morsels & sauces

It's cherry season!  That short window of spring that begs you to buy as many cherries as you can, spend an afternoon sitting on the back deck pitting them, and then eating them as many ways as possible. Mostly straight from the bowl. But here's one way to preserve your cherries so you can savor them come December, if necessary. (But we both know you're not going to make it to December with these jars of cherries. We will all be lucky if we can make it to July with any jars left.) In the latest entry in Marisa McClellan's Mastery Challenge , I give you McClellan's own Bing Cherries in Red Wine Syrup. Or at least my version of it.  (This mastery challenge has been great fun, and this month is cold pack preserving.  Admittedly, lately, it has been hard to keep up, but I believe this is mostly a function of the end of the school year.  Be prepared for summer, people! Right. Cold-pack canning.  It's relatively simple.  Take some raw fruit o...

The husband has been learning how to make cheese. I am learning how to gain weight.  Last week it was chevre, as featured here.  Then it was feta.  Now it's Valencay . I approve of his new hobby. Our refrigerator is filled with jugs of goat milk, our counter is covered in cheeses in the beginnings of their aging process, our shelves are becoming stacked with cheese molds, and the cooler rotates cheeses in and out, depending on their needed temperature. And I am filling out my pants even further. Enter salad for dinner. His chevre is a beauty--creamy and slightly sweet--perfect for pairing with cherries.  And cherries are everywhere right now. So I have been soaking them in alcohol to make my own maraschino cherries , pitting them to make jam, and eating them in the backyard (spitting the pits into the grass in hopes that maybe one will sprout). Add spinach, arugula, basil, and almonds, and people this salad is b...

It appears that our outdoor table is not on level ground. A toast! A toast, my friends!  As I mentioned last post , I am in the mood to toast all the glory that is summer. And there is no better way than to do so than with a funny little drink which requires a special trip to the liquor store. Either for his birthday or Christmas, I cannot remember which, I bought this curious book, The Drunken Botanist , for the husband, in part because one rainy day last fall, the husband found a window seat in our favorite coast-side bookstore ( Gallery Bookshop in Mendocino ) and was leafing through it for a good 30 minutes. I filed that information quick, and I knew he would need to be the proud owner of this book in the future. And it's right up his scientist's heart's alley. Channeling your inner geek, you can explore the plants that are often turned into alcohol. From agave to wheat or monkey puzzle trees to nutmeg, this book gives an exhaustive look at how people ...

Adapted from Cookbook #53: Baking In America   (2002) Recipe:  Irish Whiskey Fruitcake with Spiced Walnuts and Pecans "It's always the same: a morning arrives in November, and my friend, as though officially inaugurating the Christmas time of year that exhilarates her imagination and fuels the blaze of her heart, announces: 'It's fruitcake weather! Fetch our buggy. Help me find my hat.'"--Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory While this is my last entry for 2010, I will hold off on the musings and reflections until the first week of 2011.  In the mean time, it's fruitcake weather, no matter where you are. Fruitcake is one of those recipes that gets a bad rap.  Yes, it's heavy.  Yes, it is chock-full of nuts and fruit.  Yes, it has a shelf life longer than some small electronics.  But people, it's made with whiskey. It is traditional to serve this loaf around the holidays, and I thought it a perfect way to end the year. Known for its longe...

Adapted from Cookbook #52:  Simply Tuscan   (2000) Recipe: Sweet and Sour Wild Boar with Chestnut Gnocchi I made roast beast. Normally on Christmas Eve, we have "morsels and sauces"--my favorite way to eat (little bits of this, little bits of that, usually pâté, grapes, cornichons, salami, cheese, crackers).  But we're saving that for Christmas Day dinner.   Instead, last night we had boar. We're coming to the close of the year, and I have saved two very wintery foods for the end.  Page 210 of this Tuscan regional cookbook by Pino Luongo  is entitled "A Quintessential Winter Menu," calling for a buffet that serves 12 (!) of Braised Quail with Caramelized Shallots with Soft Polenta, Garganelli with Truffle-Scented Fondue, Sweet and Sour Wild Boar with Chestnut Gnocchi, and Marta's Grandmother's Apple Roll.  Well, well, well.  All of that sounds transcendent, but I didn't need to feed 12.  I needed to feed four--so I c...

Adapted from Cookbook #46:  The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook   (1999) Recipe: Homemade Granola I am woefully behind in posting, but I am keeping up with the cooking.  This week is Thanksgiving week, and I want to think about all that I am thankful for. The sublime--my family, as spread out, as welcoming, and as wacky as they may be; my friends, who understand that it's not personal that I am not returning their phone calls (but know that I am too lazy after four months to look for my phone charger); my job, which this week brought me to unexpected tears when some students thanked me for a glimpse into the teenage experience through The Bell Jar ; and my husband, who lets me steal his poker chips and who holds my arm in the rain as we walk to the car.  The ridiculous--my personal parking god (you'll be getting this year's thank you letter, Peter); NyQuil, which has been keeping me going the past two days (and by keeping me going, I mean putting me to sleep), and my ...