Lemon Curd Tartletts

Yummy! Eggs, lemons, butter and a few other ingredients combine in various ways to form these delicious tart, rich, three-bite boats of heaven. The cooked lemon curd is lemony in every way possible and the crust has a pleasant density due to the addition of egg yolks. The decorative topping is a toasted piping of meringue, which is made by heating the egg whites in a double boiler before whipping them. This is what an excess of lemons and eggs in MY fridge leads to. Lucky me!

Summer Gold

The easiest way to combine and serve fruit without too much work or time is to merely chop, combine and stir it into a simple fruit salad. The other day I had one mango left from my Costco box of eight, a bunch of crisp green grapes and a solitaire large red plum. I halved the grapes and tossed them together with the chopped plum and mango for a colorful light summer salad of fruit. Since everything looked a little naked I decided to whip up the leftover cream from last weeks milk. At the soft peak stage I added some vanilla extract and a wee bit of honey. Oooheeee. Folded over the fruit it was turned into a divine and sophisticated version of the Furrs cafeteria fruit salads I used to eat when dining with my grandparents back in the 80's.

rice pudding with broiled plums

My favorite daily email is chowhound.com's recipe of the day. Earlier this week the delivered recipe was for a summer rice pudding topped with broiled plums. The plums get chopped and tossed lightly with granulated sugar and vanilla before being broiled till the sugar starts to carmelize and the skins barely burn. The warm plums are sweet with a hint of vanilla and the sour skins add a contrast and "^pucker;) Served over a warm creamy orange and cinnamon scented rice pudding you have a heaven in a bowl.
Rice puddings are very easy to whip up. They are also a great way to use up a surplus of milk and/or cream that may have accumulated in your fridge. Plus for a rich, sweet desert, this is high in calcium, low in fat and sugar with added nutrients from plums. A quick, easy and impressive desert that makes life easier and rewarding!

Blueberry Jam Sandwhich Cookies

I subscribe to Bon Appetit magazine. My favorite thing about monthly cooking magazines is that they follow the season and the produce found within the confines of the magazines pages can also be found at the store or farmers market. I often look at what is in my fridge and freezer and then turn to Bon Appetit for inspiration.
The June issue contained an all-berry desert feature because June is the height of berry season. I am a proud year-round blueberry consumer (frozen) because of their deliciousness and the health benefits (anti-oxidants, potassium, vitamin c, fiber...more or less they are a superfood). My heart was won over by the Blueberry Jam Sandwhich Cookie recipe because a. I love blueberries and b. I had a three pound bag of them in my freezer (frozen are just as good as fresh in this case).

The cookie contains lemon zest and is a basic chill and roll sugar cookie. The filling is a simple homeade blueberry jam (no canning involved since you will be using it immedietly) and a sprinkling of raw sugar on the top of the sandwhich is the final touch. Not having this on hand I just grabbed a few packets from the coffee station in my local grocery store;)

Everything was perfect. The cookies were buttery and soft with a hint of lemon to complement the sweet blueberry jam. And my awarness of the trace-nutrients contained within each sweet bite comforted me through every chew and swallow.

Pizza Bella

Since I've now visited Pizza Bella three times and have been equally if not more satisfied each time, I feel that it deserves a mention here at food is love. Really there is not much to say other than FABULOUS.
The pizzas served here are roughly twelve inches each, served on a large ceramic plate and sliced into four large pieces. Of course one pizza is more than a meal, but after having not eaten all day and sweating away to Zumba at the gym, a girl like me can with no doubt eat one entire "pie" if you will, along with a cold beer and be completely satisfied.
What makes Pizza Bella so great isn't one thing alone. The dough is delicious, thin as wax paper but strong enough to bear the weight, moisture and grease of a melange of toppings. The crust is airy and crisp with just the right amount of chew.
The pizza that interested me the most on my first visit was what they call simply Potato. On arrival and at first glance the pizza looks like it is being served a la mode, because post-bake a scoop of shredded radicchio tossed in balsamic vinegar is placed in the center of the pie, adding volume and a beautiful contrast of color. Beneath the radicchio slaw, covering the pizza is a sheet of sliced Yukon potatoes, Gorgonzola cheese and olive oil.
Upon biting into the pizza, you first get the softness of the potato on your teeth, followed by the heavy salt and strength of the buttery Gorgonzola. The crispy radicchio and the sweet balsamic vinegar provide the perfect contrast to the heavy flavors and textures brought by the potatoes and cheese. This is a pizza for serious food lovers. The flavors are strong and they are not for the weak of taste bud. I think Pizza Hut would call this one the Scalloped Potato Pizza.
To drink I chose the Brazilian beer Xingu, suggested by the friendly and informative server. Xingu is a black beer, a lager made from black-roasted malts, which color the beer black during the brewing. Cold, sweet and light to perfectly complement my pizza.
I am definitly going back here again. There are at least ten pizza's on the menu, with toppings that include egg, pancetta, chorizo, pesto...the list goes on. In addtion to pizzas there is always an entree special as well a few appetizers, salads and desserts.
Please go eat here now and share the pizza love!

Another Burger

So gourmet burgers seem to be the newest food trend to hit the mainstream in Kansas city. I for a long time resisted becoming a follower of this new burger obsessed city, but after my mothers day brunch at Blue Stem I have been converted. Brunch on Sunday at a fine place like this always has a special menu, sprinkled with wonderfully prepared twists of typical brunch fare: Eggs Benedict, french toast, biscuits and gravy yada yada yada. Arriving STARVED and a bit hungover, wanting something salty that would probably leave me feeling guilty later, I was torn between the fried chicken livers and the kobe beef burger. I chose the burger with pleasure! It came out on a yummy egg bun, medium as ordered, topped with plenty of melted swiss, bacon and an over easy egg! On the side were pommes frites(fancy name for french fry), but these french fries deserved the special name. They were fried golden, practically greaseless and seasoned mimimally, to enhance the flavor of the potato(i think they used yukons). A side of sweet homeade ketchup completed the masterpiece that would be my brunch. Everything was wonderfull. The meat in the burger was rich and perfectly seasoned. I had a few bites whole, and then kind of deconstructed the thing(it was massive, at least 1/3 lb), and picked at it. Wonderfull is how I would describe what I had! To drink I had coffee(roasterie), water(sans ice, how i like it and also how they serve it!) and a bellini(peach nectar with a wonderful proseco in a champagne flute). I feel a leisurly brunch requires at least three different kinds of beverages, ya know, to really evoke that sort of luxury allowed by brunch.
The service was perfect, the music(ratatat) pleasant and the atmosphere comfortable and inviting. I do believe Blue Stem is truly wonderful. And burgers are definitly my newest obsession so be on the lookout for more burger posts from me!

My First Blog

So what better way to start off my new blog then with a quick review of a newish restaurant located in Lawrence, Kansas, Dempseys Irish Pub. What brought me here was not the promise of whiskey or Guiness, but the gourmet burger stand that I heard was located inside. The small menu consisted of six or seven burgers, four kinds of fries, a salad or two(to cover the bases I presume) and some shakes for desert.
Although I am a proud meat eater, I choose the falafel sandwhich(I am also a proud Jew with many proud opinions on falafel). The large crisp patty arrived on a plainish egg bun with a deliscious tzadiki sauce, pickled cauliflower and pickled red onion. On the side I choose sweet potato fries. The were cooked perfectly and seasoned with a sprinkling of sugar and spices I could not quite identify. Needless to say they were moist and needed not to be dipped in any sauce. One of my dining companions ordered the kobe burger(fabulous) and the other had the Romesco burger(green beans on the burger adding a nice textural contrast and interesting flavor pair). To drink I had a Bohemia, but the options ranged from Odells, Pilsner Urquell, to Boulevards.
All in all the experience was a success. Next time I plan to order the Black and Blue: blackened spices, bleu cheese and granny smith apple chutney, and fries cooked in duck fat on the side.
The atmosphere is comforting, rustic and simple. The music enjoyable. The service left nothing to be desired. I think anyone could dine here and leave satisfied and impressed.