When I was a kid summer seemed like it was half a year long.  There was this seemingly endless supply of lazy days to enjoy, and if something didn’t get done today, well there was always tomorrow.  When did that all change?  I suppose this means I’m “getting old”, right?

When I lived in California, most cities in my area seemed to have some sort of “summer concert series” in their city parks one night a week.  It was a time when everyone, regardless of age and genre of music, would enjoy live music while munching on everything from the most elaborate of picnics to a bucket of fried chicken picked up at the nearest KFC.  For me, half the fun was simply wandering around checking out what everyone was eating and how they had packed and set it up.  Unfortunately, the heat and humidity of the south doesn’t seem to encourage the lazy lingering evenings of concerts in the park.  Not to mention the fact that a mosquito the size of a chihuahua would likely zero in and make off with a chicken leg or two!

Since it seems there’s not much that can be done to slow down the time then the only thing to do is try to make the most of it.  Now that most schools have started and the traditional “end of summer” is upon us with the arrival of Labor Day, why not make the most by enjoying the still-abundant supply of summer’s produce and weather with a picnic?

I love picnics because they can be so versatile.  From the simple bucket of fried chicken and purchased potato salad, to a multi-course made-from-scratch array of salads, sandwiches, and desserts, they can be tailored according to the occasion or your level of commitment.

When it comes to sandwiches, there are no rules…be creative with breads and fillings.   Summer is the perfect time to enjoy a BLT with juicy slices of home-grown or farmer’s market tomatoes.  Who says it has to be on slices of toast?  For a southern twist, I like to make “Black & Blue” BLT’s using my Black & Blue Biscuits with Peppered Brown Sugar Bacon.

How about an alternative to the traditional potato and cole slaw options?  A delicious and decidedly different offering is Green Tomato & Melon Salad. 

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I created this based on a description from a guest in one of my Low Country Cuisine classes a couple years ago.  While we were discussing fried green tomatoes, she told the group about a salad her grandmother would make by combining green tomatoes with cut up melon and poppyseed dressing.  Intrigued by this unique sounding creation I quickly went to work and came up with the following recipe.  When eaten raw, green tomatoes taste very similar to a tart green apple with just a bit less crunch.  If green tomatoes aren’t available in your local market without special order and you don’t have any in the garden, you could substitute tomatillos (green looking tomato-looking fruits that are encased in a papery green skin) or simply forego them.

With very little labor you can enjoy a labor-less labor day picnic by preparing the biscuits and salad the day before.  The salad will be even better flavored after soaking in the dressing overnight and it travels easily. 

Split your biscuits before packing in a plastic storage container to prevent them from breaking en-route.  Tomatoes and lettuce can be prepped before leaving home and pack in another storage container or gently placed in zip-top bags.  As for the mayonnaise, if you haven’t been in the practice of acquiring individual foil pouches from your local fast food joint, put mayonnaise in a quart size zip-top bag and squeeze out the air before sealing.  Place that in another zip-top bag with some ice cubes to help keep it cold while traveling.  Once you’re ready to assemble sandwiches you can simply snip off the corner of the mayonnaise bag and pipe it onto your biscuits “lickety-split”!

A recent group of guests and the fruits of their labor during a recent
“Summer Picnics” class.

Melon & Green Tomato Salad

An unlikely companion to sweet melons, green tomatoes provide an interesting counterpoint of tartness that helps to accentuate the sweet flavor of the melon. The slight punch of flavor from the sweet onions adds another layer of flavor that gives this simple salad a unique flavor profile. 

Core green tomatoes and cut each into 8 wedges. Cut each wedge into 3 pieces cross-wise and add to the melon in the bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the cider vinegar, sugar, kosher salt, mustard and grated onion. Whisk to combine so that the salt and sugar begin to dissolve. Slowly drizzle in vegetable oil in a thin steady stream while whisking constantly to emulsify. Add poppy seeds and pour over melon & tomato mixture in bowl. Toss to coat with dressing.

Note: Dressing may also be made with an immersion (hand) blender – simply put all ingredients into a large glass measuring cup and blend until emulsified.

When was the last time you said this to your produce manager or farm stand owner?  Heck, would you even know if their melons were “lovely”?

I frequently have people ask: “what should I look for when choosing…._______(fill in the blank)?”.  This is the height of melon season and with so many flavorful and sweet options to choose from, it’s helpful to know how to select one that will taste as good (or even better) than it looks.

Because most fruits won’t ripen once they’ve been picked, it’s important to hone in on the right indicators of ripeness:  

1.  Aroma is one of the best indicators for most fruits.  One of my most favorite aromas is a ripe aromatic cantaloupe.  You can almost taste the juicy sweet flesh when you smell it!  Crenshaw and some of the other soft-skinned melons like Honeydew will also exude an aroma.

2.  Skin:  When selecting cantaloupe and other muskmelons, look at the color beneath the “netting” of the skin.  You want to select a melon that has a nice golden brown/tan color.  If the color under the netting is green, it’s not ripe.  The color patch on the underside of a watermelon is a good indicator as well.  If the patch  where the melon was resting on the ground is white, then it’s immature and probably not sweet.  If the patch is yellow, it’s more mature and will be sweeter.

3.  Blossom-End:  Gently press on the blossom-end of the melon and see if there is a gentle yield to the pressure of your finger.  If not, it’s not ripe.  A ripe melon generally has a slight yield to the gentle pressure of a thumb pressed against the blossom end.  Note:  If your thumb should go through the skin it’s TOO ripe (probably rotten).  Put it back, pretend like nothing happened, and hope that no one saw you!

4.  Thumping:  While my mom always used her thumb and middle finger to “thump” a watermelon, I have had two different people from produce stands recently tell me to pat the watermelon with the open palm of my hand, in a motion similar to playing the bongo drums.  If the sound is deeper, more of a baritone sound, then it’s ripe.  If the sound of the melon is more of a tenor-note, it’s not as ripe, and a bass-note will be over-ripe and mushy.  The higher note is caused by the denser flesh, the lower note is caused by the greater open pores of the ripe melon. 

5.  “Straw-Dowsing or Divining”:  I don’t really know how to describe this as it sounds more like folklore to me than logical but I’m going to offer it anyway.  In a manner similar to dowsing or divining for water where you hold a wire or forked branch in front of you to find water, the idea here is that you rest a broom straw on a melon running cross-wise.  If it rotates in line with the length of the melon, it is ripe.  If it doesn’t, the melon is not ripe.  I had never heard this until I was recently at a farmers market and asked a vendor for their recommendations on selecting a ripe watermelon.  He said an old farmer had taught him this trick and he didn’t believe it either until he tried it on a pair of cantaloupes where one was ripe and the other was unripe.  The straw didn’t turn on the unripe cantaloupe.  After doing a quick search on the internet I’m finding lots of people that seem to swear by this method.  I recently tried it with the straw alone to see if it even moved and on a few it did.  I didn’t have  the benefit of cutting into the melons to taste and compare (figured the produce stand wouldn’t like me slicing into a bunch of different ones).  Guess I’ll have to try it on a couple of cantaloupes to see the taste comparison or invite 30 people over to have a watermelon tasting.   I’m curious to hear if any of you have heard or or tried this method?  Can anyone share experience with this?

So there you go…now you’re armed with a little knowledge to make you more confident and capable of determining who has the fairest melons in the land!

If you there are additional tips that you have found to be useful I’d love to hear them!  Especially if anyone has used that straw technique.

Here are a couple of ideas for using the recipe for Romesco Sauce which I recently posted.  These are just a few of many uses.  After seeing my post, Jeff Parker a chef friend and fellow blogger, said he was thinking of using it as a pizza sauce…olives, cheese, anchovies…good stuff  just waiting to happen!

Suggestion #1:  Use as a dip.  I had some nice fingerling potatoes from the farmers market that were needing to be used.  I cooked them in salted boiling water until tender and then split them in half, tossed them with some olive oil, salt, and pepper and grilled them just until crispy and lightly marked on the outside.  Arrange them on a small plate with Romesco Sauce as a dip and you’ve got an easy and different hors d’ouevres.  Let your guests use the grilled potatoes as “dippers” as they mingle, or spoon the sauce on their plate to dip into as they enjoy a different style of “chips & dip”.

Suggestion #2:  Use as a Salad Dressing:  While grilling the afforementioned fingerling potatoes, I also split some yellow squash in half and drizzled with olive oil, salt, and pepper and grilled alongside the potatoes.  When the squash and potatoes are cool enough to handle, cut into bite size pieces and toss with enough Romesco Sauce to coat and pour onto a platter.  Sprinkle with crumbled feta cheese and chopped or torn parsley leaves for garnish.   Any grilled vegetables would taste great in this salad…let your imagination and tastebuds run wild!

Panna cotta is Italy’s answer to creme brulee, except that it’s not as rich, nor is it bruleed.  Other than that, it’s exactly the same!  Well, not really….

Panna cotta translates as “cooked cream” in English.  It’s heavy cream that is sweetened and flavored and set with gelatin rather than eggs or egg yolks.  The gelatin is what keeps it from being as rich and heavy as creme brulee.  The amount of gelatin can also be a bit tricky.  Too little and it won’t set up, but with too much you’ll end up with a rubbery texture.  The right amount will give you the most ethereal, light, creamy dreamy texture – little pillows of cream on your palate!

Unfortunately the one area where it can leave a little to be desired is in presentation.  If it’s been poured into a ramekin it is usually unmolded and plated, often with fruit and sauces to dress it up.  Not impossible, but I’ve never been a fan of having to unmold gelatin-based items because it’s very often a challenge to warm up enough to loosen from the mold without heating too much and softening the exterior.

I typically prefer to serve panna cotta in a glass, either rocks or martini, and garnish with fresh fruit, or with a sweet aspic, whipped cream and sprinkling of lavender blossoms as I did with a chocolate lavender panna cotta,

or with orange supremes and spun sugar as I did with this recipe for Orange Flower Panna Cotta.  This recipe is from my friend Martha Hopkins who is an aphrodisiac expert and co-author of the acclaimed “New InterCourses: An Aphrodisiac Cookbook”.

Orange Flower Panna Cotta

Orange flower water is available in some grocery stores with extensive international sections, Indian stores, and mid-eastern grocers and delis.  As an alternative, you can steep a few strips of orange zest in a bit of hot water until infused, about 20 minutes.  It won’t be the same, but it will lend a mild, sweet orange flavor.  I prefer mid-eastern brands such as “Cortas” which tend to be true distillations of orange blossoms.  European brands (usually easier to find in regular grocery stores) tend to be orange oil that’s been diluted and is too strong and doesn’t have the delicate floral quality of true orange flower water.  I have also had luck finding orange flower water in health food stores where it is often located in the cosmetics section since it’s used as a natural perfume. 

Yield:  4-6 servings

2 tablespoons cold water
1 1/2 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1 cup heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup half-and-half
2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons orange blossom water

Place the water in a small bowl and sprinkle with the gelatin.  Let sit 10 minutes to soften.
Set a large saucepan over medium-high heat, and add the cream, half-and-half, and sugar.  Bring to a boil, stirring frequently, until the sugar is dissolved.  Remove the pan from the heat and add the gelatin mixture and orange flower water, stirring to dissolve the gelatin completely.  Pour the cream mixture into 4 ramekins or decorative serving glasses, and cool to room temperature.  Cover and chill for at least 6 hours or overnight for the panna cotta to set.

To serve, fill a mixing bowl with hot water.  Dip each ramekin in the hot water for several seconds and run a knife around the edge to loosen the cream from the sides.  Place a serving dish on top of the ramekin and invert.  Or, serve the panna cotta directly in the ramekin or glass and avoid the cumbersome unmolding process altogether.

Alternate Presentation:

Peel and dice a couple of peaches or a mango and toss fruit with an additional tablespoon of orange flower water.  Spoon a mound of the diced fruit on top of, or around panna cotta before serving.

Heavily influenced by the Moorish rule of the Iberian Peninsula from 711ad to 1492AD, the cuisine of Spain incorporates many influences from both the Arab world as well as the new world.  Moors (a collective term for both the Arabs and Berbers that invaded and ruled the Iberian peninsula) are credited with introducing many of characteristic ingredients to this region including: citrus, dates, eggplant, zucchini, rice, almonds, sugar, and the use of exotic spices such as saffron, cinnamon, and cumin.  The discovery of the new world by Christopher Columbus and other explorers contributed a great many new ingredients such as peppers, tomatoes, potatoes, and chocolate.

Romesco sauce bears some similarities to Gazpacho in that it blends Moorish influence with New World ingredients.  Romesco however is from the region of Catalonia in the northeast and Gazpacho originated in the region of Andalusia, at the very southern end of the peninsula.   The modern food processor makes easy and quick work of what would have traditionally been a bit more cumbersome to prepare.  Romesco is a blending of ground nuts (often hazelnuts and/or almonds), toasted bread, pureed tomatoes and/or peppers, vinegar, spices and garlic.  Romesco could also be considered a cousin to Syrian Muhumarra, a very similar style sauce which traditionally uses pine nuts.

If “variety is the spice of life” then Romesco is one of the condiments and sauces everyone should learn to make.  Romesco can be used for anything from a dipping sauce for bread and vegetables to a pasta sauce, sandwich spread, and salad dressing.  Use it on its own or mix it with mayonnaise, sour cream, yogurt and other ingredients and let your mind and tastebuds go wild!

Many variations abound, some relying more on roasted peppers as the base and other using tomatoes and tomato paste combined with dried chilies but all are very similar.  Adjust the nuts and combination of ingredients to suit your taste.  This is a recipe I recently concocted:

Spanish-Style Romesco Sauce

Roast peppers on the grill or in the broiler until charred.   Cut the tomato in half at the equator.  Rub both sides of the tomato and the bread with a little of the olive oil.  Place tomatoes cut side down on the grill along with the bread.  Grill until toasted and slightly charred on both sides.

Remove core and peel roasted peppers.  Place all ingredients except olive oil into the workbowl of a food processor.  Grind until mixture comes together into a paste.  Scrape sides of bowl and while processor is running, drizzle in remaining olive oil to form an emulsion.  Taste and adjust seasoning with additional garlic, vinegar, salt or pepper as desired.  Use as desired or refrigerate for future use.  The sauce should be fine for 1-2 weeks refrigerated.  Freeze for longer storage and return to processor to re-emulsify if necessary after thawing.

We’re Bakin’ Bacon!  You betcha…no fakin’!

Ah, bacon…. delicious, glorious, beautiful, crispy, crunchy pork flesh!  Just thinking of it make my mouth begin to water.  The smell of it could drive a dog to get it himself…if only he had thumbs!   The mess it can make when cooking is another story…not so pleasant.

If you’re still cooking bacon in a pan on the stove-top, it’s time to make a change and take a tip from professional kitchens…USE THE OVEN!   I’m not talking microwave here either.   Yes, I’ve done bacon in the microwave but unless it’s your only option I just don’t think it’s a good choice.   The smell alone is what I’d expect if Babe tried to escape the farm and got hung up on an electric fence….not good!   You probably don’t have a self-cleaning stove but chances are the oven is self-cleaning.  The volume of bacon being prepared in most hotels and restaurants would make it virtually impossible to cook on the griddle or stove top.  When I was sous-chef in the main kitchen of Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa at Walt Disney World, we would routinely go through 80-100 pounds of bacon per day.  So much in fact that on the morning shift we had one cast member who would spend an eight hour shift doing nothing other than cooking bacon and slicing and portioning deli meats.  You better believe they weren’t standing over a griddle flipping rashers of bacon from side to side!

Whether you’re cooking bacon for your family, feeding brunch to an army, or making BLT’s for a crowd, the oven is perfect way to cook your bacon. 

• First, it’s virtually mess free…except for the pan, but you’d have that with the stovetop method too. 
• Second, it frees up both you and the stove top for other things that might need to be cooked. 
• Third, it won’t need to be flipped and will turn out nice and flat.

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Bakin’ Bacon:

1.  Bring home the bacon… DO NOT fry it up in a pan.

2.  Preheat oven to 350F  (325F for convection ovens).

3.  Line a rimmed baking sheet such as a jelly-roll pan or half-sheet pan with parchment paper or with foil.

4.  Lay bacon out on the pan and place pan in oven.  Fold in half to form a “V”-shape if using for sandwiches…two pieces will fit perfectly on most standard bread and won’t hang off the ends.  Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until cooked to desired doneness. 

Now for the REALLY GOOD STUFF….I call this “Bacon Crack”.  Consider yourself forewarned…IT IS ADDICTING!

Peppered Brown Sugar Bacon

The key to this is to use a really smoky-flavored bacon that’s cut thick.  The smoke flavor works well with the sugar and the “bite” of the black pepper. A co-worker of mine calls this “Candied Bacon”, a very fitting name indeed!   Be sure to make lots of this so there’s plenty to go around! It’s addictive and any extra that’s leftover is great on a BLT! Chances are there won’t be any left! 

Yield: 8 servings

1 lb. thick-sliced smoked bacon

1 cup light brown sugar

Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place brown sugar in the center of a large plate. Break up any clumps so that it is evenly spread across the plate. Separate the pieces of bacon and lay on top of brown sugar. Press into sugar and then turn over to coat the other side. Fold into a “V” shape and place on a parchment lined pan. Grind black pepper evenly across bacon for a little “bite”. Bake for about 20 minutes or until crisp and nicely browned.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly to allow sugar to crystallize and harden.

This can be prepared earlier in the day and served at room temperature1

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In the grand Southern tradition of using what is fresh from the garden and mixing it with some form of fat…I present to you:  Tomato Pie.  Okay, to be truly “southern” you’ll have to work on the pronunciation of “pie” (draw it waaaaaaaay out) but we won’t get hung up on that.   If you aren’t familiar with Southern cooking, tomato pie might sound like some sort of strange dessert.  Sure, technically tomatoes are fruits, and they are sometimes used in desserts, but this is more like a quiche, except without the eggs. 

Earlier this summer Jason, a regular guest of mine, emailed me about a tomato pie recipe he was making, and the troubles he had with his crust.  He emailed me the recipe for troubleshooting.   Thanks to the cream cheese dough we had made in one of his recent classes, he solved the problem on his own by simply swapping out the traditional pie crust for the cream cheese dough.  If you want a lower fat version, swap out the cream cheese dough for a standard pie crust.  If you don’t feel confident in making pastry dough you have a few choices:  1) Do as Jason did and join me for my “Tantalizing Tarts” class, 2) Use a purchased pie crust from the refrigerator or freezer section of your store, OR 3) as another guest said that she used to do….buy the ingredients and ask  a friend who’s confident to make a bunch of the dough for you and stash them in your own freezer!

Well, I finally got around to testing the recipe and used the cream cheese dough as he recommended.  My taste testers all approved!

I think I might make try one change to the recipe (mainly out of curiosity) and that would be to first saute and caramelize the onions before placing them in the crust.  The original recipe uses them in raw form which helps them provide some textural contrast to the rest of the pie through the slight crunch that they still retain. 

The saltine cracker crumbs are used to absorb excess moisture from the tomatoes.  Note that it is important after slicing the tomatoes, to season them and lay out on paper towels to “degorge” or draw out excessive moisture before putting them in the crust.

Tomato Pie

Serve this warm with a bowl of crab stew for a perfect Southern summer lunch or light supper. 

Yield: 8 servings (1 9-inch pie)

1/2 batch of Cream Cheese Pastry
10 Roma (plum-style) tomatoes
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 medium onion, cut into julienne (thin strips)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cup mayonnaise
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese (white or yellow)
1/2 cup saltine cracker crumbs

Prepare and refrigerate dough for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Slice tomatoes cross-wise in 1/4-inch thick slices and poke out the seeds.  Place tomato slices on paper towels in a single layer.  Season with salt and black pepper.

Combine mayonnaise, mozzarella, cheddar, oregano, a light sprinkle of salt and freshly ground black pepper.  Mix to blend evenly.  Consistency should be thick but spreadable (adjust with mozzarella or mayonnaise as necessary).

Roll out the dough to a thickness of about 1/8-inch.  Line pie plate with dough and trim and crimp the edges as desired.  Scatter saltine cracker crumbs evenly across the bottom of the crust.   Scatter sliced onions over the top of the cracker crumbs.  Layer the sliced tomatoes over the top of the onions and season by sprinkling with the finely chopped fresh basil.  Spread the cheese mixture over the top of the tomato slices.  Bake for 25-30 minute or until top is golden and crust is done.

Let sit and cool for about 10 minutes before serving.

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In my last post I explained a couple of options for smoking tomatoes.   Today I thought I’d show two options for roasting peppers.  Both roasted peppers and smoked tomatoes can be easily frozen in either zip-seal bags or other storage containers so you can enjoy them year round. 

Great cooking year-round is dependent on having great ingredients at the ready.  In today’s world we’re lucky in the sense that we can purchase just about anything we need/want nearly anytime of the year.  However there is often a price to pay, especially if it’s an ingredient that’s already been prepped in one way or another.  Roasted peppers are one of those items that are available in jars as well as even deli section “olive bars” these days but if you’ve made a key buy at the grocery store, farmer’s market, or had a bountiful harvest you’ll save yourself a lot of money by roasting them yourself.

First, why roast?

Roasting chars and blisters the skin which results in a delicious deep smoky charred flavor in whatever you might be preparing.  Roasting also cooks the peppers to make them much more tender and also makes it easy to remove the otherwise tough skin.

Fire-Roasting:

Probably the most common method and only method (until recently) that I’ve used.

This can be done on a grill or on the open grate of a gas stove burner.

After washing the peppers, place the whole pepper over a preheated gas or charcoal grill (or gas stove burner) and periodically turn the pepper as the skin chars and turns black.  It needs to do more than blister – it must actually blacken for best flavor and to remove the skin.

Once the peppers are blackened all the way around, remove to a platter, plate, or bowl and allow to cool.  Once the peppers are cool enough to handle, carefully pull the core out and  you can simply scrape the blackened skin from the flesh by wiping with a dry paper towel.

Roasting in Broiler:

This is a new method to me and is perfect for people who may find themselves lacking both a grill and a gas stove.  Sandy Gluck, host of “EveryDay Food” radio show on Martha Stewart Living Radio swears by this method.  I was curious so tried it and have to admit it works very well and also minimizes concern of burning a whole in the side of a pepper if you forget to turn it!

Preheat your broiler for about 5-10 minutes.  Simply stand the pepper on the stem end and cut off the “panels” of the pepper.   Most peppers will have 3 or 4 “panels” or sides to them.  Place the panels on a foil-lined baking sheet (to speed up clean-up) with the skin-side facing up.  Place baking sheet under broiler until the peppers are nice charred and black.  Remove from broiler and cool until you’re able to handle them.  Peel in the same manner as previously described.

Put your garden’s harvest or treasures from the farmer’s market to good use by preserving them for the rest of the year!

Red Ripe Tomatoes…Get ‘em while you can!  This time of year I love tomatoes on and in everything.  The deep intense red of a plump bulging tomato simply screams “summer” to me!  Unfortunately my early spring challenge of trying to keep deer from dining on my roses made me realize that the effort put into a vegetable garden would likely only benefit those I was trying to keep away.  Luckily I can easily drop into Polk’s Fresh Market here in Savannah’s historic district to stock up on vine ripe tomatoes.

When I was a chef at the Disney Institute at Walt Disney World, my friend and co-worker Christina Tenney made the most amazing soups.  As Saucier she was responsible for all of our homemade soups, stocks, and sauces for both the restaurant and banquets.  My favorite was her Smoked Tomato Bisque.  She would smoke the tomatoes in a our large commercial smoker.  When she taught a soup class for me a couple of years ago she adjusted the recipe to make use of a nifty item called a “smoker bag” which is a double-lined foil pouch with very fine wood chips between the two layers of foil.  The inside of the bag has tiny pin-pricks that allow the smoke to fill the interior.  You simply place your food inside, fold over the ends and place on the bottom of the oven, on the grill, or even on a campfire.  I’ve carried them in my retail line-up the past couple of years but time got away from me this year and I didn’t get them ordered before I needed them for a class where I was doing the smoked tomato bisque.  I had to find a suitable replacement….quickly!

If you have a smoker at home or a smoking box for your grill you have the answer easily at hand.  If you’ve never smoked vegetables I highly recommend it.  The flavor is incomparable and can take a basic soup/sauce to new heights.  If you’ve smoked herbs, that’s not what I’m talking about…probably best to keep those details off the record.

A makeshift stovetop or oven smoker can be made by using a deep roasting pan (disposable foil even better so it can be discarded when done) and placing the food on a rack so that it’s elevated above the soaked wood chips that are placed in the bottom of the pan (on a sheet of foil if not using a disposable pan).  After putting the food into the pan, cover tightly with foil and place over a stovetop burner on “high” until smoke can be seen coming from the edge of the foil when lifted slightly.  Turn the heat down to about medium so it’s high enough to keep the chips smoking without cooking the food too quickly.  This works fine if you can keep it on the stovetop the entire time.  I needed to smoke my tomatoes in the oven to free up burner space and the problem I encountered with the wood chips in the oven was that there wasn’t enough direct heat (even when the pan was on the floor of the oven) to keep the chips smoking heavily.

My next best alternative seemed to be those thin wood “papers” that are designed to wrap around food for grilling and infusing the flavor of the wood.  The thin nature would make it easy to get them smoking and they should smolder easier than the irregular shape of wood chips.  Should I wrap them around the tomatoes or just put the tomatoes on a rack above them, much the same as the method described above?There was no other option than to test both methods and compare:

Unfortunately as soon as I got back from the store I realized I forgot to pick up some disposable aluminum pans.  I lined both pans with foil to prevent the smoldering of the wood from discoloring and affecting the pans.

In both cases the thin wood sheets were soaked in water for 30 minutes.  In the first pan (at top of photo) I placed the wood “paper” in the bottom and place a cooling rack on top to elevate the tomatoes above the wood.  The tomato was cut into quarters and placed cut side down to absorb maximum aroma from the wood.

In the second pan (bottom of photo) I simply wrapped the wood paper “wrapper” around the quartered tomatoes and placed them seam side down on the foil-lined pan.  The pans were covered tightly with foil, except for a small corner space left open to observe the level of smoke before putting it in the oven.

The pan was put on the burner which was turned to “high”.  When smoke started wafting out of the pan (be certain it’s smoke as initially steam will be generated from the moisture being heated), I covered it tightly and put it on the bottom of the oven that had been preheated to 500 degrees F.  If you have a convection oven, make sure you use it in “standard” mode and place the pan on the bottom (if the element is hidden) or on the lowest rack (if the element is visible in bottom of the oven).  Both pans were smoked at 500 degrees in the same oven for 15 minutes.

When the time was up, the pans were removed and allowed to cool while still covered.  Once they cooled it was time uncover the results and taste test!

THE RESULTS…….

The tomatoes that had been wrapped in the wood paper sheet were cooked but the wood sheet had barely darkened, much less smoldered.  The tomatoes had very little smoke flavor. (Top of photo)

The tomatoes that had been placed on the rack over the sheet that was placed underneath them had lots of great flavor!  The sheet had darkened and had noticeable signs of smoldering and smoking which was obvious by the flavor of the tomatoes themselves. (Bottom of photo)

Conclusion:

If  you’re wanting to smoke vegetables and you don’t have a smoker or grill with a wood chip box, then my first choice would be the “smoker bags”  that I initially described.  They can usually be found in grill and barbecue specific stores and in the past I’ve found them in the grilling section of Lowe’s and even the meat department of Piggly Wiggly grocery store.  Unfortunately this year they were nowhere to be found.

If you can’t find “smoker bags” then go with the thin wood papers used for wrapping around food for grilling.  Place the sheet flat in the bottom of the pan and smoke as directed above by starting on the stove and then finishing on the floor of a preheated 500 F. degree oven.

One of the most common frustrations I hear in regards to baking is how people can’t seem to make a nice flaky pie crust.  This is exactly what happened with Jason, a recent guest of mine earlier this spring.  He and his fiance had joined me earlier in the year and we had started trading emails about cooking questions.  When they returned in spring for my “Tantalizing Tarts” class, he said he was on a quest to make a better crust for a tomato pie recipe which he’d recently been trying.  At that point he liked how the filling was, but wasn’t having the best luck with the crust.  His crust seemed to be lacking in the fat department.  Despite playing around with it a bit he still wasn’t satisfied and said he was going to the cream cheese dough that we made in class as part of a savory mushroom & boursin cheese tart.  He emailed me a few weeks after the class and rejoiced with success!

Cream cheese dough is an incredibly easy dough with amazing versatility.  This is a recipe I often suggest that people commit to memory because it’s pretty darn easy (equal parts by weight if you have a scale) and is useful for both savory and sweet items.  I first learned about it years ago while attending a chef’s conference in Las Vegas and listened in on a presentation by the pastry chef of Charlie Trotter’s in Chicago.  She said she always kept it on hand to make spur of the moment fruit tarts and other sudden inspirations.

One of the reasons that I love to teach how to make this dough is most people have issues with toughness.   Adding too much water or overworking dough are the culprits of a tough pie crust.  It’s virtually impossible to make this dough tough because two-thirds of the dough is fat!  (Ok now…I said it was easy, not low-fat!)  Technically though it would be Low Carb!  Plus, the moisture from the cream cheese is what brings the dough together so there’s no concern or debate of how much water needs to be added.  It’s virtually fool-proof! 

Cream Cheese Pastry Dough

This dough can be made savory by adding chopped fresh herbs or spices such as curry powder and other blends.  Replacing a portion of the cocoa powder will make a chocolate version.

Yield: 2 9-inch pie or tart crusts

2 cups all-purpose flour
8 oz. butter (2 sticks) cold butter, cut in small pieces

8 oz. cold cream cheese, cut in small pieces

Place flour in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add butter and turn mixer to speed 1 or low.

Mix until butter is cut into flour and resembles coarse meal.

Add cream cheese and mix just until mixture comes together.

Shape dough into disks or rectangles no more than 1-inch thick.

Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before using.  Store in refrigerator up to 5 days or freeze for longer storage.

To use:

Remove dough from refrigerator and let soften at room temperature very slightly for a few minutes. When dough is beginning to soften slightly, roll out on a floured surface as needed for necessary preparations. Keep dough chilled to maintain flakiness.

When re-rolling scraps, do not mash together in a ball and roll out. Instead, layer scraps one on top of another and then roll out to maintain flakiness and prevent overworking the dough.

Bake at 400 degrees F.