Labor Day Lazy Day

Labor Day is the quintessential american holiday: overindulgence of food, sipping cold drinks in a coozy cup, telling tall tales to friends, sitting in lawn chairs in the back yard.  What more could a person want? Well this year my roommates and I decided to celebrate this great american tradition a day early.  This break in tradition was allowed for by increasing the frivolity and gluttony.  We started off the day with a leisurely bike ride down to a local ice creamery for lunch.  An hour long ride along the water led us to The Daily Scoop where I got a double dip cone of coffee heath and maple walnut, my staple.  After chatting on the patio we headed back to Providence to get ready for the celebration.  The bike ride served as time for me to contemplate the dinner menu.  Now when I think of Labor Day, I think of grilling meat and eating the last of the fresh produce of the season.  So obviously hot dogs were the main course; easy decision.  I don't want to already be repeating recipes, but I had to make panzanella just one last time this summer.  Grilled vegetables rounded off the meal.  My roommate had the spectacular idea to make summer in a cup: mojitos. Quick shower, shoes on, out the door, in the car, off to the farm.  Luckily, Rhode Island vegetable season lasts a little longer than in Missouri.  The tomatoes were still gorgeous, the corn sweet, and the basil fragrant.  According to the farm I got "the best cucumber in the world," but somehow I doubt that.

I started the panzanella by toasting country bread.  Then I marinated the red onion in the vinaigrette while I chopped all the vegetables. Thirty minutes before serving I put it all together to let the bread soak up the juicy goodness and to let the flavors marry.  It is my absolute favorite summertime recipe.  Unfortunately this will be the last opportunity I can make it until next summer. It will be sorely missed.  But soon hearty stews with a glass of stout will replace it and I will be happy again.

Seven Stars country loaf.

Tomato, cucumber, roasted pepper, feta

Dinner

Question: How many Brown students does it take to grill hot dogs? Answer is 3.  One to analyze the best way to grill them.  One to question the utility of the hot dog.  And one to question the higher reason as to why a hot dog is a hot dog. So as men do, we all had to be around the grill to manage the meats. Random pokes.  Meaningless suggestions.  Standing around pretending to be busy.  Oh yeah grilling.  Along with hot dogs, we tossed on corn on the cob and broccoli.  After giving the buns a quick toast we were set.

Meanwhile, the girls were making the mojitos with simple syrup, fresh lime, club soda, rum, and freshly picked mint from our backyard.  They were magnificently refreshing and crisp.  Summertime in a glass.  These will definitely return before winter peaks its ugly head from its hole.

And the feast began.  It was a lovely salute to summer's end.  I wish everyday could be this relaxing.  Next week, I will welcome fall with apples and squash after a bike ride and kayaking.

Good times with friends. 

Back to School Comfort Food

I haven't been keeping up on my food explorations the past month as much as I would have liked.  Upon arriving home from my summer research project, I took it upon myself to take a few weeks to relax before school starts and the job search commences.  I spent my weekends at the lake which is devoid of internet and most human contact so that I could recharge my batteries.  But inevitably the days grew shorter as summer came to a close and I flew back to Providence.  Now that I have settled into my new apartment with three of my college buddies, I  am starting to be able to cook again. My kitchen here is much smaller and more ill-equipped than I have become accustomed to the past few years, but I am learning how to make the most of the space.  Hurricane Earl was suppose to unleash its furry upon New England today (which ended up being nothing more than a few rain drops) so I wanted to make a homey meal that was comforting during the rain downpour and tree-uprooting wind gusts.  In the refrigerator we had a nice assorted of random items, a speciality of one of my roommates: leeks, random bread pieces, ground beef, onions. The leeks were amazing specimens from the local farm.  I wanted to make something special with them.  Risotto? Soup? Then it hit me. When I first got my Ad Hoc cookbook by Thomas Keller I made a mental bookmark when I saw his recipe for Leek Bread Pudding.  Everything of his that I have made has been divine, but sometimes tiresome and intimidating.  I knew that this recipe would really highlight these tremendous leeks.  I followed the adapted SmittenKitchen recipe that was a little lighter with less cream since I intended on making dessert.  I first sauteed the leeks to soften their flavor and texture.  

Then I whisked together two eggs, 3 c. milk, chives, thyme, salt, and pepper.  While all this was cooking I put the torn bread pieces in a 200 degree oven to dry out.  All this was combined in a 9x9 pan along with cheddar.  

After 1 hour in a 350 degree oven, the resulting pudding was puffed, golden, and delicious.  Unlike most bread puddings, this one was savory and did not overwhelm my tongue with fat globules.  Once again, bravo to Mr. Keller. 

Now what to do with the beef. I saw this month that Epicurious had a recipe for high-brow sloppy joes.  I was hesitant.  The sloppy joes I have had have been at school or out of a can.  Bad beef simmered in bbq sauce and smothered in ketchup to cover up any taste or unusual textures.  Putting my predilections aside, I decided to give them a fair chance.  To start, I sauteed a large onion along with one celery rib and a carrot. 

Once this mixture was translucent, I added 1.5 lb ground beef.  On the rare occasion I did not have cumin so I added oregano and a cajun spice mix along with chili powder once the beef was cooked.  Finally, I simmered the beef mixture with pureed fresh tomato, brown sugar, red wine, balsamic, and Worcestershire. 

Slap the sloppy joe on the fresh cut bun.  Top with irish cheddar.  Spoon some pudding on the side.  Dinner was served.

Admittedly this is not the most glamorous dinner, but that is not the point of comfort food.  I always criticize and find room for improvement but I recommend trying these recipes.  The most important part of the rainy day meal is dessert.  We had mint chip ice cream in the freezer so I opted to make chocolate peace cookies. They were very simple and quick to make.  A fool proof recipe that just involved mixing together all the ingredients.  And no eggs! The cookies were decadently dark when I took them out of the oven due to their high concentration of cocoa powder and chocolate chips.  They had almost a chewy brownie texture, not crispy like a regular cookie.  They were ideal to pair with ice cream; the soft, chewy texture with the bitter chocolate provided a nice contrast to the creamy, sweet ice cream that excited my tongue.  Sorry, I got too excited once the cookies and ice cream were in my bowl.  I meant to take a picture but somehow my bowl was empty by the time I got my camera...