Hot Fall Weather Brings Delicious Heirloom Tomatoes

Posted on September 10, 2015 by brosbottom

Although summer unofficially ended after Labor Day, the calendar says we have until the 21st before this season comes to a close. For those of us here in New England (and for plenty of others around the country) enduring scorching temperatures this week, summer seems far from gone. The upside of this warm weather has been that our farmers’ markets are still bursting with gorgeous produce, including corn, beans, okra, peaches, plums, and my favorite–countless varieties of heirloom tomatoes.

I am a sucker for buying these brilliantly hued tomatoes. I pick up reds like Cherokee Purple, yellows called Nebraska Wedding, orange strains labeled Jaune Flame, and greens such as Green Zebras. I also mix up the sizes, purchasing large orbs, slender oblong ones, and petite cherry tomato heirlooms.

You can use any of these varieties or your personal favorites in the following heirloom Continue reading →

Three Favorite Recipes for Labor Day Weekend

Posted on September 2, 2015 by brosbottom

Hamburgers with Mahon Cheese, Avocados, and Chipotle Mayo

Grilled Salmon with a Spicy Apricot Lime Glaze

Blueberry Pa Cake with Lemon Crème Fraîche

A few days ago I started thinking about what recipe I might post for Labor Day weekend cooks! Should I create a new glaze for ribs, try an unusual salsa for grilled fish, or invent a special dessert? True confession: between traveling to NY and Boston for short visits, and testing dishes for my new soup book, time ran out on me. So I decided to pick three of my best recipes from past postings to share instead. Each is one of my favorites and each is perfect for this long, end-of-summer holiday.

If you haven’t planned your Labor Day menus either, you can definitely rely on these trusted recipes!

Hamburgers with Mahon Cheese, Avocados, and Chipotle Mayo

The chili-scented burgers topped with avocados and Mahon cheese are served on buns slathered with quickly made chipotle mayo. I posted them for Fathers’ Day originally, but my husband would welcome them any day of the year!

Grilled Salmon with a Spicy Apricot Lime Glaze

The apricot and lime glazed salmon fillets which get a shot of heat from some Sriraccha are just as tempting. They are simple to assemble and need only a few minutes on the grill. Slightly charred on the outside with tender and moist flesh, they are a definite winner.

Blueberry Pan Cake with Lemon Crème Fraîche

And for dessert, the first thing that came to mind was a scrumptious blueberry cake served with lemon crème fraîche. Blueberries seem to float suspended in this exceptionally tender cake which serves 12 easily! A friend, shared the recipe, saying that was always a hit with her family, Now it’s one with mine too.

Fabulous Warm Peach Dessert in 45 minutes!

Posted on August 27, 2015 by brosbottom

The peaches this year in New England have been exceptional! I can’t remember a recent summer when this fruit has been more bountiful or had such juicy, flavorful flesh. Farmers’ markets, roadside stands, and grocery stores in our small town have all proudly displayed bins—of both yellow and white—ripe enough for eating on the spot. As a result, I have been bringing home bagfuls of the fuzzy orbs and using them in various ways.

One of my favorite creations has been a recipe for individual peach clafoutis (pronounced CLA FU TEA), a specialty of the Limousin, an area in south central France. It is one of the simplest yet most delicious French desserts a home cook can prepare. Traditionally, it is made with cherries that are covered with a rich pancake-style batter, then baked. My version, however, calls for fresh sliced peaches scented with hints of cardamom, ginger, and cinnamon. When baked the batter rises just slightly above the sides of the pan and then falls like a soufflé as it rests. Continue reading →

Fresh Corn Stars in a Delicious Summer Risotto

Posted on August 19, 2015 by brosbottom

Earlier this month on a picture-perfect summer evening, my husband and I and a good friend ate outside on the terrace of Amherst’s Lord Jeffrey Inn. Our group of three looked at the interesting menu, and surprisingly all ordered the corn risotto as our main course. (If you knew what a carnivore my spouse, Ron, is, you’d be as stunned as I that he by-passed the handsome steak offering for this vegetable main course.). The waitress assured us that we wouldn’t be disappointed, and she was right.

The chef had made a delicious risotto by cooking arborio rice (the classic short, starchy grain used for this Northern Italian specialty) in simmering stock along with fresh corn kernels. As garnishes he had topped each serving with a spoonful of pickled piquillo peppers and some sautéed hen mushrooms. One bite and we were all smitten.

At home, I couldn’t get the dish out of my mind, and set out to create my own version. I sautéed chopped shallots in butter, along with corn and rice. Then for the next 20 minutes I slowly added ladlefuls of simmering broth to the pot, stirring constantly until each addition was absorbed before ladling in more. Continue reading →

Shooting Soup Nights

Posted on August 11, 2015 by brosbottom

Cucumber Vichyssoise, Tuna, Hummus, Olive Sandwiches, and Lemon Rosemary Cookies

Harry checking out a group shot

Harry getting just the right angle.

Joy starting to set up a shot

Caitlin contemplating the next dish

Joy looking at a computer image of the table

Harry and Joy checking the arrangement of the dishes on the computer

Colorado Chicken Soup with Black Beans and Corn, Romaine Salad with Tomatoes in Cumin Lime Dressing

For the past few weeks I have been obsessed with readying my house for a photo shoot for my newest book, Soup Nights (Rizzoli, fall of 2016). Back in the spring my editor, Caitlin Leffel, and I discussed using the country-like setting of my home as the backdrop for many of the photos in the book, and set a date for the first week in August.

From then on my number of to-do lists multiplied to infinity! I was responsible for assembling a team of cooks to prepare 40 recipes so they were picture perfect, and had to locate countless props (bowls, plates, linens, marble slabs, pieces of slate, honed wood, and more). Barb Pitoniak and Diana Tindall prepared countless recipes for the shoot, while my long-time assistant, Emily Bell, drove a van filled with props from Ohio to Massachusetts to help out.

I also needed to find a professional food stylist in the area and lucked upon Joy Howard. From the New York end, my editor and a talented photographer, Harry Zernike, would be arriving with shooting scripts and lots of exotic photographic equipment.

Although I was prepared for chaos and calamities, the shoot went off without a hitch. The results were beautiful photos–Cucumber Vichyssoise; Mussel Soup with Tomato Saffron Crème; Butternut Squash Soup with Sage Cream; Fennel and Carrot Brodo with Red Quinoa. And others of sides and desserts–Oak Leaf and Apple Salad with Honey Cider Dressing; Lobster BLTs; Ham and Cheese Panini with Apple Slaw; and, Lemon Rosemary Shortbreads.

Those Lemon Rosemary Shortbreads were everyone’s favorite so I’m happy to share the recipe here! Continue reading →

Don’t Miss This Summer Bargain!

Posted on July 20, 2015 by brosbottom

One of my favorite times of year has come around again! Like last year, My Big Book of Backyard Cooking will be featured across a variety of e-book retailers for $.99 (and up) for this month. This is a special event by Chronicle Books called “Chronicle Eye Candy”—a great opportunity for cookbook lovers!

Want to read more about these summer steals? Click here to read my last post (and to find more about My Big Book of Backyard Cooking.)

Reinventing the Classic Tuna Sandwich

Posted on July 17, 2015 by brosbottom

For the past few months, I’ve spent hours in the kitchen with my talented assistants working on a new soup book. Not only have we tested countless brodos, bisques, gazpachos, and potages, we’ve been creating sandwiches to serve alongside them.

One special creation—a tuna salad combo prepared with hummus, kalamatas, and cucumbers—got high marks from the book’s testers. For the dressing, I replaced much of the mayonnaise in the usual versions with hummus, and seasoned the salad with lemon, cumin, and a touch of mint. Other additions included the classic duo of chopped onions and celery.

This new tuna mixture is delicious on toasted multi-grain slices, but you could serve it just Continue reading →

What to Eat When It’s Over a 100 Degrees in Paris!

Posted on July 10, 2015 by brosbottom

Last week during Paris’ record-breaking heat wave the temperature hit 36° C or about 103°F on Wednesday. I didn’t have to look at the thermometer to know how hot it was in our apartment. When I went to put on eyeliner, the pencil had melted and left wide swaths of brown beneath my eyes. (I looked like a Patriots player on a sunny day!). Cheeses set out to come to room temp were oozing within thirty minutes, and the roses on the dining table were limp after a few hours in our un-air conditioned place.

As it turned out we had invited three American students visiting the City of Light to dinner on that hottest night of the year. So, besides setting up a small fan near the table and opening every window, I prepared a cold menu to avoid turning on the oven. A tomato gazpacho garnished with spoonfuls of icy cold cucumber granità anchored the dinner, followed by an arugula and haricots verts salad topped with chopped hardboiled eggs and sautéed chorizo. Fresh chèvres and a bowl of cherries came next, and a finale of purchased lemon tarts completed the offerings. Continue reading →

Last Minute Pan Seared Salmon in a Paris Kitchen

Posted on June 26, 2015 by brosbottom

The apartment we rent in Paris has a petite kitchen. Counter space is practically non-existent, the fridge is 3/4 size (big for Paris!), and the oven not much larger than a microwave. Amazingly, though, it works beautifully if I keep the menus simple. Dishes like the pan-seared salmon fillets featured here are perfect to prepare in this small space.

For this recipe salmon fillets are seasoned with an herb and spice rub that includes smoked paprika, thyme, and rosemary. The fillets can rest in the fridge for up to an hour before being quickly pan seared. For sides I drizzled olive oil over a pan of asparagus, seasoned them with salt and pepper, and popped them in the oven to roast for 20 minutes. Basmati rice cooked on the stovetop in a saucepan of water scented with several pinches of turmeric made another colorful garnish. Continue reading →

Superb Lunches at Petits Prix

Posted on June 19, 2015 by brosbottom

Amuse-bouches at Louis

Soup of summer squash with Cucumber Granità at Louis

Interior at Louis

Warm chocolate cake with arugula ice cream at Louis

Salmon with roasted radishes and charred brioche crumbs

Duck with baby beets and black currnts

Last week in Paris we met friends for lunch twice, and on both occasions the food was not only delicious, but the prices quite reasonable for the menus we enjoyed. On Wednesday we met Sue and John Talbott at Louis, a small, new Right Bank restaurant headed by talented young chef, Stéphane Pitré. The setting is as contemporary as the exquisite food. Although there are only two menus offered without choices, they are both incredibly creative. At lunch the three-course prix fixe is 32 euros while the six-course one costs 48 euros. Our group ordered two of each.

Things got off to a good start with amuse-bouches presented on a stone block that included a savory Parmesan cookie topped with Camenbert mousse, a verdant cube of herbed brioche, and a savory mustard meringue served with honey. A chilled soup of summer squash topped with icy cold cucumber granità and a sprinkling of caviar, salmon topped with roasted radishes and cherry leaves drizzled with miso vinaigrette, and duck served with miniscule beets and black currants were all delicious. A warm chocolate cake topped with a glossy scoop of arugula (yes, you read that right!) ice cream was a memorable ending, as was a dessert of lime foam with champagne.

Scrambled eggs with truffles at Truffe

Pâté with truffle filling at Truffe

Napkin at Truffe

The bar at Truffe

Menu cover at Truffe

Ravioli with truffels at Truffe

The next day we continued our midday eating marathon and met our friends, the Porters, at the La Grande Epicerie (food hall) at the Bon Marché. There four of us perched on high Continue reading →

Betty Rosbottom

Food Writer, Cookbook Author, Cooking Teacher

Category Archives: Food News