Apartment Dining

Both of my parents grew up going to the Jersey shore every year, but my father’s family spent the majority of their summers in a cottage by Quaker Lake. The small, man-made lake is a 20 minute drive from Binghamton, just over the Pennsylvania border, and it served as the perfect getaway for my grandparents and extended family on my grandmother’s side.

Along with clear water and scenic views, Quaker Lake also had a plentiful blueberry patch nearby. I can only assume a pail of blueberries made it from the patch to the cottage uneaten one day and someone decided to put them to use in the form of a cake. It could have been my grandmother or one of her sister-in-laws, but I’m not sure. I’m also not sure if the recipe was an original creation or was found in a cookbook, but I present the ingredients here as they appeared on the index card in my grandmother’s recipe box (by way of another index card in my mother’s stack of recipes).

What I do know for sure is that this is a great summer cake. You can serve it as a dessert (with my grandmother’s hard sauce on the side…if you dare), or enjoy its muffin-like qualities and have it for breakfast. It’s quick and easy to make as well, but I imagine it had to be with my father and his nine cousins running around outside. » Read the rest of this entry «

I’ve mentioned my Sunday ritual before on this blog. I wake up early, plan the menu for the week, make a shopping list, and then head to the store once Ramsey wakes up for anything I wasn’t able to grab at the farmers’ market. As budgets become tighter, I’ve also added a quick fridge and cupboard inventory to the the routine, rummaging through the deepest recesses of food storage areas to make sure I know exactly what I still have and what needs to be replenished. This was inspired by what was becoming a wasteful practice of cleaning out the fridge after returning from the store to find all sorts of items that could have been used for dishes the previous week, but I had forgotten they were there.

During my inventory this past Sunday, I found a large chunk of ginger left over from dumpling adventure last week, as well as ample sugar, flour, oil, and spices. I decided to make a Ginger Pear Quick Bread that would only require the purchase of two pears, and would also serve as breakfast for much of the week. » Read the rest of this entry «

Asparagus is an industrious little vegetable. Its spears can grow up to 10″ over the course of a 24 hour period, shooting above the soil ready for harvest like so. It’s also one of the more unique vegetables to cross my cutting board, as it’s not a leaf, flower bud, or root system, but the stem of the plant itself. Asparagus’ flavor is unique as well and in my experience, it is best served as the star of a side dish…or wrapped in bacon.

I normally just roast the spears with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper, but after finding a sheet of leftover puff pastry in my freezer this evening I decided to make a simple tart with mushrooms and gruyere. » Read the rest of this entry «

It’s been years since I’ve had rhubarb pie. I’ve always equated its flavor with early summer, particularly Memorial Day weekend which was usually spent at a family friend’s cottage in the Finger Lakes when I was a kid. The wonderful balance of tart and sweet brings back memories of sitting on a dock near sunset with a paper plate and a big slice of pie, just as the fireflies started to appear over the water.

When temperatures reached into the seventies this weekend I was inspired to make my first rhubarb pie. Rhubarb has only been in season for a few weeks, so every stand that had it in Union Square seemed to be especially crowded with people inspecting each stalk. I grabed enough for three cups worth of pie filling (along with a bunch of asparagus) and headed back to Brooklyn. » Read the rest of this entry «

Happy Cinco de Mayo! To celebrate the holiday I’ve turned my attention to flan, a caramel-topped custard dessert that you can prepare with just five ingredients. I consider it to be the under appreciated cousin of crème brûlée, often overlooked because it doesn’t require the pageantry of a butane torch (nothing says “fancy” quite like a controlled fire in the kitchen). You can easily flavor it with chocolate, coconut, or just about anything else that can be added to or infused into custard, but I decided to go for a basic flan with just a touch of vanilla. » Read the rest of this entry «

During my recent series of pre-trivia night dinners, I made a lot of pasta. I wanted all meals to be vegetarian so anyone who came could partake. Each meal also had to require only a fork to eat because we don’t have a kitchen table and trying to wield a knife with a plate on one’s lap can end in disaster.

Pasta dishes became a bit old after a few weeks and I decided to mix things up with spanakopita, one of my favorite Greek foods. This spinach and phyllo dough dish is sometimes served as a pie, roll, or in individual turnover-sized triangles as I’ve done here. You can modify the size of the triangles and amount of filling to make small portions for an appetizer or party snack. You’ll find a recipe and informative graphics after the jump. » Read the rest of this entry «

Quick breads are what simple breakfast dreams are made of for me. Defined by their use of chemical levening agents like baking powder or soda in place of yeast, quick breads can be thrown together in a matter of minutes and baked for about an hour, resulting in a dense, cake-like treat. They’re typically made up of just liquid, butter, egg, sugar, flour, and a leavening agent, so chances are good you have all of the ingredients for some sort of quick bread in your kitchen right now.

When my boyfriend Ramsey mentioned his love of banana bread a few weeks ago, I realized I had never actually made what may be the quintessential quick bread. I’d made pumpkin in the fall, but had yet to attempt banana. Thus, I went on a hunt for a classic banana bread recipe that would bring back memories of childhood breakfasts.

I first tried Mark Bittman’s recipe from How to Cook Everything, and while good, it wasn’t quite as moist as I wanted. I’ll try it again soon and modifying a few things, but in the meantime, I found what may be the easiest, fool-proof recipe on Simply Recipes. I’ve made it twice since finding it over the weekend and it doesn’t even require a mixer! Dishes are also easy, with just a loaf pan, bowl, fork, and spoon left to clean when all is said and done.

I woke up extra early on Sunday morning to do some cooking. At 10 AM, you would assume I’d be up making a dish for brunch or perhaps baking muffins, but instead I was prepping and roasting a whole chicken. It was a component for that evening’s dinner, the ultimate comfort food: chicken pot pie. The combination of flaky pastry, seasoned gravy, and vegetables that appeared on plates throughout my childhood make it an ideal winter Sunday meal. 

The whole chicken provided not only the meat for the pie, it also provided the chicken broth after a few hours of simmering the carcass on the stove with vegetables and seasonings. The best part was that the three pound free-range organic chicken cost only ten dollars and some change at the store the previous day, which is a bargain in Brooklyn. 

A guide to making chicken broth and the pie are after the jump. » Read the rest of this entry «

Winter is a difficult season for produce-based sweet pies. With no local fruit in season and any fruit that is on the shelves of Brooklyn stores shipped thousands of miles and zapped of flavor, options are limited. Thus, we turn to the sweet potatoes, harvested in the fall and now stored in cool, dark cellars and bottom cupboards. 

The flavor of sweet potatoes has always summoned a sense of warmth for me, making them perfect for a winter dessert. The recipe I created for this pie was pulled together from reading through a number of different recipes, then seeing how far I could simplify them and still preserve the flavor and texture of a classic sweet potato pie (not counting crust preparation). The results after the jump. » Read the rest of this entry «

On the rare occasion I’m dining out and not in the mood for a chocolate dessert, a fruit tart is always my choice. They’re delicate, refreshing, and give a false sense of being much healthier than a slice of chocolate cake. Fruit tarts are also one of the most beautiful desserts out there, full of rich colors and carefully laid patterns. 

After enjoying Angela’s apple tart on New Year’s Eve, I decided to try making a tart of my own with Mark Bittman and Epicurious as my guide. » Read the rest of this entry «