Top o' the Crumb to You!

I don't know what it is about spring, but somewhere between the cool morning air and being woken by cheerful, chirping birds, my stomach rumbles for something special. I suppose it's being woken in such delicious terms that rouses me in much the same way my birthday or Valentine's morning would, my belly anticipating the sweets to come.

On my birthday, it would be sour cream pound cake with cream cheese icing. And, the best part about this is, I can eat it for breakfast! I don't believe anyone else willingly springs from their bed, before the sun, some thirty-odd minutes past six just to eat their birthday breakfast.

But, on these spring mornings (that are six months shy of my birthday) I wake up craving something substantial, something that surpasses oatmeal, eggs and toast. I crave scones, crumb cakes and streusel-topped muffins. I crave homemade granola bars dotted with dried apricots and walnuts, french toast with blueberries and coconut milk.

Below are recipes for spring mornings worth celebrating!

**Remiss, alas, is a recipe for the ultimate muffin, for which I would gladly travel five hundred miles back for, to a bed and breakfast in Sonoma Valley, California owned by the Girl & the Fig restaurant. The size of a large grapefruit, streusel-topped and dotted with plump blueberries, I believe I could eat this muffin each morning of my life and never cease to celebrate. For this recipe or one similar, I am on a quest. But, until then......

This New York-style crumb cake will just have to do.
(Moist and crumbly, this cake is supposed to serve 12, but between my husband, myself and two of my favorite co-workers, the cake was gone in 2 mornings!)

topping:
1 c. packed dark brown sugar
1/2 c. sugar
1 1/2 T ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1 c. unsalted butter, melted
2 1/2 c. all purpose flour

Mix top 4 ingredients. Add melted butter and stir to blend. Add flour and toss with fork until moist clumps form.

cake:
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 c. unsalted butter, room temperature
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/3 c. sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Sift top 4 ingredients in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat butter in large bowl until smooth. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until well blended. Add sour cream and vanilla and beat until just blended. Add flour mixture in 3 additions. Transfer cake batter to baking dish; spread evenly. Squeeze small handfuls of topping together to form clumps and drop evenly over batter, covering completely.
Bake about 1 hr until topping is golden brown and slightly crispy and inserted tester comes out clean. Cool at least 30 mins. and enjoy!!

Apricot-Walnut Scones
(serves 6) These are my husband's favorite. They are lighter than some, literally melting in your mouth, but have that perfect crumble that I adore in a scone.

2 c. flour
1/3 c. sugar
1 T baking powder
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. chopped dried apricots
1 1/3 c. heavy whipping cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk first 3 ingredients in large bowl. Stir in walnuts & apricots. Add cream; stir with fork to blend. Transfer dough to floured surface, knead until smooth and form into 1-inch-thick round. Cut into 6 wedges. Transfer to baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, about 18 mins. Serve warm or room temperature.
Try and eat just one! It's hard!

Panettone French Toast
with coconut milk and blueberries

1/2 vanilla bean
2/3 c. coconut milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 T sugar
1/4 tsp. ground cardamon
4 T butter
8 slices panettone or other sweet bread
powdered sugar
blueberries
mango

Split vanilla bean in half, lengthwise and scrape out seeds. Put coconut milk, eggs, sugar, vanilla seeds, and cardamon in bowl and beat well.Pour mixture into shallow dish.
Heat half the butter in large skillet. Dip two pieces bread into egg mixture and saute until golden on both sides. Repeat with remaining bread and serve with powdered sugar, blueberries, cream and sliced mango.
Envision the chirping birds are exotic toucans, pop in some island music and enjoy!

In Gourmet Fashion

For many of us, the month of March will mark a sorrowful four-month anniversary. We will pass through grocery lines gazing wistfully, remembering times of old and that former flutter in our hearts upon seeing a new glossy cover of Gourmet magazine. Plump, purple berries, juicy, sweet and all a drizzle over a cloud of white ice cream against a crisp, pale blue background. Crispy- skinned plump turkeys, greasy steak-frites glistening with sea salt.

Loyal fans, behold! Land Ho!

Conde Nast has made back issues available for purchase as well as framed covers dating back to the 1930's available in different sizes with matted options. They also offer tri-fold cookie note cards complete with recipes and photographs gathered from Gourmet photo shoots. Just visit www.condenaststore.com. And, hopefully over the next few months, your trips through the grocery lines will feel increasingly less empty as your walls evolve into wonderfully cluttered collages of scrumptious Gourmet memories!

Sweet Potato Roots Pt. 2

These recipes come from the southern most roots of all, and even more specially, from a collaboration between my colonial and Native American ancestors.

Spoon bread, a pudding-like corn bread tastes of my childhood, whipped up so often by my grandmother and served beside pork chops, lima beans, and a tangy tomato aspic. My husband describes the bread as a cross breed between corn muffins and corn casserole. But, for those most closely connected to the recipe know that it most resembles its original inspiration, Suppawn, an Indian porridge.

Spoon Bread (Courtesy of Hotel Roanoke, Roanoke, Virginia)
makes ~10 servings

1 1/2 c. corn meal
1 tsp. sugar
1 1/3 tsp. salt
1 1/2 c. boiling water
1/4 c. butter
5 eggs
2 c. milk
1 T baking powder

Preheat oven to 350. Mix corn meal, salt and sugar in large bowl. Scald with boiling water. Add melted butter. Beat eggs; add milk in med. bowl. Combine egg mixture to corn meal mix. Add baking powder. Pour into oiled 9x13 baking pan and bake 30-40 min.


Sally Lunn bread, another childhood comfort from my grandmother's kitchen, is golden, crumbly and crispy on top with a fluffy, soft, textured interior. It slices easily and is heavenly when smeared with a pat of butter alongside Brunswick stew, seafood chowder or anything else! The recipe traveled across the Atlantic, nestled in pockets of America's earliest British settlers. And, thank goodness it did!

Sally Lunn Bread (Courtesy of the Junior League of Hampton Roads, Virginia)

1 pkg. dry yeast
1/4 c. warm water
2 T soft butter
1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
3 1/2 c. flour
1 c. warm milk

Soften yeast in warm water. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs and salt, stir in 1 1/2 c. of flour and beat vigorously. Stir in milk and softened yeast; mix well. Add remaining flour and beat vigorously. Cover, let rise in warm place until doubled (1 hr.). Stir down batter and spoon evenly into Turk's head mold. Cover and let rise again until doubled (30-45 min.). Bake in preheated 325 oven for 10 mins., increase temperature to 375 and continue baking for 20 mins. more. Remove from pan. Serve and enjoy!

Sweet Potato Roots

When one leaves the Southeast, one's fixin' to know it at first bite. Pork ain't the same, barbecue ain't the same, hell, even sauce ain't the same. And, don't get your panties in a wad when people regard you with blank stares upon request for a sweet tea.

So, whenever I come across a fusion restaurant far from home and discover they're incorporating a bit o' southern flair into they vittles (actin' like collards are some kind of exotic green), my heart cain't help but swell with pride.

A recent trip to Dallas restaurant, Sevy's, sent my tastebuds straight into the thick of a magnolia scented dining room.
The culprit: barbecue-glazed salmon over buttermilk-chive whipped potatoes with tabasco butter and crispy leeks.

And, if that wasn't enough, famed seafood restaurant, Reef, in Houston, Texas (where my husband and I dined a week later), whipped up hearty servings of crispy-skinned seared snapper over sweet and sour chard and tomato brown butter, and roasted grouper over corn pudding with salsa cruda and grilled peach. Now, slap me silly if we ain't in the South! Also on their menu, a fried mac and cheese that stands alone at a size comparable to a very large, well-endowed grapefruit. (We were informed that this southern treat remains the most time-consuming item to prepare on the menu.)

Now, if I do say so myself, I think I'll be off my soapbox for the night, clamp me on some pearls and cook me up a tomato pie! Bon Appetit, y'all!

Grandma's Tomato Pie

1 box Bisquick
4-5 large tomatoes
1/2 c. mayo
3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese
salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. (400 depending upon your oven)
First: prepare the crust
Follow instructions on pkg. for crust and press into deep-dish pie plate.
Second: thinly slice 4-5 large tomatoes and layer in dish.
Third: Mix 1/2 c. mayonnaise and 3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese, spread in an even layer across the top of the tomatoes.
Salt and pepper the top, pop in the oven and bake 25-35 min. or until the Bisquick crust is a golden brown and the cheese is melted and bubbly.

*optional: add 1 tsp. italian seasoning, 1/2 T chopped chives, or fresh basil leaves to tomatoes.

To Be or Not to Be a Black-Eye Pea

Does anyone else ever wonder what it would be like to be a black-eye pea?

Often the black sheep of its' distant relatives, the black-eye pea spends its life being somewhat avoided; small and lonely, it's spotted skin rarely stars as an accompaniment to fried chicken, roast turkey or slow-cooked pot roast. No, these roles are reserved for the more elegant green pea or hearty butter bean.

Until recently, even crispy crudites turned up their noses, diving with strict loyalty into creamy blends of chickpea and white bean hummus.

How sad then, to be a black-eye pea, forever subject to twisted mouths and wrinkled noses. And, how triumphant when decided upon to play the role of good luck charm on New Year's celebrations.

Yes! Cheers to the compassionate soul that demanded black-eye peas be the bearer of good luck each new year!

Despite the good news, however, many receive the pea with trepidation. They fork single peas, and pinching their noses between thumb and forefingers, hesitate a moment before hastily shoving the small, trembling pea into their mouths, chewing quickly and concluding with an overly dramatic attempt at swallowing. Now, how's a pea to feel when greeted with such a reception?

I, for one, want to take a stand for the black-eyed peas of the world and provide these underdogs with the due reverence they deserve! And, I will do so by providing two of the most delicious, good-luck recipes for you to share with your families in your upcoming new year's celebrations. So, take the plunge, prejudice aside, and dive into the delectable world of the black-eye pea!

Carolina Caviar
This dip is a true crowd pleaser. No matter how much we make, we never have left overs, and for the people in my household, this is truly a travesty.

3 bell peppers (1 red, 1 orange, 1 green) diced
2 cans sweet white corn, drained
2 cans black-eye peas, drained
3 green onions, diced
4 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 c. chopped cilantro
1-2 Tb fresh lemon juice
1/4 c. Champagne dressing (Italian, red-wine vinegar and olive oil, or another favorite dressing will do if you prefer.)

Toss all ingredients to combine and serve with Tostito Scoops. Enjoy!


New Year's Southern Stew
My husband created this recipe and it was the most satiating, comforting pot of stew I've had in quite awhile. My mouth waters just thinking of it. May it bring you just as much joy and good luck!

1 6 oz. can tomato paste
3 c. water
1 c. chicken stock
1/2 head cauliflower, roughly chopped
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
1 8 oz. can black-eye peas, drained
1 Tb. fresh rosemary leaves
1 link turkey kielbasa sausage

In medium size pot, let cauliflower simmer in water, chicken stock, tomato paste and rosemary, 10 mins. In skillet, saute onion and sausage until onion is soft and sausage browned on both sides. Add onion and sausage to simmering cauliflower stew. Simmer add'l. 5 mins. Add black-eye peas and serve with crusty, twice baked corn bread to sop up all the tangy tomato, rosemary-scented rustic goodness.

Banana Seats & Fireworks

The Fourth of July conjures up hazy recollections of banana seat bikes at neighborhood block parties, picking Blue crab fresh from the Chesapeake Bay and watermelon-seed spitting contests. I even recall a particular Fourth of July, back in the early 90’s where neighbors performed the popular Madonna song, Vogue, while decked out in blonde wigs and black leather, thus sparking an early love affair for beauty marks (er, moles) and tall black boots.

Nineteen years and 1,500 miles from the east coast later, I am re-evaluating my defining Fourth of July festivities.

In reverence of my favorite shell fish, I munch on Utz Crab chips and sip Perrier’s Pamplemousse Rose (grapefruit scented) sparkling water, while flipping through the July editions of Gourmet and Bon Appétit for inspiration.

I drool over coffee-rubbed, barbeque burgers, chipotle baby-back ribs, peanut butter and chocolate chip blondies à la mode and a particular honey caramel peach pie.

With lips already in smacking mode, I open a notebook and begin planning in accordance with my allotted budget. Now there’s a surefire way to stunt my cooking enthusiasm. On a teaching salary, it is essential that I become the world’s most creatively prudent cook.

I remember the 99 cent strawberries from the grocer down the street and decide on a strawberry dessert. I think of the pot of basil on my front stoop and sweet potatoes in my cupboard. And, though slightly dejected at moments, having discarded romanticized notions of baby back ribs, lobster rolls and giant blueberry pies, I settle on a menu that is both budget-friendly and still lip-smacking-good. And, here it goes:

Grilled corn with cumin and lime
Open face tomato, egg and basil sandwiches
Sweet potato salad with cilantro and sautéed peppers
Mini frittatas with bacon and herbs
Strawberry crisp dessert

And, as for banana-seat bike riding and Madonna impersonations, I settle for the pool in the backyard and a place on the hood of the car for Houston’s fireworks show, with many thanks to host, Shell Oil.

Happy Fourth to Americans everywhere! We sure are a lucky bunch. God bless the USA!

Porks & Prawns

When I was young, summer smelled of honeysuckle, magnolia, a fresh-cut lawn and juicy pork chops. If I close my eyes, I see my dad's watchful eye hovering above the grill, returning every three minutes from the kitchen.

If I follow my dad inside, he'll be spinning my mother around to old Van Morrison or Frank Sinatra. Watching their faces, I see that they are smiling, sometimes laughing, with eyes often closed; anticipating their familiar dance partner's every move.

Tonight, I am back home, not quite as young. But, summer smells relatively unchanged. An occasional perfume of gardenia floats beneath my nose, replacing the wisteria of my youth. And, prawns replace pork's former place on the grill. The music has been updated to pop-crooner Lenny Kravitz, who screeches, "American wommman," as my mother shimmies in circles around my dad.

It is always nice to be home, no matter pork or prawn. Everything's more delicious when made while dancing with those you love.

Dad's Prawns with Lemon-Garlic Butter:

Olive oil for coating

Spice rub:
1 Tbl. sweet paprika
1 Tbl. garlic powder
1 tsp. lemon pepper
2 tsp. salt

24 large prawns

Lemon-Garlic Butter:
1/2 c. salted butter
zest of one lemon
juice of one lemon
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper

16 wooden skewers, soaked for thirty minutes

Coat prawns with rub and thread onto skewers.
Melt butter in saucepan, stirring in lemon juice and zest, garlic and cayenne. Reserve half for basting, the other for serving.

Grill over direct heat, turning once or twice to baste, until evenly pink.

Serve immediately to jazzy tunes of choice!