FOOD FOR THOUGHT

Apple Clafouti

This recipe, which in French is: “clafouti aux pommes”, is a homespun version of a traditional puffed French custard cake. The combination of apples, lemon, and cinnamon make this an impressive and classic dessert. Oui Oui!

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon softened butter
1 cup whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
3 large eggs
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon (or less if you want)
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 cups sliced sweet-tart apples
1 tablespoon confectioners’ sugar (powdered)

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350°. Butter a 9-inch by 9-inch square baking dish or a 9-inch deep-dish pie pan with the softened butter.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, flour, eggs, sugar, vanilla extract, lemon zest, cinnamon, and salt until it forms a smooth, thin batter. Spread 3/4 cup of the batter onto the bottom of the prepared baking dish and bake it for 2-4 minutes. Watch the batter closely and remove it before it cooks completely through. It should just start to thicken and set when it is removed from the oven.

Transfer the dish to a heatproof surface and arrange the apples in a fan pattern over the hot batter. Pour the remaining batter over the apples and bake for 35-40 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Sprinkle the confectioners’ sugar over the finished clafouti and serve it warm.

Makes 8 servings.

Tomato, Poblano Chilis and Mustard Tart

INGREDIENTS:
1 (1-pound) package of frozen puff pastry, thawed in the fridge for 1 hour
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
10 plums tomatoes (or regular ones with the seeds and pulp removed), sliced thinly crosswise
1 large onion, thinly sliced
3 Tablespoons finely chopped chives
1+ Tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 fresh Poblano chiles, seeded and sliced into rings
Salt and freshly ground pepper 

METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out the puff pastry to form a large rectangle, and then cut it in half, forming 2 squares. (If your puff pastry is already in 2 pieces, skip that step.)
Place one square on top of the other, and roll it out into a larger square.  Transfer the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, and prick the dough all over with a fork. Spread the Dijon mustard evenly over the dough and bake it for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, pat the tomato slices with paper towels to remove excess moisture.  Remove the pastry from the oven, sprinkle the onions and chives all over, and drizzle with olive oil.  Place the tomato slices in an overlapping pattern over the onions and chives, and sprinkle the slice poblanos on top.  Season with salt and pepper, and carefully drizzle a little more olive oil over the tomatoes and poblanos.  Return to the oven and bake 15 more minutes.  Serve warm.

HOW TO GRILL CORN

Remove all but the last, thin layer of the husk, which offers protection against burning but allows some browning of the corn kernels. Twist off the silk at the top of each ear but leave the rest of the silk inside. Over a medium fire on your grill, grill the ears until the husk blackens, then the corn is ready to be husked and silked (careful, the ears are hot).

You can slather either these flavored butters or dry rubs on your boiled or grilled corn:

Flavored Butters:

Lemon-Chive Butter: In a medium size bowl, mix together ½ cup (1 stick) softened butter or spread, ¼ cup fresh snipped chives or 4 teaspoons crumbled freeze dried and 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest, until well blended.  Makes ½ cup.

Roasted Pepper and Black Olive Butter:  In a medium size bowl, mix together ½ cup (I stick) softened butter or spread, ¼ cup each of finely chopped roasted red bell peppers and chopped pitted black olives, and ¼ teaspoon black pepper until well blended. Makes ½ cup.

Dry Rubs for Corn:

Chili-cumin Rub:  In a small bowl, stir together 12 ½ teaspoons each of chili powder and ground cumin and 1 teaspoon of salt.  Makes 2 tablespoons.

Ginger-curry Rub:  In a small bowl, stir together 4 teaspoons of grated, fresh ginger and 1 teaspoon each of curry powder and salt. Makes 2 tablespoons.

Mixed Herb Rub:  In a small bowl, stir together 1 tablespoon each of freshly chopped rosemary, sage and thyme or 1½ teaspoons each of the same crumbled dried herbs. Makes 3 tablespoons.

Peach Kuchen (Circa 1945)

1 stick of butter
2 c. flour
¼ tsp. baking powder
2 T. sugar
¼ tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 c. sugar
1 c. whipping cream
2 egg yolks

Blend one stick of butter, 2 c. flour, ¼ tsp. baking powder, 14 tsp. salt and 2 T. sugar.  Put all of this in a 9x12 inch baking dish. Blanch 6 peaches for 1 minute only, remove the skins, cut them in half and place them on top of the crust. Blend the 2 c. of sugar with 1 tsp. cinnamon and sprinkle all over the fruit and crust. Bake for 15 minutes at 350°F. Blend 1 c. whipping cream with 2 egg yolks and pour over the hot peaches.  Bake for an additional 30 minutes, until the custard is set.  Serve warm and enjoy.

Eight-Ball Zucchini Parmesan

1 (1-ounce) slice French bread, torn into sm. pieces
6 eight-ball zucchini (about 1½ pounds)
½ c. packed spinach leaves
8 basil leaves
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 sm. onion, peeled and quartered (about 5 ounces)
¾ tsp. olive oil
1 c. chopped plum tomato
½ tsp. salt
¼ c. (1 ounce) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
Flat-leaf parsley sprigs (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10
times or until coarse crumbs measure 1 c. Set aside.
Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise; scoop out pulp, leaving a
¼-inch-thick shell. Set pulp aside. Steam zucchini shells,
covered, 6 minutes or until tender. Drain, cut sides down, on
several layers of heavy-duty paper towels. Place zucchini pulp
in food processor; process until finely chopped. Spoon into a
bowl. Place spinach, basil, garlic, and onion in food processor;
process until finely chopped. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick
skillet over medium heat. Add spinach mixture; cook 3 minutes,
stirring occasionally. Add zucchini pulp, tomato, and salt; cook
8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in
breadcrumbs. Fill each zucchini half with about 2½ T. zucchini
mixture. Sprinkle evenly with cheese. Bake at 350° for 20
minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish with parsley, if desired.

Jalapeño Spiked Cherry Preserves

Leave the seeds in the chilies to give this a little kick. You can use
this as a spread on a turkey sandwich, as a grilling sauce for chicken or pork or even as an appie topping over a chunk of cream cheese to spread on crackers.

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1 ½ cups water
2/3 cup cider vinegar
1 ½ teaspoons ground ginger
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
Dash of salt
Dash of ground cloves
Dash of nutmeg (or not, if you don’t care for this flavor)
4 jalapeño peppers, sliced
2 pounds sweet cherries, pitted and coarsely chopped
1 large Granny Smith apple (or any tart apple you like), cored and chopped

Method:
Combine all ingredients in a large, heavy saucepan, bring to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer until slightly thick and reduced to 4 cups (about 50 minutes), skim the foam from the surface of the mixture, occasionally. Cool, pour into an airtight container (the mixture will thicken as it cools) and then refrigerate.

Yield: 4 cups. This will keep in an airtight container for up to three weeks at least.