Peach and Blueberry Crumble

What a perfect Barefoot Blogger choice from Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen. I was given a bucketful of fresh blueberries from my future sister-in-law, Hannah, just last week. I was also able to find beautiful ripe peaches at the Broadripple Farmers' Market. The crumble was perfect, and I know that I will use the recipe with different fruit.

Peach and Blueberry Crumble

For the fruit:

2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)

For the Crumble:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.

For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit. Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles in the refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serves 5 to 6.

Source: Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa at Home, Page 197-198

Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes

This Barefoot Bloggers recipe was one that I kept pushing off until later, and now I can't figure out why! I used this recipe as a vehicle to add a few things that I had in my fridge and from my garden. Since my new roommate (my younger brother) refuses to eat any meal that does not include something that once mooed, oinked, clucked or barked (just kidding on that last one!), I added some large pepperoni chunks which were a perfect addition. I also added sauteed summer squash because I have a bumper crop in my little garden. Thanks to Cat of Delta Whiskey for choosing this great recipe, I'll definitely be making it again.

Pasta with Sundried Tomatoes

Ingredients

1/2 pound fusilli (spirals) pasta
Kosher salt
Olive oil
1 pound ripe tomatoes, medium-diced
3/4 cup good black olives, such as kalamata, pitted and diced
1 pound fresh mozzarella, medium-diced
6 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained and chopped

For the dressing:

5 sun-dried tomatoes in oil, drained
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
6 tablespoons good olive oil
1 garlic clove, diced
1 teaspoon capers, drained
2 teaspoons kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan
1 cup packed basil leaves, julienned

Directions

Cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water with a splash of oil to keep it from sticking together. Boil for 12 minutes, or according to the directions on the package. Drain well and allow to cool. Place the pasta in a bowl and add the tomatoes, olives, mozzarella, and chopped sun-dried tomatoes.

For the dressing, combine the sun-dried tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, garlic, capers, salt, and pepper in a food processor until almost smooth.

Pour the dressing over the pasta, sprinkle with the Parmesan and basil, and toss well.

Source: Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style, page 58

Gazpacho

Another super summery Barefoot Bloggers post! Thanks this week to Maryl of My Bit of Earth for making me step out of my box again. This cold soup was a really great accompaniment to our fancy chili dog dinner last night. I added sliced avocado as a garnish, because it improves everything it touches. Phillip would have preferred this dish without the red pepper, but he would prefer his entire life without them so he isn't the one to ask!

Gazpacho

Ingredients

1 hothouse cucumber, halved and seeded, but not peeled
2 red bell peppers, cored and seeded
4 plum tomatoes
1 red onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
23 ounces tomato juice (3 cups)
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Roughly chop the cucumbers, bell peppers, tomatoes, and red onions into 1-inch cubes. Put each vegetable separately into a food processor fitted with a steel blade and pulse until it is coarsely chopped. Do not overprocess!

After each vegetable is processed, combine them in a large bowl and add the garlic, tomato juice, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper. Mix well and chill before serving. The longer gazpacho sits, the more the flavors develop.


Source: Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, page 79

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cupcakes

Happy Birthday Ric!! These were a special request for his birthday, and they were a huge hit at school. The "jelly" filling and topping was actually the homemade strawberry jam that I made a few weeks ago with the lovely Morgan women.

Peanut Butter Cupcakes

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, at room temp
1 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/3 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Insert 24 liners into a medium cupcake pan.
2. In a large bowl cream together the butter, peanut butter, and brown sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed until fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. Add the eggs one at a time. Beat well. Mix in the vanilla.
3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt.
4. Add the dry ingredients to creamed mixture, alternating with the milk. Mix well.
5. Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool cupcakes in the pan.

Source: howtoeatacupcake.com

I filled the cupcakes with the strawberry jam using the cone technique and topped with peanut butter frosting.

Peanut Butter Buttercream

1/4 cup butter, softened
1/4 cup peanut butter
3 cups powdered sugar
2-4 Tbsp. milk
1/8 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

In large bowl, combine butter, peanut butter, sugar, salt, vanilla, and 2 Tbsp. milk. Mix well, adding more milk as needed to make a fluffy spreadable frosting.

Curried Couscous

I'll be honest. I was not excited about making this recipe this week. We're not big curry fans at our house, but I kept telling myself that this is the reason that I joined Barefoot Bloggers. I wanted to make myself try recipes that I wouldn't on my own. I succeeded this week in trying something new, but did I succeed in finding a new recipe for our file? Not exactly. Phillip & I both said "Eh (shrug)" about this recipe. I thought that it was kind of dry (more dressing would help) and since we aren't big curry fans, the flavor wasn't my favorite. It wasn't as bad as I feared, and I will definitely make my own version of a couscous salad. I've never made it myself before, and it is great for a fast weeknight meal. Thanks Ellyn for making me step outside my comfort zone! The only substitute I made was exchanging feta cheese for raisins (I was out and didn't know it).

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups couscous
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1/4 cup plain yogurt
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup small-diced carrots
1/2 cup minced fresh flat-leaf parsley
1/2 cup dried currants or raisins (I substituted feta cheese)
1/4 cup blanched, sliced almonds
2 scallions, thinly sliced (white and green parts)
1/4 cup small-diced red onion

Directions

Place the couscous in a medium bowl. Melt the butter in the boiling water and pour over the couscous. Cover tightly and allow the couscous to soak for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Whisk together the yogurt, olive oil, vinegar, curry, turmeric, salt, and pepper. Pour over the fluffed couscous, and mix well with a fork. Add the carrots, parsley, currants, almonds, scallions, and red onions, mix well, and season to taste. Serve at room temperature.

Source: Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Outragous Brownies

Phillip has never been so excited about a Barefoot Bloggers assignment! Eva of I'm Boring chose this classic Ina Garten recipe. We were given free reign to make any additions that we wanted, so I added peanut butter chips instead of walnuts. Warning: this recipe makes a very large batch. I took half to school with me and sent the other half to work with Phillip.

Ingredients

1 pound unsalted butter
1 pound plus 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips, divided
6 ounces unsweetened chocolate
6 extra-large eggs
3 tablespoons instant coffee powder
2 tablespoons real vanilla extract
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, divided (1 cup for batter and 1/4 cup in the chips and nuts)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
12 oz peanut butter chips

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 18 by 1 1/2-inch sheet pan.

Melt together the butter, 1 pound chocolate chips, and unsweetened chocolate on top of a double boiler. Cool slightly. Stir together the eggs, instant coffee, vanilla and sugar. Stir in the warm chocolate mixture and cool to room temperature.

Stir together 1 cup of the flour, baking powder and salt. Add to cooled chocolate mixture. Toss the chocolate and peanut butter chips with 1/4 cup flour to coat. Then add to the chocolate batter. Pour into prepared pan.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until tester just comes out clean. Halfway through the baking, rap the pan against the oven shelf to allow air to escape from between the pan and the brownie dough. Do not over-bake! Cool and drizzle with melted chocolate and peanut butter chips.

Source: Ina Garten, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook

Dog Cake

If you've read my other blog, you know that I threw a birthday party for my dog LuLu in January. Since then, I've had commissions for two other dog birthday cakes. This evening, Phillip & I took LuLu to celebrate Marley's first birthday. There were at least fifteen dogs there (they didn't slow down long enough for me to count all of them), and they were all so good, they even shared the cake really nicely. I multiplied my normal recipe (below) by eight to make this big version. The normal size would probably provide a treat for about six dogs, so adjust accordingly.

Dog Cake

Ingredients

1 cup flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup oil
1 cup shredded carrots
1/3 cup honey
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Grease 6 inch round cake pan. Mix all ingredients well and pour into prepared pan. Bake for 30-45 minutes or until set through.

Dog Frosting

Ingredients

1/2 cup cottage cheese
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

Mix cottage cheese and sugar in food processor until smooth, frost cooled cake.