Blueberry Schlumpf

 

Photo credit: LK

Wow! Wow! Wow! Not hyperbole. This recipe is a WOW! From Food52, a recipe from Marian Bull, who got it from a distant relative, this should be your go-to summer dessert recipe.

The recipe calls for wild blueberries, but unless you live in Maine, or somewhere else where wild blueberries are widely available, regular blueberries will do fine. I made this with incredible New Jersey blueberries picked up at my local farmer’s market - huge, plump, sweet - and I think it really made the dish.

It couldn’t be easier. Combine the blueberries with a bit of flour and sugar; dump in a baking dish. Then mix the topping together, sprinkle over the blueberry mixture, and bake.

Serve warm from the oven with a scoop of “good” vanilla ice cream (I used Häagen-Dazs). The “yummy” sounds around the table told me this recipe was definitely a winner. Even without ice cream, which is how I ate it the next day, it was outstanding.

Blueberry Schlumpf

(Food52)

Makes one 8x8” pan.

Filling:

1 qt wild blueberries (conventional will do)

2 TB flour

2 TB sugar

Topping:

1 C flour

1/2 C brown sugar

1/2 C cold butter, cut into pieces

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Mix the filling ingredients and put in 8x8” baking dish.
3. Mix the topping roughly (so that it’s still lumpy) and sprinkle over the top. Bake for 30 minutes. Serve hot, preferably with vanilla ice cream.

Italian Night!

I finally made the famous Marcella Hazan tomato sauce with onion and butter that has been written up by every food writer and blogger from NYC to Milano. Wow. What the heck was I waiting for? This couldn’t have been easier or more delicious. With only three ingredients (four, if you count the salt), and only three steps, within an hour you will have a bright, clean, delicious tomato sauce perfect for a host of dishes.

The three (four) ingredients:

Fresh, ripe tomatoes or 1 can (28 oz) imported Italian tomatoes

5 TB butter

1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half

Salt to taste

Full recipe below.

You may be thinking, “butter, and an onion just cut in half and thrown in??” Yes. And, whatever you do, do not discard that onion post-cooking. It is the sweetest, most delicious onion you’ll ever eat! A couple of commenters on Food52 suggested using a stick blender and whirling it back into the sauce. Another suggested just eating the onion outright (I did this, it was fabulous). No wrong answers.

simmering

The day I made the sauce, I ladled it over a twirl of linguini, added a few torn basil leaves, and showered it with freshly grated Parmigiana Reggiano (that gorgeous image at the top). Simple perfection!

On day two, I had a “voglia” (Italian slang for a craving - pronounced “wool-lea,” depending on the region) for chicken parm. Don’t ask me why, I just did. I almost never crave red sauce-type Italian-American dishes, but this week I did. I found a pretty low-intensity (read: not a million steps) recipe, used the leftover Marcella sauce, and used Panko instead of breadcrumbs to produce a crispier, crunchier coating. It was terrific. I didn’t go totally old school and serve it over spaghetti, but I did enjoy a crusty Italian bread alongside the parm.

Old school chicken parm

I didn’t have any Italian reds in the house so I used a hearty zin, which worked just fine.

And, finally, to complete Italian night, I made the easiest dessert possible (if you have the means to make espresso): affogato. In Italian, affogato means “drowned.” You literally drown cold ice cream in hot espresso. 

I recently treated myself to a starter espresso machine (made by Capresso and purchased on sale) and I am loving it. Two cappuccinos in the morning and, sometimes, a decaf espresso in the afternoon, and I’m good to go. 

Affogato is a divine little treat. What could be better than ice cold ice cream (in my case, coffee), drowned in dark, delicious espresso? My go-to ice cream of late is Enlightened’s cold brew coffee. At only 90 calories for 2/3 cup, it is all indulgence and zero guilt. I honestly don’t know how they make such a rich, creamy ice cream that clocks in at that caloric rate. But, whatever, I’m on board. The picture of my affogato was sub-par so I’ve included a stock image so you get the gist of what it “should” look like.

Photo by Sarah li from Pexels

Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter

Serves 6, enough to sauce 1 to 1-1/2 lb pasta

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 45 minutes for the sauce

2 lb fresh tomatoes, prepared as described below, or 2 C canned imported Italian tomatoes, cut up, with their juice

5 TB butter

1 medium onion, peeled and cut in half

Salt to taste

1. Put either the prepared fresh tomatoes or the canned in a saucepan, add the butter, onion, and salt, and cook uncovered at a very slow, but steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until it is thickened to your liking and the fat floats free from the tomato.
2. Stir from time to time, mashing up any large pieces of tomato with the back of a wooden spoon.
3. Taste and correct for salt. Before tossing with pasta, you may remove the onion (as Hazan recommended) and save for another use, but many opt to leave it in. Serve with freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese for the table.

Food52 editor’s note: Marcella called for 2 cups of tomatoes when using canned, but feel free to use a whole 28 oz can (closer to 3 cups), if you like. You can scale up the butter and onion, if you like, or don’t - it’s genius either way.

Making Fresh Tomatoes Ready for Sauce

The blanching method: Plunge the tomatoes in boiling water for a minute or less. Drain them and, as soon as they are cool enough to handle, skin them, and cut them into coarse pieces.

The freezing method (from David Tanis, via The Kitchn): Freeze tomatoes on a baking sheet until hard. Thaw again, either on the counter or under running water. Skin them and cut them into coarse pieces.

The food mill method: Wash the tomatoes in cold water, cut them lengthwise in half, and put them in a covered saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Set a food mill fitted with the disk with the largest holes over a bowl. Transfer the tomatoes with any of their juices to the mill and puree.

Sublime Summer Dinner

Well, we’ve reached the midway point of summer. The days, which are (mostly) sunny and warm, stretch easily into beautiful evenings. Perfect for relaxing dinners on your deck, patio, what have you.  I’ve got two wonderful (and easy) recipes you should think about adding to your summer dining menus.

We like to start with drinks & nibbles on the lower deck and then move upstairs for dinner. For this particular evening, we set out an assortment of fresh vegetables (cherry tomatoes, celery sticks, small carrots) with delicious hummus and baba ghanoush from a local Turkish store (these ain’t your garden variety Middle Eastern appetizers!). I add fresh pita triangles (cut from the pita breads we also buy at the Turkish store) and this time I threw in a stand of Grissini sea salt breadsticks for a little crunch. I had never tried these before but saw them when I was buying the burrata at Fairway (more to come on that later) and figured I’d give them a try. They were delicious!  Add a refreshing vodka tonic or glass of wine and you’re all set!

On to the main event. We are huge lovers of soft shell crabs and grab them whenever we can. For this dinner, we built a menu around the gorgeous crabs we got at Peter’s Fish Market in Midland Park. We began with a shot of chilled gazpacho picked up at Peter’s and while Barry was sautéing the crabs, I put together the Pickled Nectarine Salad with Burrata. I found this recipe while going through some old magazines (like from 2013!). I’m glad I didn’t just chuck this Bon Appetit issue because this recipe is a definite keeper!

The mix of flavors in this salad is what really draws you in. You start with thinly sliced ripe nectarines, which you “marinate” with some red onion, white wine vinegar, and a teaspoon of sugar. Add to this arugula, fresh mint, some extra virgin olive oil, and plate around the burrata. A sprinkle of salt, a grind of pepper, and a drizzle more olive oil, and you’ve got a salad masterpiece! If you are not familiar with burrata, it’s similar to fresh mozzarella but WAY, WAY better. Delicate and creamy, it blends beautifully with the fruit and greens. If you can’t find burrata in your local store, fresh mozzarella will do but it won’t be quite the same.  As I mentioned above, I got mine at Fairway, and it was excellent. I’ve also used burrata in a genius Brussels sprout recipe from Paul Kahan and it was fabulous there, too.

We rounded out the meal with fresh, sweet corn, cole slaw, and a perfect Herman Wiemer 2012 Riesling that we picked up on our Finger Lakes weekend last November.

But, as they say in France, the piece de resistance, was dessert.  Ripped from the pages of Food and Wine, we enjoyed (that’s putting it mildly!) Cardamom-Oatmeal Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches. The cookies are delicious on their own, but when you put two together to make an ice cream sandwich, well, you’ve just hit the jackpot.  And I didn’t use plain old vanilla (although I adore really good vanilla ice cream), chocolate, or strawberry. No, no…I went right over the top with Haagen-Dazs Black Cherry Amaretto gelato. Oh, yeah.

So there you have it, a perfect summer evening dinner. Add good friends, a pretty table setting, cool music, and this is one you’ll remember for summers to come.

Print Nectarine Salad Recipe Here

Print Ice Cream Cookie Recipe Here

Bucu Burger Bar and Bakery

Burgers AND a bakery?  Bucu stands for Burgers and Cupcakes. What??? An interesting establishment has popped up in Paramus offering burgers and house-made cupcakes.  Where two of my favorite foods are involved, I knew I would have to investigate.

Started by Rick Ross and his wife, Kathy, they got the idea for Bucu as a compilation of everything people like: burgers and shakes, cupcakes, ice cream. They have not cut corners on any of the ingredients. The meat supplied by Pat LaFrieda (you’ve heard of celebrity chefs, LaFrieda is a celebrity butcher), is a special formulation made just for Bucu. The burgers are on the smaller side, as compared to the burger towers you might get at other joints, and while the meat had a nice texture, it was overdone for my taste. The people manning the counter do not ask how you’d like your burger cooked and when I spoke to Ross later, he assured me that you can get a burger cooked to order. Next time, I’ll be ordering up a rare, juicy burger-cheese combo.

The tidy menu offers 5-6 “composed” burgers and the option to “build-a-burger.”  Some of the composed options include the “Jersey Burger” (applewood smoked bacon, blue & cheddar cheeses, topped with grilled onions), the “SB 48 Burger” (cheeseburger piled high with hand-cut fries and chili), and the “Pig Out Burger.”  We sampled this last burger because we thought it was actually a pulled pork sandwich, but it’s really a burger topped with pulled pork, Jalapeno Jack cheese, and horseradish coleslaw.

We loved the Haystack Onions – thinly sliced and so crispy with not a trace of grease. The Hand-cut Fries were nicely salted and seasoned.

Bucu also offers chicken wings, hot dogs, salads, and a few sandwich choices.  We didn’t sample any of these because, really, we came for the burgers.  Oh, and maybe, a cupcake.

Kathy is the head baker and creator of all the cupcake and cookie recipes.  She uses only Callebaut chocolate and rotates the selection of cupcakes daily, ranging from carrot to red velvet and everything in between.  I forced myself to try the Pistachio and Coconut.  Both had a really nice crumb and creamy frosting.

They’ve come up with an interesting twist using their cupcakes and ice cream – it’s called a “Cupcake Shake.”  Take a cupcake, add ice cream, whir it in the blender, and voila – a cupcake shake!  The owners said the Red Velvet Cupcake Shake has been flying out the door. 

Speaking of ice cream, they get their ice cream delivered weekly from “Max & Mina’s” in Flushing.  Known for inventive, bold flavors, Max & Mina’s offerings the day I visited were Dark Chocolate, Madagascar Vanilla, and Cookie Monster.  Just as you might imagine, Cookie Monster ice cream is blue and studded with Oreos, chocolate chips, and graham crackers.  It was really good!  But being the vanilla snob that I am, I turned all of my attention there.  And let me tell you, it did not disappoint. Rich, creamy, and full of intense vanilla-bourbon flavor – I emptied the cup in no time flat.

Open only a little over two months now, the restaurant is humming along. Prices are reasonable and decorated in warm earth tones; Bucu sets itself apart from traditional fast food operations. Even though you order at the counter, your meal is delivered to the table when ready.  All the food is made from scratch, and all the confections made daily in-house. The owners are on-site and hands-on.

When I asked Rick how he came up with the name (after all, it is a little unusual), he said he toyed with other, more traditional, names but thought Bucu would grab attention and draw people in. That it will, and the food will keep them coming back.

Bucu

65 Rt 4 West

Paramus, NJ

347-470-2828

www.eatbucu.com

Open 7 days, 11am-10pm

Brooklyn, Summer 2009

Full disclosure: this post is primarily about steak. Vegans: turn back now.

Made a pilgrimage last night to the king of steakhouses - Peter Luger in Brooklyn. We were looking to experience steak in all its glory. And what can I say? This was a perfect meal.

Picture if you will: a steakhouse in operation since 1887, a building set on a corner in Brooklyn that no doubt has seen a myriad of changes in the last hundred or so years; dark, wood paneling covering the walls of the many dining rooms, a long bar right at the entryway manned by very able but not very friendly barmen, and old-world waiters who guide your dinner experience like the venerable Obi Wan ("...you don't really need two orders of the jumbo shrimp cocktail, sir."). Do you have that picture firmly in your mind? If so, then we can proceed.

Set not far from the Williamsburg Bridge, Peter Luger's is to steak as Julia Child was to fearless French cooking. Arriving about 30 minutes early for our reservation, we gladly took seats at the bar to enjoy a cocktail. Two burly barmen stood sentry behind it, filling various drink orders. As I mentioned above, they were not very warm or welcoming, but boy could they make a drink. And, really, do you need more than that at this kind of establishment? I think not. On to dinner.

Seated at a nice four-top, Bernard (our Obi Wan look-alike) immediately greeted us and brought a basket of heavenly breads. No focaccia here, folks. We're talking salt sticks, yeasty dinner rolls, and onion rolls. With salted butter. I could have been very happy with just my cocktail and this basket of incredibly good bread, but more sensible heads prevailed.

Our friend, Lou, who had been to Luger's several times recommended we start with three appetizers to share. The first selection was Sliced Tomato and Onions with Luger's Sauce. I thought to myself, how boring does this sound? But figuring that there must be something to it if it was a key set piece on the menu, I dove right in. Large slices of juicy tomatoes with equally large slices of onion - no seasoning, nothing else on this plate. But when you drizzled the "special sauce" over it, it became wonderful. They tell me this sauce is available in your local supermarket - it will be on my next shopping list. I don't know what's in it, I can't even tell you what makes it so special, but it took everyday tomato and onions and ramped it up a notch.

Next, Luger's Sizzling Bacon, Extra Thick. This was simply four slices of the

most incredible, mouthwatering, delicious, not-at-all salty, bacon I've ever had.

This, plus my cocktail, plus that basket of breads and I could have been happy (you notice the list of "happy with just this and that" is getting

longer...). Really, this was nothing but four slices of sizzling bacon - that's it. Fabulous.

The last appetizer was the Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail, Extra Large Portion (6). Six gorgeous, huge shrimp - plump and delicious, thank you very much.

Finally, we get to the real reason Luger's has been in business for lo these 123 years -their Porterhouse. Prime beef, chosen only by members of the family, and then dry-aged on-site until ready for consumption.

There are not many choices provided on how to order the steak - single steak or steak for two, three, or four. Even though we were a party of four, we ordered steak for three and were quite satiated. Peter Luger's porterhouse comes out sizzling and if it's a little too rare for any members of your party, you simply place a piece on the edge of the plate where it will continue to cook (very handy). This was a fantastic piece of meat - I couldn't stop eating it - tender, juicy, marvelously crusty exterior. Creamed spinach, onion rings, and the Special German Fried Potatoes brought up the rear. The potatoes were extraordinary - small, flavorful cubes fried crisp - nary a crumb was left on the plate. Not one item on our table required salt and pepper - everything had been expertly seasoned in the kitchen (imagine that).

Luger's has several nice items on the dessert list but we had other plans. Before I get to that, we need to wrap up on the steakhouse. I've been to Ruth's Chris, I've been to Morton's, and while those are good, if you want a true, old-world, rarefied steakhouse experience supplanted with outstanding quality, you've simply got to go to Peter Luger.

You know I'm all about dessert. So don't think that just because we didn't have dessert at Luger's that we were passing on it altogether. Au contraire, mon freire. Our friends had heard about an ice cream shop set underneath the Brooklyn Bridge. It was a beautiful, warm night so why not. Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory is, indeed, right underneath the bridge, but we were obviously not the only people brought out by the nice weather. A long line snaked out the door. The store offers only about six flavors and after about a 20 minute wait, we took our turn at the counter, then headed outside to enjoy our cones, all the while gazing up the East River at the Statue of Liberty, the boats sailing by, and that incredible bridge soaring above us.

While my coffee ice cream was very creamy, a bit stronger coffee flavor would have been more to my liking. But when you've got the lights of the South Street Seaport twinkling across the river, the lovely River Cafe (also set at the base of the bridge) bustling with activity, and tourists from around the globe posing for pictures at the water's edge, why complain. This is the stuff a summer evening in New York is made of.