Cranberry-Orange Pecan Bread (and other assorted stories)

Well, it's been awhile since my last post, but I've not been idle. Let's see, I've been to Maine and back, I had an exquisite lunch at Vita in Basking Ridge, and enjoyed some fun and tasty pre-theatre dishes at Bar Breton in NYC. And, of course, I have a delicious recipe to share with you. Where to begin?

Let's start with the northeastern most state in the union: the Pine Tree state (or its advertising slogan "Vacationland"); yes, I'm talking about Maine. It was only a short trip a couple of weeks ago, but the weather was beautiful and there were still some nice foliage views to be had. We took a ride along Rt 15 through Penobscot and Orland to Castine, home to the US Maritime Academy and quaint New England architecture. No real food stories here as it was post-season and other than Dennett's Wharf, nothing was open. But a picturesque ride nonetheless.

We again enjoyed a terrific dinner at Red Sky in Southwest Harbor - see earlier post here. I love the warmth and personal attention you get here from the owners.

A lovely find for lodging has arrived in Belfast: the Belfast Bay Inn. Belfast is a charming little town about two hours north of Portland (and very close to our home in Stockton Springs), full of artsy-type shops, a very cool martini bar called 3 Tides, and a great vegetarian restaurant (Chase's Daily), but no decent lodging. Finally, someone has seen the light and opened a luxury all-suite boutique hotel on Main Street. That someone is Judy and Ed Hemmingsen, former owners of the award-winning Bluenose Inn in Bar Harbor. They took an historic building and transformed it into exceptional accommodations. If you find yourself in the Belfast area and want to wrap yourself in comfortable luxury for the night, please visit the Belfast Bay Inn. Now all we need in Belfast is a high-end restaurant, the likes of Primo in Rockland or Francine in Camden, and Belfast will become a destination for like-minded travelers.

In geographic order, New York City is next. We had a great time at a (way) off-Broadway play called "Penny Penniworth," an hysterical send-up of every Dickens story you've ever read. The play closed last weekend after an extended run but the cast is hopeful that another production company will pick it up soon. If it returns, don't miss it. Before the play, we had dinner at Bar Breton, a nice, little brasserie-style restaurant in Chelsea. Gallettes are the house specialty - buckwheat crepes with an assortment of savories. We had the special which was filled with short ribs - delicious. Entrees sampled included the hangar steak, and pan-seared cod - all very good.

Finally, making our way back to New Jersey in this culinary travelogue, I am thrilled to tell you about a fabulous lunch at Vita Restaurant in the Dolce Hotel in Basking Ridge. I had lunch "in the kitchen" of Vita, sitting up close and personal, to take in all the action of a delicious lunch presentation by Chef Paul Bogardus and his talented staff. We began with an appetizer of Warm Crab Cake with Roasted Corn, Porcini and Ricotta Fondue. This was followed by a main course of Mushroom and Plum Stuffed Roasted Pork Loin with Pancetta and Rosemary Grits and Pomegranate Glaze - doesn't

this sound like the perfect Fall dish? Dessert was (as they say) the pièce de résistance: the Art of Flambe with House-made Crepes - classic crepes suzette, cherries jubilee, and bananas foster - oui! Everything was just divine. If you find yourself in the Basking Ridge area, put Vita on your short list of must-visit restaurants.

And in preparation for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday, I will leave you with a lovely little bread - perfect for a quick nosh with coffee before you get started on the day's cooking, or add some freshly whipped cream and serve it as part of your holiday dessert offerings. This Cranberry-Orange Pecan Bread comes from one of my favorite food sites, Leite's Culinaria.

From the cookbook, Grand Central Baking, the batter goes through a number of whippings to incorporate the wet and dry ingredients, and it produces an extremely ethereal batter - when you look at it, it almost resembles a yeast dough (see picture).

Light in texture, not too sweet/not too tart, and like a bonus, the recipe makes two loaves. So you can pop one in the freezer to enjoy at a later date.

I'll be taking my frozen loaf with us to the islands where we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving on the beautiful, warm beaches of St John.

I doubt I will have time for another post before we leave, so I will wish you all now a very Happy Thanksgiving! May your table be full of happy friends, loving family, and good food.

Cranberry-Orange Pecan Bread

get the recipe here!

A Very Culinary Weekend

Whew! I am exhausted. What a busy weekend it was, culinarily-speaking. I've got two restaurants for you AND two recipes! What more could you ask for? And how about that photo above of the gorgeous maple tree that lives down the street from me? Every year when it starts to turn that deep, beautiful orange, and the ground around it is blanketed with the fallen leaves, I think, "I should really snap a photo of that tree." Of course I never do. Until today. And I'm so glad I did because it epitomizes the fall season for me, and now I've captured it for posterity.

On to the food! The weekend began with dinner at LuNello in Cedar Grove, NJ. Some of you may recognize this restaurant from an episode of Real Housewives of New Jersey. Those of you who don't, count yourselves lucky to have missed it (the show, that is). But don't let LuNello's association with this show deter you from enjoying a fine meal.

LuNello's is more formal in nature, in both decor and food. Waiters in tuxedos are very gracious, and service was very good. They recite a list of about 30 specials and all except one of our meals came from the regular menu. I loved my meal - Short Ribs over Fresh Pappardelle, in a delicious brown sauce that reminded me so much of my husband's outstanding brisket. The minute I spotted Pappardelle with Porcini and Oyster Mushrooms, I knew it would be Barry's choice. Ever since we were in Italy October 2006, Barry has been craving fresh porcini and pasta, which you don't find on many menus in the US. It did not disappoint - tender porcini mushrooms scattered among the fresh pasta.

If there is any area that LuNello's falls short, it's dessert. We ordered the Ricotta Cheesecake and Tiramisu. Both very average. But a nice touch presented during dessert, was the offering of house-made miniature ice cream cones. If you go, skip the dessert menu, wait for the cones.

Saturday night brought me to Fiorino's in Summit. This was the polar opposite of LuNello's in atmosphere, decor, and clientele. A warm, inviting space in downtown Summit, Fiorino's offers outstanding cuisine. My meal began with a Baby Arugula Salad with Toasted Pine Nuts and Goat Cheese - sublime. Everything on the menu sounded wonderful but for my main course I went with the recommendation of my friend and dining companion. Every time she visits Fiorino's she must have the Rigatoni Bolognese (it's not even on the regular menu). Now this may sound plebian to you, but a well made Bolognese sauce is not to be missed. This version lived up to my expectations. Husky chunks of a veal, pork, beef ragu strewn over fat rigatoni, accompanied by a quartino of a deep, delicious Rosso di Montalcino. We shared a dessert that perfectly suited my fall state of mind:

Warm Apple Strudel with Caramel Wild Berry Compote and Butter Pecan Gelato - crisp, firm apples swirled with a very delicate caramel sauce and outstanding gelato. Meals don't get much better than this, my friends.

So after all that dining about on Friday and Saturday, Sunday was definitely a stay at home kind of day. It was rainy and cold in NJ - perfect baking weather. But since I totally indulged at the aforementioned meals, I felt the need to slim down my baked goods. But these certainly didn't taste like "slimmed-down" foods! Cho-nana Bread (from the Chobani Yogurt web site) and Pumpkin Crunch (from Canyon Ranch) were flavorful and easy. The Pumpkin Crunch is a very versatile little treat with only 125 calories in 1/4 cup - it folds very nicely into yogurt, as a crunchy topping to your morning cereal, or just as a mid-afternoon snack. And the banana bread is super moist, thanks to the yogurt and applesauce base; only 210 calories per serving.

You won't go wrong with these two recipes - plenty of taste, no guilt!

Pumpkin Crunch

1 C pumpkin seeds

1-1/2 t canola oil

1/2 t cinnamon

1/2 t nutmeg

1/4 t allspice

1/2 t sea salt

2 TB maple syrup

1-1/4 C dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Lightly spray a baking sheet with canola oil. In a small bowl, toss pumpkin seeds with canola oil and evenly spread coated seeds on baking sheet. Roast for 20 minutes or until almost dry.

Place pumpkin seeds in a medium bowl and mix in maple syrup until coated. Combine spices in a large bowl and add pumpkin seeds. Place back on baking sheet and return to oven. Roast for 15 minutes or until dry. Be sure not to burn. Set seeds aside until completely cool, for about 30 minutes. In a large bowl, combine seeds with dried cranberries.

Cho-nana Bread

3/4 C all-purpose flour

3/4 C whole-wheat flour

1 t baking soda

1/2 t salt

2 TB butter

1/2 C natural applesauce (no sugar added)

3/4 C sugar

2 large eggs

1 t vanilla extract

3 large overripe bananas

1/2 C Chobani plain 0% Greek Yogurt

1/2 C walnuts, toasted and chopped (optional)

1/2 C semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)

Grease large loaf pan. Preheat oven to 350F. In a small bowl, stir together flours, baking soda, and salt.

Peel bananas. Cut each in half lengthwise and then cut each half into halves. Chop quartered bananas into 2-inch pieces. Set aside.

In a large bowl, cream butter and sugar into a smooth paste. Add applesauce and vanilla, and mix until combined. Add eggs one at a time, and beat until incorporated.

Add flour mixture to wet ingredients, and mix well. Add chopped bananas, nuts and/or chocolate chips and yogurt.

Fold ingredients in, being careful not to bread up banana chunks. Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until inserted knife comes out clean when removed from loaf.

Zucchini-Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze

Greetings! I know it may seem like I've been neglecting my baking duties (which I take very seriously!) because I haven't posted for a couple of weeks, but I have been busily baking away. I was on this cornbread kick trying to fulfill a special request from a work colleague. And, of course, I was hoping to post about my fabulous cornbread results.

Alas, not such good results. Even using a recipe from the grand Dame of Southern food, Edna Lewis. Her recipe produced a bread with incredible texture, but really, severely, lacking in taste. This was so bad it went directly into the trash. My next attempt was with a recipe from Dean Fearing (formerly of the Mansion on Turtle Creek, now at the Ritz-Carlton Dallas). Again, nice texture, not so good on flavor. My husband re-purposed this as a stuffing mixture for delicious pork chops he made the next night. At least not a total waste.

So while I'm not giving up on finding a great cornbread recipe, I needed a little deviation this week. I went to one of my favorite bakers, Gina DePalma, for inspiration. Her "Zucchini Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze" proved to be the ticket (from her wonderful book, Dolce Italiano - see Amazon link under "Books I Love"). The trio of spices in the recipe (cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg) provide that all-important autumnal aroma, and the cake has a wonderful moist, light crumb. But let me tell you about the taste. It's got this unusual sweetness to it, not your typical harvest-y type flavor, but almost like a healthy, good for you, type sweetness. Probably from the zucchini, or at least that's what I'm attributing it to. Either way, this is one terrific cake. The lemon glaze is not too sweet either, in case you were worried about that. Although it feels like an autumn cake to me, obviously you could leverage this recipe when your zucchini harvest is at full throttle in the summer and you don't know what to do with your zucchini overload. Seems like a perfect excuse to me to bake a cake! But don't wait until next summer to try this -- it's too good. Mangia bene!

Zucchini-Olive Oil Cake with Lemon Crunch Glaze

Makes one 10" cake, approximately 12 servings

Cake

1 C walnut pieces

2 C unbleached all-purpose flour

1 t baking powder

1/2 t baking soda

1 t kosher salt

2 t ground cinnamon

1 t ground ginger

1/2 t ground nutmeg

3 large eggs

1-3/4 C granulated sugar

1 C extra-virgin olive oil

2 t pure vanilla extract

2-1/2 C grated zucchini (about 2 small zucchini)

Confectioners' su

gar, for dusting (optional)

Glaze

1/4 C freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/3 C granulated sugar

1 C confectioners' sugar

To make the cake: preheat oven to 350 F and position rack in center. Grease a 10 cup Bundt pan using nonstick cooking spray or butter, then dust with flour to coat completely, tapping out excess flour.

Place walnuts in a single layer on a baking sheet and toast them until they are golden brown and aromatic, 12-14 minutes. Cool walnuts completely, then finely chop them in food processor and set aside (CT note: I opted for not-so-fine a chop as I really like the texture and crunch of walnuts).

Sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices in medium bowl and set aside. In electric mixer fitted with paddle attachment, beat the eggs, sugar, and olive oil together on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, then beat in vanilla extract. Scrape down sides of bowl with spatula after each addition. Beat in dry ingredients all at once on low speed until they are thoroughly combined, then switch mixer to medium speed and mix for 30 seconds. Beat in the zucchini and walnuts on low speed until they are completely incorporated, scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing the top with spatula. Bake cake for 45-50 minutes, rotating pan halfway through baking time to ensure even browning. The cake is done when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean and the cake has begun to pull away from sides of pan.

While the cake is baking, prepare the glaze: in medium bowl, whisk together the lemon juice and granulated sugar, then whisk in the confectioners' sugar until the glaze is completely smooth.

Allow cake to cool in pan for 10 minutes, then carefully invert onto a wire rack. Using a pastry brush, immediately brush the glaze over the entire surface of the warm cake, using all of the glaze; it will adhere to the cake and set as the cake cools. Allow cake to cool completely and the glaze to dry completely.

Transfer cake to a stand or serving plate and, if desired, lightly dust it with confectioners' sugar. Any leftover cake may be wrapped in plastic and served the following day.

See photo below - I wouldn't normally post a photo like this, but I wanted you to be able to see the beautiful texture and the flecks of zucchini throughout the cake.

September Plums...

otherwise known as Italian Prune Plums. They are only available for a short period of time, right around mid-September so when I see them, I grab them. These little babies are full of purpley-sweet deliciousness. With beautiful gold flesh, they make terrific desserts. For me, the arrival of these plums heralds the coming of Fall.

One of my favorite prune plum recipes comes from a recipe my late mother-in-law made for years: Viennese Plum Cake. She clipped it from a newspaper who knows how long ago. The Xeroxed copy I have is wrinkled and stained from over-use (is there such a thing as over-use with good recipes?).

This is a perfect example of a cake that is good "plain or fancy." It is excellent as a simple coffee cake with no adornment whatsoever, but with a quick whip of some vanilla-tinged heavy cream, you could dress it up and serve it to some lucky dinner guests. And it is really fast to put together -- I made it Thursday night in about 15 minutes (not including baking time, obviously). Delicious warm out of the oven and at room temp. You cannot go wrong with this cake!

Viennese Plum Cake

1/2 C butter at room temp

1/2 C sugar

2 eggs

1/4 t salt

1 C flour

1 t baking powder

16 medium-sized Italian prune plums - washed, halved, pitted

1/2 C sugar

2 t cinnamon

1 TB butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter and flour an 8x8 square pan.

Cream together butter and sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time. Blend together salt, flour and baking powder in small bowl. Combine flour mixture with butter mixture. Spread dough evenly in prepared pan. Place plums skin side down on top of batter.

Mix together cinnamon/sugar combination; sprinkle over plums (this mixture seems like too much, but use it all). Dot with butter. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until top is golden.

Wrapped well, it keeps for 4-5 days (this is just an estimate because it never lasts that long).

Fascino - Montclair, NJ

While it is Italian in cuisine and lineage, Fascino in Montclair, NJ is by no means your average Italian restaurant. Set toward the not-yet-totally re-gentrified end of Bloomfield Avenue, Fascino sits back quietly unassuming, confident in its abilities to provide high-end, sophisticated food and service. This is the kind of culinary evening people in the north Jersey area previously had to travel to New York to experience. And while there are many fine restaurants in Montclair and the surrounding areas, Fascino is a cut above.

Headed in the kitchen by Executive Chef, Ryan DePersio, the food practically glows as it makes its way to your table. We have been visiting Fascino since they opened in 2003 and it keeps getting better. Last night's meal was no exception. An amuse bouche, consisting of a bite-sized morsel of crisp halibut sitting so daintily in a light yogurt sauce, was presented to our group. Just enough to whet your appetite for what lay ahead. I wanted more.

Excellent breads from Gina's Bakery (also in Montclair) made their way to our table along with an incredibly fruity olive oil.

One of my favorite spring/summer items is fresh Zucchini Flowers and

Ryan stuffs them with Maine Peekytoe Crab and ricotta and lightly fries them. It is served with a

light, fresh yellow tomato Gazpacho. Incredible.

Fascino is BYO, which is always a plus for us. And even better for us last night, our dinner companion was a friend who is a wine consultant and he brought a delicious Orvieto from a small, family vineyard in Tuscany. Just acidic enough, this crisp white blended perfectly with the zucchini flowers and Bernie's appetizer of Fresh Seafood Salad. For the record, he couldn't stop "oohing and aahing" over the incredible array of seafood laid before him - shrimp, clams, squid, octopus - see the photo above for the beautiful presentation.

Since it was a rainy, chilly evening, it seemed appropriate to order a Fall-like dish (truth be told, I never really need an excuse to order Osso Buco). Ryan's Veal Osso Buco served with brussel sprouts over a pillow of delicious sweet potato puree, was mind-blowing. That's my Osso Buco at the top of the post - look at the gorgeous shellac on that shank! A gentle prod with my fork sent the ever-so-tender meat cascading into the potato puree, creating a wonderful taste combination. That veal shank was picked clean when I was done.

My husband ordered the exact same meal as me, but when I told our wine-knowledgeable friend, Bernie, that all the pastas are house-made, his fate was sealed. Tagliatelle

with Shredded Short Ribs was the winner - it looked (and by all accounts) tasted fabulous. Our wine for dinner was a 2004 La Vigna Mobile, a super Tuscan made up

primarily of Sangiovese grapes. A terrific accompaniment to the food.

A unique and delicious side is the Mascarpone Polenta Fries with Gorgonzola Fonduta (OMG!). Imagine these as Italy's answer to our own French fries or France's pomme frite! These disappeared from our table in a flash. Light, crispy, with an earthy richness - IMHO I don't think you even need the gorgonzola sauce. These are not to be missed.

A true family operation, Ryan's mother, Cynthia DePersio, is the Pastry Chef. Being a baker myself, I always look forward to trying one of Cynthia's creations. Last night's choice: Brazilian Coffee and Vanilla Sundae

with Midnight Chocolate Sauce and Chocolate Coffee Bean Crisp ("HELLO!"). While my dining companions all professed to not being able to eat another bite after dinner, somehow there were three spoons in my dessert. This might be my new favorite dessert at Fascino.

There is a welcoming warmth about Fascino. Whether it's the deep red banquettes you slide into, or the greetings from the DePersio family (Ryan's brother, Anthony, is the GM and their father, Anthony Sr, is usually lending a hand with front of the house duties), dining at Fascino is always a pleasure. Now celebrating its' fifth anniversary, the "fascination" continues at Fascino.

Weekend Wrap-up

Well, we never got to the ribs I was so hopeful about last week, but it was one of the most relaxing weekends in a long, long time. There was alot of great food, though, so not to worry.

Friday was a terrific opener. After a late Thursday night work-related event in NYC, I was thankful to work from home in the morning; then we took a nice ride through some picturesque NJ backroads in my husband's just-recently-purchased, previously-owned convertible. My new weekend equation: beautiful, blue skies + warm breezes + a convertible = something pretty close to divine. There is nothing better than tooling around on a nice day in a convertible. Definitely good for what ails ya...

Later that day, with nothing really planned for dinner, I remembered reading a review in New Jersey Monthly for a Thai restaurant in Belleville. Since my husband, Barry, is always lobbying for us to visit non-Italian restaurants (not that he is anti-Italian food, in fact, he loves it, but there is a definite glut of Italian restaurants in NJ and Italian is always my go-to cuisine), I thought this was worth a visit. Topaz Thai is a small, family-run operation with "Mama," otherwise known as Wanida, at the helm. Wanida cooks for you like you were in her home; everything is fresh, plentiful, and cooked to order. When she learned that Barry had requested his food really spicy, and that he had been to Thailand many years ago, she came out to chat and to make sure he meant "really spicy." Wanida learned to cook at her mother's side in Thailand and this is the real deal. When I mentioned above that the food is fresh, I wasn't kidding: the fish of the day (Sea Bass) was caught that morning by Wanida's husband (a chef at the Pierre Hotel). It was delectable. We ordered it crispy and she suggested the chili sauce - definitely the right choice. We began the meal with two appetizers: Green Papaya Salad and Thai Spring Rolls. Both were wonderful. Looking forward to our next visit.

Sunday, we grilled Seasoned Chicken Burgers (from our favorite Goffle Road Poultry Farm), enjoyed with fresh corn, and Stiner's Famous Potato Salad. When we picked up the corn at the roadside stand in Chestnut Ridge, NY (just over the NJ border), the farmer had baskets of gorgeous apricots that I couldn't resist. I knew I had white nectarines waiting at home, now all I needed was a recipe. In my trusty recipe vault I found "Summer Fruit Crisp," a recipe (see below) that allows for many variations of fruit fillings. This was the perfect recipe for late summer stone fruits, and the crisp topping of butter, chopped walnuts, brown sugar was de-lish! I love the fact that you can use just about whatever fruit you have at home or can find at the local market -- the fig and cherry from the list below sounds divine.

Today, the last day of the long labor-less weekend, we are grilling chicken thighs in one of Barry's marinade concoctions that are always good, more corn (because at the end of the summer, you just can't get enough), potato salad redux, and probably another small helping of fruit crisp. Truly, a delightful way to cap the weekend. I hope good friends, great food, and a little R&R found their way to your home this holiday weekend.

Summer Fruit Crisp

8 Servings - serve with a dollop of whipped cream or a splash of good and thick heavy cream (good vanilla ice cream would also do nicely).

Crisp Topping:

1-1/4 C flour

1/2 C firmly packed light brown sugar

7 TB sugar

Pinch of salt

10 TB (1 stick plus 2 TB) cold, unsalted butter, cut into tablespoon pieces

2/3 C slivered almonds or chopped walnuts

1 t vanilla extract (may substitute 1/2 t each vanilla and almond extract)

Confectioners' sugar for dusting the baked crisp (optional)

Fruit Filling:

5 C fruit (peeled, pitted, thickly sliced stone fruit; berries, or a combination of sliced fruit and berries; see variations below)

2 TB peach or apricot preserves

6 TB sugar, or more to taste (if the crisp is made entirely of blueberries or blackberries, or with very juicy fruit, blend 2 TB cornstarch into the sugar)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Have ready a deep 12-inch ovenproof baking dish.

For the topping: in medium bowl, thoroughly combine the flour, sugars, and salt. Scatter over the pieces of butter, and using a pastry blender (or two round-bladed knives), cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles small flakes. Add the almonds of walnuts and the vanilla. Using your fingertips, work the mixture to form big and small cohesive lumps of topping. The pieces will be moist, buttery, and irregularly shaped. Set aside.

For the fruit: in a medium bowl, gently combine the fruit or berries, preserves, and sugar. Turn the fruit mixture into the baking dish. Strew the topping over it to form an even layer, but keep the crisp light rather than packing it down.

Bake at 375 for 40-45 minutes, or until the topping is set and golden and the fruit is bubbly. Sprinkle the top with confectioners' sugar, if desired. Serve warm.

Note: the crisp may be made into individual servings. Divide the fruit mixture among eight 1-cup ovenproof baking dishes and sprinkle on the topping. Place the dishes on a rimmed baking sheet and bake in a preheated oven at 375 for 35-40 minutes, until the fruit is bubbly and topping is golden. Just before serving, dust tops with confectioners' sugar, if desired.

Variations: a combination of sliced fruit and berries creates a flavorful base.

Peach (or nectarine) and Blueberry: use 3 C thickly sliced peaches (or nectarines) and 2 C blueberries.

Peach, Plum, and Blueberry: use 2 C thickly sliced peaches, 2 C thickly sliced red plums, and 1 C blueberries.

Apricot and Cherry: use 3 C (halved, pitted, quartered) apricots and 2 C (stemmed and pitted) sweet cherries.

Apricot and Peach: use 3 C (halved, pitted, quartered) apricots and 2 C thickly sliced (peeled) peaches).

Apricot and Blueberry: use 3 C (halved, pitted, quartered) apricots and 2 C blueberries.

Nectarine and Cherry: use 3 C thickly sliced nectarines and 2 C (stemmed and pitted) sweet cherries.

Plum and Cherry: use 4 C thickly sliced plums and 1 C (stemmed and pitted) sweet cherries.

Fig and Cherry: use 2 C (stemmed and quartered) figs and 3 C (stemmed and pitted) sweet cherries.

The End of the Non-Summer

This happens when summer, which is supposed to begin June 21, for some reason was confused this year and began around July 20. I'm talking about the lackluster summer we've had in New Jersey. And now Labor Day is upon us, which traditionally signals the end of the summer. But the weather prognosticators have signaled good weather for the week and I am going to soak up every last ray of warmth and sunshine.

I am feeling the need for ribs. We haven't done a rack of ribs all non-summer so this weekend must be it. I've been wanting to go to Blue Smoke in NYC for the Texas Salt 'n Pepper Crusted Beef Ribs, and maybe we'll do that this week. If not, in our cookbook library at home, we've got dozens of 'Q books so I'm sure we can rustle up a suitable rib recipe. Friends of ours in California, Ron & Phyllis, do ribs with a wonderful apricot BBQ sauce that just might do the trick.

Gotta get ready for my day job now. Will you be doing any special cooking this weekend? Let me know! I'll be back later in the week with the end of the non-summer food festivities.