one very good, one only so-so. This time, I went with the traditional cherries, since we picked up some wonderful, juicy Bing cherries at the market, and I pretty much followed the Tartine recipe. I added the almond extract and Amaretto because I think almond works great with cherry, and also to compensate for the almond flavor that the cherry pits ostensibly would have contributed.

Ingredients
1 cup low fat milk
1 cup heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 vanilla bean
pinch salt

1/2 tsp. almond extract

3 large eggs
1/3 cup + 1 Tbs. all purpose flour
4 cups pitted cherries (looks like the Oxo pitter is better)
3 Tbsp. Amaretto liquor (optional)
powdered (confectioners') sugar for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 deg. F. Butter a 10" or 11" ceramic quiche mold or pie dish.

Macerate the cherries by mixing them with the Amaretto in a bowl.

Cut the 1/2 vanilla bean in half lengthwise to expose the seeds. In a small saucepan, combine the milk, cream, sugar, vanilla bean, and salt. Place over medium heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar, to just under a boil. While the milk mixture is heating, break 1 egg into a heatproof mixing bowl, and add the flour, whisking until the mixture is combined. Add the remaining 2 eggs one at a time and whisk until smooth and free of lumps.

Remove the saucepan from the heat. Scrape the seeds out of the vanilla bean pieces back into the milk mixture. Using a fine strainer, strain the milk mixture into a heatproof bowl or 4-cup measuring cup. Slowly pour the hot milk mixture into the egg mixture while whisking constantly. Mix in the almond extract. Pour the mixture into the prepared mold and add the fruit, making sure that the fruit is evenly distributed.

Bake until just set in the center and slightly puffed and browned around the outside, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool on rack. Dust with confectioners' sugar and serve warm or at room temperature.

Apricot Sauce

Once again, Emily and I set out around July 4 to harvest apricots from abandoned fruit trees growing nearby. Remember, Silicon Valley used to be called "The Land of Hearts Delight." Each year, we pick a large supply and make pies, scones, and especially our famous apricot sauce. The fruit is intensely flavored since the trees are old, dry-farmed, and totally organic. Some of the fruit isn't in perfect condition, but it's ripe and super sweet as we pick at the height of ripeness (which lasts for about a week!). I don't recommend doubling this recipe; we just make multiple batches.

(loosely derived from The Encyclopedia of Homemade Preserves, by Myra Street)

5 cups halved and pitted fresh apricots (about 2 lbs.)

1 cup water

3 Tbsp. lemon juice (zest optional)

4 cups sugar

Crack about half of the apricot pits with a nut cracker and reserve the kernels. Put these in boiling water and blanch for 2-3 minutes. Wrap in a cheesecloth square and tie like a bag.

Place the halved apricots in a large, non-reactive (e.g. SS) stockpot with the water, lemon juice, optional zest, and kernels. Cover the pan and stew the fruit gently over low heat until tender. Remove the bag of kernels. Use an immersion blender to create a slightly chunky puree.

Add the sugar and stir over low heat until the sugar is completely dissolved. Bring to a boil and keep on a rolling boil for about 10 minutes until thickened and sauce reaches about 215 deg. F. Pour into 1/2 pint or pint jars, seal, preserve by placing in boiling water bath for 10 minutes, and then cool and label.

(makes about 4 pints)

Spanish Tortilla

I regularly read and cook from Cook's Illustrated, but it's rare for an issue to contain a recipe that I was just looking for. But that's exactly what occurred with the current issue (#99) -- we were just talking about tortilla española and low and behold a recipe for it shows up. Of course I also studied the recipes in Anya von Bremzen's incredible book The New Spanish Table (thanks, Laurie!). Somewhat surprisingly, the recipes were similar, both suggesting Yukon Gold potatoes and similar technique. CI's basic recipe uses roasted red peppers and peas which isn't particularly authentic and I didn't have peppers handy, but I got inspired by their chorizo and scallions version; instead I added 4 finely sliced scallions and 1/4 tsp. chipotle chile (a bit more next time!) to the egg mixture. I cooked the potatoes in a 10-inch non-stick skillet as they recommended; however, it was clear that more volume would be necessary to avoid making a mess once the egg was added, so I switched to a 12-inch skillet. The only issue with this was that the tortilla was then exactly the diameter of my dinner plate, so flipping was a bit challenging, but worked just fine.

Hummus

I found this recipe for my favorite hummus in the Fall 2004 issue of Savor Wine Country that I picked up somewhere in my travels. The recipe comes from Chris Hanna of Hanna Winery who hails from Syria. Since her website doesn't include this recipe, I've included it here, with my variations:

Ingredients

1 16-ounce can garbanzo beans (Trader Joe's organic)

1/4 cup liquid from garbanzo bean can

Juice of one lemon (see Notes)

Salt and pepper to taste

2 Tbs. tahini

1 garlic clove, crushed (if 1 is good, isn't 2 better?)

1/2 tsp. ground cumin

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper (I use chipotle chili powder)

1/4 cup olive oil (I end up using 1/2 to 3/4 cup)

1/4 tsp. paprika (optional)

Instructions

Drain garbanzo beans (and rinse) and place in a food processor. Add the lemon juice, salt and pepper, tahini, garlic, cumin, and cayenne. (I give it a quick spin to combine and start the chopping of the garlic and beans.)

Turn the food processor on and add olive oil in a thin stream. Taste for seasoning adjustments.

Serve with a drizzle of olive oil on top and a sprinkle of paprika for color.

Notes:

I didn't have a lemon this time, so used 1/4 cup of Italian Volcano organic lemon juice that I think I got from Costco. When I have an actual lemon, I throw the lemon zest in, too.

Scone Bake Off

The homies have been enthusiastic about Tartine's currant scones. But there's a new kid on the block: America's Test Kitchen has been gushing about an incredible blueberry scone recipe. I had to try it. I like the idea of using frozen, grated butter and folding the dough like you would for croissants or puff pastry. I didn't have fresh blueberries on hand, so resorted to frozen, wild blues. Unfortunately, mine had become ice-encrusted in the freezer, so I had to defrost, clean, and then re-freeze them, which was a pain. I was concerned that the blueberries would just seep out the sides, but they didn't. They came out beautiful, smelled great, and tasted very good. Moist and cakey, like a great blueberry muffin. But not quite what I want in a scone, so it's back to Tartine for me.

Mother's Day Brunch

Diane wanted poached eggs over hash browns. Emily wanted blintzes. I began with those ideas, but went for the variations. I have never poached eggs before, so started with some investigation. First, I found a set of general instructions with several options. I enjoyed Jenny Slafkotsky's video of traditional poaching, but b3ta's detailed experimental approach convinced me that I had to try the "saran wrap" approach.

In keeping with the poaching theme, I decided to thinly slice four medium red potatoes and one spring onion and poach them in a cup of cream. I cooked them a bit, then set out for the farmers' market where I picked up parsley, very fresh organic eggs, flowers (of course), and strawberries.

I use Emily Luchetti's blintz recipe, but my mascarpone cheese had spoiled, so Blintzes were out. However, the farmer's market had a guy selling crepes, and I know that Emily would be fine with them, so I made a half-recipe of the Google crepe batter and let that sit while I made the eggs.

Google Crepe Batter

1 1/4 cup milk

pinch salt

1 1/2 tsp. sugar

1 cup flour

1 tbs. melted butter

Whisk together first four ingedients, add the butter and whisk until combined. Strain if lumpy, but if you do a good job whisking you shouldn't need to. Let sit for 20-60 minutes.

I then turned back to the eggs. I first set two saucepans to simmer with about 3-inches of water. I then took a small bowl, pressed in a piece of cling film and carefully cracked an egg into the bowl, raised up the corners of the film, squeezed out most of the air, twisted the film, and secured it with a rubber band. Repeat eight time. I put the egg bags into the refrigerator on a plate to cool.

Then got out the truffle oil and finely chopped some parsley. Added salt and white pepper to the potato mixture and started it reheating. When the water reached 170-180 degrees, I set the flame low and placed four egg bags in each pot of water and covered the pots. After 2.5 minutes, the eggs seemed too watery, so I gave them an extra 30 seconds before removing with slotted spoon.

For plating, I stirred up the potato mixture, spooned a bunch onto a plate, sprinkled with grated asiago cheese and parsley, drizzled with truffle oil, and then cut the top off two egg bags and placed the poached eggs on top. (Since the eggs showed creases from the cling wrap, they looked better with the bottom, smooth side up.) I put out more salt and white pepper on the table and served them. Other than that they could have been slightly more watery, they were deemed by Diane, Emily, and Grandpa Herb to be perfect. Next time I might try other herbs as well; the fresh thyme and tarragon growing outside would also work well. Served with toast made with the best bread in the world, from Tartine.

After we cleared the plates, Emily sliced the strawberries while I heated our small nonstick saute pan, added a smidge of butter and made the crepes. After I flipped them over, I added a spoonful of Nutella and some strawberry bits, folded the sides in, and voila! A dusting of confectioner's sugar would have been a nice finisher, and maybe a sprig of mint. Yums all around.