January 2013
Happy New
Year! I hope the second week of January finds you rested and recovered from the
holidays and ready to explore some new cookbooks and recipes. So many times as
January dawns we make promises that revolve around food. Eat less, eat more
whole grains, eat no grains, eat only organically grown foods, eat local, eat
exotic, etc. I made one resolution. Not one food related resolution, but ONE
resolution. I am making a promise to all of you, dear readers, to faithfully
blog each and every meeting of The Literate Epicures of Newtown for all of
2013. Hopefully, I don’t let anyone down with that commitment.
In keeping
with that promise, here is the rundown of last night’s meeting of the Literate
Epicures of Newtown. We decided to hark
back to our roots and chose Ina Garten’s
Barefoot Contessa FOOLPROOF.
We had some
lovely starters to whet the appetite. Marianne made the Tomato Crostini with
Whipped Feta. The recipe suggests either colorful heirloom tomatoes or cherry
tomatoes. Marianne was fortunate enough to find colorful heirloom cherry
tomatoes! Now January tomatoes are not known for their quality, they often
resemble red billiard balls in texture and flavor, but these little gems were
delightful. The whipped feta was the perfect foundation to perch a mound of the
tomato shallot vinaigrette mixture. Fresh and tasty, we all decided it is a
winner.
Brenda made
the Fig and Fennel Caponata which was an inspired blend of flavors. Big bonuses
for this recipe, every ingredient was readily available and it is made on the
stovetop – no oven required! She loved that it was so easy and produced such a
wonderful dish.
Anne made
the Caramelized Bacon. She also commented that it was very easy, but had
difficulty finding Applewood smoked bacon so she substituted Hardwood smoked
bacon. It didn’t matter one bit it was delicious! The brown sugar, nuts, syrup,
etc were put into a food processor and ground into a thick paste. She then
topped the bacon slices with the syrup mixture and baked it on a foil lined
pan. It did take a little longer than written, but the end result was
outrageously good and on everyone’s “must make” list.
Marian
brought the Jalapeno Cheddar Crackers which were a little deceptive. They were
wonderful and rich but we decided they are a little closer to a savory
shortbread than a true cracker. The recipe calls for 5 oz of grated sharp white
cheddar. Marian cautioned that when one is grating the cheese in the food
processor, it is against ones best interest to open it before it has come to a
complete stop. The canine residents of her home were the lucky recipients of
several ounces of freshly grated cheddar as it flew in graceful arcs across her
kitchen! After a quick check for more cheddar, she was on her way to making the
perfect treat to nibble with cocktails. Another plus to this recipe is that you
can make several “rolls” of dough and slice and bake them as needed so you
always have fresh goodies to offer unexpected guests.
Joanna made
the Roasted Beet Salad which was a feast for the eyes as well as a treat for
the taste buds. A bed of fresh emerald green arugula topped with the beautiful garnet
red beets (she mentioned she had never roasted beets before, and really liked
the result) and creamy white goat cheese had the perfect balance of peppery
notes, creamy notes and just a hint of sweet from the beets. We all decided that
beets are really under-utilized and there should be more recipes and methods
for making them.
Yours truly
made the Isreali Couscous with Tuna and it was quite good. I am not a
canned/jarred tuna fan and even I thought the dish had merit. Isreali Couscous
is a larger cousin of the couscous we all know and love. In the larger version,
it is a little toothier and had a little more substance and held up nicely to
the oil cured olives, scallions, roasted peppers, lemon, fresh basil and of
course the imported jarred Italian tuna. Very simple to make, it was the
perfect choice for me to put together after a hectic day at work.
Janet made
the Jambalaya and though she was very pleased with the results, she felt there
were a lot of ingredients and steps to complete this dish. The chorizo and
chicken had to be browned separately; lots of ingredients had to be hand
chopped, and there were a LOT of steps! She agreed that it was delicious, but
would only make it again for a special occasion – this is not a middle of the
week after work type of dish!
Toni brought
the Sweet Potatoes and was very pleased to let us all know that it was super
easy, only 3 ingredients and one of the most delicious sweet potato dishes any
of us had ever tasted. Instead of the cloying overly sweet sugar or marshmallow
topped things that find their way to our holiday tables, these were bright and
light and a really lovely compliment to almost any main dish we could name.
Along with the baked and mashed sweet potatoes, there is a little orange juice
and just a bit of zest to add that lift to the whole dish. Definitely on the
make again list for many of us.
After
enjoying all the savory offerings, some of us went back for seconds (okay, I
know I did and I didn’t keep tabs on anyone else LOL) it was time to try the
desserts. Lisa brought the Chocolate Chunk Blondies. Oh myyyyyyyyyyy (I wish I
had an audio file of George Takai and his world famous “Oh Myyyyyyyyyyy” to hot
link here) they were amazing! They were that perfect balance between cakey and
just a tiny bit of brown sugar chewy with massive chunks of awesome chocolate
(the recipe called for one of those easily available yellow bags of chunks,
Lisa used the upscale super deluxe yummy chocolate and not one complaint!)
these are something I must make soon. Or never, since if there was an entire
pan of them in my house I would be sorely tempted to eat the whole thing.
Definitely a fantastic recipe.
Shelly made
the Carrot Cake with Ginger Mascarpone frosting. Heavenly! There is no other
way to describe the unbelievably moist cake studded with candied ginger and
topped with clouds of the ginger infused creamy light frosting. She did mention
that there were a lot of steps, but the end result made this a truly
spectacular dessert. Like the Jambalaya, it may not be something you can throw
together on a whim but it is so good it is worth planning an afternoon around
baking to serve this to people you love.
Overall we
were all pleased with the book, some of the recipes seemed a little
intimidating and involved, but after
making them and discussing we all had a much higher opinion and will be reaching
for this one a regular basis.
The next
meeting is Tuesday, February 12 (7:00 PM) at The Newtown Bookstore. We will be
cooking from Canal House Cooking Volume N° 7: La Dolce Vita by Melissa Hamilton
and Christopher Hirsheimer which is also available at The Newtown Bookstore.
Hope to see you there!
