Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen

The end of summer is bittersweet.  Warm days of sitting on the dock overlooking sparkling waters have been replaced by glowing russet leaves reflected in quieter waters.  The Farmers’ Markets are reflecting the change of seasons with hard squashes, apples and pumpkins.  But at many farm stands you can still find the last of the summer tomatoes, both red and yellow.  I snatched up a few to give summer its due.  I celebrated them in a small pastry galette sprinkled with the last of my basil.

This is such an easy preparation especially if you use a store bought pie crust.  The recipe came from Country Living Magazine.  We are preparing for cooler weather.  Our weekend plans include a trip along the Blue Ridge Parkway to enjoy the fall colors.

FALL TOMATO GALETTE

Our 4th of July celebration is set in stone.  It is a family event with three generations, water sports, fireworks and lots of food and drink.  I always have a container of chocolate chip cookies for the kids.  My Granddaughter requested two separate containers this year; one for the three girls and one for the three boys because in past years the boys have snuck too many cookies.  The girls will probably hide their cookies.

We will be grilling most meals with chicken, hamburgers, ribs and a smoked pork butt among the offerings.  But I do try to get creative with some of the side dishes.  This year I experimented with this Orange, Tomato and Broccoli Salad with an Orange Vinaigrette.  It is a winner.

Whatever your plans for the holiday, you can’t go wrong with this colorful salad.  Happy Independence Day.

ORANGE, TOMATO, BROCCOLI, AND SWEET ONION SALAD WITH ORANGE VINAIGRETTE

Ingredients: 

2 cups ¾-inch pieces broccoli florets

3 large oranges

2 large tomatoes, coarsely chopped

1 cup diced sweet onion (such as Vidalia or Maui)

¼ cup sliced fresh basil

2 tbsp vegetable oil

1½ tbsp red wine vinegar

1½ tsp grated orange peel

Preparation: Steam broccoli until crisp-tender, about 3 minutes. Place broccoli in large bowl. Cut peel and white pith from oranges. Holding oranges over small bowl to catch juice, cut between membranes to release segments. Cut each orange segment crosswise into 3 pieces. Add orange pieces, tomatoes, onion, and fresh basil to bowl with broccoli. Add oil, vinegar, and orange peel to bowl with collected orange juice; whisk to blend. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour vinaigrette over broccoli mixture and toss to coat. Bon Appétit, 2002.

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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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The Cinque Terre region of Italy is not usually on people’s top 10 list of places to visit.  It is a string of five centuries old villages on the rugged coast of the Mediterranean Sea.  The colorful houses and ancient terraced vineyards provide awe inspiring vistas. Fishing boats bob in the harbor.  Historically, fishing was the livelihood of the residents of this region.  The colorful houses originated because fishermen out in the water liked to look back and spot their own dwellings by their distinctive colors.

The roads into the villages are winding and scenic.  This is a perfect drive on a motorcycle or in a convertible, although the roads do not always go directly into the villages.  There are parking areas outside of each village.  Walking trails bring you into the hub of towns.  The whole area is connected to the country by way of railroads and a ferry system.

The local people have cultivated the terraced mountainous terrain for centuries.  The main crops are grapes and olives.  But the region is also the birthplace of pesto.  Basil, which thrives in the temperate Ligurian climate is mixed with Parmigiano and/or Pecorino, garlic, olive oil and pine nuts to make the pungent and delicious emulsion.  Served on spaghetti or bruschetta, it is popular the world over.

Tulin and I sat at a bistro overlooking the sea, perusing the limited menu.  One of the best things on the menu was a tomato and basil topped large toasted bruschetta.  Unfortunately I did not get a picture of it.  It was delicious and I am attempting to duplicate it here.

The views from the village of Manarola were breathtaking.

We were in Manarola on Monday.  It was wash day.  What was so charming about these small villages is the lack of pretension.  Real people live here, going about their daily lives.  It is so different from the posh French Riviera.

It is the time of year to harvest what is left of the basil plants here at home.  My basil has become leggy and much too tall.

With thoughts of the lunch that I had in Manarola in the Cinque Terre, I made pesto and a bruschetta similar to what I had experienced there.  It made a delicious lunch here at home.

Here are some general recipes and instructions.

BASIL PESTO FROM LIGURIA (The Four Seasons of Pasta)

Makes 1 1/2 to 2 cups
2 packed cups whole, tender young basil leaves
1/4 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil, or more to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more to taste
1/2 cup freshly grated Pecorino sardo or Pecorino toscano
2 plump garlic cloves, crushed and minced

Working delicately, rinse and thoroughly dry the basil leaves and set aside.  In the bowl of the food processor, combine the rinsed and dried basil, the pine nuts, and salt.  Pulse until the mixture is coarse and grainy.  With the motor running, add the oil in a slow, steady stream.  Add the parmigiano and pecorino, processing just enough to mix well.  If the sauce is too dry, add a little more oil; if it’s too liquid, stir in a little more cheese and/or pine nuts.  Finally, add the garlic and process briefly, just to mix.  Taste and add more cheese or salt, if desired.

BRUSCHETTA WITH TOMATOES AND BASIL

Brush sliced Italian bread with olive oil.  Bake until lightly browned.  Smear the tops with basil pesto.  Pile on diced tomatoes, more dollops of pesto, grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese and sliced fresh basil leaves.

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Thanks to Laurent of Ride in Tours for several of the photos

Leave it to my husband to come up with one of the most delicious fried green tomatoes that I have ever eaten.  I love it when he cooks.  He just dives in, totally unintimidated by any complicated procedure.  There isn’t really anything complicated about this dish.  But it does require several steps to arrive at the finished product.  Some of the steps can be done ahead of time.  I am planning on making the Sweet Tomato Jam that goes on top as a condiment that I keep in the fridge at all times.  It will have many uses.

But enough from me.  Here is what David has to say.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES WITH BACON, PIMENTO CHEESE, AND SWEET TOMATO JAM

The basic idea for this delicious combination came from an episode of Unique Eats on the Cooking Channel in which they visited Yardbird Southern Table and Bar in Miami.  They did not include the recipe on the website, but I watched them closely as they made this dish on the show.  They fried the green tomatoes, topped them with their own house-made pimento cheese, a slice of pork belly bacon, and some sweet tomato jam.  I had never heard of sweet tomato jam, so I Googled it and found quite a few different recipes.  After reading several of them, I wound up combining two recipes to take advantage of the best aspects of both.  We didn’t have any pork belly bacon, so I substituted regular thick-sliced, apple smoked bacon, and used store-bought sharp cheddar pimento cheese spread.

FRIED GREEN TOMATOES

This is a basic recipe for making pretty good fried green tomatoes.  Two slices per person is plenty once you add all the other goodies.  One green tomato will produce at least four 3/8 inch slices, so slice up as many as you need.  The amounts below are enough for two medium size tomatoes.

2 green tomatoes, cut into 3/8 inch slices
Salt to taste, Pepper to taste
1/3 cup flour, or more as needed
1/2 cup Seasoned Panko Bread Crumbs, or more as needed
1 egg, or more as needed
A splash of milk for the egg wash
Enough cooking oil to fill your pan about 1/2 inch deep

Heat the oil in a large deep skillet until the surface is shimmery.  In the meantime, lightly salt and pepper both sides of the green tomato slices.  Make an egg wash with one or more eggs and a little milk in a bowl large enough to accommodate the biggest tomato slice.  Mix the flour with a little salt and pepper in another bowl, and pour the panko crumbs in a third bowl.  Flour both sides of the tomato slices, then coat thoroughly with the egg wash and dip in the panko crumbs.  Place the crumby tomato slices on a plate until the oil is hot, then place several slices in the pan without crowding too much and fry until golden brown on one side, then flip and fry until golden brown on the other side.  Remove the slices to a paper towel covered baking tray and place in a warming oven while you continue with more batches if necessary.

In the meantime you should have fried some thick-sliced bacon until crispy.  You will need one slice of bacon for each tomato slice.  You can keep the bacon in the warming oven until ready to assemble.  When all of the tomato slices are fried and you are ready to serve, spread each slice with a dollop of pimento cheese, top with two half-slices of bacon, and top that with a dollop of sweet tomato jam.  (Recipe below)

SWEET TOMATO JAM

You can use any kind of tomatoes that suit your fancy.  I used a mix of Mountain Reds, Romas, and Cherry Tomatoes.  About 3 pounds total made about 2 cups of finished jam.

3 lbs of most any kind of tomato
3/4 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika or regular paprika, if you don’t have smoked
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes or a little more if you like it spicy

Peel the tomatoes by placing in boiling water for about 1 1/2 minutes and then move to an ice water bath in a large bowl.  After they cool, you can easily remove the skin by hand.  Cut the tomatoes into a medium course chop and place in a large pot.  Add the sugar, salt, pepper, paprika, and red pepper flakes.  Stir it all together and let it sit for half an hour to generate some liquid before heating.  Bring the mixture to a boil uncovered while stirring occasionally, reduce the heat to a heavy simmer and continue to cook uncovered, and stir once in a while to make sure it isn’t sticking and burning on the bottom.  Some recipes say it only takes 35 minutes of cooking to reach jam consistency, but it took me about an hour.  I think I started out at too slow a simmer and the liquid wasn’t boiling off quickly enough.  After about 45 minutes the mix was still pretty soupy, so I turned the heat up a little and it finished in another 15 minutes.  Next time I will start with higher heat and stir more often so it doesn’t burn.  The result is a delicious sweet yet savory jam that is not only super well-suited to the fried green tomatoes, but will also be delicious on crostini.

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