Sunshine on a Vine

Over the last few months, I have been in withdrawal.  Serious withdrawal.  No, not that kind of withdrawal. Tomato withdrawal.

I love fresh tomatoes.  In fact, I could (and usually do) eat them everyday.  But when winter rolls around, the pickings are slim, tasteless and outrageously expensive. (It has been particularly bad this year, with the unseasonably cold weather in the southern US and Mexico).  

I was therefore extremely happy to find tomatoes at the market which actually looked, smelled and tasted like tomatoes. 

I used the tomatoes to make a simple salad: chopped tomatoes, cucumbers and red onions.  I dressed the salad with a meyer lemon vingrette, but honestly, a splash of olive oil would have also been delicious. 

I still long for the dog days of summer, when the field grown tomatoes are in abundant supply.  But these tomatoes, coupled with a balmy high of 74 degrees, reassured me that spring has arrived and summer is on its' way. 

Blueberry Tart

I don't usually buy fruit out of season, but several weeks ago, the produce market had beautiful blueberries on the shelf.  I subsequently bought 2 pints, and used a half pint for a blueberry frangipane tart (more on this later).  The remaining berries were in the refrigerator for several days, waiting patiently for me to do something with them. But what?  Another tart?  Why not?

As you might have noticed, I have been making a lot of tarts lately.  This has been, in part, to experiment with different recipes and to improve my technique. The experiment is going well, and the staff in my building (who get most of the spoils) seem to be satisfied with the results.

Many recipes for fruit tarts (and pies) call for flour as a thickening agent.  I prefer to use tapioca, which produces a silky filling, without clumps or a pasty after taste.  When making blueberry (or peach) filling, I also like to add a generous squeeze of lemon juice, which is a natural complement to both fruits.

This tart would have been nice with just the fruit filling, but I decided to add an oatmeal crumb topping for extra crunch. It was a good choice.  As you can see below, we cut into the tart before it had cooled. And it was delicious.

 Here is the recipe.  Enjoy!

The Slipping Sliding Birthday Cake

This weekend was a series of birthday celebrations -- replete with celebratory food, birthday sweets and fun. The first celebration was for my friend, Ava.

We (Ava, Mia and I) celebrated Ava's birthday at Locanda Verde, in Tribeca, on Saturday night. Desert was at my place, and Ava requested a Tart au Citron, in lieu of a birthday cake.  Definitely, a fine choice. And we all enjoyed it.

The second celebration was for my nephew Garrison, who turned eight on Saturday. Garrison, in contrast to Ava, wanted nothing to do with fancy French pastries. He wanted a chocolate cake with chocolate icing.

My favorite recipe for chocolate cake is a bit unusual, as it incorporates cocoa, vegetable oil and brewed coffee. The batter is extremely thin, but the recipe produces a rich, moist cake ...... to die for.

Normally, I like to fill the cake with a raspberry or cherry filling, and ice it with a chocolate ganache.  But this was for a kid's party, and I wanted to make a more traditional chocolate icing -- which I could use to ice and decorate the cake (and skip the fruit filling all together). I subsequently scoured the web for a chocolate icing recipe and settled on a recipe which I found on a random food blog.

Random food blog.  Those words should have made me pause. But no, I never learn.  I made the recipe anyway, and I quickly realized that something was wrong.  Seriously wrong.  So wrong that the icing would not stick to the cake. In fact, the icing was so thin that it started to ooze out of the center, like a festering wound.  So, like a trauma surgeon racing to the OR,  I quickly rushed the ailing mess into the fridge, and prayed that bleeding would stop.

Luckily, after 20 minutes, the icing firmed up enough for me to finish icing the cake.  I even managed to pipe a decorative border around the top and bottom.  (Forget a garland on the side; there was no way that was going to happen.) A few candles and a red baseball hat finished the sorry mess. 

Garrison didn't notice the mess.  In fact, the birthday cake was a big hit (no pun intended), and everyone went home happy.  Here is my killer chocolate cake recipe.  As a community service, I will not pass on the chocolate icing recipe.

Coconut Rice Pudding with Raspberry Compote

I am not a huge fan of rice pudding.  My mother made it when I was growing up, but normally I took a pass when it was served. This recipe, however, dazzles with the addition of coconut milk and a fresh raspberry compote.

This is a very easy recipe to make, but it requires some babysitting (in the form of occasionally stirring the pot). As a result, I like to cook the pudding when I am in the kitchen preparing something else.

After the pudding is done, you can spoon it into decorative glasses or place it into individual molds.  I used a silicon baking pan, which made 4 (individual) dome shaped servings.*  

The raspberry compote has 3 ingredients: fresh raspberries, sugar and Chambord Raspberry Liqueur. Once the mixture comes to a boil, it only takes a few minutes for it to thicken.  I have seen recipes which suggest putting the mixture into a food processor (or blender) after it cooks, but I find this step is unnecessary.  In my experience, the berries break down (on their own) while the compote is cooking.  To complete the sauce, strain it through a fine mesh sieve to remove the seeds.

This is a delicious do ahead dessert, which tastes best served at room temperature. I hope that you enjoy it.

Click here for the recipe.

*If this seems too fussy, you can also chill it in a serving bowl, and let your guests serve themselves -- with the compote and fruit on the side.