Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

We had the family here over the Labor Day Weekend.  It was a marathon of good food, excellent wine, swimming, boating and games.  There is a special vibe to a multi-generational get together.  The grandparents, grown kids and the littles all contribute to the fun.  And all day long someone was always hungry!  The cookie container was emptied by the third day.

One morning David made this tomato gravy to go with our biscuits.  Of course we all love sausage gravy with biscuits, but this tomato gravy is also a winner.

The recipe came from my friend Barbara who lives in Virginia.  It  has been in her family for years and relies on the home canned tomatoes that her family puts by every year.  If you don’t have home canned tomatoes you can use whole canned tomatoes from the supermarket.

Everyone loved the combination.  One of the Grands came back for seconds and thirds.  David made the tomato gravy.  I cheated and used frozen biscuits and fried up some sausage patties to go with everything.

As a hostess gift, I was given this fabulous D’artagnan Cassoulet Kit.  We enjoyed the wonderful duck confit and sausage casserole one evening on the porch.  It is beginning to cool down in the evenings so this was a perfect meal that was not too difficult to assemble.

This tomato gravy recipe is written in Barbara’s own words.  David guessed on some of the amounts.

BARABARA’S TOMATO GRAVY

This is all adjusted to taste and subject to trial and error!

2 28 ounce can of tomatoes – I prefer the ones we can fresh from the garden but the whole peeled tomatoes work just fine.  I would not buy the petite chopped tomatoes but coarsely chop the whole peeled ones.

Add salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar ( D used 1 tablespoon ) to cut down on the acid.  Naturally, I add butter to flavor the gravy.  Adjust to your taste or diet. ( D used 1 tablespoon).

Cook the tomatoes down until about half the liquid is gone.  Mix about a cup of milk and flour ( I cheat and use the wondra flour about 1 to 2 tablespoons) and pour into tomatoes.

Stir until desired consistency and pour over biscuits!

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I love this riff on an American hamburger from a French chef.  As related by Dorie Greenspan in her book Around my French Table, her friend Helene Samuel is responsible for it.  She created the cafe’ in the newly renovated Salle Pleyel Concert Hall in the 8th Arrondissement.

She wanted to put a hamburger on the menu that would appeal to French people who sometimes equated hamburgers with the McDonald’s version.

It has the bun and the pickle, but it has very French ingredients worked into the meat and topping; capers, cornichons, tarragon, sun-dried tomatoes and a red onion marmalade.  Instead of the American cheese it is garnished with shards of Parmesan.  It all sounded excellent to me.

The burger became a best seller and ended up being featured in The New York Times.   I think you will agree that this is a worthy burger with French overtones.  The only thing mine was missing was the sesame seed bun. Helene included that as an homage to the American version.

CAFE’ SALLE PLEYEL HAMBURGER (From Dorie Greenspan)

• 1 medium red onion, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ⅓ cup oil-packed, sun-dried tomatoes(2.5 ounces), drained and chopped
• ¼ cup drained capers (1.5 ounces)
• 6 cornichons
• ¼ cup tarragon leaves
• ½ cup flat parsley leaves
• 1 ½ pounds ground sirloin, chuck or mix
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, thinly sliced with a vegetable peeler
• 4 large sesame-seed hamburger buns
• 2 dill pickles, thinly sliced lengthwise with a vegetable peeler

1. In a small saucepan, combine red onion with butter, coriander and 1 cup water and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until mixture is reduced to 1/2 cup, about 30 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, in a small food processor, pulse sun-dried tomatoes with capers, cornichons, tarragon and parsley until finely chopped.
3. In a medium bowl, lightly mix meat with sun-dried tomato mixture and season with pepper. Shape meat into 4 patties about 3/4 inch thick.
4. Heat olive oil in a large cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat until just smoking. Add burgers and cook for about 2 minutes on each side for rare or 3 minutes for medium rare. Transfer burgers to a platter and top with Parmesan. Lightly toast buns. Spread a thin layer of onion jam on bottom buns. Top with pickle slices and burgers. Cover with top buns and serve.

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I remember when we had a garden and had to deal with the prolific profusion of yellow squash and zucchini.  Our lake house is too shady to support a garden these days, so I have to rely on friends, the Farmers’ Markets and the Supermarket for my squash.  You can never have too many summer squash recipes.  This one, that I adapted from The New York Times, is a winner.

The cooked and pureed yellow squash is combined with cheese and minced peppers, onions and flavoring and cooked in a custard of eggs and cream topped with buttered bread crumbs.  It makes a casserole that everyone will love.  It was easy to photograph too.  Photography has become important to me, although I’ve always had an interest.  I just found this early picture of myself and my Mom.  I was very proud of my new Brownie camera.

The intrepid girl photographer.  What memories this brings back.

Enjoy this summer squash casserole.  Your harvest will thank you for not wasting all of that bounty.

SUMMER SQUASH CASSEROLE ( The New York Times)

• 2 pounds yellow summer squash
• 7 tablespoons butter
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 large clove garlic, chopped
• ½ red bell pepper, chopped
• ½ green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped (optional)
• 4 slices plain white bread, toasted
• 24 Ritz crackers, crumbed in food processor
• ½ pound sharp cheddar cheese, grated
• 4 large eggs, beaten
• ½ cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 2 1/2-quart baking dish. Cut the squash into 1/2-inch-thick slices. Cook in boiling, salted water until tender, about 10 minutes. Drain. Purée in a food processor.
2. Melt 6 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic and peppers and cook until just tender. Meanwhile, crumb the toast in a food processor, melt remaining butter and toss together.
3. Mix the squash purée, onions, peppers, garlic, cracker crumbs and cheese. Stir in the eggs, cream, sugar and seasonings. Blend well. Pour into the baking dish. Top with bread crumbs and bake until browned, about 40 minutes.

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To continue with the fig bounty, I made this almond and fig cake.  I always keep some almond flour in the freezer for Financiers, those dainty French cakes in the shape of  gold bars.  I love almond flour and this cake has both the flour and almond extract.  I went easy with the extract because I find it very strong.

The cake was moist and studded with the halved figs.  It was perfect for an afternoon tea or with coffee for breakfast.  You could sprinkle it with powdered sugar or top it with a dollop of whipped cream.

Now that all of my figs are gone, I am wishing for more.  I have heard from a local acquaintance who has a fig tree in her yard.  Hopefully she will share!  Talking about you Donna.

FIG AND ALMOND CAKE (Adapted from The New York Times)

4 Tablespoons butter, melted, plus butter for greasing pan
1 cup almond flour
1/4 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons Demerara sugar for sprinkling
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 eggs, beaten
2 Tablespoons honey
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
12 to 14 rip figs

Heat oven to 375 degrees F/  Butter a 9-inch fluted tart pan or pie pan; set aside.  Put almond flour, 1/4 cup sugar, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in a bowl and stir to combine.

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, melted butter, honey and almond and vanilla extracts.  Add almond mixture and beat for a minute until batter is just mixed.  Pour batter into pan.

Remove stem from each fig and cut in half.  Arrange fig halves cut-side up over the batter.  Sprinkle figs with Demerara sugar and bake for 30 minutes, until golden outside and dry at center when probed with a cake tester.  Cool before serving.

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When figs are in season it is worth the time to make use of them in familiar and/or unusual preparations.  They are wonderful as a component in an appetizer or used in a salad or a dessert.  But they are also excellent in pizzas and tarts.  Pared with goat cheese or Gorgonzola they shine.I adapted a recipe from a British magazine for a fig and goat’s cheese tart.  It is a very easy recipe to assemble.  It uses frozen puff pastry, so lining the tart pan is a piece of cake. But I must say that I would have preferred a homemade pastry crust.  Puff pastry tends to be very flaky but somehow airy.  I tend to like the more substantial weight of a pie crust.  But, because of the ease of preparation, I was very happy with the results.

A drizzle of balsamic glaze takes it over the top.  It makes a delicious light supper with a salad of peppery arugula leaves.

FIG AND GOAT’S CHEESE TART

Plain flour, for dusting
1 sheet of puff pastry, defrosted
2 eggs and 1 egg yolk
2/3 cups heavy whipping cream or half and half
6 figs, halved
1/2 cup soft goat’s cheese
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
Several sprigs of thyme to scatter over top
Balsamic glaze to drizzle over top

Dust the work surface with flour and roll the pastry out into a rectangle 1 inch larger than your pan.  Lift it into the pan and press into the corners, lining the base and sides.  Prick the base of the pastry case with a fork.  Pop into the freezer for 30 minutes while you heat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Place a baking sheet on the middle shelf.

Beat the eggs and egg yolk with the cream until combined.  Season well.

Trim the stalk from each fig and cut the fruit in half.  Pour the egg mixture into the pastry case.  Crumble the cheese on top and arrange the figs evenly between, cut side up.  Scatter with the walnuts and thyme sprigs.

Slide the tart onto the tray and bake for 15 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 350 and cook for 15 to 20 minutes longer.

Remove it from the oven and leave to cool slightly.  Serve drizzled with the balsamic glaze.

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