Smothered Squash with Basil

I went to grad school in upstate NY, and arrived one early summer. Syracuse was so different from any place I'd lived before. I found it grey and chilly, despite the summertime, and forlorn with a negative growth rate.

Then I found the farmers' market and everything seemed a little brighter on Saturday mornings. It showed me the value of having fabulous, fresh, local veggies (not to mention the fresh doughnuts -- worth the wait in line) long before I got a little green. Ever since I've sought out markets wherever I live, and have yet to find a farmers' market quite as good.

A couple of weeks ago, I saw an ad for a downtown farmers' market in my hometown. I was pysched and wanted to head down to support it. This town is not the kind of place that bends easily to change or new ideas so this is a bit of a big deal.

So off my mom and I go, my mom sporting her market bag I crocheted her. Unfortunately, we didn't really need it; it hasn't gotten to be that type of market yet. It was mostly baked goods, breads and pies, paintings, jewelry, and a few stands of limited veggies and herbs. I did find a beautiful bunch of basil, which excited me more than is logical or reasonable. I have no excuse, except that I absolutley love the smell and taste of basil.

I haven't cooked a lot with basil, so I googled it up and found a simple recipe on Epicurious that also would use the yellow summer squash I'd bought by the pound. I was surprised by this recipe. Usually when I see smothered, I think cheesey and rich, as in "scattered, smothered, covered, chunked." This smothered is from Cajun cuisine, meaning to brown in oil, then braise in a small amount of liquid, tightly covered, until tender. I altered the recipe by adding more basil. It went so well with the squash and made an amazingly good dish.

Smothered Squash with Basil
adapted from Epicurious.com

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/2 lb medium yellow squash, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 1/8-inch-thick slices
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 cup water
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup finely chopped fresh basil

1. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then add half of squash and sauté, stirring occasionally, until browned, about 5 minutes.
2. Transfer browned squash to a bowl, then heat remaining tablespoon oil and sauté remaining squash in same manner.
3. Return squash in bowl to skillet. Add garlic and sauté, stirring occasionally, 1 minute.
4. Add water, salt, and pepper and simmer briskly, covered, until squash is tender and most of liquid is evaporated, 6 to 7 minutes.
5. Stir in basil.

TwD: Chocolate Souffle

This afternoon, it suddenly dawned on me that all my birthday weekend festivities had left me without Chocolate Souffle, the pick of the week by Susan of She's Becoming DoughMessTic. Check out her blog for the recipe and a wonderful post.

So I hurriedly made these...probably not the best way to go about making a souffle, that kitchen creature that grows in the oven and threatens to beat even the best bakers into utter frustration with sinking centers.

I imagine French chefs throwing their tall white hats on the floor and stomping furiously until they sadly resemble the fallen souffle.

Was I up to the challenge?

Surprisingly, these were super simple to make and rose beautifully --- but only for about one minute. Thankfully, that doesn't seem to affect the taste much. Dorie has a theory she presents in BFMHTY that souffles got their bad reputation back in a time without electric mixers and conventional ovens and all our nice gadgets. It would be a totally different experience to whip egg whites until glossy by hand. Whoa. I'm almost tempted to try, with a glove on. The last time I whipped something by hand I had major blisters.

I liked the souffle, though it could stand to have a more chocolate intense flavor for my tastes. The eggs lent a texture that didn't wow my mouth. It was kinda funny. I added a scoop of basil ice cream on top, which was a lovely pairing. A sauce would work well with these.

Tuesdays with Dorie is in the Washington Post!

Do a little happy dance...

The Tuesdays with Dorie baking group is one of the online cooking communities highlighted in this Washington Post article written by Cheryl Lu-Lien Tan, who is herself an avid food blogger. It is amazing how these online communities connect people of varying ages, disciplines, and locales, and inspire many to challenge themselves in all areas of life. In a world where food and food preparation is a critical and delightful element of culture, these online communities offer a virtual kitchen that each member can step into and share in the jokes, the disasters, and the experiences of others with similar tastes, despite distance, gender, age, etc. The list goes on, and further highlights the true value of these communities in offering an element of community that is often lost as we get in our individual cars to sit in a cubicle to drag home and watch TV: it allows people to connect in an environment that encourages attempts, does not ostracize for failure, and enthusiastically shares in success. It may start in the kitchen but the feeling of mastering (or at least managing) new things and the process of learning often adds support to other dreams and undertakings.

Thanks to all the Tuesdays with Dorie bakers out there, and a special shout-out to Laurie for getting the whole Baking-ball rolling and introducing me to the always sweet Dorie Greenspan!

TwD: Expresso Cheesecake Brownies

This week's pick by Melissa of Life in a Peanut Shell is....Expresso Cheesecake Brownies! Sound overloaded and completely rich??? It is...and then some. I have to say that this sort of brownie is right up my mom's alley. She downs at least one French press of coffee a day and has always had a weakness for cheesecake that leaves me with a stomach ache. I can eat copious amounts of almost any confection...cheesecake being on the limited edition list. So while I enjoyed these, I leave the real yay or nay to my mom, who enjoyed them muchly. We both agreed with other TWD bakers in thinking the brownie a little dry. However, the second day the brownie wasn't as dry, and was a nice, solid base for the cheesecake. Quite a structural piece. I love the marbled top. It seems so promising. I cut one row of brownies while the brownies were still warm, and the cheesecake cut much better - after cooling, they stuck to the knife and I ended up eating an entire brownie top while "cleaning the knife."

TwD: Applesauce Spice Bars

Thanks to Karen of Something Sweet by Karen for the pick this week! These bars are definitely a little taste of fall.

These were very moist and even better the next day. I scraped the bowl after the batter went in the pan...and after the glaze went on. Brown sugar, butter, and cream! Did burn my tongue a bit though. These were so moist that little chunky bits of raisin and pecan and apple fell out through the cooling rack. More treats for the cook! It's like the crunchy bits of fried food - it's the best part and it doesn't count if no one sees you snag it.

TwD: Brownie Buttons

So I've been M.I.A. lately, mostly because I've been busy getting out of MIA...moving. Ah moving. The excitement of an adventure and a move to the next big thing, and the sadness of leaving behind good friends and good times. Mostly I'm excited, though moving can be a bit tiring. Which is one reason why this week's recipe chosen by Jayma of Two Scientists Experimenting in the Kitchen was perfect. It was easy, miniature, and yummy. I thought the brownies were a bit dry but Mom and Sister loved them. I skipped the orange zest (for lack thereof) and am thinking it might have helped after reading Jayma's blog. I also skipped the white chocolate topping (for the same reason as the orange zest) and replaced is with a German chocolate-esque caramel coconut glaze. Some of the brownies got crowned with an almond, and after trying both, they all got stuck with one. These little addictive brownies were too poppable to stay around long. Thankfully, I only made half a recipe that gave me 12 little brownie buttons.

Oh, and I love the name Brownie Buttons. I think Dorie must have fun with the names sometimes.

Coconut Topping

2 Tablespoons butter

2 Tablespoons light brown sugar

1 Tablespoon milk

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1/3 cup sweetened coconut

Heat butter, sugar, milk, and vanilla over medium-low heat until boiling. Stir frequently and boil rapidly. The color will appear lighter. Add the coconut and continue to boil until it returns to a rapid, frothy boil. Continue to boil until it thickens slightly. Spread over cooled brownie buttons. The topping with hardened slightly after cooling, but will remain gooey.

TwD: HONEY PEACH ICE CREAM

This ice cream rocks! Thanks to Tommi at Brown Interior for this week's awesome pick! Just in time for the summertime heat down here in Miami. I used good ol' Georgia peaches and clover honey. I love ice cream but have rarely made my own. My family makes it every July 4th, whipping out the ice cream machine and boxes of rock salt once a year to make a monstrous tub of homemade vanilla ice cream. A few times additional flavors have been added to match our favorites of the summer, toasted coconut and peaches are the ones I remember. We always try to eat as much as possible the first day - through brain freeze and all - when it's still sitting in the ice cream maker. After it hits the freezer, it's never as good.
I'm definitely looking forward to the ice cream in a couple of weeks! Yet, the large machine, the rock salt, the noise and monitoring so it doesn't catch, is quite an undertaking. I'm going to start searching for a lovely, little, hassle-free ice cream maker. In the meantime, I took a cue from Clothide's Chocolate and Zucchini for those sans ice cream makers. I made the recipe as directed, and then put it in the freezer, stirring about every hour or so. The ice cream will begin to freeze from the outside in, so the periodic stirring allows it to freeze more evenly. And it worked! The texture wasn't weird at all. Just creamy dreamy.

I'm surprised I liked the honey taste as much as I did. I'm more of a purist when it comes to fruit ice creams. This was divine though. I halved the recipe and boiled all the peaches in the honey (because I didn't read far enough ahead in the recipe). Next time (and there will definitely be a next time), I'll try just half in the honey and half added plain later. I'm hoping this will allow the peaches to stand alone in taste and mingle with the honey.