Any Given Sunday

Tonight's Dessert

Sometimes, the very best desserts are those you leave alone, get out of the way of, and just eat. That is certainly the "recipe" for tonight's figs — we'll drizzle a few tiny drops of balsamic and will slice off a few chards of parm - maybe...

 

Bud Break in Santa Fe - 2010

It may have taken until today to reach 70 degrees and to push the apricot and peach trees into bloom but it finally happened! 
 

New Year's Day Breakfast, 2010

 Each year when January 1 rolls around, we splurge by having champagne and caviar for breakfast. It's our version of eating Hoppin' John, as we feel it brings us luck for the new year.

In addition to the caviar (from Little Pearl, which is stocked at a local market so we don't have to fly it in ourselves, thus saving food miles, and that was voted "Best Domestic Caviar" by Chefs in America, http://www.littlepearl.com/), the finely minced shallots , the homemade blini (an adaptation of a recipe by the Barefoot Contessa from her "Barefoot in Paris" book, recipe shown below), the Bellwether Farms créme fraiche (http://www.bellwetherfarms.com/), we enjoyed our last bottle of champagne by French producer, Pasqual Doquet. Two years ago, we found 8 bottles of his premier crus rosé and fell in love with it. The deep pink/red color, the crisp fresh strawberry fruit, the yeast -- all combine to make this bottle of bubbles one of our all-time favorites.

The bubbles are imported by Robert Kacher Selections in DC. We hope you find it as lovely and as memorable as we do.
 http://www.robertkacherselections.com/portfolio_results.php?keywords=champagne
 May your 2010 be filled with good fortune and great bubbly!

BLINI
 Adapted from the blini recipe by Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, from her "Barefoot in Paris" book.
We love this recipe since it doesn't require yeast, yet tastes like it does. The blini also rise well, even at the 7,200 ft. elevation we live at here in Santa Fe.

Ingredients:

1/3 cup buckwheat flour (we like the organic one from Bob's Red Mill http://www.bobsredmill.com/)
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 cup plus two tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter, clarified
Caviar
1/4 cup créme fraiche or sour cream
Finely minced shallots and/or chives for garnish

Combine the two flours, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, and 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter, then whisk into the flour mixture. Heat 1 tablespoon of the clarified butter in a medium sauté pan and drop the batter into the hot skillet, 1 tablespoon at a time. Cook over medium-low heat until bubbles form on the top side of the blini about 2 minutes. Flip and cook for 1 more minute, or until brown. Repeat with the remaining batter. (I clean the hot pan with a dry paper towel in between batches.) 

 

Farmers Market Apples, November

When I was growing up in Upstate New York, there was a Mountain Snow apple tree outside my bedroom window. I loved those apples — they were dark red on the outside and almost pure white on the inside, with just the right amount of sweet/tart balance. The only other time in my life I've found that variety was at the Santa Fe, NM farmers market. And contrary to how most idealized food memories go, these Mountain Snow apples are just as lovely and delicious as I remember the ones from my childhood to have been.

The End of the Season

It is All Saints Day here in Santa Fe and it's officially the end of the vegetable garden for the year. All the plants have been dug out and the trellises have been put away in the shed until next spring. We are already looking forward to the seed catalogs that will begin arriving next month, and to May 15, 2010, which is when we can plant next year's garden without the danger of frost. This was our best year for tomatoes ever - thankfully, we got around to canning to the pantry is full of wonderful sauce!

Harvesting tomatoes and making Nana's sauce!

These San Marzanos were sent to us last winter as seeds from Boston's North End, thanks to the wisdom and thoughtfulness of our good friends, Doug and Dianne Langeland. They were started on our dining room window sill in early February. Picking them now feels like an incredibly rich reward, full of friendship and love.

My Nana made one of the most delicious, yet simple, Marinara sauces I've ever tasted. Here is a link to the recipe (complete with photo gallery of the step-by-step process for making it: http://www.traceyryder.com/my_weblog/2008/09/marinara-sauce.html

If your garden (or farmers market) is overly full of tomatoes right now. Make several batches and put them up for a delicious winter taste treat. There are plenty of great books on canning processes widely available today.

Our "Farm" in April

Even though we got another 4 inches of snow yesterday (which is, thankfully, melting now), our seedlings are growing like mad, thanks to the sunny windows in our dining room. "Knee high by the Fourth of July"? — just check out the corn (center tray, last row). It's already ankle high now. Let's just hope that we've seen the last of the snow and frost now so that they can finally make their way to the ground soon.

Bowl Bliss

Fresh out of the kiln. Ready to fill and use. This Sunday's dinner is going to be as lovely as it will be delicious.

Pot Lucky

Living with an artist comes with many rewards. My rewards, in addition to hundreds of stunning photographs, come in the form of functional vessels. Having Carole be able to find the time to get back to her wheel and kiln again not only makes her feel great, it makes me pretty happy too. All I have to say is "I need some ramekins. I need a fruit bowl, and herb pot..." You get the picture. Shown above is the latest batch. Next up: soup bowls!