Mmmmmmm, fresh melon and prosciutto.  A cure for a hot day.

One of the highlights of my summer adventures was a trip to Wisconsin. I was getting to see two friends I hadn’t seen in years, which was wonderful. But almost as good was the news that we were going… Read the rest of this post

One of the highlights of my summer adventures was a trip to Wisconsin. I was getting to see two friends I hadn’t seen in years, which was wonderful. But almost as good was the news that we were going to spend my first day at the Wisconsin State Fair.

I’d been to county fairs before, but Rachel’s tales of the wonders of Wisconsin had stuck with me from my college days, and I was ready to experience all the wonders that 4H had to offer. But the main goal? As much food on a stick as possible.

The above, a PB&J on a stick, was one of my favorites. Kind of like a fried and jelly doughnut, it was warm and gooey and perfectly decadent. Wash that down with a microbrew Wisconsin beer, and I was ready for the rest of the fair.

Continue after the break to see more tasty treats (including another sandwich on a stick!)

On the “new food at the fair” list was chocolate covered bacon on a stick.  It was tasted…and quickly abandoned.  Yuck.

And of course we couldn’t move on without some fried cheese!

Where else should we get it from?

I was quickly informed that the real specialty of the Wisconsin State Fair are the creampuffs.  A whole building is devoted to them, and the assembly-line process….whoo.  I’ve never seen so much whipped cream in my life.

But the all-time most wonderfully weird item?  A Ruben On a Stick.  I know, I know, I wish I had a good shot of it – but it pretty much looked like a corndog.  The chunks of corned beef were inside, wrapped in sauerkraut, and then dipped in a rye pancake-y batter and fried.  I think I may spend some time trying to recreate this one…we’ll see how it goes.

So that was my trip to Wisconsin?  Where did you go on summer vacation?

I don’t feel like I have much of a relationship with Julia Child.  I am too young to have seen most of her shows, and I’ve not even cracked the cover of “The Art of French Cooking”, though my… Read the rest of this post

I don’t feel like I have much of a relationship with Julia Child.  I am too young to have seen most of her shows, and I’ve not even cracked the cover of “The Art of French Cooking”, though my mom’s copy sits on my shelf.  With all of the talk of her the last year with the new film and her upcoming birthday, I’ve honestly felt a little left out.

But I spent some time last night at the Smithsonian Museum’s exhibit of her kitchen.  Her actual kitchen, filled with all her knives and pots and pans.  Monitors play clips of her history of programs, and from every wall her grinning countenance and sage advice speaks down at you.  And my grin started to match hers.

I realized that even though I’ve not worked my way through her cookbooks, I still know Julia.  We’re pals.  It is because of what she did that I can do what I do – approach food from my own kitchen, experiment, write, and explore, and feel comfortable doing it.  Because the grand dame Julia Child drops omelets too.

The event was a dedication ceremony for the new film Julie & Julia – Nora Ephron was on hand to give the museum a costume, several storyboards, and a copy of the script.  As star-struck as I was by her presence (and getting to shake her hand!  I haven’t washed it yet…), I was even more enamored by the other new addition to the collection – Julia’s copper pots and pans, given to the museum after their removal from the now closed COPIA center in California.

There’s been a lot of back and forth about the new movie – they love it, they hate it, they’re indifferent.  But whatever this one portrayal might mean, there is no doubting the power and personality of this woman, who would have been a giant even if she weren’t over 6 feet tall.  It will be worth seeing for any homage to that.

I’m going to a screening next wednesday – I’ll report back then!

PS – In case you’ve been to the exhibit and ever wondered why the clock on the wall reads 12:40 – I got to ask one of the curators, part of “Team Julia”, the 4 people who run the exhibit.  Apparently that was the time when the first piece of the kitchen was dismantled and boxed up to be sent to the museum.  So the kitchen is forever frozen in that moment.

My trip to Israel was incredible, filled with wonderful people and thrilling experiences.  I climbed mountains, crawled through tunnels, floated in the Dead Sea, sang, laughed, and cried.  Food wasn’t really a central focus, ususally eaten in cafeterias or hotel… Read the rest of this post

stuffed pita with cheese and za'atar

My trip to Israel was incredible, filled with wonderful people and thrilling experiences.  I climbed mountains, crawled through tunnels, floated in the Dead Sea, sang, laughed, and cried.  Food wasn’t really a central focus, ususally eaten in cafeterias or hotel dining rooms on our way out to the next activity.  But now that I’m back home, I realizing how much even those simple meals affected my experiences – the piles of different salads, fresh pitas, and gobs and gobs of hummus.   And beyond those, the vibrant sights and smells of the suk in Jerusalem, the juice stalls on every corner, and even our home cooked Shabbat meals were a part of the fabric of the adventure.

I took nowhere near enough pictures to capture everything, but wanted to share a few of my favorite foodie shots.  The next goal – to make pita as tasty as the ones that came fresh off the stone in Akko, a falafel as light and crispy as the ones in Tzfat, and really really really good hummus.

Read on for more photos….

spices in the jerusalem suk

snack mixes with coconut, almonds, and cinnamon

pita oven in akko

my first challah

knafe - sweetened goat cheese with pastry topping - from the Akko suk

bread from the old city of Jaffa

Aww, sad – the last edition of our gourmet Let Us Eat Bread challenge!  I wanted to save this one for last – I loved both it’s elegant shape and unusual combination of pumpkin and orange.

Like the buttermilk… Read the rest of this post

Aww, sad – the last edition of our gourmet Let Us Eat Bread challenge!  I wanted to save this one for last – I loved both it’s elegant shape and unusual combination of pumpkin and orange.

Like the buttermilk fantails, these look more complicated than they are – just three small balls of dough left to rise in a muffin tin gives them their perfect shape.

In another iteration, I might add in a little brown sugar and melted butter, roll the dough balls in them before baking to add a touch of sweetness.

Give them a try – I’m betting they’ll be even better for breakfast tomorrow!

Pumpkin Pinwheel Rolls
From Gourmet, February 2009
Makes 1 dozen rolls

active time: 40 min  total time: 4 3/4 hr (includes rising)

equipment: 12 cup muffin pan

ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-ounce package)
1/4 cup warm milk (105–115°F)
1 tablespoon sugar2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin
2 large eggs, (one whole, one separated)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon water

how to:

1. Stir together yeast, warm milk, and sugar in a measuring cup and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

2. Mix flour, salt, pumpkin, 1 whole egg, 1 egg yolk (save the white for later), orange zest and juice, and butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

3. Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

4. Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve. Roll half of dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured hands into a 12-inch-long log (keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap).

5. Cut log into 6 equal pieces, then cut each piece into thirds. Roll each piece into a 1-inch ball, and tuck sides under to smooth out the surface. Put 3 balls side by side in each of 6 muffin cups. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Cover rolls with a smooth kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough is about 1 inch above rim of muffin cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

6. Preheat oven to 375F with rack in middle. Whisk the remaining egg white with a little water and brush on the tops of rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.

… Read the rest of this post My fun news of the morning: researchers have discovered that wine, tea, and chocolate can improve brain function. Of course, too much alcohol won’t exactly get you into mensa, but its good to know that a little indulgence can do you good:

Chocolate, Wine And Tea Improve Brain Performance (Science Daily – Dec 24th 2008)

I call them thumbprints, the boy calls them jelly tops, Gourmet called them Strawberry Tarts. But there is one universal name:

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

These wonderful tiny shortbread-like cookies with jelly filling are a bite of warm weather in the… Read the rest of this post

I call them thumbprints, the boy calls them jelly tops, Gourmet called them Strawberry Tarts. But there is one universal name:

YUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM.

These wonderful tiny shortbread-like cookies with jelly filling are a bite of warm weather in the cold winter months.

I am delighted by these, though saddened that there are no more – my book club heartily gave them two thumbs up and then polished off the batch.

A few notes on execution. Once I chilled the dough, it became very very hard. by cutting it into smaller chunks with a knife and then rolling it between the palms of my hands, it softened enough to press my finger into without the dough cracking along the edges. Mine still weren’t as pretty as the picture – possibly because I forgot and used jelly instead of jam, which baked slightly thinner, and that they spread a bit when they baked.  No effect on the taste, though, which was sunny and bright and sweet and delightful.

(check out the recipe after the break)

Strawberry Jelly Tops

adapted from Gourmet, December 1993

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
1 large egg yolks, beaten lightly
1/2 cup strawberry jelly or other preserves

1. In a large bowl whisk together the flour, the sugar, and the salt, add the butter, and blend the mixture until it resembles coarse meal. Stir in the egg yolks, blend the mixture until it forms a dough. It may be quite crumbly, but as long as you can press it into a lump, it’s fine. Wrap the ball of dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate for several hours.

2. Preheat the oven to 350F. Take the dough out of the fridge to soften slightly. Cut the dough into 1″ cubes, and roll it between the palms of your hands until it softens into a ball. Press your pointer finger into the center to make a space for the jelly, being careful not to crack the edges of the dough, and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet.

3. Using a spoon or a pastry bag or ziplock bag, pipe the jelly into the center of the cookie until it’s level. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the edges are lightly golden.

Visit my baking compatriots:  Jerry at Cooking by the Seat of my Pants, Judy at No Fear Entertaining, Sandy at At the Baker’s Bench, Courtney at Coco Cooks, Kelly at Sass and Veracity, and Andrea at Andrea’s Recipes.

The holidays are a season of sweets, for me, and nothing encapsulates the feeling of the season better than stepping inside from a cold day to the smell of warm baking cookies.

So when the combination of Gourmet Magazine’s… Read the rest of this post

The holidays are a season of sweets, for me, and nothing encapsulates the feeling of the season better than stepping inside from a cold day to the smell of warm baking cookies.

So when the combination of Gourmet Magazine’s 50 year retrospective on the cookie came up, I got excited.  Even more so when Andrea proposed a cookie challenge – 12 cookies, 12 days.  Each of us intrepid cookie-baking souls would pick our favorite recipes from the Gourmet list, and blog about them.  And so here a week and a half of what can only be called a cookie extravaganza can begin!

My first pick – the Cottage Cheese Cookie.

Originally published in 1962, these sounded a bit odd – cottage cheese mixed in with the flour and sugar and butter.  I was reminded of a recipe that a roomate of mine from college had used to make for cottage cheese panckaes, and excited to see how the moist cheese worked in a baked form.

All I can say – fabulously.

I love a subtle cookie, and these are perfectly that – moist and crumbly, slightly sweet with a vague tang to them.  The next time I might give them a slight sprinkle of cinnamon before baking just to punch up the flavor, but I’m in love just as they are.

Cottage Cheese Cookies
adapted from Gourmet, 1962

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt 

Preheat the oven to 375F. In an electric mixer, cream together the softened butter and cottage cheese until well incorporated. Blend in thoroughly the sugar, vanilla, and egg until fluffy. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, add the flour in two batches and mix until the dough comes together. Grab a tablespoon of dough at a time and drop onto a parchment-covered cookie sheet.  Bake for about 10 minutes, until nicely golden brown.

Take a look at my fellow bakers choices at their sites:

Jerry at Cooking by the Seat of my Pants, Ben at What’s Cooking. Judy at No Fear Entertaining, Sandy at At the Baker’s Bench, Courtney at Coco Cooks, Kelly at Sass and Veracity, and Andrea at Andrea’s Recipes.

Come back tomorrow for Cashew Prailine Cookies!

Thanks for visiting my new blog!  This is the temporary home of The Barefoot Kitchen, which will be relocating to a hosted source once it’s up and running.  So if you decide you want to bookmark me (and I’d love… Read the rest of this post Thanks for visiting my new blog!  This is the temporary home of The Barefoot Kitchen, which will be relocating to a hosted source once it’s up and running.  So if you decide you want to bookmark me (and I’d love that!), please bookmark http://www.thebarefootkitchen.com.  Thanks!

I’ve been on a real vampire kick recently. First it was the Twillight series (Oh, Edward…) then a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon (Oh, Angel…), and now the TrueBlood series and Sookie Stackhouse books (Umm…Bill?). I… Read the rest of this post

I’ve been on a real vampire kick recently. First it was the Twillight series (Oh, Edward…) then a Buffy the Vampire Slayer marathon (Oh, Angel…), and now the TrueBlood series and Sookie Stackhouse books (Umm…Bill?). I even saw a sign in a bookstore for a “vampire romance” section. Is it something about today’s state of affairs that attracts us to tales of the bloodsucking and undead? Or is it just me.

So I’ve had blood on the brain. Then, at work, I noticed a batch of recipes for  Bloody Mary’s. Could there be a creepier name for a drink? Rob Chirico did a in interesting rundown of the history of the cocktail for Hair of the Dog, which has little to do with horror, unless you find a hangover terrifying. But I can’t help but feel a chill thinking of the screaming of little kids as they chant “Bloody Mary” into a mirror. Brrrr.

So for my Halloween party, I’ll be whipping up a batch of these — maybe with some peeled grapes for an “eyeball” garnish. And a bit of roasted garlic to keep the vampires away.